SCOTLAND'S 2024 | END OF YEAR REPORT CARD

[@joshhunter1129]

As a Scot I said 5 out of 10. The final win over Australia puts a good end to the year, but the 6N was a massive disappointment for me. The Italy game was terrible, we had that won and threw it away. The France game we should have been out of sight at 60 mins and were less than a score up. Have to find a way to finish teams when ahead. We’re running out of time with this crop of players, and I’ll be heartbroken if Finn never wins a 6N with Scotland

[@raypurchase1239]

I completely agree we were poor in the six nations and Finn doesn’t have long left until he retires from international rugby.

[@ritchiebirnie6124]

As a Scot I have to agree with your summation. Thank you for all your work this year. I love your video. Merry Christmas to you and yours. You should have picked the Hapden leg of 1872 cup.

[@iainmorrison7501]

considering Scotland only have 2 professional clubs they always punch above their weight hopefully they can turn the small point losses into wins, never a dull day following Scotland

[@rosscooper7778]

Punch above their weight maybe but how many are project players, the 2 clubs are not producing enough talent and they are now so reliant on foreign born that they will always struggle to compete consistently

[@iainmorrison7501]

@rosscooper7778 i dont disagree with you. The backbone of the team are Scottish and yes we have players who use the grandparent or residency criteria but so do everyone else except for Soith Africa, look at Australia and New Zealand many of their all time greats were born in Samoa Fiji and Tonga. Every tean uses the same criteria for selection its up to the various gouverning bodies how they want to apply their selection process. At the moment Scotland have an attractive team to watch Murryfield is a sellout most times as are Glasgow and Edinburgh lets hope this brings homegrown talent to fill any exiles places

[@hugh8891]

Wales have 4 professional teams, Mabye 2 is the way to go

[@iainmorrison7501]

@hugh8891 Scotland tried 4 and were considering 6 back in the day but decided 2 decent sides rather than 6 poor

[@speak_your_truth.]

​@@rosscooper7778No more than Ireland are.

[@GBNE-kh1fs]

Strong 6 to light 7 for me. Still bags of potential and sublime when it clicks. Inconsistency has been a problem, but I think they’ve grown substantially since the last 6 nations. Crossing fingers for next campaign!

[@neilcampbell9383]

Hi Tim, looking forward to the Glasgow v Edinburgh games. By the way it’s the 1872 cup! 🙂👍🙂

[@neilcampbell9383]

6/10 pretty fair score I would say.

[@josephmccafferty2830]

Well put Tim. It looks like Gregor and the heads of Scotland rugby are now trying to build that depth of squad you talk about, with the Academy and talent coming through from the U20s and emerging players. As a Scot, for the record, I have always admired England for their brand of rugby, which is a joy to see when all cylinders are firing. Apart from games when they are facing Scotland, of course.

[@Malky24]

I'd say we (Scotland) have 2 problems: 1) Our attack is inconsistent. We don't look as cohesive as we should be. For the attacking talent we have we should be causing teams way more problems. 2) We haven't managed to tighten up discipline. We still give away lots of silly penalties and it's become something the Townsend era will be remembered for.

[@Avm68CC]

Excellent observations. Great talent - but our approach hasn’t evolved like other teams have. Our brand of rugby is amazing to watch - but it doesn’t bring us consistent wins at the right level. When it all clicks it is AMAZING - but it is such a big ask that even this crop cannot pull it off every time. We are also guilty of playing desperately. This is great in defence when we hold teams out of our line when others would fold - but it isn’t helpful in attack. We want consistency and quality levels brought up - then with flashes of brilliance - you can’t rely on brilliance to win you games day in and day out against tough opposition. South Africa can pull off amazing rugby - but it is the threat of it combined with a brutal attritional grind that wins them games. It also makes it far easier to look brilliant and pull off amazing when the opposition is exhausted from the grind - unlike Scotland who are already exhausted from trying to play brilliant rugby every other phase. Still - they are a wonderful team to support these days. I do worry our tactics and training are not doing the team justice. Gregor has done great things for Scottish Rugby - but that was a while ago. Time to get in a work horse coach to build this talent into a more structured and strategic team.

