Heartbroken by Ireland’s tragic crash-out last week, I forgot about putting up a new post yesterday. So this is a rushed affair.
Further reading
Don’t miss Deebee’s analysis of the quarter-finals, or Utnapistm’s predictions for this weekend.
On the telly this week
Friday 25th October
| Ulster v Cardiff | 19:35 | S4C / Premier Sports 1 |
| Munster v Ospreys | 19:35 | TG4 / Premier Sports 2 |
| Bath v Exeter | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 26th October
| England v New Zealand | 09:00 | ITV |
| Dragons v Glasgow | 14:45 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Gloucester v Wasps | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
| Treviso v Kings | 15:00 | FreeSports |
| Connacht v Cheetahs | 17:15 | TG4 / Premier Sports 1 |
| Zebre v Leinster | 17:15 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Edinburgh v Scarlets | 19:30 | Premier Sports 2 |
Sunday 27th October
| Wales v S Africa | 09:00 | ITV |
| Leicester v Saracens | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
Ovally Balls 
“I love the Haka, it’s one of the great things in sport, but I don’t think teams should have to stand just stand there, it’s a challenge, take up the challange, and as long as you don’t go full Cockers, have at it
This is my favourite of all time, sadly I don’t think WR would allow it now”
Agreed Ticht. Listen to the crowd on that clip. Now that is theatre.
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“NZ’s founding rugby myth, of course, is the Deans Try that Never Was in 1905.”
*splutters into his cornflakes*
A more homer ref decision you’ll never see.
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I’ve got a few books about SA tours to NZ and NZ tours to SA in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Most every game has a complaint about the home referees. Who was the South African ref who said when disallowing a try for a touring team against the Springboks, “It’s ok for you boys but I have to live here”? My feeling is Max Baise.
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Utna, I think Wales have been err, not sure if fortunate is the right word as it was by design rather than luck, to have Gats and Edwards at the same time.
Gats and Edwards have been fortunate to have AWJ and Warbs as leaders on the park, aside from their prowess as players.
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@Deebee As an English fan, I have beef with all nationalities refereeing England. Rugby fans in every other rugby nation grow up wanting to see England lose, and therefore the only way England could ever be refereed fairly would be by an Englishman. Although, with our widely acknowledged, in-bred, scrupulous sense of fair play and gallantry, our own referees would probably favour the opposition, just like Mr Butcher did at my old school.
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“It’s ok for you boys but I have to live here”
TomP, I was thinking about that quote as I was reading through today.
No idea who it was that said it, though
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Welsh folk, who is likely to retire from the squad after this World Cup? And who is probably going to be jettisoned like it or not? Big gap in the coaching staff, obviously, but in the playing staff? A quick Google suggests that the bulk of the side at this WC are under 30, with AWJ (34), Ken Owens (32) Shingler (32) Tipuric (30) the exceptions up front and in the backs Dan Biggar (30), JD2 (31), 1/2P (only 30!!!!) and Hadleigh Parkes (32) the only ones likely to be too old for the next one.
In fact, looking through the side, there are a lot of players under 25 – should be peak Wales by the next one. Next year will be a transition year for sure, but with some good management and better poaching (Wales really are useless when compared to what Scotland and Ireland get) THEY COULD HAVE A FINE SIDE.
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Oops! Didn’t mean the shouty finish there, but it seems appropriate.
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Avs, I don’t know how many times I’ve watched that clip over the years but it’s a lot.
Spine-tingling stuff
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@Dab – \Mr Butcher sounds like a fine man.
our widely acknowledged, in-bred, scrupulous sense of fair play and gallantry
I give you BoJo and JR-M to counter that. Just for starters.
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Deebee, I don’t think WP will still be with Scotland in France – he’ll be 37 by that time, but there is a good chance Pierre Schoeman will be our starting loosehead by then.
I think the transition period where we brought in a lot of players just to try and keep up is coming to an end as our academy system (cheers Scott Johnson) is starting to produce real quality
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Just looked up Max Baise and found this story:
South Africa’s first Test referee was a young man when he died but a man who had lived an interesting life. He was born in Southampton, studied in Scotland and played for Wales though he never went there. He was a medical student in Edinburgh when Wales came to play in 1883. Wales were short and Griffin filled in for them in those amateur days.
Later he practised in Queensland and played for Queensland. Then he came to Port Elizabeth and was on the staff of the Provincial Hospital and the vice-president of the Eastern Province Rugby Union when the first-ever Test was played in South Africa in 1891, and John Griffin refereed it. Later he returned to Southampton where he died on pneumonia on 13 July 1895 at the age of 36.
https://www.sareferees.com/News/golden-oldie-referees/2829590/
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There was a Yoochube clip that did the rounds a while back of a haka face-off between two schools in UnZud that was brilliant. Can’t find the one I remember, but this is pretty good too:
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@Deebee I may have had my tongue a little in cheek when I wrote that, to be fair ;-)
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Johnny McNicholl’ll get a cap next year but he’s already 29. There are some good but very young kids coming through in the back 3.
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Is McNicholl a residency qualifier?
That has reminded me that Duhan van der Merwe will qualify this time next year, he snuck in for the three years by a couple of months
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@Dab, I know you did, but the phony war starts here and it starts now. I didn’t engage the Welsh posters in this, because, well, they’re nice.
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He sure is. Jimmy Lowe should be on for Ireland as well.
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“Jimmy Lowe should be on for Ireland as well.”
Really good player.
At 33 and 31 respectively you’d have to think Kearney and Earls will be hanging up their international boots sooner rather than later, Lowe will be a welcome addition to their back three pool.
