The coaches have named their teams for the opening leg of the 1872 Scottish Cup, at BT Murrayfield on Sunday 27 December (kick-off 15:05 UK time; 17:05 SA Time). As reigning cup holders, Alan Solomons has made 2 changes to the Edinburgh starting XV that beat London Irish last weekend in the European Challenge Cup, while Gregor Townsend has called up former Edinburgh scrumhalf Grayson Hart replacing Mike Blair in the No 9 shirt as the Warriors return to Guinness PRO12 action following their back-to-back European Rugby Champions Cup wins over the Scarlets.
In total there are 20 Scotland capped players in the starting XVs (8 for Edinburgh, 12 for Glasgow) with a further 4 on the bench (1 for Edinburgh, 3 for Glasgow). With the RBS 6 Nations Championship only 6 short weeks away, the players will want to impress head coach Vern Cotter as well as win their team valuable Guinness PRO12 league points.
Edinburgh won the 1872 Scottish Cup at BT Murrayfield on 2 January this year, after a 5-year sabbatical in the Glasgow trophy cabinet, in a nail-biter before a then-record crowd of 15 810. This year’s attendance has already broken that figure, with sales increasing daily, making the match the must-see fixture of the festive period in Scotland.
Head coach Alan Solomons said: “We’re all delighted that we’ll have such a big crowd adding to the atmosphere of what is always a hard-fought fixture. With both clubs winning their European fixtures last weekend, the teams will be looking for the momentum to carry through to a winning performance on Sunday. We know how keen Glasgow are to win back the trophy – and how intent we are on retaining it – so I’ve no doubt it will be a highly physical encounter.”
Glasgow Warriors head coach Gregor Townsend said: “It’s great to hear that our supporters are travelling through to Edinburgh in large numbers to get behind the team, and their vocal support will once again give us a boost this weekend. The 1872 Scottish Cup matches are always highly anticipated encounters and we’re really looking forward to Sunday’s game. We must remain focused for the full eighty-minutes if we’re to come away with a positive result and crucial Guinness PRO12 points.
Teams:
Afternoon everyone. How sad to see our cricket in a state of chaos. Just a year and a half back I think we were totally thrashing everyone. Beating Oz twice in back to back test series on their home soil plus the same to England beating them twice on their home soil. We were flying high then in our cricket. What on earth has happened that we look so useless now compared to then being the number one team in the world?
Also Steyn and Philander were the number 1 and 2 batsmen in the world plus Amla became the best batsman in the world then too. Once he was in and over 50 runs he just stayed in forever making 200 and also a 300. Was so hard to get him out back then we also had a brilliant captain plus Kallis. How I miss thise days. Now brfore you know it we will drop out the top 10 in the world. We look clueless out there in Durban and Newlands. Hiw sad. Feel almost embarrsed of our cricket now and under HM our rougby too became useless eslast year. Damn selection is key slways why cant we not just select the best?
Second fastest double ton ever.
241 @ Puma:
Sorry for typos was correcting it and instead pushed the send button. Poop brain getting old.. Hahaha.
Would have taken Boycott 3 days to score what Stokes got in a session.
Seriously amla take a gammble on dibbly dobblies. The gingers are absolutely loving this pace.
Amla wants to give morris his double hundred as well.
242 @ MacroPolo:
Yip and against us. Nothing to be oroud of out there. Our cricket is in a mess.
We still need a captain like Biff and another Kallis if we can ever find one. Plus we missing Steyn and Philander and esoecially Kallis plus or captain. We useless out there. Not going to watch any longer its embarrissing.
247 @ Puma:
Meant: especially.
Tassies wrote:
Morning Tassies. The difference for Ntini was that this was the first team he played in – Adam Bacher, Gary Kirsten, HD Ackerman, Daryll Cullinan, Hansie Cronje, Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini. A solid, good team, but more importantly a bowling attack in which Hansie could hide him if he felt Ntini was getting a little tap. You had Kallis, Pollock and Donald, even Adams, so your attack wasn’t weakened. This allowed Ntini to develop into the player he was. And hide him Hansie did – Makhayaonly bowled 15 overs in the whole match (out of a total of around 180 overs)
Rabada doesn’t have the same luxury, the england boys are rampant and the team around him is weak and low on confidence, and to round it off, the captain is one of the poorest I have seen in an SA shirt. I will be amazed if Rabada remains unscathed.
@ Puma:
Hi pums. Those are some GOAT players and tough to replace. Cricket sa have been looking the replace Ntini for the last 5 years with little plans of looking for successors to those players.
Just lime anything in South Africa, planning is done in short term to satisfy political careers and not long term.
@ Puma:
@ MacroPolo:
@ nortie:
Happy New year chaps – a great way to see it in, it must be said!
Rabada is a new players,
Morkel is a senior player spray gunning the ball all over the place… Deserves far more criticism imo than Rabada, Rabada should also have taken the new ball this morning and not Morris, there the blame has to go to Amla and the coaching staff.
@ Just For Kicks:
Happy new year jfk… Cant let sport get us down, need to admire one of the greatest batting displays in test cricket ever.
Just before i get accused of blaming kwotas for our recent slump while even non kwota players are not performing…
There is absolutely no way having some ridiculous kwotas in domestic cricket would not have a roll on effect on the national team, the standards of our domestic cricket is so low that there are fewer players of test quality to select from.
@ Just For Kicks: To my reckoning, we are our own worst enemy. This country has become racist in the the extreme. Racism is a negative concept and influence. As a direct consequence of predominant racism we are seeing the predictable results in our society. That includes sport. Especially sport. We South Africans are particularly passionate about or sport, specifically reflected in our passion for our national teams. To witness them so unnecessarily destroyed by people who know squat about the games we love is withering. Worse, they simply don’t seem to care. It’s all about race. Which is what freaks most of us out. Sound about right?????
@ MacroPolo:I am very spoilt on Mud Island (Bulscot will agree), with the amount of sport we get to see, sport per se definitely doesn’t let us down, and being here, I have been following the England team for a couple of years now, and have seen all of Stokes big scores. This one out weighs all the rest, and as you say, ‘one of the greatest batting displays in test cricket ever’. May it continue after lunch!
stokes must make hay, as I don’t think he will ever face such a poor bowling attack again
@ Just For Kicks:
And a happy new year to you too
255 @ Tassies: Time to start calling a Spade a Spade. Agree totally.
254 @ MacroPolo:A direct consequence of quotas I see here is, that even in tiny Stirling where I live, I reckon I meet a new 18/19 year old South African every week (loads of older ones too). These kids are working/plying their trade at the gyms, schools, clubs, etc, desperately trying to get into the local cricket/rugby teams. All these kids have a sporting talent. Perhaps not good enough to go on to higher honours, but still, they are leaving SA in their droves.
These are the guys that are under the radar, as they leave SA after school, but before joining SA clubs, so they aren’t seen yet, but they are still the future of SA sport. That is the quota result, and that in my book is racism. Simple as that.
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