Col Shivers

@FinMorrison @ssimpsonsound I would say any game where you can go from 1st to 4th at this time of the season is pretty much must win

@ssimpsonsound I'd say Leinster are favourites, but they lost last time they were at Scotstoun, and also failed to win Away at Cardiff two weeks ago, with a similar team. Its not quite must-win for us, but there's obviously a psychological element at this time of year.

Stronger Leinster squad than I was expecting to see named for Scotstoun tomorrow night. Big test for the young Glasgow players.

@Gav_S_Harper Ask your pal Bruce about what a tactical and motivational genius Townsend is.

Never mind....

@AndyBurke_ Seems like GTs time has been one massive game of snakes and ladders. The France game was a huge ladder up but lose in Dublin and it’s a long snake down to where Scotland were in 2020 and 2021. Solid campaigns, big result or two but still just mid table.

Round 5 of the Six Nations and Scotland are right in the mix! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 We’re building up to Dublin and recording the rugby pod tomorrow. As always we would love to hear your questions. One final push!

@ChrisSru880101 Did it take the Scottish media to finally give Toonie & the squad a really hard time to get this squad into the required headspace? Or was that happening anyway but just very slowly? 🇮🇪 is the real acid test as lose and it’s just another version of 2020 or 2021.

Going to back track slightly, but I feel it’s justified. Townsend has done enough to see out his contract For this reason: The players are all 100% behind him, they spoken out for him and more importantly they’ve got the results to support that. And that’s all the matters

@TEnglishSport De ja vu all over again. Until they get a result - or perhaps more importantly an 80 minute performance in Dublin this result changes nothing.

Can I correct my earlier position: Statue For Townsend 😳 Utterly sensational. More to follow…

@grandpa_flump @TEnglishSport Apart from all his snarky answers aye? Listen, put a 80 performance on in Dublin next week and win or lose that should silence ‘most’ of the critics. Otherwise it’s another season of what could have been.

@TEnglishSport He's been a class act the way he's handled all the criticism (that you gave him!) So proud of the way he has got Scotland playing. Relentless attack was the only way to beat France and they executed the game plan perfectly.

@AndyBurke_ @Johnnie_Beattie @TEnglishSport Seems foolish to try and play unstructured rugby against this France team. Where/how can Scotland find success in attack?

Big one coming up at Murrayfield on Saturday 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇫🇷 Recording rugby pod with @Johnnie_Beattie and @TEnglishSport tomorrow and as always would love your questions ⬇️

@AndyBurke_ @TEnglishSport Kind of seems like just reliving 2024. Underperform & lose in 🇮🇹 , great performance & win against 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 , just about limp over the line against 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 . At least in 2024 the games against 🇫🇷 &🇮🇪 were close, if this squad truly has learned lessons, now is the time they have to show it

Recording rugby podcast with @TEnglishSport tomorrow and as always would love your questions and comments. Get involved! ⬇️

@will_owen9 From a non Welsh point of view (so probably wrong!) Beard is a real nightmare at opposition lineouts and mauls. Scotland will look to use those to set attacking plays. If Beard isn’t there will Wales struggle to get the same disruption on Scottish lineouts?

I completely understand the dropping of Adam Beard as he hasn’t been on form for a while now - but I’m fearful the lineout will take a hit as a consequence. Our lineout stats often plummet when he’s not playing. Hopefully Ben Carter can step up in that department

@TEnglishSport @AndyBurke_ I imagine Wales will really go after the Scottish lineout with Beard in particular. Need locks and backrow that give as many solid lineout options as possible.

Scotland were in good shape injury-wise coming into the SN, but the brutality of the championship has claimed three in one swoop now. They were all brilliant on Saturday. Darcy to wing, Josh Bayliss/AOC to 6, Matt Fagerson to 8? Recording podcast later with @AndyBurke_

@AndyBurke_ @TEnglishSport Excellent win and performance. It does feel now that a win against England doesn’t prove a lot unless it’s backed up by another performance at the same level. GT and Sione might have been better to keep their media receipts until after the game in Wales (hopefully).

