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 
Bloody hell, Ulster are getting slaughtered too.
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Ospreys have a penalty and try in 8 minutes; fortunately conversion missed.
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Ulster respond well and get a penalty in front of the posts.
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Cooney’s only bloody missed it!
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@thaum,
Excellent. When you’ve logged on, change the email and the password and it’s all yours!
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Ospreys knock on at the restart, and it results in another Ulster penalty. Going for the corner this time.
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Ospreys manage to turn the ball over at the breakdown, and kick it away … not very far.
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Aaaand … TRY Ulster from a crossfield kick.
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Cooney bounces the ball off the post, but it goes in. :-) 7-8
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Anyone know who the commentator is on the Leicester/Exeter game with Healy? A distinct Caledonian accent that isn’t Cotter. Don’t think I’ve heard him before.
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Referee looks like Montalbano.
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Ospreys have pilfered the ball at the breakdown again. There’s some good rugby being played on both sides.
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Dan Price puts the pen across from just over the halfway mark. Bastards.
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He’s better than Dan Evans, Luke Price and Matthew Morgan.
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How many players do Ulster have in Japan?
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Ticht – off the top of my head, Best, Henderson, Stockdale. Seems McCloskey and Balocoune are injured, which is unfortunate.
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DNA watch.
Disturbing news from down Exeter. Rob Baxter has managed to get new players who come into the team to have “the same DNA every time” according to whoever the fool doing the interview is (between 20 and 30 seconds in). Very disturbing.
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Cat – I got the cainhurst summons (who doesn’t) so will find alfy in the cathedral ward right? I’m near the end but I think that this could go on and on if that makes sense?
BTW – as a bit of game design, Cainhurst is fucking great. Just adds in a bit of Edwardian high court pomp, blood sucking vampires, genocide and imps from hell. Plus and old king defending his queen from beyond the grave using dark magic. Everyone should play through that.
Those massive mosquito synts though…
Have you seen the latest TLOU 2 trailer? Endure and survive. Endure and fucking survive.
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I think this going to count for a lot this season, Thaum, just as it did for the Wesht. Ulster should get off to a real flier
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Drags Watch…
When Sam Davies was being touted as the next big thing for the Os / Wales NostradamIks had to step in and call ‘Pffft!’.
But now the lad is being seen as the saviour of Rodney Parade, the leader at 10 we never had etc.
So the Soothsayer in me is still saying ‘pffft’, but the desperate Drags supporter in me is thinking ‘Sam’s the Man and the Os held him back!’
Drags Watch…
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Rob Lyttle’s just done something fabulous – caught something uncatchable, darted, passed … just short of the line, but Ulster penalty & a yellow for Ospreys. It’s a lineout Ulster go through the phases and eventually Greg Jones (who he?) touches the ball down.
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Conversion is good and it’s 14-11.
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Ticht – hope you’re right.
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@tomp
DNA seems to have replaced momentum as the bollockology-of-choice amongst rugby commentators
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James King going off with a nasty-looking injury – arm.
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Oh dear, Stevie Ferris was one of my favourite players, but he may as well sit there bellowing Ahhhlstaar, Ahhhlstaar as a pundit
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Ticht – I know, he’s awful. I personally think Burns is rubbish, but he makes him sound like the second coming of Ronan O’Gara.
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The Burns thing raised an eyebrow here, Thaum.
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That bloody *Luke* Price has just evened the scores.
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Ulster score again off the back of another impossibility on Lyttle’s part.
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I really wanted Edinburgh to sign Matt Faddes, the Heilanders have some classy backs that aren’t getting near the ABs
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Cooney makes a difficult conversion, and it’s 21-14 at HT.
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Oof, just seen the Glasgow score. That was unexpected.
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It’s hard for the Scottish teams during the WC, as there are only two sides to snaffle players from.
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For the casual American soccer fan looking for a rugby team to follow at the World Cup. Or filler as it’s sometimes known:
Argentina = Everton
Australia = Chelsea
Canada = Brighton
England = Liverpool
Fiji = Aston Villa
Georgia = Burnley
France = Leicester City
Ireland = Man United
Italy = Southampton
Japan = Wolves
Namibia = Bournemouth
New Zealand = Man City
Russia = Norwich City
Samoa = West Ham
Scotland = Newcastle
South Africa = Tottenham
Tonga = Crystal Palace
Uruguay = Sheffield United
USA = Watford
Wales = Arsenal
https://soccer.nbcsports.com/2019/09/19/picking-a-2019-rugby-world-cup-team-based-on-your-pl-club/
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Ulster get a penalty, and Luke Price has gone off for they think a blood replacement.
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That was another lovely full-team try for Ulster, with Lyttle making a huge contribution. Have to say that Burns executed another perfect cross-field kick for it.
Cory Allen looking fucked.
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Ospreys restart didn’t go the 10 metres. Oops.
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Wales = Arsenal?
Really?
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I’m not too happy with Ireland = Man Utd either. But it’s humorous in intent.
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Ieuan Evans’ son, on his debut, has just tried to kick for the corner, and missed. Poor lad.
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“Wales = Arsenal?
Really?”
Aye. Doesn’t make sense. We’ve won an important trophy in recent years.
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As it sounds like he’s been doing reasonably well I would think it will be a DNA replacement.
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Don’t think Shaun Edwards would think much of the Arsenal defence.
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Naarch are a much better match for Scotland than Newcastle are.
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First half was looking pretty even. Second half, Ulster looking dominant. Ospreys defending deep in their own 22.
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Is ‘handbags’ a sexist term? Discuss.
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Thaum, you kind of expect to see the sons of players you watched to come on the scene, but young Edinburgh scrum half Charlie Shiel’s dad is Graham Shiel who I saw and also his Grandad Dougie Morgan who played for Scotland and the Lions, I saw him near the end of his playing career
I’m old at 54
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CMW’s on it, no defence undermining the desire to play the beautiful game
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I think The Gooners are more like Scotland, great going forward on our own terms, put us under pressure and we crumple
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