[@garypacitti]

I’ve been going to Murrayfield long enough to have seen 2 Grand Slams. What I’d give to, at last win a 6N. But think we will get undone as we always seem to do. 6 is a fair score as this years 6N was very disappointing. We hoped for 4 wins expected 3 and only got 2.

[@SAnd-pd1ou]

I take a Triple Crown tbf

[@douglasherron7534]

I was there for 1984 & 1990 (and also the semi-final of 1991) and the difference between those teams & today's is that ability to grind out the wins. Until they get to that sort of place (as the Irish have) they will only be a good team, rather than a great one.

[@garypacitti]

@@douglasherron7534 100% Agree, still far too many "could have, should have, plucky losers , etc".

[@douglasherron7534]

@@garypacitti 100% As the old saying goes: "If you don't win, you're a loser."

[@alec1113]

Tim, always enjoy your content . Thank you for your thoughts on scotland . Scotlands love affair with optimism is in every scottish persons dna , we always a bridesmaid never a bride . All the best to you and all . Merry Christmas.

[@AllInTheGame01]

7/10 for '24, now or never for SCO in the '25 6N! So many players should make the B&I Lions Squad!

[@MariusleGrange-m3f]

Scotland has got one of the best teams they have ever had. A lot of talent. I just can't help but feel that they lack belief that they can win when they play the top teams (France, Ireland, SA, and NZ). Glasgow now seem to have that belief that they can beat the top clubs. I think if the national Team can emulate that, then they can win the six nations.

[@john9508]

6.5/10. Beaten by Italy and and could have got results against France and Ireland but didn't. Summer tour was quite easy one, no disrespect to the T2 nations, with lots of new caps. Lost comfortably by SA and had to tough it out against Australia in the first half but coasted in the second. Edit, Franco has given Glasgow tons of confidence and should be the next Scotland coach.

[@Moretosh]

Bah humbug.

[@davidwalker2402]

you weren’t within an asses roar of beating Ireland , its that kind of thing that makes Scotland hard to take.

[@johnstrac]

You left the win over Fiji off your list.

[@EggchasersRugby]

Oh yeah! Oops

[@scooter0012]

Totally fair assessment. Having watched Scotland through the Autumn Tests the biggest piece of standout evidence was playing 20 mins against SA with a man down and not buckling. Mentality, mentality, mentality! That will be required in spades versus Italy on Feb 1st. Believe.

[@pietsmit5587]

Kyle Steyn and Huw Jones are seriously underrated players

[@speak_your_truth.]

Jones underrated? Nope, not so

[@Zveebo]

I think even as neutral, anyone would have to admit that France v Scotland playing for the Six Nations in a late night Stade de France in the final game of the tournament would be a 💯 finish to the series. Which is why it guaranteed won’t happen 😂 But it would be amazing if it did.

[@Dishfire101]

URC champions for Glasgow, 5/6th in the IRB rankings, beating England in the last 7 years (yes 1 win and 1 draw against Scotland) ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@douglasherron7534]

But one-off wins do not get you over the line in championships.... You have to be able to win consistently - which the current team seem incapable of.

[@ianmcfeatsmith]

Winning with style, losing with dignity. Highly entertaining! Growing in strength rapidly - come on guys - what more can we expect from this Team? The analysis was a bit mean I felt - and an 8 out of 10 would have been more appropriate. This year it could easily click together but this must start with two home wins against Italy and Ireland. Clearly there's a lot of hard work for them to do up front and for the Team to avoid early celebrations as alcohol has a deadly effect on both training and performance.

[@glentweedie602]

@ianmcfeatsmith - I have played enough sport in my life to know that "losing with dignity" is probably the most bitter of pills to swallow. As a 5th generation south African of 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 descent, Scotland is always my 2nd favourite team. The team's players are great. They just need to reset their minds away from 'losing with dignity'.

[@dazza9859]

Scotland are probably going in the six nations as favourites.They have a really solid team.The autumn series showed that.

