We laughed at his five locks, his centre on the wing, and May at full-back. We laughed long and loud, and now are laughing out the other side of our faces, as our grannies told us we would.
Then we cried as we watched Ireland.
Sexton and Murray played with the all élite international skills and passion of reluctant replacements in a U14s game on a wet and cold Sunday afternoon at the end of a losing match in a losing season in Moneyrea when not even their dads could be arsed to turn up.
Meanwhile, Jones’s locks, particularly Itoje the Octopus and One-Brain-Cell (MotM), were rampantly joyful, or perhaps joyfully rampant – never been too up on these heraldic terms. Joseph was fine on the wing, and May didn’t even drop any balls (or so we’ve heard).
The one tiny crumb of comfort is that Ireland improved dramatically when John Cooney replaced Murray, and even managed a consolation try.
The warm-up matches to the Great Event were, of course, Italy v Scotland and Wales v France. The former had a few flashes of brilliance – Bellini, Hogg – but was otherwise a tedious affair.
Wales v France was one of those bonkers matches that looks more like pinball than rugby. Disappointingly (to Welsh fans), France forgot to throw the match away in the last quarter.
The rest of the Six Nations is up in the air due to Coronavirus; Ireland v Italy has been ‘postponed’, and we are certainly hoping for a rematch date and not the dreaded two-pointer.
Similarly, the Pro14 Ulster and Ospreys matches in Italy scheduled for this weekend have been put off, with the threat of a 0-0 draw being recorded for Treviso v Ulster if an alternative date cannot be found.
Further Reading
FalteringFullback’s thoughts on last weekend
On the telly this week
Friday 28th February
| Highlanders 22 – 28 Rebels | 06:05 | Sky Sports Action |
| Waratahs 29 – 17 Lions | 08:15 | Sky Sports Action |
| Edinburgh 14 – 6 Cardiff | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Leinster 55 – 19 Glasgow | 19:35 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Gloucester 17 – 23 Sale | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 29th February
| Hurricanes v Sunwolves | 03:45 | Sky Sports Action |
| Reds v Sharks | 08:15 | Sky Sports Action |
| Stormers v Blues | 13:05 | Sky Sports Action |
| Harlequins v Exeter | 15:00 | BT Sport 2 |
| Bulls v Los Jaguares | 15:15 | Sky Sports Action |
| Munster v Scarlets | 17:00 | TG4 / Free Sports |
| Dragons v Cheetahs | 17:15 | S4C / Premier Sports 2 |
Sunday 1st March
| Bath v Bristol | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
Ovally Balls 
Drags were awful, and Sam Davies will get plaudits but he was also really awful.
Hats off to the Cheetahs for giving it a bash in dreadful conditions, regardless of win or lose. My new second favourite team.
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I know Ryle’s brother Ted.
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That took me a second there. Ticht. Good one.
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Just at the pub with Mrs Craig’s talking about Biddenden and stressed syllables.
Fuck the rule we say. Fuck em. Cos none of it’s stressed. An awkward word which, like most of Kent, does not abide by the rulez.
Bdddndndndn till I die innit.
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He really is a terrific guitar player, BB, but also a complete arse – something I only learned later.
I was a bit of a fan as a 15 – 16 year old.
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Chimpie got a new job?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-51674019
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My eldest was fairly shocked – he’d never seen someone throwing digs like that before… you get a bit of pushing and shoving, jersey pulling at U14 (like pro rugby) but never someone throwing haymakers like that….
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Biggar looked to pick up a bad knee injury in the Northampton vs Saracens game.
Could be a cricket score at Twickenham next weekend.
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Well, that’s rugby fucked.
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£300m just to listen to Stuart Barnes?
No thanks. BT Sport might not be perfect (hi, Austin), but I’d far rather they would be the ones showing the 6N if it had to go behind a paywall. But it shouldn’t be – I thought it was one of those tournaments that was supposed to be protected from doing this?
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A travesty! As I understand it, 6N must be free to air by act of Parliament, but the act is expiring.
Someone start a petition!
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The World Cup final is the only match protected under the rule. 6 Nations games are in another category but have to be shown on free-to-air but this can be as delayed transmission or highlights.
I don;t think it’d be a great idea but the rugby authorities have a keen nose for moolah.
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7 minutes gone. Connacht 14-0 up in Port Elizabeth.
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Matt Healey off injured. Peter Robb replaces. Gets a red for an elbow to the throat. Hit the chest first but didn’t look good and the TMO didn’t spell it out to the ref so red for Robb.
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Think I’ve found a new recipe for Chimpie to try.
