I agree - the district idea was and is a disaster (hold­ your hands up Jim Telfer). The bigger clubs should have­ been left to develop - with SRU funding sent in their­ direction. That way we could have maintained probably 4­ teams in the Magners League (with the possibility of­ relegation for the lowest Scottish team to be replaced­ by winner of the national league each season). That­ would be much healthier.

An unfortunate end to Frank's tenure. There are­ many wise words printed in this thread. The stupid and­ unwarranted decision to go down the path of district­ sides to the detrement of quality clubs. The demise of­ Borders rugby and the incompetent administration of the­ SRU. These are the issues that need to be addressed­ before any progress will be made in the international­ arena, no matter who takes over at Murrayfield. You can­ be the best coach in the world but if, come Saurday, a­ player cannot offload a simple pass for a team mate to­ score, then all that work is in vain. The players must­ shoulder the lions share of blame for this years­ performance although keeping Paterson on the bench for­ the first 3 games still mystifies me.

Watching the way that Scottish pro rugby is played,­ there is a problem in our national ability to cope with­ pressure, absorb it and turn it back against an­ opposing team. Sure we have surprise results against­ big teams, but too often we do not capitalise on the­ opportunities we have. As well as the basic skills of­ rugby - support in the break, passing, tackling,­ breaking through and retaining the ball in the tackle -­ we lack the mental and physical commitment required to­ be a real physical threat on the pitch. Having said­ that there is a decent pool of talented players some of­ whom definitely deserve a place on the Lions tour.

I­ hope that whoever takes over from Frank Hadden­ understands the need to work not just on the basic­ skills of the players and includes work on the players­ to develop the mental and physical toughness and­ commitment required to get results or at least­ challenge teams and make them work damn hard for their­ wins.

Scotland's population is on par with NZ but­ scottish coaching, in rugby and football is hopeless. ­ If the emphasis was on quality, not quantity then­ I'm sure we'd see a different picture. ­ It's disheartening to see scottish players set up­ great counter attacks against the auld enemy only to­ either force the pass or just not be aware where their­ support is. Really basic stuff guys and the person who­ should take the blame is sitting on top of the pile not­ wanting to budge. Telfer Oot!

ive haddenuff!!

A nice guy, but nice guys rarely win.
At the moment the­ team appear to have no self belief that they can­ win.
The basic talent is there but too many silly­ handling errors and poor reading of the game lets them­ down.

Not sure where Scotland go from here. They have some­ talented individuals, but they don't seem to be­ able to get over the try line. Scotland have­ underperformed for the last few 2 seasons under Hadden.­ Yes they have a talented squad, but they are just not­ producing it.
The 2 wins target is pointless. The aim­ should be for the players to go out and perform and­ show ambition. We are shackled and our targets are too­ low.
Lets forget results for a while and build a team­ that can play, not that freeze in site of the line.­ Having a target to beat Italy and one other team every­ year is uninspiring and dull.
I could cope with all of­ our defeats if we gave it our best shot. Scotland are­ almost trying too @#$% the field at the moment.
Forget­ ranking and all that nonsense. I used to think WIN at­ all costs, but now I think lets go out and relax, enjoy­ the game, get stuck in...but stay loose boys!

Sorry to see Hadden go, unfairily! There were 14­ Pattersons missing and that was not his fault. Good­ luck with new venture Mr Hadden!

hey rugby guys,its a pleasure to visit a sensible and­ thoughtful forum not filled with the bile on some other­ sports comments-even tennis would you believe it?

I feel for Frank but how can you choose an­ International side from 2 teams!! I agree with the the­ gentleman below/above who said about bringing back the­ old school teams. This should be our domestic league­ and then from these teams we pick the Heinekin Cup­ sides - a bit like NZ and their Super14 sides - and­ then choose the International side from there! More­ strength and depth! Also i am sick and tired of­ hearing Scottish players with foreign acsents! ­ Unfortunately this will be the same old story for­ Scotland for years to come!

Of course Mr Hadden has the attributes to put Scottish­ rugby alongside NZ - what he did not have is the money­ or the clout with the few teams who would provide the­ players. Look at the demise of KELSO, MELROSE,HAWICK­ ETC - SORT THAT OUT AND THEN WE CAN EXPECT TO SEE­ QUALITY YOUNGSTERS TO REPLACE BLAIR, PATERSON, WHITE­ ETC APPEAR AGAIN!

Not a big rugby fan but a lot of things similar in­ scottish football. Frank Hadden never picked the­ brother that scores tries and George Burnley never­ picks strikers that score ie Kris Boyd that is why he­ had to go like Craig Brown to loyal to the players that­ have been playing for year instead of playing players­ that are playing well

And finally the last bit of the invalid comment­ nonesense is (because Yahoo would not accept this with­ my previous message which was of course all of this and­ the 2 other messages!!!!!!!!
It is no wonder people can­ fall out using this poor site

The parts missing from comment 15 are
I too have a huge­ sympathy for Frank Hadden.How can Scotland compete?

No wonder some of these comments seem incoherent as you­ have to randomly edit innocent comments to get them­ accepted- a truly poor site, anyone at all listening at­ Yahoo?

Scotland finished where they should be expected to for­ the time being just ahead of Italy. If Italy throw­ money at the sport Scotland will slip behind them and­ be last.
As a Welshman I have always admired Scotland­ in the amateur days of turning out such great and­ gritty teams capable of beating anyone in the 5 nations­ due to the above restrictions.
Ireland & Wales are­ in comparison like a divison 2 side in terms of players­ and money and Scotland are like a division 3 side in­ terms of money and players. Poor old Frank

Very sad. Coaching Scotland must have been one of the­ most frustrating jobs in rugby-and that's saying­ something. A nice guy who deserved better.

Frank Hadden seemed to be developing a coherent­ approach to team building. He was trying to develop an­ expanded squad with fairly limited resources. If you­ have limted talent in key areas you are never fully in­ control of the game. A coach can never overcome those­ kind of limitations. In general Scotland seemed a fit­ well organised unit who were always on the back foot­ because they were trying to win games against the play.­ Frank Hadden has been much maligned but without a­ greater range of professional players to choose from­ and with limited resources in key areas would another­ coach have achieved more?
Outside Half

laila,wot if you have no friends,like me?

Haddon obviously missed some basics, here is what he­ should have told the players ; With the try line in­ sight don't drop the ball, with the try line­ beckoning but someone about to tackle you release the­ ball and allow a team mate to score (Blair ), don't­ on any account get injured as we have no one to replace­ you,feel uplifted before the game by enjoying the durge­ that is our rugby anthem and remember most importantly­ that you are a professional just like the @#$% that run­ the S.R.U.
In summary a decent man , a good coach liked­ by the people for doing a decent job with challenging­ resources employed by an incompetent indecent employer.­ If I see Mr Haddon I'll buy him a drink for giving­ it his best.