[@JoshuaBrunell]

Scottish players for the Lions squad🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🦁Probables- Schoeman, Z.Fagerson, Russell, Tuipolotu, Jones, Graham, Kinghorn. Possibles- M.Fagerson, Darge, Dempsey, White, van der Merwe, Steyn.

[@JKMeZmA]

As a Scot, I’m a bit disappointed, but relieved a lot of the players and the bones of the team are still young, and they can still grow thankfully. With only Grant Gilchrist and Finn Russell being over 30, and lots of key positions being 27 and under like Ben White(23), Ewan Ashman (24), Sione Tuipulotu (27), Blair Kinghorn (27), Andy Christie (25), Rory Darge (24), Matt Fagerson (26), Tom Jordan (26). And with some great talent coming through like Jamie Dobie, Ewan Johnson, Max Williamson, Jare Oguntibeju, Freddy Douglas, Liam McConnell, and Mo Tupulotu, we at least have more folks coming through. Just wish they’d get to the other side eh? Maybe if and when Franco Smith takes over it may change

[@AdAstraStakePool]

As a Scot, I agree with your 6/10 score. I hope they improve next year.

[@hughneil7212]

It is not often you are wrong, but you are right once again. Six out of ten is very fair.

[@donaldmorrison9940]

I love Scotland these days, but the only thing we're missing is a clinical edge so that we can actually win something

[@garrybessant826]

6 is a fair score to be honest. Youre 💯 right. Can win has to be should win and only the boys on the pitch can make that difference

[@DoddyIshamel]

Can't be better than 6/10 for performance and only that much thanks to beating Australia last month. Development wise its been quite a good year though, with a lot of new players blooded/discovered/tried for club and country. If we have a good year to 18 months going forward this year will retrospectively be better.

[@stewartcowie3385]

Now is the time. This has been a long time coming. I live in Leicestershire am a Tiger but love what Alba are doing now.

[@markrowantree]

Hi Tim, If I had a couple of sherbets I’d go 7/10, but in all honesty I’d find it difficult to argue with your scoring. Personally, I think we really have to stake our claim, this season. For example, in order to shed the perennial underachiever tag we,should be confident of beating everyone apart from France and maybe Ireland, who might be entering a slight decline now. However, anything less than three victories out of 5 will just be a continuation of our under-achievement. I’m trying to think with my brain and not my heart. Our two most pivotal games are likely prove to be Ireland in Edinburgh and England at Twickenham. I’m not so myopic as to think the rest of the games are easy, but if we are to continue to develop as a rugby nation I believe both games are winnable, if certainly far from walkovers.

[@robinmoreau2029]

Realistically specifically their ( and generally all six nations teams) player pool is worldwide.

[@Um95116]

6/10 for me. I think we are a second row away from being a world class team. Cummings and Gilchrist are good rugby players but when you look at Eztebeth, Barrett, Beirne, Flament, these guys are amazing athletes, great ball carriers and could fill in the back row. I hope this becomes a part of their game and we become unbeatable 🙏 A little bit of depth would be nice also 😅

[@matthewbrown2567]

6/10 for me, losing to Italy in the six nations was a very poor, Scotland are rapidly becoming the nearly men of rugby and need to change that very soon

[@HarryTheHacker55]

Strength in depth has always been an issue. A few injuries to key players and it becomes a bit of a struggle. However, it's as strong as it's ever been so here's hoping as this is an exciting team to watch.

[@raypurchase1239]

As a Scot, I hope we see some more new boys coming through the academy which there are plenty coming through. I would still say it’s a predominantly private sport with barely any public school promotion which is frustrating. Yes there is a lot of foreign born players but it doesn’t bother me. The national team will have to step up if we ever want to win a six nations. Russell only has maybe 2-3 years left at international level. I grew up watching the national and pro teams be smashed week in and out but we’ve came a long way since then. The SRU will have to focus on grassroots to keep promoting the sport. Hopefully one day there is a pro team in the north of Scotland.

[@RickRuckus]

George Turner has gone to Japan! Can we get a proof on scotland vids going forwards, Love the content tho !

[@Ewen6177]

I truly would have said about 7/10. What Scotland needs is a third top rate club, so they can expand the pool, of players available. We as a small nation, cannot, hope to compete with the likes of France and even Ireland and England, fully. Until we have a 3rd professional club.

