Week One has provided some excellent rugby, dodgy refereeing and unfortunate injuries.
I think we can all unite around Uruguay as WC champions.
Other competitions are also starting up, so cancel all engagements and be prepared to spend your entire weekend and parts of the midweek glued to the screen. Hopefully not literally.
For those of you who lack rugby preparation skills, let me remind you to order in adequate supplies of booze, fags and possibly food.
Exciting rugby on the telly this week
Friday 27th September
| Cheetahs 48 – 14 Glasgow | 18:05 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Ulster 38 – 14 Ospreys | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Leicester 27 – 7 Exeter | 19:45 | BT Sport 2 |
Saturday 28th September
| Argentina 28 – 12 Tonga | 05:45 | ITV |
| Japan 19 – 12 Ireland | 08:15 | ITV |
| South Africa 57 – 3 Namibia | 10:45 | ITV |
| Northampton 32 – 36 Wasps | 15:00 | BT Sport 3 |
| Munster 39 – 3 Drags | 15:00 | Freesports / TG4 |
| Southern Kings 27 – 31 Cardiff Blues | 15:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Scarlets 18 – 10 Connacht | 17:15 | PS2 / S4C / TG4 |
| Treviso 27 – 32 Leinster | 17:15 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Edinburgh 50 – 15 Zebre | 19:35 | Premier Sports 2 |
Sunday 29th September
| Georgia 33 – 7 Uruguay | 06:15 | ITV |
| Australia 25 – 29 Wales | 08:45 | ITV / S4C |
Monday 30th September
| Scotland 34 – 0 Samoa | 11:15 | ITV |
Wednesday 2nd October
| France 33 – 9 USA | 08:45 | ITV4 |
| New Zealand 63 – 0 Canada | 11:15 | ITV4 |
Thursday 3rd October
| Georgia 10 – 45 Fiji | 06:15 | ITV4 |
| Ireland 35 – 0 Russia | 11:15 | ITV |
Ovally Balls 
I thought it might have been Aus in the rain at Murrayfield, but Godman was at outside half for that. And Gordon Bulloch seemed like too long ago.
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I seem to remember that was a very young and inexperienced Japanese team for that time.
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@BB – I did see ten minutes or so of it at lunchtime that included the Maitland penalty try so if the rest wasn’t any better I think I won’t bother. It did seem that the ball was hard to hold on to.
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“When did Wales last win on SA soil. Or a competitive match on neutral soil?”
I’m going for never and yesterday.
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Though I don’t know if the soil was tested in that way or not.
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I was disappointed to get the Scotland question wrong, but I’m more confident on these ones.
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Well done to Scotland, and may you beat Japan, but not with any bonus points, just to be safe. If you’d asked me before the tournament started, I’d have thought that Samoa would have beaten Japan, but that seems highly unlikely now.
Thanks for the Richard Thompson linky, whoever posted it (too lazy to go back and look). It’s a good article, and a decent comment thread too. Several people have mentioned seeing him live as a solo acoustic act, and wondering where the other guitar players were hidden – my experience too. Why did no bugger tell me about this gig? I’d’ve gone for sure. As another BTLer said, I hope the Beeb is recording it for posterity. (Some other idiot asked why the BBC, as if it weren’t patently obvious that the BBC does this better than anyone else.)
And CMW – commiserations to your friend – or is that ‘friend’? I hope not.
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We won there in 2014 (admittedly against the Southern Kings).
We might have won in Wellington in 2011 but Hooky’s kick was too high and went above the posts. If it had gone over we’d won the group, then South Africa would’ve avoided Bryce Lawrence and may well have gone on to win the Biggest Cup.
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SInce the old place’s records have all disappeared this “psychological weakness” stuff is all pretty vague. Am going from memory but it’s building on the original research of Dr B. Aldy.
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@TomP – yes the “never” was always going to be wrong unless it was limited to internationals. And even then I suppose we probably beat someone in the 1995 World Cup. Those South Africans need to get on and organise some more world cups on their soil, lazy sods.