Recording our latest rugby podcast with @TEnglishSport tomorrow and as always we’d love your questions and comments. We’ll reflect on 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 epic win over 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 & throw forward to Cardiff this weekend. If you haven’t subscribed to the pod, you can do so here ⬇️ bbc.co.uk/programmes/p07…

@AndyBurke_ Is GT doubling down and trying to prove a point that he didn’t get it wrong last week and it was due to the weather?

Thoughts on the team?

@thepaulwilliams He’s had five meaningful, impressive results in 8 6N and 2 RWC. That’s 10% of games.

Must admit. I thought Townsend had done a good job with Scotland. And he has. But when you see them down at 10th, in the world rankings. It does make you think.

@mangorugby @Tarbie82 ‘lost badly’ sounds like a 52-0 loss to Leinster. Losing 16-14 is not that. Was it a bad result and poor 2nd half performance? Yes. not the same as ‘lost badly’ You could say ‘worded poorly but my wider point is sound’. You won’t though, apparently no ground can be conceded!

@Col_Shivers @Tarbie82 The manner of the defeat was bad. They lost badly. The fact you’re trying your best pretend otherwise just because it’s Glasgow is bizarre.

Plenty of reason to criticise the coach But the reality is this: when the selection was announced, people on here were mostly euphoric in their delight And yet the players (with only a few exceptions) utterly failed to deliver – that is just as much their responsibility as GT’s

@mangorugby @Tarbie82 That’s not what you said though, you said lost badly. That clearly implies the manner of defeat not the quality of the opposition. But listen, it’s clear that you think everyone and everything apart from GT is at fault so and won’t accept otherwise so I’ll politely leave now.

@Col_Shivers @Tarbie82 Given this is a team even lowly Edinburgh have beaten twice and score nearly sixty pound against, it definitely was a bad loss. Glasgow fans were very vocal at the time about getting Cotter sacked and Toonie installed. I remember it well…

@mangorugby @Tarbie82 Glasgow didn’t lose ‘badly’ to Benetton, that’s simply incorrect. I doubt Glasgow fans had any impact on GT getting the Scotland job, GT demanding he be given the job or else was more of the reason. And if you demand the job you kinda need to do better than the last guy….

@Tarbie82 Franco Smith led them on a dance to lose (with a full strength team) badly to Benetton last time he played them. Last time we had Glasgow fans demanding their club coach be parachuted in with claims of how he would bring glory, that was how we got GT in the first place.

@MrSTeaches22 @JohnRossBeattie So you in no way think it’s odd that an ex Scotland international would make no comment post a Scotland game and instead make a random comment on attendance at another game?

@Col_Shivers @JohnRossBeattie Because he asked about one game and you conflated it with another. And then went into conspiracy theory mode. Why? Stupid.

What are all these empty seats at #twickenham #ENGvWAL

@MrSTeaches22 @JohnRossBeattie Why is it stupid?

@Col_Shivers @JohnRossBeattie What a stupid thing to say.

@TEnglishSport He’s gone backwards for years. People like you desperate to make sure the SRU give your access to interview players and coaches fence sit with chat like ‘well he’s done so much to move team forward’ and ‘I mean, who says they would go backwards under another coach?’

Scotland fail again. Dismally. Gregor Townsend is in his ninth Six Nations and is going backwards. Call for change will reach a crescendo. Piece on a horrible defeat against a deserving Italy bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-un…

@AndyBurke_ @Wright33Peter @Shorty10x @TEnglishSport But Andy….what if the next coach isn’t very good? Isn’t that the usual crap excuse you give Toonie?

🏉 PODCAST 🏉 On the whistle reaction to Scotland’s dismal opening Six Nations defeat to Italy. Analysis from @Wright33Peter @Shorty10x and @TEnglishSport. Surely now a case of when, not if, Gregor Townsend goes. bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0…