[@Steve-gr6jm]

Aberdeen? Is there space to build a stadium somewhere out there?

[@Zveebo]

Glasgow don’t even have a proper home stadium of their own yet! The SRU are losing tonnes of money (and £29 million of that goes purely on funding the two existing teams). There are much bigger fish to fry currently.

[@michaelramsay-fraser7076]

At the start of professional rugby in Scotland there were 4 pro teams, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cally Reds & The Border Reivers. SRU couldn't afford to support them all and the Reds & Reivers were disbanded. Unlikely the SRU will ever go down that path again given the current level of debt.

[@Steve-gr6jm]

@@michaelramsay-fraser7076 How much debt we talking?

[@michaelramsay-fraser7076]

@@Steve-gr6jm At one stage it was over £10M. I believe it's improved recently and is now lower.

[@lonwabiso1]

Very good team, they just need an edge....and about July...

[@rorysteyn9805]

7/10 at least Tim. Robbed against France by a shockingly poor TMO.

[@rory7590]

I agree that Scotland have a strong chance of doing well in the 6 Nations next year, using the confidence of what Glasgow Warrors provides domestically. I see it as a similar relationship as that of Ireland and Leinster. However, the main thing for Scotland is they are still limited by a ceilin, as South Africa ruthlessly demonstrated in the Autumn. I’d say their World Ranking is pretty accurate and they are about on a par with England with a big physical pack and some good backs. 67% could be rounded up to a 7, but the lack of tangible big wins probably marks them down a peg. I’d go 6.5/10, myself.

[@paulmellon7598]

I think a 6/10 is fair. Internationally, it's been same old, same old. High expectations dashed by indifferent form both home and away. If the situation is ever to improve, I think it's important to consider the structure of Scottish Rugby (not just at URC level, but at the development stage too.) Only 2 Pro teams isn't ideal, but a 3rd was tried before (Border Reivers - origin of the term bereaved) and failed financially very early on. The majority of Scottish born, educated and trained players who've achieved Lions status come from a handful of private schools - mainly in Edinburgh but with a few notable exceptions - say, Andy Nicol (Dundee HS) or John Beattie (Glasgow Accies) and Gordon 'Brown frae Troon' (West of Scotland) for those old enough to remember the 1974 '99 call' tour of South Africa.) Attempts to include a 3rd team failed financially very early on, as playing in England, Wales or further afield was financially more attractive to any remaining Scottish talent looking for a club. Peeps like to take a 'not so witty' shot at the present Scotland squad for having a large South African born presence in the team. A fair enough pub discussion topic, but every International squad is awash with players from other qualifying countries, so really, a non argument in my view. What UK grassroots fans should really be asking is where will our home nations players come from in future? If we continue as we are, importing club talent from overseas at a hefty price, and then watching their players thrash us at the World Cup ... what next? Wales dropping down - as you alluded to in the vid - surely underlines the problem? A final observation; players move around the globe for many reasons - some purely financial, some with wider motives, such as family. An example I am aware of, is a SA back rower called Josh Strauss, who initially played for my team, Glasgow Warriors, and subsequently for Scotland. He cited being thoroughly welcomed, made to feel very much at home in Glasgow by his new neighbours, good schools and that it is a very safe place for his children to grow up. Those messages will doubtless have been relayed to his SA compatriots, so not a huge surprise several have followed in his footsteps ...?

[@GSBWorkingDogs-Rugby]

6/10 is spot on

[@struandickson9082]

We lost to Italy which was a howler. Continued to fail at finding a way to beat Ireland. Should have beat France. SA beat us quite comfortably in the end. Beating an upcoming Australia has glossed over a poor year for a lot of fans, but we should have won that game. At best my score is a 6/10, mainly for our depth being improved over the summer tour and portugal autumn game

[@jamiecolquhoun1915]

Think 6 is fair as I think they could do better. What is your thoughts on toonie as coach. I think we need new ideas.

[@aonghus3860]

I think Tim has taken a page out of two cent's book, ie. matching his shirt to the team he is talking about in the vid, am I wrong?

