Something resembling first-choice teams have been named. Let’s hope they all survive the weekend.
International rugby on the telly this weekend
Friday 6th September
| Scotland v Georgia | 19:30 | Premier Sports 1 |
| England v Italy | 19:45 | Sky Sports Action / Sky Sports Main Event |
Saturday 7th September
| New Zealand v Tonga | 3:35 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Australia v Samoa | 10:30 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Ireland v Wales | 14:00 | Channel 4 / RTÉ Two |
Ovally Balls 
All this talk of World Cup semi finals must be very confusing for our Irish posters.
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Oi!
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@TomP – my old school was never a top rugby school when I was there, or before. We had the odd side that was very good, but never top-tier really. We have tried in more recent times to mix it with the big boys, but I don’t think we’re top 10 material for the most part. We had a great backline when I was a year from finishing, with Lance Sherrell, who toured New Zealand in ’94 an outstanding 10, with Gentles, son of Bok Tommy at 9 and a lad called Spier at 12 who was dynamite on both attack and defence. Jonno Ross was also at my school, whilst Cyril Ramaphosa’s now somewhat tarnished son played 1st XV prop, from memory.
We were a great cricket and rowing school though, and my younger brother’s 1st VIII actually beat the reigning national champions VIII at the National Champs a couple of times.
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There was a fairly embarrassing interview with Jake White on our telly last night.* The sound was down in the pub I was in, but he was clearly prognosticating on the World Cup. Had the Boks beating Ireland in the QF to face Wales in the SF, with ENgland and New Zealand facing off in the other semi.
* Is there any other sort with him, I hear you ask? Um, no.
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I saw something that the number of teams it’s putting out has been dropping. Your alma mater might be the school Garrun mentions is considering dropping rugby.
Their pretty good at their level but as you say up and down. Not a perennial powerhouse like Monnas or the Paarl schools.
Was Gentles fils a little lad like his father?
Fantastic cricket school. I think every year you’ve 1 or 2 SA schools players.
Do you know Albert Grundlingh (spelling)? He wrote a book about Afrikaners and their past times. One of the chapters was a study about how the embourgoised Afrikaner middle-classes started taking cricket seriously in the 70s and 80s and how it developed in schools from then. Interesting.
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Their their they’re they’re there there
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Jake White thinks the Boks’ll win the group?
If his predictions come true, you can console yourself withb the fact that the Boks lost to the eventual Champions in the semifinals.
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Gentles was a little guy – a couple of years my senior, but a helluva nice guy and a great all-round athlete: rugby, cricket and athletics honours, from memory. Jake assumes we’ll lose to New Zealand and face Ireland as the winners of their group, foolish I know when you consider they’ve got Dancing Boy lining up against them.
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A couple of fun stats to get the day going, especially for those with the idea that the Boks are just a biff and bosh forward oriented side:
Since Rassie took over last years, the Boks have played 19 Tests, with 11 wins, a draw and 7 losses;
In those Tests, they’ve scored 57 tries, by my count, or 3 per match on average;
Of those, 86% have been scored by the backs;
53% of all tries by the wings, with the balance largely between the 9s and centres;
The forwards have only scored 7 tries, with 4 of those from the hookers + 1 more penalty try;
I think we can all now get behind the Boks as a wonderful, free flowing side scoring tries out wide. I know ‘Pro is out right now buying his Bok jersey.
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Top try scorer in the Currie Cup Madosh Tambwe and two tries in the final James Venter leave the sinking ship that is the Lions for the Sharks. Will there be anyone left to play for the Lions next year?
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Saw that. Our conveyor of talent will replace them easily enough. Cough. Looks like Ox Nche may be leaving the Cheetahs for Durban as well. Big blow for the Cheetahs going into the Pro14.
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Tonga have picked players from 27 different clubs for their squad ireland from 4 clubs.
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Bloody boastful Tongans – 27 clubs? And the poor Irish only have 4 to choose from.