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Went outside for a ciggie. Kings now 14-14. Connacht down to 13 and some injuries in the front row,
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Remember Mrs BB’s Grand Plans I told you about a couple of weeks ago? The glossing of the kitchen/living room door, the changing of the paint (and the curtains), then the new suite?
Well, we’ve bought a new corner and TV unit…..
This after a certain person told me this morning that we wouldn’t be changing them.
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Feeds one American, Refit?
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Sounds like you will be building a grand credit bank for beer drinking and rugby watching, BB. Everyone wins.
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Rhys Webb starting for Bath, will be interesting to see how he goes (looking sharp already).
Good break by Bristol down the right, Vui stretching to score in the corner.
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Lovely stuff. Pen advantage for Bristol. Sheedy throws a dummy and steps through the Bath rush defence. He puts in a lovely chip that lands right in Leiua’s hands, who scores in the corner.
3-12
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The heavens have opened in Bath and it’s becoming a bit of a quagmire around the Bristol line. Bath have set up camp and a series of pick & drives ends in a yellow for Bristol lock Joyce.
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Bath opt for another scrum, Faletau picks off the back but it ends in a Bristol pen and they can clear their lines. Good work by Luatua, securing the turnover.
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Probably all seen this before, but thought it was fun given the linguistic chat recently:
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Bath being battered by Bristol. Who knew?
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Bristol backs bedazzling Bath! Bravo!
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Wasps seem to be performing significantly better since Dai Young’s departure…………………
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Touch of class by The Preist. Louw is a dummy runner opens a big gap for him to break into the Bristol half. Chudley is in support and gets the ball to score under the posts.
13-19
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Bath blast back! Bloody brilliant!
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Or what Refit said.
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refit, have been having the odd problem with vipbox recently. Any other sites that are better?
