Now that all that distractive World Cup nonsense is out of the way, we can all concentrate on rugby that really matters*: the Big Cup and the Pish Cup.
*Until your team falls out of it, then it’s the league, obviously.
EnzoM has summarised each Big Cup team’s chances nicely, except for one small error, later corrected to read ‘Ulster by 50’.
On the telly this week
Friday 15th November
| Gloucester 20 – 25 Toulouse | 19:45 | BT Sport 2 |
Saturday 16th November
| Bath 16 – 17 Ulster | 13:00 | Channel 4 / BT Sport 2 |
| Glasgow 13 – 7 Sale | 13:00 | BT Sport 3 |
| England 17 – 15 France (women) | 13:10 | Sky Sports Action |
| Barbarians 31 – 33 Fiji | 14:30 | BBC1 |
| Leinster 33 – 19 Treviso | 15:15 | BT Sport 3 |
| La Rochelle 12 – 31 Exeter | 15:15 | BT Sport 2 |
| Ospreys 13 – 32 Munster | 17:30 | BT Sport 3 |
| ASM 53 – 21 Harlequins | 17:30 | BT Sport 2 |
| Scarlets 20 – 16 London Irish | 19:45 | S4C |
| Bordeaux 40 – 30 Wasps | 20:00 | BT Sport 2 |
Sunday 17th November
| Northampton 25 – 14 Lyon | 13:00 | BT Sport 2 |
| Connacht 23 – 20 Montpellier | 13:00 | BT Sport 3 |
| Scotland 3 – 17 Wales (women) | 15:10 | BBC Alba |
| Racing 30 – 10 Saracens | 15:15 | BT Sport 2 |
Ovally Balls 
I am just wondering what they believe the right reasons were as a fellow maverick. That’s one right reason and there could be other right reasons.
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Some of the Autumn International fixtures for next year have been released
Scotland have Argentina, Japan and New Zealand
https://www.autumn-internationals.co.uk/2020/
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Chek talking to Nigel Wray
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‘Impeachment hearings: Trump says he will ‘strongly consider’ testifying’
That would be amazing. It will never happen though.
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Trump was doing the wrong things for the right reasons. Definitely honourable.
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So I hear you’re a racist now, Prince Andrew?
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‘sall just a bit of light-hearted joshing, chekh
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Nice to know Eddie’s got Toonie’s back. Shame he hasn’t been able to beat Toonie’s Scotland with England….
Twice.
Once at home, after surrendering a 31 point lead.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/50457224
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So I hear you’re a racist now, Prince Andrew?
Wait. Now?
I thought the media were still interested with his alleged rape?
What else had the Prince done, allegedly?
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I think we’re all being a bit hard on Prince Andrew and his claims that he can’t sweat. All these doctors claiming it can’t happen are all quite obviously unaware of the seminal work by Inner Circle in 1992 that describes quite graphically how someone can arrive in this situation
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*Tunes-in short wave radio*
Dra-gons! Dra-gons!
*Static and silence*
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Iks! You’re back! That you out of jail now, after being caught feeding ducks again?
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LaDoaB:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/nov/18/prince-andrew-used-n-word-former-no-10-aide-claims
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Prince Andrew is like the 3 Fathers in one with this news – Ted’s racism, Dougal’s stupidity and Jack’s … wait, why was Jack on Craggy Island? Did he enjoy a Pizza Express as well?
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Iksy, Taine Basham, Aaron Wainwright and (perhaps) Taulupe Faletau in the same back row would be dreamy.
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The Pizza money was just resting in his account?
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On the run, BB. Feeding ducks in the Azores like a waterfowl Walter White.
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Top back-row TomP. If Ollie Griffiths could overcome his injury strife he’d also be in the mix.
Moriarty decent impact player…
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A friend of mine from South Africa is a photojournalist. He has a very Scottish name.
He was at the Union Buildings in Pretoria when the cup did its tour of the Republic a little ago. And most recently he photographed a guy called Dan Patlansky, who some of you may know of.
Here’re some of Laird’s photos:
https://www.instagram.com/lairdforbes/
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Aye, Ollie but. y’know, the injuries.
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Looks like he’s good at capturing people in action. Then the instagram shutters came down because I don’t have an account.
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Great stuff Iks. Hope you enjoy your break and that the weather’s good.
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Found a rufty tufty bar in the Azores yet, Iks ?
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Cheers BB. The weather is what it is. November is the wobbliest month for rainfall. So yesterday was very sunny and 20 degrees, today rain mostly and 15, and it will fluctuate like this during the day let alone the week.
Fascinating place though. We are currently in a nice hotel hanging off a windswept cliff. From tomorrow into the main town for the last few days. I’ve already done more walking than a year at home, so my dormant leg muscles are complaining about being woken up.
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Rufty tufty from tomorrow, Tim. I’ll report back.
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…….aaaaaaannnnd – rugby:
“Exeter Chiefs have bolstered their squad with the signing of Argentinian prop Enrique Pieretto until the end of the season.