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@Thaum – ‘friend’ it is. End of an era (well at least once they actually send me on my way which could be anything up to nine months) for me and indeed for manufacture and repair of railway signalling infrastructure products in York (which I know is something dear to everyone’s hearts).
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Tomp – re Wales beating SA 4 times in a row. That trend will have to stop at some point*. I think it’ll too close to call either way.
*But not for England vs Aus obviously.
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SA will have to get past Japan first.
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CMW – I have a friend (not ‘friend’) who is a bit of trainspotter and who would be gutted to know that!
Is it Brexit-related? As you probably know, I work in the automotive sector, and I can’t see that surviving post-Brexit, unless it’s the very softest of Brexits that leaves us in the SM & CU. Just possibly engineering might stay in the UK, but manufacturing cannot survive without JIT deliveries.
Best of luck to you.
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Off to fight some wolves and brain suckers in the upper cathedral ward. Do I really want to do this?
Probably….
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@Thaum – I would have to say no to the Brexit thing – we’re more or less Brexit-proof other than that the government will ultimately (not necessarily in the first instance) have less money to spend and what it spends will go less far and they are of course pretty much the only UK end user. Our site was compulsorily purchased as part of a major redevelopment and although the company committed to building a new factory and has spent money on the same, getting through planning and some other unavoidable issues took so long that by the time they actually had to fully go all-in the bottom had dropped out of the industry and they’ve decided they can’t justify the investment. Now the group is very much a player in the automotive industry (the big boss is very vocally anti-Brexit) so it may be that they would have gone ahead with building a new asset that if need be could have been used for non-rail purposes if they didn’t foresee having plenty of other sites standing empty in the near future, but that we’ll never know.
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What Brexit will mean for the redevelopment that is the cause of our situation is another matter. My guess is we’ll be put out of work and be replaced by a large patch of wasteland as the economy goes to shit, but time will tell.
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CMW – you’d have to be a fool to invest in the UK, and particularly UK manufacturing, at the mo. The money’s in shorting the pound. It’s entirely understandable for manufacturing businesses to think, ah, sod it. I’m out.
A Labour government would be favourable to the rail industry, as far as I can see. Unfortunately we don’t have one – but there’s a possibility we could before your nine months is up.
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@CMW, have been unfortunate enough to have it happen to me twice, and both times it rollercoasted between being a mad laugh and an existential threat.
All the best old chum.
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@thaum
I’m seeing rather a lot of investment in battery technologies (automotive) and smart factories (aerospace and pharma) at the moment.
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The absolute kicker is that, as Brexit kicks in, all manufacturing of any medium-ish to large scale will be buggered, and the workers won’t have the ability to move to another European country to find work in the same way as now.
The innovative jam industry might be fine, but I don’t quite see that saving the country’s manufacturing base.
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OT – what industry do you work in? I’ve seen some rather overly-optimistic investment in battery technology, but it still relies on JIT for manufacture. Either the high-heid-yins are privy to info we don’t have (which will probably have changed massively between the last PM and the current one), or they are confident that Parliament will find a way to stymie Brexit.
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CMW, we have a rather mixed record in South Africa. It’s been either appalling or fucking appalling.
We did manage to hold to Japan to only 10 points there in 1995. New Zealand conceded 17 to Japan in the same tournament.
Can only wish you and everyone else the best regarding jobs in the post-Brexit Britain.
I see today’s latest wheeze is to allow people to build 2 stories on their home without planning permission.
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@Thaum – post-Brexit I don’t see that a Labour government will have much more (real) money to spend however better disposed to spending it they would be. There won’t be a change of heart from our business regardless of what happens in the next nine months anyway (it will be too late to build a new site). In the bigger picture we need to get Labour in without Brexit, but that looks difficult as things stand. Need to get them in in any case of course.
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@thaum
I work across most of the big high value manufacturing sectors (auto, aero, pharma, food). The battery stuff is very futuristic (i.e. we won’t do very well with the existing technologies but they’re looking to be among the leaders in the next generation of batteries) so the supply chains aren’t in place yet, and they want that to be in the UK. Automotive is in deep doodoo anyway globally because of the collapse of diesel in Europe and the collapse of demand in China – massive issue for the UK but not related to Brexit.