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Cricfree(.sc) isn’t too bad. http://www.myp2p.at can be a bit of a pain with page reloads when you click a link, but is decent when it gets going.
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‘Twas the Ulsterman wot won it.
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Grand. Cheers, refit
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Meanwhile the Mighty Wolves in the top 6 after sorting out Spurs 2-3. Marvellous.
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regularly?
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……..and by whom?
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Finn back!
But not quite yet…..
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/01/finn-russell-agrees-return-to-scotland-camp-after-gregor-townsend-talks#maincontent
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ticht, do you know this show: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00k307q/speaking-our-language-series-4-episode-5 ?
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Į̵̨̧̢̡̯̩͍̖͎̩͉̫̬̠̮̥̺̻̬̪̰̖̲̭̮̭̫̤̤͙̣͎̣̪̭̣̿̎͊̒̆́̈̍́̊͊̊̂̓̉̃́͝ͅ ̴̨̢̢̢̢̗͇̜̲̝̪̯̠͍̦͈̫̪̜̫̠̳̯̮̖̝̘͉̼̹̙̺̾̍̋̌̃͆̽̈́̽̔̃̾̎͑̍͑̈́̾̿̇̚̕͘͜͝͠͝͝ͅͅh̵̳̗͙̗͙̺̃̋̽̃̑̓̋͑̂̍͆̾̊̐͊̎̂͒̎̿̃́̀̚̕͘͝e̵͓̹̲̤̞͖̦͊͜á̷̡̨͇͙͉͕̫̗͕̟̻͉͍̞̰̇̅̿͆͗̉̎̈́̋͐̈́̌̊͐̈͒̅̇̊̂̐̾͘̕͜͜͜͝͠͝ͅr̷̨̢̡̳͇̻̩̙̩̬̜̫̙͉̲̹̲̭͉̘͎̗͎̠̣͇̞̟͇̈́̇̆̒̊̾̉̍͋̏̈́̓̂̊͐́̓̓͒̇͊́̔̌̎̽̿͌͗͋̇͠͠͝͝͝ͅ ̶̨̢̛̜̜͔̝̲̼̩̜̳͕̜̠͒̾͛͗́̈́͑̉͋̓͗͌̓͊͛̅͂̒͌̽̈́̀̀͌͌́̃̈͒̕̚͘͘̚̕̚͘͘͜͠J̵̨̧̢̧̨̩̠̯̝̭̦̳̖̼̭̪̞̞̪͉̠̫̙͚̫̱̜̯̗͓̹̘̻̫̲̜̩̣͕͙̈́̈́̑̑̇͒͐å̸̢̛̞̺̟̥̦͉̯̪̗̥͈̙̺̎́͊̒̄́̑͂̐͌̒̉̿̐͂̇̀̒͝m̴̧̧̧̩̖̫̫̯̖̹̜̦̤͍͓͓̖̱͔͔̜͍̻̫̫͍͓̻̺͚̭̰͇̗͔̺͉͋̀̀̂̊̌͊͛̿̾̔́͒̃̀͌̐̅̿͆̊̉̾͐͘͜͝ͅè̸̢̢̹̘̤͔̮͙̲͕̳̙͚̲͍̼̳͔̥̩̥̖͚̲̪̤̲̙̇̈́̎̅̀̊̍̑̚s̷̨̢̢̛͔͕̱̣̩̯̟̻͖͇͖̱̱͕͕͍̳̥̮̳̈́̑̆̆́͐̅̎͐̑͑͗͑̃̊̉̚͘̕͠ ̸̨̝͖͓̩̜̤̬̈͋̏͂͗̈́̓̽̔̓͗͠ͅḨ̵̰̜͈͉̣̱̮̤̩͓͇̹̘̥̲̣͓̖̜̈́ó̷̧͖̟̘̲̟̺͓̬͕̯̜͇̑́̀́̒̾̎ơ̶̡̢̛͙̝͍̮̼̭͎̞͇͓̮͈̟̩̙̞̻̳̟̟̙̼̦͇̫͇̩̤̬̯͈̩̘͖͑̇̿̒̽̀̀̏̋̈́̍̿̓̍̾̽̈́̈́͋̀̅̔̋̎̋̕̚͘̕͜͝͝k̴̡̢̡̢̛̦̱̭͚̬̫̼̦̫̜͎̥̲̖̳̩͇̈͐̈̓͋̀͋̔̃̐͐͂̈̈́̋̅̕͘ͅͅ ̵̫̭̫͆̊̃̍̂̋̅̑̑̉̆̈́̈͆̌̅̇̿͒̌̚į̵̨̛̺̘̝̣̞͈͍̟͔̲̟̙̜̯̥̫̘͖͙͍̜͎̥͉͍̀̏̿͑̈͂̂͗̃̊̀̍̑̇͌̿͘̕͜͠͠͝ṣ̵̢̡̨̛͉̱̱̱̹̝̺͈̳̘͔̥͔͈͚̞̻̻̩̗͇͎̟̩́͒͌̅̂̅̾͋̀̇̋̆̎̂̏̾̆̂͗͗̔̐͂̾̓̌̌̕͠͝͝͠ ̸̨̛̭̖̦̖͚̱̣̻͎͍̗̒̄̂̈́͛͋̌̔́̋͐͌̒̔̒̃̈́̃̓̍̄͊̐͒̔̓͐̈́̚͘̚͠͝͝ģ̷̢̢̪̖̫̭̭̪͔̠͖͍̦͖̠̗̗̙̜̤̱͉̜͇̖͛̏́͘ͅọ̵̯̱͓͍͈̬̭̬̱̳̫͕̪͓̬̪̭͇̞͑̃̀̓͑̈̚͜͜͝͠ͅͅi̵͍̮̪͎̜͑͌̾̋̓̀̀̅̽̓͑͆̂̎͊͛͂͑͗͐̉͂̒̈̑̔̓́̔̈́͂̑͂̚͝͝͝ņ̸̡̡̡̧̘͉͙̼͇͚̞̲͈̩͇̞̪̭̩͖̫̤͕̩̜̠̺̞̭̬͈̦͇̻̇̀̏̀̾́̃͛̚͜͜͝͝ͅg̸̜͉̱̣̭̤̙̘͖̬̓͛̿̾̍̈̿͊̏́̿͛̔̂̈́̓͑̏̈̓̀̍̚̚̕ ̶̡̨͔̺̣̭̩̬̼̻͇̤̙̱̬̼̳͚̭̳͑̔̿͛̈́̊͛͗̀͋͊̐͂̉̆̚̚͜͝ͅw̶̧̛̛͇̟̖͎̹͓̜̟̘̫̗̺̠̩̱͙̯̙̜͉͋̏͛̔́̄͐̊̂̆̔̌͗̎́͆̚̚͜͜ė̵̢̨̢̢̢̡̲̮̘̝̭̤̜̞̤̺͍̤͕̫͎̟̤͂͆͐͛̓͘͠ḻ̴̢͙̱͖̘̥͉̳̖͎́̿͆͂̓̈́̊́̒̂̇͋̉̚͘̚̚͝ļ̶̧͈̝̺̮̹̙̗̬̹̞̼̹͖̯͔͖̼͕͚̫̜͍̳̭̲̜͍͇̝̺̉͛͆̿̍̑͆͊̔̓͑̋̈́͑̀͛̈́͋̃͂̚̕͘̕͜͜͝ͅ ̵̧̡̡̢̢̛̰͚̹̙̘̥͈̝̬͚̻̯̳̹̯̺̮̬̯̮͓̪̯̲̣̟̃̂͌̉͌̄̒͆͋̿̔̀́̓͐̂́̎̊̓̀̓̿̚̚͝ͅd̸̡̧̼͖̜̠̙͙͓͍̣͓̠̭̜͕̻̼̣͍̬̬̱̎̎̓͂̋̿͂̀̆̆͛̂͌̒̓̈͑͐̓͘͜͝͝o̸̧̠̳̠̲̭͂͗̊̐̌̀̈́̈͂̍̓̌̈̈́́̚̕w̸͚͚̖͚̔̔̈́͂̊͂̏̊̌́̕̕n̴̢̡͇̦͕͓͙̫̼̮̟̜̝̣͖̱̰̭̬̣͍̬̜̠͈̬̮̺̦̐̈̏̉̿̊̄͜ ̵̨̧̧̡̭͓̰̤̭̟̱͖͖͎̭͕̥̱͓̥͖̻͈̜̬͙̲͉̤͖̝͓̣͑̒̒͘i̸̛̛͖̮̮̣̹̗̼̜̙̗̒͋̀̅̊͒͑̏̾́̿̉́͌̽̑͘͘ņ̴̢̤̯̺͚̺͈̮͖̻̞̭̺̫̝̤̮̻͚̦̹͓́̋͐̄̇̍̏͂͜ ̸̨̡̧͚͈̳̳̼͖̘̺̙͙̯͉̻̯͓͓̮̬̠̺̭͇̞̦̻̖͇̲̙̝͇͙̺̠̏͐̓̓̓͌̒̈́͂̋͊̊͐̈́̈́͂̆̈̅̿̽͛̓̈́̂͘͜͜F̵̧̲̭̝͔̾͊̑͐͛̽̑͑̌͂̍̅́̂͒̀̋͗̎́̄̓̈́̋́̓͒͛̕̕̕͝͝͝͠r̸̘͎̣̟̣͖̼͕̥͕̔̒̍͐͒̈́͂̉̏̒͜a̷̛̰͚̝͓̩̬̬̲̤̭̭̰̭̪̝͔̠͈̣̪̺̖͇͕͉̠̙̰̫͚͙͔̖͓̮̭̰̣̐̔̅̿͊̍̈́̌̑̒̔̀͋̕͜͠n̶̡̡̦̥͚͕̞͍̯̼̟̯̲͕̝͔̠̗͕͚͆̐̚͜c̶̡͎̟̞̪̮̩̖̟̘̣͎͖̟̳̰͉̥̖͓̲͉̪͙̰̻̈́̓̃̕͜͠͠e̴̢̨̧̧͚̥̯̲͖̫̘̳͈͚͍͈̩̯͈̪̳̗͓̭̟̩͖̤̣̺͚̲̟̐͊͜.̴̨̦̭͙̣̩̖̯̥̱̈̾̄͐̈́̉̌̂̎͝͝
