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 
Cat’s an England rugby AND cricket supporter. Sleazy porn is his lifeblood.
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This is genius
double O feckin bollocks
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@ticht
Brilliant. All the old guard from my school/church will be turning in their graves.
Think my favourite was Morrissey’s version of “Come Out Ye Black & Tans”.
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How Soon Is Now is my favourite Smiths song, OT – the Men Behind the Wire is a classic reworking of it
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That’s good. Marr was into Clannad when he was a kid. And Martin Carthy. Rory Gallagher was his biggest influence.
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Sbt – I’m just trying to spin a narrative. Maybe adjust his image in his absence.
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Re our previous topic on slurs against wimin, I got called a ‘little bitch’ about an hour ago. Feel free to treat me like one.
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Catching up from last night. Craigs – both the Billy Connolly vids you posted are the same, except that the second one has seriously inferior sound quality?
It’s true that the Yanks have a more serious aversion to the word ‘cunt’. But they will usually use it for a woman, whereas it’s more normally used for a bloke here, so I think there it is more directly related to misogyny.
TomP – read your link too; it was interesting, but perhaps a bit of academic wankery? It would have been simpler to say that our favourite swear-words are usually Anglo-Saxon/Norse in heritage rather than Norman, which makes it a class issue, really.
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Got sneezed on by The Little One while I was putting her eczema cream on her. Looked down at my arm and stuck to it in a lump of snot was a small yellow Lego flower. “That was up that one” she said, pointing to her right nostril.
Told the Eldest who replied “Well yes, she has been looking for that and did say yesterday that that might be where it was.”
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CMW – oh, how I envy your life.
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Three beavers in my house when I got home tonight.
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Now, now, let’s not get filthy.
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Haven’t had beaver time since the blog changeover. I guess Sag was the only real beaver-fan. Nevertheless they made an appearance in today’s Guardian so here they are:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/nov/20/beavers-to-be-released-in-plan-to-ease-flooding-and-aid-biodiversity
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Re my 20:32: hope that doesn’t come across as snide; I do enjoy your vignettes!
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Thaum – wasn’t me who posted Billy Connolly. I posted The Hound.
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CMW – I once forced a seed from a tree up my younger brothers nose. My mum wasn’t impressed and it took a while to extract.
He wasn’t happy because his nose was red for a few days and people at work kept taking the piss.
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There was a massive mushroom growing in my garden earlier this week. I saw a squirrel come down and eat the entire thing in one sitting. I thought it might get poisoned but I checked the internet and it turns out they are immune to mushroom toxins.
You live and learn.
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Sorry, Craigs, it was Slade! I was obviously confused by the fact that you’d just posted when I made my comment. Or something.
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@OT – it was probably trying to fool you into having some yourself. You did well not to fall for it.
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thaum, I read this by Deborah Cameron, I mentioned her before on here: https://debuk.wordpress.com/2018/06/03/cuntroversy-on-samantha-bee-and-the-c-word/
And for Craigs that article has a link to this one: https://language-and-innovation.com/2017/07/12/the-n-word-yet-again/
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Jo Swinson will doubtless be spending the evening injecting the mushrooms in her garden with squirrel poison.
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TomP – I’ve no idea who Samantha Bee is. The article does make the point that in the US, ‘cunt’ is more commonly used by men to refer to women, whereas in the UK – especially Scotland! – it’s usually used by men to refer to other men, thereby de-sexualising it.
It’s slightly odd, though, as you never hear women insulting other women by calling them a prick, cock or dick.
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Now that’s what I call bringing through local talent.
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CMW – ha!
I also enjoyed this comment below the Crace thread:
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@Yos – three of a handful of local talent.
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Still we’re not far off the point where any prick, cock or dick will get a game.
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Nah, she’s denied the squirrel murders and I think we have to take her word on that. She’s rather too enthusiastic about launching nuclear weapons and inflicting death on scores/hundreds of millions of people, though.
In other news, Prince Andrew is giving up his work. Whatever it was he did. And is happy to be questioned by law enforcement.
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thaum, American tv host, alumna of the John Stewart-era Daily Show. I enjoyed her stuff when I watched it but it wasn’t earth-shattering comedy.
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@CMW
I guess Sag was the only real beaver-fan.
I’m quite certain that beaver news, CMW.
How soon they forget…
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Squirrels are immune to fungi toxins?
Cool.
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@LADOAB – I was just trying to get you to leave your lodge so I could get a proper look at you with my binoculars.
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So. Danny Wilson, eh?
Hope he does well.
Also hope he has time to do a new album…..
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@BB – It’ll be just like watching Barnsley.
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OT – I actually did my first but of successful mushroom foraging* at the weekend and found and ate a lepista nuda from the forest near my home.
If you know what to look for it’s not as dangerous as is made out.
*not that type of mushroom foraging.
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@Craigs
Is but short for buttie…?
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I was just trying to get you to leave your lodge so I could get a proper look at you with my binoculars.
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SA media speculating that Cobus Reinach may be on his way to Montpellier to join Handre Pollard soon. Rumoured he’ll be paid between £40k and £45k a month. Jannie du Plessis apparently coming back to SA to play for the Lions, at the age of 37. FFS, maybe we can sign Schalk Brits too and bring Big Vic Matfield out of retirement.
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It’s a bit colder than usual, the squirrels are trying to hoard did for winter, but bloody Craigs is nicking all their food.
Oi Craigs – I’ve got some nuts in a bird feeder the birds haven’t eaten yet.
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OT – there were quite a few half eaten amanita muscarias knocking around. Naughty, naughty squirrels.
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When he took on the role, Erasmus was aware he had 618 days to turn around the Springboks’ fortunes and lead the nation to World Cup glory.
Having accomplished that historic feat, he has already started planning for the 2021 Tour – he even knows it is 614 days until South Africa welcome the Lions.
Hmm. Looks like we’re going to be under prepared for the Lions arrival.
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You got a mushroom knife, craigs?
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Tomp – not yet but it looks like a worthwhile investment.
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Brexit Party are slowly dieing in the polls so that’s good.
Right now it also looks like the Tories will walk the election and this has been the case since BoJo took charge. So that’s not as good.
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A mushroom knife?
Wouldn’t be very effective at cutting stuff I would have thought
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Chimpie – get an amadou hat.
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Tom Smith, one of the best looseheads Scotland and the Lions have had, is very ill
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/50395820
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That’s awful Ticht.
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That sounds absolutely horrible. Poor man. Gutted for his family, too. Far too young for this.
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Only 48! Thought he was older.
Or thought I was younger.
Either way, that’s terrible. Wouldn’t wish it on anyone. Poor guy
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Shit. First Doddie, now Tom. My two favourite players growing up.
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