Hello and welcome to a hastily-created blog to serve former followers of AoD and any other random rugby union fanatics as well.
Now that rugby season is upon us, it seemed intolerable not to have somewhere to share our pain, our hopes and our squabbles.
Please pile in BTL! There will no doubt be much tinkering with the site. Suggestions for improvements are welcome but may be discarded out of hand. We do not possess Sag-like wizardry.
thaumaturge
Ovally Balls 
Nah, you’ll sort that lot out Chimpie.
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Pfft.
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Been a while since I’ve given out a good pfft-ing
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Good to see some pre-RWC optimism from us all.
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Wait until the Irish get started.
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CJ is on the Embra AOD whatsapp group where a link to here got circulated, so should be aware.
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now Root is out. We might not even make it to lunch.
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Some decent players to come off that French bench. On the other hand, France.
Ntamack’s little brother’s playing for their Under 18s over in South Africa at the moment. Also in the squad is pleasantly-monikored Paul Jambon.
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Raka is a big lad, he’s going tete a tete with the smallest guy on the park, Darcy Graham
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Wee Darce will blind Raka with his shiny hair
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Magnus Bradbury is out of this weekend’s game due to a rib injury sustain against his own club Edinburgh in the hit out Scotland had last week.
They are hoping he will be fit next week for the return match against France, if not then the following weekend versus Georgia.
I think Maggie could play a big role for us in the coming months.
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I need to get to Dusseldorf airport for a flight at 1745.
Booked at a train that arrives at Dusseldorf airport station at 1502.
Am traveling alone with baby.
Have I left myself enough time?
ps. Vahaamina – why?
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@Expro – is this a physics question from my school days?
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Pro – Piece of piss. You wanna try getting a weeks shopping in round Asda with two 8 year olds and a 3 month old baby.
You’ll be fine.
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Vahaamina – why?
‘Experience’
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I’ve never been to Dusseldorf or had a child but that sounds fine
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Does Dusseldorf even have an Asda?
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Pfft, who needs Asda when you can have Aldi?
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I like Aldi but the pressure at the check out can be just too much with 3 nippers in toe.
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I see Rees is breaking out a Golden Oldie regarding the Nations Cup/League whatever it’s called
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England: Daly; McConnochie, Joseph, Francis, Cokanasiga; Ford, Heinz; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Cole, Launchbury, Itoje, Lawes, Ludlam, B Vunipola.
Replacements: George, Marler, Sinckler, Kruis, Singleton, Youngs, Farrell, Tuilag
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another experimental England team…
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See EJ has not followed the collective wisdom of trying AW at fullback – bringing in Maconochie on the wing instead. Fabulous set of “finishers”
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slightly concerning that we can only find one fit flanker for a match day 23.
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I thought this was supposed to be a first choice team this week? Injuries certainly have an effect but sticking with the same 9-10 combo looks suspiciously as though EJ might have made a decision going forwards.
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Stole these stats from someone on the Graun but if true maybe EJ is onto something.
Farrell has started 5 games at 10 V Wales and lost them all.
Ford has started 6 games at 10 V Wales and won them all.
This all adds to their winning ratios as international 10’s. Ford’s ratio is just shy of 87%. Very similar to World Cup winning 10’s, Carter 88%. and JW (his winning ratio was 88% when we won, it fell it later years)
Farrell’s ratio is 50%. He has played 31 games as an international 10, W15, L15 and D1.
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Experimental team, second team, at home, away from home, roof closed, roof open.
Doesn’t matter, we’ll smash em. Easy.
Wales by 45.
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Dov, sound good those stats but they aren’t right. Farrell started at 10 in the 2014 England win.
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I just teed that up for old times sake there.
Cheers Tomp
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complete capitulation in the cricket. 6 down for 130 odd.
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Cricket going well
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I was always more a fan of the 101 over game to be honest.
