Here comes the World Cup! Oh, and an English Premiership Cup match too.
Exciting rugby on the telly this week
Friday 20th September
| Japan 30 – 10 Russia | 11:45 | ITV / S4C |
Saturday 21st September
| Australia 39 – 21 Fiji | 05:45 | ITV |
| France 23 – 21 Argentina | 08:15 | ITV |
| New Zealand 23 – 13 S Africa | 10:45 | ITV |
| Exeter 28 – 14 Bath | 15:15 | BT Sport 3 |
Sunday 22nd September
| Italy 47 – 22 Namibia | 06:15 | ITV |
| Ireland 27 – 3 Scotland | 08:45 | ITV |
| England 35 – 3 Tonga | 11:15 | ITV |
Monday 23rd September
| Wales 43 – 14 Georgia | 11:15 | ITV / S4C |
Tuesday 24th September
| Russia 9 – 34 Samoa | 11:15 | ITV4 |
Wednesday 25th September
| Fiji 27 – 30 Uruguay | 06:15 | ITV4 |
Thursday 26th September
| Italy 48 – 7 Canada | 08:45 | ITV4 |
| England 45 – 7 USA | 11:45 | ITV |
Ovally Balls 
To follow up the County Championship updates from earlier the man who was beating Yorkshire with a bit of help from Sam Billings was Darren Stevens who at the age of 43 became the oldest player to score a double-century and take a five-fer in the same match since W.G. Grace.
LikeLike
@Iks – “I’ve dressed up as an Arab Sheik”
I saw Die Verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum when I was quite young so have always known that no good can come of such behaviour.
LikeLike
Top fixture listing Thauma.
LikeLike
Though I do want to know if Iks the cheeky Sheikh was shaking his cheeks.
LikeLike
Mining vs mills in Rugby League? On behalf of my late father-in-law who always mentioned this whenever rugby came up I have to say that Cumbria is a Rugby League area. Definitely mining rather than mills especially round Whitehaven and Workington though perhaps also Barrow as well though that’s sort of Lancahire anyway in some ways I think. Would be interesting to chart the success of Cumbrian Rugby League against the decline of coal and rise of nuclear power in the area.
Scottish Borders obviously mills which perhaps explains their insistence on playing Union against other Scots rather than League against Cumbrian miners which wouldn’t necessarily have been much less convenient. Just as well for Scotland’s fortunes over the years I guess.
LikeLike
Can’t make much sense of the mix in Yorkshire. Mining round Cas and Wakefield, but Huddersfield, Halifax etc the other way. Bigger places in Yorkshire with high profile teams than in Lancashire where that’s perhaps a football/RL divide similar to the one Trisk mentioned between West and South Yorkshire. Nobody knows what they get up to in Hull and of course contrary to views on here York is RL as evidenced by their finishing above the likes of Bradford, Leigh, Widnes, Halifax etc in this season’s table.
LikeLike
Cumbria mines vs satanic mills? We all know who’s harder.
LikeLike
Presbyterian mills I would imagine.
LikeLike
Scottish woolen ones that is, Lancashire cotton ones not so much!
LikeLike
10th! Woohoo!
More importantly, RUGBY!!!!! Woohoo!
LikeLike
Can’t wait for the rugby to start! Feel like a kid in a candy shop! Sweet shop. Candy store. Whatever!
Tomorrow’s match is huge. HUGE! It sets the tone for the rest of it really, and the winner will be off to the races, so to speak, with everyone else playing catch up. I expect it will be quite tight and possibly see a fair amount of niggle as the players get to grips with everything. Possibly not a great spectacle, what with the weather at this time of the year and it being the first real hit out in a while for most of the players. But I think, all in all, when you look at it dispassionately, Exeter will have too much in the tank for Bath.
LikeLiked by 3 people
We are fortunate to have a very good pub just around the corner from here, five minutes walk, typical big English city pub where the seating is set around a centrally placed bar.
I’ve just found out they are serving breakfast half an hour before the England matches during the RWC.
Get in, breakfast is my favourite meal to eat out, so long as the sausages are good.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ve had a bad week, rather embarrassingly I’ve had the most painful trapped wind, which sounds like something old people get, so I must be old.
I thought it was a burst appendix or an ulcer or something, it was that bad, excruciating pain had me doubled up and clutching my side. Then I let rip an enormous fart and the pain subsided, so I was relieved both figuratively and literally, however the gas build up has continued, only now after a day and a half of eating chalk tablets with some added extra is it getting better.
I remember playing a match a long time ago where a guy was rushed screaming off to hospital, where they said he had trapped wind and my wife has heard similar stories, but feck me that was painful
LikeLike
Then I let rip an enormous fart and the pain subsided, so I was relieved both figuratively and literally
Bet the people in the bus were happy for you.