Aerospace operates on WTO rules anyway so is unaffected by any post-Brexit tariffs. Airbus want to keep up with global growth in demand for aircraft and want to accelerate production of single model from 10 a year to 100 a year, and the wing factory that is the pioneer in doing that is Broughton. They can’t throw that factory away and expect to keep up with demand. They need to be really good with smart factories and the investment is going in to Broughton to do that.
So Brexit might well be a pain but investment is still happening.
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“What the All Blacks can hope to gain from their remaining World Cup pool matches
With three eminently winnable games to come the priority will be to avoid complacency and injuries”
Without getting too Jeff Wilson about it, I don’t see those 3 games as “eminently winnable” for the All Blacks.
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@Iks – thanks. There are already aspects of it that are extremely silly. I expect they will remain so and that how funny I find some of them will depend on my mood on any given day rather than anything else.
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Good luck, CMW.
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CMW – indeed, Labour without Brexit would be a Very Good Thing.
OT – too much to process on my way to bed! But I’ll say that automotive companies (mostly) aren’t saying publicly how much of an impact Brexit is having because they don’t want to piss off potential Brexiter buyers. Sure, diesel and China are also factors, but less catastrophic, and would have previously been put down to the cyclical nature of the industry.
And really, aerospace operates under WTO? I thought that BAe, for example, had joint manufacturing between the UK and France. Could be wrong.
Anyway, NN for today!
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Word from the NHS on No Deal is – don’t get ill this winter.
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This is the first google and the first time I’ve read anything on the subject of aerospace and Brexit so I may well/probably have missed something, but this document seems to be calling for a Customs Union-type arrangement in point 18
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmbeis/380/38005.htm
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@thaum
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmbeis/380/38005.htm
Lots on the need for frictionless trade mind.
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@ticht
Well spotted ;-)
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OT, point 18 does seem to bear out what Thaum was saying about JIT supply chains
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Think I might revisit Ebrietas.
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Nice to read Hooley’s article and find out that he turned out to be OK after the injury near the end of the England game.
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@ticht
That is a very different statement to saying all manufacturing will go if JIT is disrupted. What I’m seeing is that the big manufacturers in these sectors are still investing in areas like batteries and smart factories.
I do accept there is a longer term risk to investment if trade is made difficult but JIT is only one factor to take into account.
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@CMW – commiserations compadre. I really have a soft spot for the rail industry in the UK. My dad took the boat over from here to England to do his engineering apprenticeship at English Electric (before GE bought them out) and ended up working in Preston for a couple of years, where he made lifelong friends with some wonderful people. He then moved down to London, where he met my mum and dragged her back to Africa. Sensible folk, they were.
Apart from that, I love travelling by train. We don’t have a decent urban rail network here and even the inter-city networks aren’t up to much. Sitting on a train from London to Liverpool, to catch the ferry to Douglas or from London to Leamington Spa to visit my son at Uni were wonderful experiences, that you guys take for granted. Not me.
The British countryside (done trips in Wales and Scotland as well) is magnificent, whatever the season. In winter, it takes me back to Giles cartoons of grim weather, dark scenes and grumpy old men, whilst in spring Cider with Rosie is ever present and in summer, well, I could just sit and stare out the window all day.
There is something very British about rail to me and it’s sad to see another wee bit of it go. I hope that you’re sorted and thanks for the fabulous memories!
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OT, the full statement reads to me what JRM and Farage and the rest are branding Project Fear, alternately is could be called Reality Check. The language used in a Parliamentary document is never going to be alarmist, but it is unequivocal, we need to stay in the CU
It is in the UK’s national interest for its aerospace sector to remain deeply integrated in European supply chains after Brexit, and there is little to be gained for this sector by not having closely-aligned customs. Any additional customs procedures resulting even in relatively short delays could detract from the UK’s industry’s ability to compete for work and investment in those supply chains. We recommend that the Government should seek to secure as near frictionless trade as possible between the UK and EU for the aerospace sector after Brexit, with the minimum amount of customs procedures.