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Interference on that post from Mars.
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Klaatu Barada Nikto?
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Slade I was at that game in Racing where La Rochelle were nilled.
They’re frighteningly good, particularly in defence. La R weren’t that bad and also defended ferociously. And yet shipped 50 points.
Even with a third of their squad with Fance, Racing looked unbeatable. Finn was okayish. It will take a very good team to deny them the Hcup and/or the Bouclier.
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Thanks Tam, I do know it. Not all of the episodes are on the iPlayer but they are available with worksheets etc elsewhere on the www.
I haven’t had time beyond doing the Duolingo work, but I must make the effort to find some
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so, Finn being brought gradually back into the fold eh? Was never going to be in the 6N, but at least there’s progress.
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Chimp, it’s called face saving exercise.
Can’t last long, especially if Finn is brought back to give his input.
Scotland can’t really afford to play without him and he can’t be bigger than the team. I love him as a player and don’t think much of Townsend as a coach but it’s an impossible conundrum.
The French football team was almost instantly better without Cantona. He may have been the best player then ( although Zizou was coming in) but he was too disruptive. Coach was right to sack him but it’s easy to say in hindsight.
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Well quite. GT can’t be seen to give ground in this and fair enough IMO. Hopefully a bit of time out will make Russell realise he’s not bigger than the the team etc.
I have no problem with Hastings starting but if he gets injured the options are exceedingly thin on the ground. so we do need him back….
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I find these rumours of the 6N going behind a paywall displeasing.
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Space update for yosoy:
‘SpaceX’s huge Starship spacecraft has exploded during a test.’
Not going to Mars this week.
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I don’t want any negative reporting. Positives only, please.
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