Phil could yet feature in the Six Nations. |
Rob does need a lot more time but you can never rule anybody out who is playing for one of the three Scottish pro-teams because it is not as if we have massive resources in Scotland. |
Scotland's history has been one or two occasions of tremendous over-achievement, and I am hoping this is the start of one for us. |
Scott has timed his return from injury very well. He's fresh and enthusiastic and will be an invaluable member of our World Cup squad. These days it's sometimes not a bad thing for players to have a break from the game. |
Scottish style, eh? No, just pragmatic. |
Steve and I have discussed a formula so that the 'A' team will adapt the same shape of game as the Scotland side so, if someone is required to fly from Canada to South Africa, then they will be up to speed with what's going on. |
Thankfully, I'm not superstitious, |
That situation has to be managed for Nathan and for Scotland. |
The first international squad session is due to take place on October 3 and it would be expected that the new coach determines who takes part. That means giving players notice and from that point of view it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect an announcement next week. |
The French have generated a level of consistency over the last half a dozen games that has perhaps been missing from them in the past. We're aware that they've got a formidable array of talent available to them, but we think we've got a pretty good side as well and we'll be going into the game with some expectations and a high level of confidence. |
The players know best what's needed. You can't flog them. There was a culture of defeat. The system didn't work for anyone. It had to change. Shaping the working week is one of the key parts of the job, often ignored or undervalued. A coach, you know, doesn't often bring about a massive improvement in things. But he can very easily make things a hell of a lot worse. |
The reality is you don't get stand offs who are expert kickers as well as top drawer runners. The trick is to find a balance but Phil is putting a lot of guys into gaps. |
The reason Ben moved was to get the week-in, week-out rugby he could not be guaranteed in Edinburgh, and the wisdom of his move has been demonstrated throughout the season and underlined today. |
The simple fact is that we will need our most experienced guys for what will be a massively difficult game. |
The Welsh were hugely inspirational to us last season. |