After a lengthy birthing process (largely involving spreadsheets) On Top Of The Moon arrived in the blogosphere 3 years ago today on 2nd September 2015. That debut article was the first of (so far) 89 Glasgow Warriors’ match previews. Along with 34 Scotland previews they’ve become the foundation of OTOTM’s output which has run the gamut when it comes to Scottish rugby.
Total articles published:
357
Total word count:
325,000+
5 of OTOTM’s favourite articles from the past 3 years:
Big Al Day
Al Kellock is one of the most important people in Glasgow Warriors’ history so marking the 10th anniversary of his debut for the club was a no-brainer. Fellow bloggers The Pen and The Scribbler joined in the fun as part of a full day of articles and tweeting about all things Big Al related.
On This Day: Big Al’s first game
Playoff memories
The post-season has provided some of the stand out moments in the history of Glasgow Warriors. There have been tough losses and astounding wins; heartbreak and joy (sometimes in the same match). In the closing minutes against Munster in the 2013/14 semi-final it felt like the club and the fans came of age in the era of the club being title contenders.
Playoff memories: Home semi-final number 1 – Munster, 16th May 2014
5 big moments
The closest Scotland have come to beating the All Blacks in decades was a painful experience in many ways but looking at some of the significant plays from that game gives some ideas as to where Scotland can be better, smarter, stronger next time the world’s best team comes calling.
5 big moments from Scotland v New Zealand
Crime and punishment
On field sanctions and the disciplinary process are areas that can have a huge impact on the game. They’re often some of the most contentious as well, not helped by a process that can be opaque at best and down right secretive at worst. An incident involving Edinburgh’s Damien Hoyland copping a bad one from Leinster’s Fergus McFadden was the jumping off point for some analysis that hopefully sheds some light on how the systems are supposed to work and gives a bit of a reference point for other decisions.
McFadden v Hoyland: The disciplinary process
The Miracle on Mud
In the grand scheme of things the Warriors’ win over Leinster in March 2016 might not have been much to write home about. A rare tryless match at Scotstoun on a chilly, blustery and damp night wouldn’t seem like one to warm the cockles. For those at the ground who witnessed Glasgow’s triumph over adversity it was one of the great evenings of rugby. Gregor Townsend himself described it as the “best win of the season” and OTOTM explored the context as to why.
We need to talk about: “Best win of the season”
That’s not even to mention the Depth Chart, OTOTM’s attempt to make sense of the sizeable squads in place for the pro teams. Visualising it this way has given the site it’s most read articles (well at least until last week’s analysis of TV coverage!) but each piece is very much of it’s time. This season’s Depth Charts for both Glasgow and Edinburgh are inbound and should follow within the next week or so.
The bread and butter will remain the weekly match previews though. These will continue to be refined to find the best format to inform and hopefully tease out the odd point or two that won’t be found anywhere else.
A huge thank you to everyone who’s read my stuff over the past 3 years and to glasgowwarriors.com, the Scottish Rugby Blog and the Warriors themselves for publishing some of my articles and analysis. There’s plenty more to come!
On Top Of The Moon 