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Ireland only has 4 sides. Clearly a richer club scene in Tonga.
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Fucking slow.
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Maybe deebs is in that squad photo.
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I’m in the back row, on the left.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Natural-Colored-Delicious-Marshmallow-Mild-Vanilla/dp/B073FN5D8G
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What’s the weather in THAT London like today? I’ve got a conference on, but want to keep a sneaky check on the cricket at the Oval. Ashes may have slipped from England’s grasp, but a series draw would be a good result for a side largely outplayed over the summer. Even if it was largely only by Steve Smith.
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Sunny
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Thank you. I have an urge for a proper pork pie right now. Unfortunately, we don’t get decent ones here.
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With piccalilli and an ale.
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Ticht – going to see Fleabag live tomorrow with Mrs Craig’s. Should be excellent.
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With piccalilli and an ale.
That sounds very, very good! Really need to get over to the UK soon. I’m getting all sorts of weird cravings for all things British. Food-wise, that is. Not Brexit.
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Deebs – exactly. Focus on the good things about this place like the food and the weather.
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Yip, the weather – lovely seeing the commentators talk about 5 days of sunshine, all the while with a picture of an overcast Oval on the screen! Pains me to admit it though, I once did get sunburned in London. Shameful. On a boat trip down the Thames in mid-summer, had a glorious day in Greenwich, only to get my bald head burned on the return! Cue much laughter from my 10 year old.
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10 minutes to the first ball! Australia won the toss and elected to field. 10 minutes until I leave the office too. Bah!
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The Cricket’s gripping.
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In other exciting news, to fill in time before the main event, the NRL finals start tomorrow.
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https://www.nrl.com/news/2019/09/08/week-1-finals-likely-match-ups-foundation-clubs-to-renew-oldest-rivalry/
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@sunbeamtim
Slammin Sam banned for pulling someone’s hair. Shocking.
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This dumbass bridge to Ireland thing isn’t dying is it?
I suppose it’s a way of distracting from all the other crap floating around.
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@chimpie
it’s been a thing for centuries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Isles_fixed_sea_link_connections
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According to something I read yesterday the bridge would be, err, difficult because the bedrock is the wrong stuff, the huge depths involved, over a 1000 ft of water apparently, the trench the bridge goes over was a dumping ground for unexploded munitions after WW2 and there are no maps showing where they are, the bridge would have to be closed often due to bad weather, the cost was estimated at over ÂŁ20Bn ten years ago, any rail link would have to take into account different gauges between Irish and UK tracks,
but apart from that…
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….what did the Roman’s ever doctor us?
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Do for us. Trying to type too fast on my phone without my glasses
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Having unexploded munitions nearby was a problem with Johnson’s nonsense London Estuary Airport I seem to remember.
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4 wickets for Mitchell Marsh. That’s not good.
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My Geordie mate who visits each July surprised me with 6 pork pies he ordered from his local butcher. I was over the moon, but the butcher got the pastry right but the filling had a slightly odd taste, like too much of the wrong herb or preservative, or maybe something even more Sweeney Todd.
I soldiered through them, but it was an awful anti-climax.
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“I soldiered through them”
You’re a martyr, Iks. MartyrIks, if you will.
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Arf. *Adds MartyrIks to the roster*.
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Joe Rokocoko has retired from all rugby. Class act.
So too is Warbs a class act. The game needs more like him.
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Amen to that Avs. Joe was a great follow-up to Jonah. Ripping you to shreds but with class devoid of arrogance or smarm.
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Did they fall on you as you opened the bathroom door?
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Spaffer Johnson surprises everyone with six porky pies before breakfast.
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Lewis Carroll is in fact looking almost more prescient than Orwell at the mo.
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“Did they fall on you as you opened the bathroom door?”
I#
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‘m lost with that one OT.
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@Iks – me too. It’s probably not related to this, but what the hell:
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Great stuff Thaum! I can just see Joe singing that, swaying around at the microphone.
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Something like this:
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