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 
Am not a great one for the poppymania that happens around this time every year. Rangers FC have certainly set the bar somewhere for 2019:
https://mobile.twitter.com/jamesdoleman/status/1188784636169773056
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Just seen the teams from the last match in November 2018:
England Daly; Nowell (Ashton 64), Slade, Te’o (Ford 72), May; Farrell
(capt), B Youngs (Care 64); Hepburn (Moon ht), Hartley (George 57),
Sinckler (Williams 64), Itoje, Kruis, Shields (Ewels 76), T Curry (Mercer
41), Wilson Sin-bin Itoje 15 Pens Farrell 3, Daly
South Africa Willemse (Jantjies 74); Nkosi (Esterhuizen 59), Kriel, De
Allende, Dyantyi; Pollard, Van Zyl (Papier 74); Kitshoff (T du Toit 64),
Marx (Mbonambi 73), Malherbe (W Louw 64), Etzebeth (Snyman 41), P-S du Toit, Vermeulen, Whiteley, Kolisi (capt; De Jager 64) Try Nkosi Pens Pollard 2
Quite a different England side…
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Too many Lions in that Springbok side. Rassie’s learnt his lesson.
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Very different Bok side too. None of Willemse (Jantjies 74); Nkosi (Esterhuizen 59), Kriel, Dyantyi, Van Zyl (Papier 74), (T du Toit 64), (W Louw 64),Whiteley, is likely to play on Saturday in the Bok 23 either through not being in Japan or not cracking the nod. In addition, PSDT won’t play at lock, so 11 different players and one positional switch for the Boks. Starting Bok pack for this weekend is stronger, but the bench is also stronger.
Same can be said for England – pack is stronger now than it was for that match; backs better without apostrophe too. Will Eddie start with Ford at 10 I think is the big question. Does he trust him defensively? I’ve not seen enough of him to know if he’s Silk-like liability levels or not, but suspect from this WC that he’s not a massive defensive liability at 10.
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Yeah, all four of them. I do actually like that Bongi is the starting hooker ahead of Marx at the moment. His darts are more accurate (although both have been superb this tournament) and he controls the mauls better than Marx. Good starting option when we’re trying to keep it tight. Marx is better in the loose and over the ball, which is good for later in the game, offensively and defensively.
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That brief team lists + match summary seems to be missing Farrell’s sin-binning in the 80th minut …
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“I’ve enjoyed them too, even Iks’ ones.”
Mine are ghost-written by Carol Vorderman.
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@deebee
“but suspect from this WC that he’s not a massive defensive liability at 10”
Same here – he makes the tackle …granted he’s not knocking guys backwards…but he’s hardly a swinging gate. Made a great strip on NZ #3 the last day….
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Dave Rennie now being linked with the ABs job, but you never know how much of this sort of stuff is true, blind rumour or an agent upping the value of their client.
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TamP, whenever there is march for Scottish independence you get a handful of Rangers scarf wearing angry people shouting “Traitors” at the tens of thousands walking past them.
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Deebee – do you think that Rassie is playing mind games with the ‘keeping it tight’ narrative? Could be a dastardly plan. Like wearing camouflage or something.
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I read recently that Henry Slade is diabetic – having to inject himself at half-time for example.
I can recall one or two other great sportsmen who had to do the same:
Phil Mabbutt, Redgrave the Rower.
Anyone got any other names or stories?
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Craigs, for the longest time I suspected you might be Mark Cueto. Now I know you’re not:
““Everyone takes the mick out of me when I say I still think it was a try but I genuinely do,” Cueto admitted.”
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2019/oct/29/it-was-a-try-englands-mark-cueto-still-haunted-by-ghosts-of-2007-final
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Slade – Jamie George has to eat an entire tub of Ben & Jerry’s before getting out of bed each morning.
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Tomp – it’s these antipodean tmo’s stealing our world cups!
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Slade, Pennell from Worcester’s diabetic as well.
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I feel for these guys – I have to inject 2x per week and I hate it……………..every day (often more than once must be hard to bear…………………..injector pens have made it easier – but even so……
The smell of antiseptic really turns my stomach!
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‘Rangers scarf wearing angry people shouting “Traitors”‘
gotta love the angry sectarian bigots. I’d love to fire them all into the sun.
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*tumbleweed*
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Intolerance of intolerance is a sure way to kill the nottablog
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@Slade – did you mean Gary Mabbutt? Fun fact, he went to the same secondary school I did (several years prior).
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Deebee – do you think that Rassie is playing mind games with the ‘keeping it tight’ narrative?
No. Next!
Do you think the Boks are suddenly capable of flinging it around with gay abandon, offloading behind the back and running dazzling lines from the blindside wing and cutting through the midfield? Pollard tried one long pass last weekend and dropped the ball.
I hope we try a bit more ball in hand stuff, even if it is just De Allende trucking it up and knocking over a few, because at least that way we hold the ball for a bit longer and hopefully create gaps that way – but we won’t be flinging hail Mary’s to Kolbe and Mapimpi. If we do it’s because we’re well down with a few minutes left.