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Glad to see the cricketers doing their best for the rugby team this weekend in terms of the Rule of the Triad. With our test batting line-up looking worse than it did in the ’90s, the Triad clearly refers only to proper cricket, not that new-fangled limited overs nonsense. And the football team didn’t do very well in that summer tournament did they? Yay! The Triad points to success in rugby.
Am unhappy to see Big Billy on the pitch again. He needs to be wrapped up in cotton wool!
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Wales have not found replacements for AWJ, Warbs and Toby when you stop and think about it. Without Tipuric we are entering this Saturday’s match without a lineout. Ballsack might bring more oomph to the carrying but he lacks Beard’s lankiness and he’ll never leap like a salmon in a line out.
Meanwhile JD2’s brother Quasimodo Davies might bring some gristle to the breakdown, but a lineout lark he is not. Shingler offers a leap and a wispy gallop, but he is a blade of grass looking for a scythe in the forward exchanges.
Our newly lauded strength in depth is already looking like hocus-pocus.
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Just thinking about if JD2 gets knacked and Liam limps off. What a very bare cupboard that is.
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I don’t think we have the critical mass yet, so I will stop here to avoid the steal.
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MrIks, don’t say all this as it’s giving me terrible flashbacks to the 2015 RWC. Remember that match when we lost Amos and Liam and were already without JDII and Lovely Leigh and Rhys Webb. We ended up with Lloyd Williams on the wing in that game. Ach, terrible day.
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Anyway, does whatshisface still have the love on OB that he had on AoD? Let’s see:
“For Billy’s wedding we wore similar traditional outfits and it was great that Sarries players Richard Barrington and Scott Spurling made it. James Haskell and his wife also flew in for the wedding and he made two speeches which was a highlight.”
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Squidge on QW/NZ:
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TomP: TWO speeches? How blessèd were the guests, not to mention the blide and glooom.
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Will be interested to see if Ticht agrees with this list, as I think he’s a bit of a Joni fan….
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/15/joni-mitchells-albums-ranked
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I’m tempted to stick the farm on a Foxy/Cubby try double.
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BB, there are a couple of albums there I don’t know, so what better excuse for me to explore?
The top ten ranking is about right, imo, though I’d like to see Mingus in there, but what to jettison in its place?
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Dova – those stats on the guardian aren’t correct. They’re posted by the latest incarnation of a Farrell hater. As you’d expect the wins / losses relate more to home or away games than anything else.
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Ticht – you’re on your own there, chum! Joni’s one of those artists that I can totally appreciate why she’s good and important, but my ears just don’t ‘get’.
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I posted this elsewhere, on a non-sport blog, and the results were frankly pathetic.
Let’s see if you lot are any better. I’ll post the answers later on.
QUIZ: DOBBIN SPORTS
1
Who is buried at Aintree’s winning post?
2
Who trained 1?
3
What are the three events in a three-day event?
4
How many faults are awarded for knocking down a jump?
5
What is the letter of a dressage arena at which the horse and rider enter? Alternatively, what is the letter of a dressage arena at which the horse and rider stop to salute the judge? It is in the middle of the arena. (Easier guess, I reckon….)
6
What is a piaffe?
7
What Russian breed of horse is commonly used in harness racing?
8
What rodeo event involves horse and rider riding as quickly as possible in a cloverleaf pattern around fixed objects?
9
Why is a quarter horse thus named?
10
Where was the world’s first steeplechase run?
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Aye TomPo, but it was enough back then to get us out of the group stages against woebegone opposition.
I’m fretting about our run to the final this time around.
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Thaum – I know the first 3, the rest would be a guess.
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BB – high score on the other blog is 4.5. Next highest score is a tie at 2 2/3.
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Thaum,
1. It must be Red Rum
2. No idea
3. Dressage, Show Jumping and cross country/eventing if that is what it’s called
4. 4
5. Errmm
6. Same as Pilau
7. Something Mongol, probably
8. The cloverleaf challenge
9. colouring?
10. No idea, and can’t think of anything funny
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