Chiefs’ Director of Rugby, Rob Baxter, has moved swiftly to capture the 24-year-old forward following injuries to fellow tight-heads Tomas Francis and Greg Holmes.
Francis suffered a serious shoulder injury during Wales’ Rugby World Cup semi-final against South Africa in Japan and is now likely to be sidelined for up to four months following surgery.”
From Exeter’s website……….Pieretto looks a good’un.
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NY Times:
“Secretary of state Mike Pompeo has announced the US does not consider Israel’s West Bank settlements to be a violation of international law, marking a significant policy shift in the Middle East.”
Good grief!
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Slade – fucking hell.
That’s in reaction to your West Bank post, not the Pieretto one.
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Will this embed?
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So Mike Pompeo has effectively sanctioned the annexation of the West Bank by Israel? The sooner this shower of shit leaves the White House and its institutions the better!
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It will indeed embed – some very clever play there!
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Good respect from him to Gareth Davies as well,
There’s another clip from that game in which the opposition team’s scrum half – sorry, don’t know the name – wildly flings the ball a couple of metres over the head of his winger and into touch. He says he learnt that from Ben Youngs.
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Watched some England Rugby highlights on the BA flight back to SA on Sunday. A couple of matches from the 70’s and 80’s, but a lot, obviously, from the period leading up to 2003 and just after it. What struck me, was that a lot of the so-called All Black jizztastic stuff we’re all trying to catch up with, was on display in that 45-minute show: cross-field kicks to the wing, back of the hand passes from props, contesting high balls – and best of all, a step, show and go from THE HASK to score untouched!*
*May have been a slip, stumble and go, but let’s give our benefactor the credit.
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@deebee
When England’s front row was Woodman, Thompson, and a pre-injury Phil Vickery some of the ball carrying and passing was really good.
However they all got seriously injured not long after. To avoid arguments I simply blame SCW.
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“Watched some England Rugby highlights”
Wait – you did that by choice??
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To avoid arguments I simply blame SCW.
OK Boomer.
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England invented the All Blacks?
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I do think Eddie has a point about getting the conditioning wrong, unsolicited though his advice is.
Everyone looked knackered and miles off the pace, especially vs France in the warm ups & vs Ireland at the WC.
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‘especially vs France in the warm ups ‘
They were nowhere vs France in the RWC
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The first France game was Scotland’s first hit out and with a second-string team. I wouldn’t read too much into it in terms of conditioning, especially as you beat them a week later
The Ireland game GT picked the wrong back row and centres, whatisface Watson got injured and you had a bit of bad luck at times/Irish good luck. And Ireland’re better than Scotland.
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One fir CMW:
https://amp.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/iain-dale/jo-swinson-responds-to-viral-fake-story-squirrels/?__twitter_impression=true
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Wait – you did that by choice??
Have you seen the shit they have on BA inflight ‘entertainment’? ‘Classic’ is old films that the Beeb has on Christmas and Boxing Day every year.* ‘New’ is about a year old and a collection of the most anodyne shit you’ve ever seen and the ‘comedy boxsets’ are 2 or 3 episodes each of the worst UK comedies ever produced. Watching England spank everyone was frankly a dogsend.
* Still watched the original Italian Job mind – mainly for the Minis.
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Woohoo for Minis!
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England invented Minis?
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“I do think Eddie has a point about getting the conditioning wrong, unsolicited though his advice is.
Everyone looked knackered and miles off the pace, especially vs France in the warm ups & vs Ireland at the WC.”
Eddie would know, since he said England weren’t conditioned right for the final.
France cuffed us in the first test but we beat them in the following one.
I don’t know if it was fitness that let us down v Ireland, it just seemed that we were totally, outthought, outplayed and “out-attituded”.
We took a punt on several players – Barclay is still getting over that injury he sustained for Scarlets v Glasgow, Duncan Taylor had been out for ages too, and although he did look good coming on for Sarries at the weekend, he’s been a shadow of the player he was. Harris has his critics and I’m not particularly one of them, but when you see how Hutchinson is delivering week in week out, and he did so during the Summer tests too, you have to wonder at what is going on with the coaches.
We have the best available squad since 1999, but I’m not sure we’re using it to its full potential.
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Woohoo for Minis!
Spoil Alert: Don’t watch the last 20 minutes.
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BTW, what a game Vakatawa and Finn had on Sunday, the pair of them were outstanding.
One of the online rugby journals carried the headline that Finn was wanted by the authorities for pulling 15 men’s pants down in public in Paris.
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Ticht – Harris strikes me as a good ‘defensive’ 13 rather than an ‘attacking’ 13 the way Hutchinson is.
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Yeah, that is certainly the reasoning given, BB and to be honest our defence does work better with Harris on the park.
I have concerns for Huw Jones, he’s not even getting a game for Glasgow at the minute which seems a criminal waste of talent.
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We’ve got good options in the centres now – Hutchinson, Harris, Johnson, Jones, Taylor, Bennett and Scott coming back into form, plus a couple of young ‘uns coming through at Embra and Glasgow.
Makes you wonder why Pete Horne still gets picked for Scotland….
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