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Hmmmmmm. Really can’t call Saturday’s game
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Treviso will have some internationals back, however so should Embra. But we don’t travel well.
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In other games the boks may just have the biff and breakdown nous the stop the English juggernaut. Will struggle to create much though.
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Refit
doh!…………………yes, Gary
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“Do you think the Boks are suddenly capable of flinging it around with gay abandon, offloading behind the back and running dazzling lines from the blindside wing and cutting through the midfield?”
Yes. Boks by 45.
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………ahahahahahahahahaha!
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“Pollard tried one long pass last weekend and dropped the ball”
Looked like he was going for a short pass to Am then changed his mind as he went to release and it slipped from his grasp… that said you butchered a couple of good chances vs NZ in the first game (IIRC)
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From memory he looked at the short pass initially and then realised that he was playing under advantage so tried the glory pass – slipped out his hand and forward off his leg. We did butcher a couple against the ABs and at 17-13 down, we were looking really good to surge into the lead but for a pass not given from what i remember. That match was alcohol affected, so not entirely sure.
Anyway, New Zealand beat us by 10 points and England beat them by 12, so it’s England by 22. Should have been 19 but for Read’s outrageous cheating at the lineout that Savea scored from, so 29 point win for England.
To think that after so illustrious a career, all that Read will be remembered for is cheating.
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Massive hopefear right now. Wonder if MVML is cool and calm as ever…
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“That match was alcohol affected, so not entirely sure” – first thing in the morning here, so no such luck
In first half – Le Roux puts it behind Mapimpi (I think) – so has to halt and go back and all momentum lost… in 2nd half to be fair Mo’unga does well to chase down Kolbe and IIRC there’s another where pass is about 2 inches off the deck – if it goes to hand you’re in 4 time out of 5
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At the end of the day I want it to be a good result for rugby.
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Yip, Trisk we did cough a couple, but most sides do over the course of a match. le Roux has been shocking in this World Cup – one chance left to redeem himself and his Bok career. May he do so with aplomb!
Both sides have let in only 4 tries this World Cup, so stout defences, even if England have played a match less. Can’t imagine France would have scored heaps. Pollard was excellent off the tee against Wales, but is less consistent than no-arms Owen. If anything, I think we’ll base our game on trying to keep England pinned deep in their half and trying to feed off mistakes. I can also see Frans Steyn getting on quite early to keep booming returns and potentially penalties from miles out.
Actually, I have no idea what’s going to happen. Gibbershit aplenty and it’s only Tuesday.
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Me too Craigs. And a Bok win will be great result for rugby. Think about it: a struggling developing nation at the foot of the world’s most impoverished, war torn continent stuffing it up the holes of the Imperial overlords who asked who needed the EU to win the Cricket World Cup. I think all good people will be firmly behind the cuddly underdogs on Saturday.
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Oh, sorry deebs. That’s not what I meant at all. Didn’t think it was that confusing.
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Eddie’s already used the an England win will heal the Bre*it divisions in the country line.
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Tomp – I wonder if anyone is going to ‘make history’ or ‘change the course of history’.
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“What is this game of “rugby” you people speak of?”
Don’t worry Avs, you’ll snap out of the amnesia on Friday.
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@Slade, future Welsh Legend and the ‘Most Handsome Man in Welsh Rugby’ Tyler Morgan is diabetic and has to also do the half time injection. There was interesting interview with him not so long ago about it but I think it was on Walesonline, and I can’t in good grace send anyone there.
Also plays outside centre for a top, top club.
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No, it was short piece on BBC, listening to it again it is quite remarkable that these guys can play sport at such a high level.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/av/rugby-union/46233383
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I’m struggling to find anything remotely likable about Saturday’s finalists. I need something for the soul, something to make the one more empathetic than the other. All I’m getting is Alien vs Predator, or Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. No human interest at all.
Where’s Lassie?
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“Where’s Lassie?”
Dead. Killed by Owen for a laugh.
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Well Courtney was my Lionz avatar, so maybe I could latch onto him again. Or on the other hand that Kolbe fella.
Dilemma City.
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“Dead. Killed by Owen for a laugh.”
*Leans towards the Boks*
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*Remembers Faf and Snyman gloating at the end vs Wales*
Pendulum swings back…
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Deebs – was definitely NOT dissing Joy Division. Just trying to find something to rile Iks. Which is easily done. Although maybe I should have tried some prog instead…..
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🎵Dova came home from the pub, tired
The win had been making him glad
His spirit was willing, the garage roof too
His dinner was nothing but boiled over stew.
I guess it was then he decided
Up to the rooftop he’d go
He was about to jump off when
The kids started howling below
‘Don’t jump off the roof, Dov
You’ll make a hole in the yard
Mother’s just planted petunias
And the wheelie bin is quite hard
If you must jump it at all, Dov
Won’t you please give us a break
Just take a walk down the park, Dov
And there you can jump in the lake.’ 🎵
With thanks to Tommy Cooper, obs.
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I love Joy Devision. You too BB!
But not Mud.
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De Vision are ok too. *Ahem*
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