Pitchside at Bigside

The arrival of Adam Hastings has been one of controversy. Especially this weekend, with both Hastings (at 10) and the regular playmaker Finn Russell at 12. This highlighted a need for "crash ball 12s".Struggling against a small Argentina, in my opinion things will only go from bad to worse for Gregor Townsends' side if they do not play the larger Dunbar at 12- especially against the "bigger" and more sizeable teams. While Farrell and Ford were an innovative partnership, playmaker 12s are slowly fading away in modern rugby. Look at international top teams. Sonny Bill Williams,Bundi Aki, Ben Te'o- fantastic players,but their main attributes is probably their physicality. Furthermore, this was reflected in the mighty 3s game at Clermont Fan Court 1st team. The mighty Will Heaver at 12 emphasised a need for a "big" 12 to carry and make yards in tricky and unconventional situations. Scotland have a decision to make- Hastings or Russell at 10. With both

After playing 1s and 2s at Millfield on Saturday I fully appreciated the need for size in the modern game.  In the 2s we were up against a monster pack making it difficult at scrum time. This difficulty was compounded by the lack of ball carriers in the Whitgift pack, making establishing a platform for our skillful backs a tough task; although possibly superior in the finishing department the lack of ball meant that we were 21-5 down in the first 15 minutes due to the bludgeoning of the Millfield pack to release their speedy backs around the outside. However at this point I was called to play for the 1s. Here the pack weights were more evenly matched allowing our skills to more readily do battle. The 1s eventually won 34-28 but the 2s with an inferior pack lost 28-10. Here the huge weight discrepancy can be clearly seen to have had a large bearing on the game highlighting how the modern game is more about power and brutality rather than skill and poise. The same Saturday England com