LikeLike
In the bus?
Karl
LikeLike
That English game’s the Premiership Cup rather than the Saracens-Exeter Championship.
Anyway, today’s the day. Japan by 48.
LikeLike
something on today?
LikeLike
Scotland
LikeLike
Ireland
LikeLike
Looks weak etc. etc.
LikeLike
No real surprises in the pack although may have been tempted to start with Reid. Good to see Cummings on the bench. Wilson not a surprise but maybe would have gone Thomson personally.
Darcy on the bench (boo), otherwise pretty decent backline. Better hope Finn doesn’t get crocked otherwise we’re looking at Greig or Hoggy at 10???
Is Hastings injured or something?
LikeLike
‘something on today?’
I’ve got some inclusiveness training later. Excited.
LikeLike
Ticht is Idi Amin in ‘Last King of Scotland’ and I claim my 5 Ugandan shillings.
LikeLike
That Scotland team is mobile, creative, scrappy.
We’ll get done for power, as per
LikeLike
LikeLike
Pink.
LikeLike
And turquoise.
LikeLike
Together
LikeLike
Unconscious bias training for me today.
Probably run by a bloody Turk.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Craigs, there was a story in the Glasgow Evening Times a couple of years ago, a drunk old skool tramp got on a busy Glasgow bus and sat down next to a very poshly dressed woman. After a minute or two he let rip an enormous fart and turned to the posh woman and said, “Dinnae worry Hen, they’ll all think it wis me”
The bus was in an uproar and she got off at the next stop
LikeLiked by 3 people
Didn’t know yosoy was Trudeau.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What is this “your” business? “Your” Scotland/England team etc..
What is wrong with the definite article?
As least Scotland haven’t stooped so low as to refer to the replacement players as “finishers”.
LikeLike
Chimpie, for my money Dell is better than Reid in every department, the went from getting done over by Georgia to us smashing them when Dell replaced Reid, the loose is a given, imo.
Wilson and Thompson is my only real beef with that side, otoh, Wilson does bring a gnarly edge with him, something our pack is severely short of
btw, hello Lara, good to see you again
LikeLike
Utna – I prefer ‘heroes’ myself.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@yos
wouldn’t that be conscious bias if it was a turk?
Anyhoo, expect this session will by bias-tastic.
LikeLike
Before a ball is kicked, who do you all think will lift the Webb-Ellis trophy this time?
(think, not hope or want)
I am thinking England. Good chance to win their group. Big yet mobile pack. Great set piece. Speed out wide. Key players in their prime.
LikeLike
Difficult to tell. Would say top probabilities are:
ABs, Boks, England
Next tier:
Australia, Ireland, Wales.
Not sure of France and Argentina are going to cut it this time out. Japan are being quite hyped but not sure they’re quite that good.
I’d like to put Scotland in the top 2 tiers somewhere but I’ve got a bad case of the FearGloom (as a pose to HopeFear)
LikeLike
@Chimpie
Wouldn’t argue with that, though would include Scotland in tier 2 on your chart. Agree with your thoughts on Japan and Argentina and probably France (though they do have a history of getting up for RWC)
If Wales dont win (a fairly likely outcome) I would want France or Scotland to take the honours. Or maybe Ireland
Total gamblers fallacy, but I dont feel NZ doing it this time for some reason that I cant really explain
LikeLike
‘I dont feel NZ doing it this time for some reason that I cant really explain’
‘cos we’ll spank them in the quarters.
LikeLiked by 1 person
*wakes up*
LikeLike
I really can’t see a new name going on the trophy, unfortunately
LikeLike
What am I on about?
Scotland have got this in the bag
LikeLike
Ruchie appears with the trophy at the ceremony
Miles offside of course
LikeLiked by 3 people
“I hope not Bill, that’s the maternity wa
LikeLike
rd”
LikeLike
My dog I wish I was in Japan for the next six weeks
LikeLike
NZ. No question.
Most boring prediction possible but there we are.
LikeLike
Big Brodie is back for the quarters which is key. I just don’t see anyone beating them on neutral territory with him in the team. Unless there’s a red card or something in the mix which isn’t impossible I suppose.
LikeLike
wish I could see the first game. MBM on the graun will have to do. They reckon a 40 million domestic TV audience for this? That’s amazing if true and great to see.
LikeLike
Saffas. Genuinely can’t see past them. I’m putting all my eggs in their basket.
NZ and England would be next most likely behind them. Australia a decent each way bet to get to the final, if not winners.
LikeLiked by 1 person