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If you combine that with even arch Brexiteer Owen Paterson saying before the referendum that only a fool would consider coming out of the single market, you have to wonder what we are doing here
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…and my last word on the B word for today
From yesterday’s Graun,
“The UK government has refused to launch an inquiry into its links to financial speculators who are accused of shorting UK assets to profit from a disorderly departure from the EU.”
The shower of shits
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Bok side to face Italy on Friday:
South Africa (15-1):
Willie le Roux; Cheslin Kolbe; Lukhanyo Am; Damian de Allende; Makazole Mapimpi; Handre Pollard; Faf de Klerk; Duane Vermeulen; Pieter-Steph du Toit; Siya Kolisi (capt); Lood de Jager; Eben Etzebeth; Frans Malherbe; Bongi Mbonambi; Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:
Malcolm Marx; Steven Kitshoff; Vincent Koch; RG Snyman; Franco Mostert; Francois Louw; Herschel Jantjies; Francois Steyn.
Probably the beefiest Bok pack available, with good reward for Bongi Mbonambi who is definitely playing better than a jaded looking Malcolm Marx at the moment. With Lood de Jager and Beast back in the pack, as well I think you’ll see a lot of ‘Pro displeasing rolling mauls close to the line. Mbonambi is excellent at marshalling these.
No surprises in the back division, although Faf de Klerk will need a strong game after his showing against New Zealand. Reserves are pretty beefy too, but in Kitshoff, Marx and Snyman you also have some good hands and carrying ability, whilst Mostert and Louw will tackle and jackal all day. Fat Frans to cover 10 to 15 from the bench. Rassie gambling with only two backline replacements, but i think it’s fair to say that he intends to pulverise Italy. Dog knows what he’ll do if we get a couple of backline injuries. Marx to centre?
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DeeBee, rail is my favourite method of travel, there is a very special part of coastline between Newcastle and Edinburgh, in fact the whole journey from London to Edinburgh, through big sky flat lands and rolling hills and along that coast line, through Durham, past the Angel of the North, I love it.
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Boo, I’ve only just realised there is no game today
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I love Deebee’s enthusiasm for trains in the UK as I’m sat here on the Valleys Express.
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Having said that about rail, I’ve talked before about the awfulness of my wife’s daily commute into London, there is little in the way of enchantment in that journey
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Ticht, I was lucky enough to travel to Inverness from Edinburgh and back by train many years ago – the countryside was just spectacular. Lovely journey. Although it was also the one on which a retired American nurse kept berating me because “you British have oppressed the Scots for so long.” I gave up pointing out to her that I was South African and that Scots are also British. She was doing a tour of castles and got off near Dundee. I was only too happy to help get her luggage off the train.
I’m also lucky that my train journeys are generally off-peak, so no sardine runs for me, except in That London on the tube of course.
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Yos – only train I’ve done in Wales was from London to Cardiff and back. Got lost in the misty talk of when my dad and his mates would go to the Arms Park to watch Wales play. He still used to get emotional watching the crowd singing many years later.
Ticht – went to a wedding in Brighton (near Brighton) a few years back and got the train from Brighton Station on a cold, wet and miserable Sunday back to London. Wasn’t the best to be honest. Hangover probably didn’t help.
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Deebee, Cape Town to Simonstown – esoecially Muizenberg to Simonstown – is a lovely journey.
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Economy aside I fear the biggest damage Brexit will do is to society itself.
It is the perfect wedge issue to polarise society between broadly liberal progressive types and social conservative / authoritarian folks either in the wealthy shires or former industrial areas in the North and the Midlands.
We are two tribes now, we don’t get along and we can identify each other on sight.
The UK hard right long wanted a culture war as in the US. As we are not daft about Dog there was a limited seam to tap into, until the 2008 crash and the increase in EU immigration from Eastern Europe.
Now we have a narcissistic sociopath running the country, advised by a deeply unpleasant character who plans to rally 30-40% of ‘low information’ voters around populism, scrape a majority then keep the ‘base’ motivated by trolling, enraging and humiliating the rest of us, day in, day out – distracting us all from the weapons grade spivvery going on behind the scenes.
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