[@99RML]

Yes you're right, partially at least...flicked through and he was wearing a Le Coq one for the France video and black one for NZ. He was wearing brown for Ireland though, so what do we read into that?? 🤔😂

[@tommyramsay8806]

To put something into perspective, I think they had a great year but the highest ranked team Scotland beat was England who are 7th in the rankings. When you look at it like that, I think 6 is a fair rating.

[@morrisfraser7236]

6 is about right for us. 2025 may be last chance with a few players getting long in the tooth… as a Scot though I do actually fancy England next year.

[@shaunmahon3415]

I'll be honest with you and say yes 6 is harsh because we lost very narrowly to both France and Ireland but actually performed we'll well and really should have beaten France, the game management there was poor. We resorted to boring kick tennis which cost us more than that ridiculous decision by the TMO, if we'd continued to play like the first half we would have won imho. In terms of the prop issue, we have high hopes for the young lad Ollie Byth -Lafferty so it's not actually that bad especially when you consider the fact that Will Hurd produced solid performances during November 👍👍. I do totally agree with you on the fact that we have a chance in the 6Ns, the home match against Ireland will be crucial though but I maintain we're due a win against them, if we perform like we did against Australia then we may win that one 👍👍.

[@nzcurt]

Do you think that Scotland failed to reach their expectations due to a lack of across the park talent, or due to factors like coaching and management? I do agree with the 6

[@GerianKock]

I think it's a bit harsh Tim, they are playing brilliant rugby and they are still building, for the effort and considering the results atleast an 8 must be given

[@JohnStoddart1010]

Didn't Scotland also play Fiji in Autumn Internationals? On the scoring, I'd go 7 rather than 6 - Scotland have continued to have the highest ranking in World Rugby ranking. They're in the top group of world countries for group selection for next World Cup.

[@swagman7089]

6/10 only notable wins against England and Australia

[@ConnorDoesRugby]

Like every December…next years our year!! 😂

[@johnstrac]

The problem with Scotland is that bump along as a 2 -3 win team for season after season, we never seem to make the leap. Continued group stage exits in the WC don't inspire confidence either.

[@ClaudeduPreez]

6 for me

[@mvs3980]

Scotland must thank South Africa for all our players making them a good team😉

[@loco19800]

Home v Ireland Scotland really want this one

[@geoffnelson6756]

Scotland played better than a 6 this year, a threat in every game, just didn't close them out like a top team, could easily have been 8/10, but weighing up the results a 6 is about right, don't forget, NZ also lost 4 games this year.

[@speak_your_truth.]

NZ isn't a team we should be looking to match performances with. They have been patchy.

[@robcrocker348]

I'd go for a 5.5/10 I love the scotts but it was a pretty average season considering the away tour in july(no disrespect to the T2 nations)

[@neillfotheringham211]

1872 Cup! And no Fiji result?

[@sheumais63]

Scotland has a big problem with coaching, as shown by the huge difference between Edinburgh and Glasgow in the URC and an indisputably poor 6 Nations, again, in 2024. We will not be in contention for the 6 Nations if we don't win our home games and we will be hamstrung in all matches when the players in form are not picked ahead of the coach's favourites. It's not long ago Townsend dropped Russell, ostensibly on form, when he was clearly the best 10 available for selection and only injury forced a rethink. That's tyopical of the thinking that holds Scotland back and the new regime at Murrayfield should be looking at past World Cups and asking if Townsend is really the best man to take Scotland into the next one.

[@ABC-dw7pe]

Given the potential - 6 is fair tbh

[@jimdavid1804]

6/10. The 2024 six nations was very disappointing.

[@Billbazz]

Aye, fair summation but id have gone for 7

[@RickRuckus]

youve done us by 10 years, 1872!!!

