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 
How close is that Scotland side to 1st choice? To my eternal shame and damnation, I have no idea.
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@deebee
Wrong question. You need to be asking how many of them are great ladz.
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@Chimp, Taylor can play at OC, Hutchinson can play both as well. If he stays fit, Taylor’s a cert in my view
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@Yosoy
I’m sure at least of them is a great lad. Until he relocates to Pretoria. Poor sod.
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@Deebee
1st choice is a very nebulous concept for us at the moment. McInally, Gilchrist, Barclay, Jones and Hogg all fall in that category. The rest is a mix of 2nd/3rd/uncapped options.
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Ticht – weird not seeing Ritchie. He’s been a good servant to Scotland.
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@Chek, I think Ali Price can nail down the starting jersey in the next few weeks if his form continues, I know Laidlaw is a very tempting option with his experience and level head, but Price and Wee Dod Horne fit Townsend’s MO, Horne will up the pace at the end of a game where Laidlaw will be the calmest head in the most ferocious of storms.
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Scottish depth talk. Marvellous.
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Its almost like the old days!!
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@Craifs, a back injury has been his bane in the last couple of years, he made 8 starts in the season just gone for Toulouse and 10 the season before that. Back injuries are bad enough, let alone when you are six foot nine.
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Thanks Chek, I suppose most countries have that mix at the moment, especially for the warm up matches. Is Nel still in the mix?
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WP’s fit and ready to play.
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@:Deebee, Nel is probably still first choice. Tighthead is a wee bit of a problem for us, after WP Berghan has improved his feet positioning but he is a very tall prop and can get caught out by a wily loosehead. Zander Fagerson stalled a little in his progress but he only turned 23 this year so he still has time on his side.
Glasgow have a couple of likely lads who could step up soon
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Thanks gents! And if anyone wants a sneaky view of the cricket, click here:
https://www.abbeyroad.com/Crossing
It’s not actually the cricket, but the webcam from Abbey Road a quarter mile down the road. Still, you’ll see as much cricket as those who’ve paid a fortune to go to Lord’s today.
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‘Retired’ Schalk Britz just been handed Bok captaincy for final ‘warm-up’ game in SA. Not bad for a 38-year old who wad had planned to play in Oxford-Cambridge Varsity later this year.
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@Gecko, Google tells me that Britz is 3 years older than Bismark du Plessis – remarkable longevity.
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I suppose with Saracens rotation (Smit, George etc) and with Brits not being in international set-up most years he has managed to keep his body in good shape. Bismarck though battered his in test rugby and then the forward grind that is Top14.
Still, Brits would have made a great 12. Definitely started at least one (Currie Cup?) game there for Lions (or moved due to sub/injury very early in game) and started at least one Superrugby game for Stormers at 6 (openside).
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In Irish news… Bealham, Haley and Cooney released from RWC squad.
Cooney strikes me as a slight surprise but hard I guess to oust the incumbents Murray, Marmion and McGrath. (Has the ring of an alliterative solicitor’s firm)
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That’ll please Ulster fans at least.
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‘cos we want to keep them pleased of course.
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I’d forgotten about that incident. Anyway, free to play in the RWC
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talking of Ulster fans. Anyone heard from Milne?
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is that the one where him & a relation beat the crap out of Timani on a night out or something similar?
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AA Milne?
Seamus Milne?
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‘Retired’ Schalk Britz just been handed Bok captaincy for final ‘warm-up’ game in SA. Not bad for a 38-year old who wad had planned to play in Oxford-Cambridge Varsity later this year.
The double lure of Pretoria and wearing Captain America kit swung it for him.
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Larry is on his holidays. Be back soon.
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Yeah, crazy stuff: https://www.smh.com.au/sport/rugby-union/i-thought-i-was-going-to-die-timani-claims-he-was-bashed-and-bundled-into-car-20180720-p4zsoh.html
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@yosoy – Well, those women need to be protected from the bad words infecting their ladybrains.
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Chimpie
Of course you do!
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Boris has gone full retard – calling remain MPs ‘terrible collaborators’.
I’m bringing my daughter to the UK on Saturday, flying Dusseldorf to Newquay. She only has a Dutch passport, I saw no reason to her a UK one.
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Sad news about Steve Booth, the ex-Leicester wing: https://www.the42.ie/steve-booth-4765566-Aug2019/
Also, James Small, the fiery Springbok winger, passed away last month at 50. 3rd member of the 1995 RWC winning XV to die young. This is a decent interview with him from last year: http://www.sportexchange.co.za/podcast/episode-14-james-small/
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“How close is that Scotland side to 1st choice? To my eternal shame and damnation, I have no idea.”
Anyone seen Deebee and Townsend in the same room?
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Now that Grumpy Cat has sadly passed away, maybe there’s an opening for Beadle’s Grumpy Wren?
Good work, Beadle.
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Booooooo etc.
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@yosoy – ageing and crap. Wallabies by 50.
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If Whitelock goes down the ballsacks are fucked for locks.
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Quite pleased with that Scotland team. Although I would still prefer Hoggy and Finn to keep fit, the drop off in quality if they aren’t playing isn’t near as bad as it would have been in the past.
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BB – what about Hamish McFuckface? Is he injured?
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“If Whitelock goes down the ballsacks are fucked for locks.”
One could argue that, with Patrick “Lose The Ball In Contact A Couple Of Times A Match” Tuipulotu in the side, we are already fucked. Wallabies by 60.
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Not sure. Could be he’s just being rested like Finn. Ticht or Chekh might know more.
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Hmm. He’d be one of the first on my team sheet after Hoggy. Rarely goes into ruck or maul without somehow coming away with the ball.
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As long as he’s fit to do that during our RWC games I don’t mind of he misses the occasional ‘friendly’.
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@avs – never seen your team so light in one position before.
Wallabies by 60.
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Am a little nervous. Currently performing back-ups of Production systems, including one I’ve never worked on before. And all the people who’ve previously worked on it are either canned or on leave.
They are quite important back-ups too. *gulp*
At least I’m not deploying code onto a system I’ve never worked on before!
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@thaum – have you tried calling It?
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“never seen your team so light in one position before”
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Craig – do you mean It as in Stephen King, or the IT department? I *am* the IT department in this case – the only one this week!
Probably you realise that and I’ve slightly lost my sense of humahh.
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TomP’s post of 21:09 is also entirely accurate.
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All very well, but I’m not sure Beaver has played much at lock.
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Avs – my granny’s dirty mind would make much of that comment.
Me, I’m entirely innocent and didn’t notice any dirty possibilities in it at all.
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