I like the look of the Ulster lad Baloucoune, too
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I don’t know if the Hartpury magnet removes the Welshness completely despite being over the border. Moriarty is an obvious example but I also think that players like little Mat Protheroe and even more little Harry Randall would opt for Wales if the opportunity arose.
Does anyone think they may have more of a look in without Gats in the future or is their standard not up to the standards of others coming through?
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Nick Groom was pulled from the Edinburgh squad on Saturday because his wife went into labour.
Boy or Girl, he/she will be Scottish-qualified.
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Ticht – some people are so selfish.
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@craigs
Won’t be long till the Mulipola- Castrogiovanni gene pool gives us a pair of England qualified monsters
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@utna
“Difference is that Ireland’s foundations are good”.
On the face of it – I agree….which is why I’m optimistic of a bounce-back. (Unless there’s some black hole we’re not privy to…)
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Who’s taking Ireland over now Uncle Joe’s gone?
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With the candlestick!!!
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“…our widely acknowledged, in-bred, scrupulous sense of fair play and gallantry. I give you BoJo and JR-M to counter that. Just for starters.”
I think he got the in-bred bit right regarding those two twerps.
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OT, wouldn’t it be brilliant if they grew up to be tighthead and loosehead in the same side?
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Leo Cullen can’t be to far away from the Ireland job, maybe not this time, but soon after
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Think the Welsh gene pool doesn’t produce forwards naturally big enough to really dominate in the front five. We were like the wolf trying to blow down the house of bricks on Sunday.
Warbs is a prime example of a bloke playing at his physical limits to deliver dominance, and it ended his career early. Maybe we could tap in to our silly old Welsh way and take a leaf out of Japan’s book and focus on technique rather than physical confrontation.
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Chimpie, Andy Farrell.
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I was assuming Dova’s euphoria drove him up from the garage and onto the roof of the house – without noticing.
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OT – imagine the food bill. That’s excellent though.
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@Ticht
There’s a suspicion that Lancaster is the eminence gris here and Leo the front man…. he had very little experience before being handed the hot seat. Maybe that suits Lancaster better than the front office job….
Nonetheless if it doesnt work out with Farrell you could see Leo as front runner….
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Iks – my brother also used to do parkour when pissed. Maybe he and Dov could form a team. Start a YouTube channel. Get a patreon account.
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I see dov has already been hard at work.
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@ticht
They’d be like a turbocharged version of the Hair Bear Jones ‘twins’.
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*Just in! Footage of Dova*
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*Stop Press*
Predicted footage of Dova after England win the thing!
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Iks, am hoping that Carwyn Tuipolotu can go on to become a top ball- carrying pro.
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Me too Tomp. Me too.
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I’d add North to that list. He’s not old but he’s been playing test rugby for 10 years. Can’t see him playing another 4.
I guess it’ll be the same old story in that we’ll be relatively well-served in some positions and not so in others. There’s some really good young players stolen by Saes schools/academies, so I’d expect to see players like Tshiunza, Rees-Zammit, Ioan Lloyd be in the mix. Players like Carré, Dee, Tomos Williams etc will be better players than they are now. Kieran Hardy is a really good 9 at the Turks. Taine Basham is an outstanding back row prospect. There’s Dewi Lake who could be the kind of hooker we’ve been desperate for. All being well, we might scrape enough decent players.
And Ellis Jenkins should be captain.
If Pivac gets it right, we could go pretty well. I’d expect a hugely different style to what we’ve seen particularly in the last 18 months.
I think utna mentioned earlier that England and France will be the teams to beat up here over the next 4 years and I’d agree. I just hope we can hang in there and clip their wings a few times.
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We’ll play Turkball under Pivac. At least he’ll try to. Whether that cuts it at test level is another question.
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Oi, Mick Cleary, you wanker. Why only give Jonny a six out of ten ?
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What’s Gareth Llewellyn’s boy up to, yos?
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@tomp
Going well down in the Celtic Cup/Welsh Prem.
Ben Thomas is a better prospect if we’re talking about Welsh/Legends who can play 12/13. He’s as nice to watch as Henson; he has that gliding running style. He should be playing now and it’s a waste of time picking Pro14 trundlers when the season is already a write off.
I’m less convinced with Llewellyn. He looks fine physically but he’s not an obviously smart player.
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” little Mat Protheroe and even more little Harry Randall would opt for Wales if the opportunity arose”
Randall’s actually English, no? As Yos mentioned Louis Rees-Zamitt seems to have Gloucester all a-flutter.
Leicester seem to have a good eye for talent as well. Refell and Costelow both ended up at school somewhere in the Midlands.
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Old Conbeer looks ok at Scarlets on the wing and there’s that lad who scored the wonder tries in South Africa a couple of months back.
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Fractured patella (SP?)
only a hairline job. Thought it smarted a bit.
I’d be proud I managed to hobble round a short dog walk with the pram and do parenting for the day if it weren’t such a stupid thing to have done in the first place.
Tosser.
Not much they can do apparently anyway. Just pain killers and avoid banging it on anything.
My bruised ribs are way more impressive. All the colours of the rainbow.
The kids think I tripped over the dog…..
Its funny really. I remember as a kid my dad broke his leg during a pitch invasion at the end of a 5N game against france. They were running a few back line moves using a seat cushion as the ball, obviously a bit pissed. I remember sitting in the car for ages going to visit him in hospital in London. I was what, 12 ish. He was around my age now…..
Rugby related drunken stupidity kicks in at about 40 for the dova males it would seem.
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@tomp
Mason Grady. Cory Allen’s brother. Let’s hope that he’s got the non-injury machine genes.
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