[@shaundesouza]

Scotland development pathway through the U20 program is the game changer they will get them to be competitive at the 2027 World Cup they will shock teams The u20 s are back in the Junior Championship tier which will be proof of work being put in by SRU Not sure what will happen to the teams from the lower tier like Fiji Japan USA Netherlands Uruguay Samoa if they don’t have tournaments to compete in as u20 if the focus just on the top 12 teams??? So why increase the World Cup numbers if there is no clear equal opportunity for every nation at the world most prestigious tournament

[@iainbeattie2970]

I think it’s only a 5 as we never beat anyone above us in the rankings, and lost to Italy. Yes its a decent squad with more depth and more Lions contenders than usual but this group has not won anything nor been close to winning anything which imho is down to the coach who is not in the same league as Farrell or even Gatland. Such a waste of a group with potential I expect us to finish 4th as an improving England finally get their hands on the Calcutta Cup.

[@RickRuckus]

6 out of 10 fair, we could win the six nations but just as easily come fifth

[@stevemackie7017]

Possibly 10 years late for the Cup game at Murrayfield buddy🤔

[@9502937]

I feel like Scotland is hard to rate. they’re too bad for how good they are and better than how bad they are.

[@owenfarmer4197]

Why can scotland pick players playing in other countries but England can’t? Drives me bonkers. 7/10 for me by no means plucky under dogs any more dare I say they should expect far better showing than they achieved this year.

[@gpilley1]

Scotland 5/10 just pass nothing to be happy about. They should have beaten France and didn't, they butchered it by not going out wide to the 2v3. Lost to Ireland again it's now a serious issue. Wales and England are far off the finished article so should beat them. Losing to Italy unacceptable. Summer tour was much over muchness. As where two of the autumn tests. Below strength Fiji and a plucky but not serious Portugal. Losing to SA in the manner we did wasn't good shows the lack of back up in the front row. Australia was the only positive marks really. It's the same story with Scotland and I as a proud Scot get to treat them how they treat us. Harshly but we keep coming back haha

[@quaziforus]

7

[@alexherbert9404]

1872 cup....😜

[@robertwood6297]

8/10

[@marco-dn7kd]

Scotland is the champion of the could have been / could have won. Finn Russell epitomizes Scotland inconsistency, able of the best and the worst, sometimes within the same game. Beside of him many of brilliant players especially the back line. When on fire, these guys are unbeatable. They should not have lost vs France and Italy. Again and always in the outsider position for the next 6 Nations behind Ireland, England and France.

[@cnoc500]

6/10 Embarrassed not to have put 50 past Wales in Cardiff. Should have beaten France and Italy but didn't, and we might as well not bother playing Ireland. Americas Tour - no real Tests there. Stuttered thru Autumn Tests. Let's not forget half the squad are foreign born or developed. Where's the future in that ?

[@gpilley1]

Schoeman, van der merwe, jordan are our only "project players" in our best match day 23. The rest qualify due to family connections, most commonly a parent who has had to move for work, or were born in Scotland. That is the same amount of project players as ireland have in their 23 and they seem to be doing pretty well. Everyone uses project players its part and parcel of the game the nation you follow does it as well so stop being a hypocrite.

[@cnoc500]

@gpilley1 hypocrite 🫤 you clearly don't know the meaning. My statement is fact - not an opinion - and I asked a question. Can't handle it, best stay in yer cage precious.

[@jonfallis305]

a quwstion, think relevant to the sweaties: using foreign born players,what does it do to young emergìnd 'native' talent?

[@colinthompson7404]

10/10... As long as we beat the English

[@LittleBigMediaCo]

7/10 if they weren't shafted by the ref in the France game ... minus 3 for not understanding the difference between club rugby (where you can hire players from anywhere) and international rugby (where you're meant to pick Scottish players). At this point the Flower of Scotland is becoming a Protea hybrid, Haggis is being replaced by Potjiekos, and Castle is what half the national team drinks instead of old stone buildings in the Highlands.

[@A-world-of-My-Own]

You just can,t beat quality foreign players. Home grown not so much available. Too small and not enough home grown players to be successful long term. Always plucky losers. More Lions in with a shout than usual, sad reflection on the other 3N at the moment. 6/10 is fair.

[@GBNE-kh1fs]

Strong 6 to light 7 for me. Still bags of potential and sublime when it clicks. Inconsistency has been a problem, but I think they’ve grown substantially since the last 6 nations. Crossing fingers for next campaign!