Gazing at life through a haze of opiates, I’m intensely relaxed about not getting a proper blog post up, and just giving you the matches.
But I will add an emphatic TSK!* that the Cardiff and Ulster matches have yet again been scheduled at the same time.
*This is more vehement than a PFFT!
6N Blog Meet Update
The Heidelberg Tourist Information Bureau has posted this:
Falcon tries to decide whether to deliver a TSK! or a PFFT!
And this.
And as a reminder, here’s the info.
On the telly this week
Friday 3rd January
| Cardiff 14 – 16 Scarlets | 19:35 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Ulster 38 – 17 Munster | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Sales 48 – 10 Harlequins | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 4th January
| Treviso 19 – 38 Glasgow | 13:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Gloucester 29 – 15 Bath | 15:00 | BT Sport 2 |
| Dragons 25 – 18 Ospreys | 15:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Zebre 41 – 13 Cheetahs | 15:00 | Freesports |
| Leinster 54 – 7 Connacht | 17:30 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Edinburgh 61 – 13 Southern Kings | 19:45 | Premier Sports 1 |
Sunday 5th January
| Wasps 31 – 35 Northampton | 15:00 | BT Sport 2 |
Ovally Balls 
they’re? Typing too quickly and changing mind mid sentence.
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I can’t see many surprises in Scotland’s 6N squad, maybe Luke Crosbie will be in the backrow mix. We have a bit of a crisis at loosehead, and we don’t have a goal kicker – last time I looked Finn was on about a 54% success rate and is probably our best option.
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Yos, Hallam Amos to 13. You knows it.
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@tomp
If it keeps him infield and away from corner flags, *I’m all for it.
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*Obviously not
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Yes Ulster are looking tidy since MacFarland was filched from the Scotland forwards coach role (jeez we’ve missed him). And roddy Grant and whatsisface from Embra.
thieving norn etceteras.
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Three letters: L, R, Z.
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We do have a centre conundrum ticht
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I think our chances can be summed up by our loosehead predicament – Allan Dell has played around five games since the RWC, he has started two and has so impressed the refs that he has received a greeting card from them on two occasions, both yellow in colour.
Bhatti at Edinburgh is a shadow of the player we saw at the end of last season, he is prone to very silly penalties, Edinburgh’s other contender, Rory Sutherland is coming back from a career-threatening injury, he might fulfil the enormous potential if he stays fit, but he is 27 now and he’s played less than 100 mins this season. The Glasgow option is Alex Allan and he just isn’t an international loosehead.
Bottom line is, a couple of tweaked hamstrings, a rolled ankle and Daryl Marfo will be reprising his unlikely role from a few years back.
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In the squad for development purposes, sure. Same deal for Ioan Lloyd and any other promising nippers.
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Ugh, I’m in this chat now. Will work between posting. And work till 10pm to compensate.
This really is something. Quite annoying.
Yes. It’s possible to play a match that is very even for 70 of the 80 minutes and still lose by 25/30 points.
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My picks would be Horne, Johnson, Scott at 12 with Bennett, Hutchinson and Jones for 13 (alphabetical order, rather than playing order)
Maybe Lang too – just on Ugo’s advice, but he does kick a goal or two
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Enzo – what, no Baloucoune?
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@Thaum – he’s an excellent shout instead of Lowe.
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Ulster’s back three are looking very good at the moment.
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Alternatively, Clermont score 30 points during the first half and ship 40 during the second. Happened to them before and Ulster are better than what ASM played this year. On the other hand they were close to win in Belfast, so who knows?
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I want our back three to be Hogg, Graham and Kinghorn, but Toonie will almost certainly go with Treacle rather than Kinghorn
We could put out a backline of (George) Horne, Finn, Graham, Scott, Jones, Kinghorn, Hoggy – which is a good mix of pace and power
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In for a penny – my starting team v Ireland
Dell, McInally, Fagerson
Cummings, J Gray
Ritchie, Watson, Barclay
G Horne, Finn
Scott, Jones
Graham, Kinghorn, Hogg
Brown, Bhatti, Berghan (WP hasn’t got the puff for international rugby anymore), Gilchrist, Fagerson, Price, Hastings, Bennett.
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Whoops, I typed Barclay at 8 – it should be Bradbury of course!
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Now I have the floor…
Sam Skinner could well be in the mix if he gets some game time soon, and that throws a lot of selection cards up in the air.
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Big Pharma
My dealer nickname in rural Kent.
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Saracens appear to be hemorrhaging players with Kruis off to Japan. I knew this would be shite for the country team. We’ve got enough locks but Kruis was our best back up for Lawes and Itoje.
I can feel the sympathy from you already.
