Well done to Edinburgh for a good result away from home, facing down an admittedly poor Cardiff team and coping with the usual performance from G. Clancy, Esq.
Did I say Edinburgh? Oh, I meant Glasgow. Telling the difference between the Scottish pro teams must be getting hard for poor old BBC Wales, which made several references to John Beattie, Firhill, and playing Biarritz next week during the coverage of Edinburgh’s piss-poor display against the Ospreys.
Granted, Beattie (junior, I can only imagine) and Ally Hogg may share a hairdresser, and Edinburgh may have “Aberdeen” on their shirts to confuse matters further, but BBC Wales’s commentary "standards" (never mind the bias) gave me something to get excited about and shout at the telly for (not really the TV’s fault, I suppose), given I was long past the point of shouting at Edinburgh’s general ineptitude.
Roddy Grant looked sharper at the breakdown than pretty much the whole team put together, and Ospreys turned Edinburgh over almost at will. A few chances went begging, but the inability to (or lack of desire to) keep the ball proved pretty foolish against an international class (and in many places, Lions equal world class) backline, who promptly cut them to shreds.
Good to see Nikki Walker looking sharp, though. Godman kicked perfectly from tee, so Mossy was not missed in that regard, but as one of the chaps pointed out on the BBC boards, his marshalling of the defensive line was sorely absent. Stand-in fullback and new signing Steve Jones didn’t cover himself in glory, shall we say, but he should not be the scapegoat.
Meanwhile, new Glasgow fullback Peter Horne got one kick of the ball on Saturday and sclaffed it into touch. As it was to end the match, I can’t really complain. Still, it’s a good sign for a youngster that he looked thoroughly disappointed in himself even for something that had no bearing on the game.
The match had long since been won by the combined work of Colin Gregor and Thom Evans behind a sturdy pack effort, and this time, Glasgow did not surrender their halftime lead. Huzzahs all 'round for pseudo-Highlander Moray Low’s boot up field that eventually led to Johnnie Beattie’s try (see Jonathan, he was playing for Glasgow). With Cusiter undoubtedly the best nine Glasgow have, perhaps they should find somewhere else to bring Gregor’s skills into play on a more regular basis—10 or 15, perhaps?
Big Nathan looks like he would have had fun during the Leinster 30-0 demolition of Munster that brought several tries, a bit of controversy, and no doubt plenty of niggle. A much better range of highlights from STV this week too; they are learning a game of rugby is not just the penalty offences that lead to points, and I reckon it’s getting better.
Next weekend—Heineken Cup!