For England I think we should largely keep the WC squad with replacements for Cole and Young’s introduced. Slade is injured so Joseph should be a good replacement.
Most of all I want pain, anguish and the desire to raze the world to the ground from the players. Nothing short of absolute destruction will do for me.
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I thought Flanquart looked a better option than Lambey the Ginger Lad in general, based on the 6Ns performances that I recall.
On the other hand Lambey the Ginger Lad fits so well to Champion the Wonder Horse I wouldn’t be disappointed if he gets a place.
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England’ll be lucky to get a losing bonus point in Rome.
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hrmm, it’s not like Sarries have been wronged, though, is it?
England should have the humility to accept a deserved sashwindowing from all the other sides, and say “Thank You” afterwards, too.
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I don’t see Vahaa coming back. He isn’t special enough to warrant the about-turn.
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“Damn, I’m slow!”
Indeed Flair. Blog meet in Heidelberg next March. No carbon footprint, just a relaxed jaunt on the train through Old Europe.
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Think Toonie will pick Harris for the squad, wonder if he might also have a look at Craig from Gloucester too?
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Ticht – looks like Skinner might well be in the mix for the 6N.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/51039135
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No time now but Iksy’s Wales squad is in the pipeline, which is probably the best place for it. I think I might build it around a case for The Most Handsome Man in Rugby™️ to make a comeback at 13.
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That’s good news, BB
Onna nuther note, Dry January update – no beer no pistachio nuts, no other change in diet – I’ve lost 4.5lbs, or just a bit over 2kg since last Wednesday.
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BB I like Gervais. The Office was excellent in its time. Extras was decent and Life is Short not bad. I skipped Derek because it looked like an own goal. That Netflix thing about bereavement was also more good than bad.
He’s role playing at the Globes, it’s probably part of the deal he signed. Looking like a smug twat might come easy to him but it is part of his shtick.
And he is a top top advocate of animal rights, so I’m on his side.
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MrIks
Just looked it up.
From Paris, 5h1/2 by car. 4h by train with a change in Frankfurt/Main.
Tempting…
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MrIks, I’ve never really enjoyed people being “professionally mean”, but Gervais can be funny, though many times I find I’m laughing despite myself. The other thing is it’s all very well going after Hollywood A listers and bursting their bubble, in some ways they are fair game and they are low hanging fruit tbh, but they are not the targets that should be aimed at, imo obviously.
I’d rather he went after the Trumps, the Kochs, the Murdochs etc
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That’s very kind of you, but I don’t think my knees are up to test rugby any longer.
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The pain and anguish relates to the RWC.
Obvs.
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pfft, first tier problems, Craigs, we couldn’t even get out the group.
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2008 and 2016 a team that didn’t get out of the group at the previous year’s World Cup Slammed it in the Grandest possible way in the 6 Nations.
I’m going to lose money at the bookies again, aren’t I?
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“I can feel the sympathy from you already.”
You’ll get my sympathy when there are as many international class English players plying their trades overseas as there are Kiwis. Until then…….
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@Ticht
Sam Skinner back in training:
https://www.exeterchiefs.co.uk/news/skinner-returns-to-full-training
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This is mostly for Enzo and Michael[numbers], but have you noticed that over the past few years, there are suddenly Northern Irish accents all over the televisual place?
It might have started with the bloke on Line of Duty, but now it seems that practically every drama has one of us, and also more rugby commentators.
We even saw a bit of the One Show by accident this evening, and one of the presenters was Norn Irish.
It’s a bit odd, because it never used to happen; perhaps Brexit has something to do with it too.
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The trend continues in quiz programmes and so forth too.
Probably I notice it more because I don’t live ‘at home’ any more.
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C’mon Flair!
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You also checking the train times to HD Slade…………………………………….?
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Thaum – yes that’s great, but Mark Robson.
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Well I for one didn’t twig that Yos was an outside centre in his pomp. Scrum half, hooker or management consultant in my mind’s eye.
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Gloria Hunniford, thaum, and Gordon Burns and John Cole and Caron Keating and Eamonn Holmes and Roy Walker, lots and lots of Northern Irish presenters on the telly. And that fat lad who supports Man United Eamonn Something, he was never off the telly.
My grandmother quite liked Red Dwarf because Chris Barrie had been educated at the same school that she’d gone to much much earlier.
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that fat lad who supports Man United Eamonn Something, he was never off the telly is, of course, Eamonn Holmes.
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Mark Robson indeed.
And the one-eyed King himself Stephen Ferris.
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Although I suppose while we have Scott Hastings doing any commentary, I can’t really talk…
However, to make up for that, we also have Andrew Cotter.
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