As usual, the Celts took the up-front hit: Ireland v Wales was cancelled postponed, followed by Treviso v Ulster and Zebre v Ospreys. Then came the news that Mako Vunipola was self-isolating from the England camp, although apparently it’s okay to infect the Saracens camp. (They’re relegated anyway: who cares?) Today’s shocking news is that Italy v England is also sacrificed to Covid-19.
But fear not, rugby fans! There is one person on our side, one person who knows that it’s all a big hoax. A person whose intimate involvement with Scottish golf courses has led to a love of rugby, inspired by Gavin Hastings.
“I think the 3.4% [death rate] is really a false number.
“Now, this is just my hunch, based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this, because a lot of people will have this, and it’s very mild – they’ll get better very rapidly, they don’t even see a doctor, they don’t even call a doctor.
“You never hear about those people, so you can’t put them down in the category of the overall population, in terms of this corona flu, and/or virus. So you just can’t do that. So there is no reason for Six Nations matches to be deep-sixed. DBWR are just a bunch of wimps.”
This is of course very comforting, as everyone knows that Donald Trump’s hunches are enormously more accurate than the wild speculations of the World Health Organisation. While it’s true that a vast number of Americans won’t even call a doctor because they can’t afford to, deathly ill or not, the POTUS’s clarion call to laugh and snap our fingers at what the so-called experts are openly referring to as a pandemic will save our Six Nations and Pro-Woo.
The President is being undermined by snivelling lefties who are rejoicing at the thought of millions of people dying, economic Armageddon being unleashed, and – more importantly – rugby matches being cancelled, just to criticise The Donald. As the Guardian (itself a very dubious source) reports:
Peter Hegseth, a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekends, admonished Democrats’ criticism, saying: “They’re rooting for the coronavirus to spread. They’re rooting for it to grow. They’re rooting for the problem to get worse.”
“They’re probably jumping for joy,” Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt said about the Democrats’ reaction to Six Nations matches being cancelled.
OvallyBalls can also reveal that Donald Trump is behind Vunipola’s decision to train with the Saracens:
“If we have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better, just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work, some of them go to work, but they get better, and then when you do have a death, like you’ve had in the state of Washington, like you had one in California, I believe you had one in New York.”
While it turns out that no-one has yet died from coronavirus in New York (it’s only Trump’s home state, so why should he know?), the President’s message is clear: Get to work, you slackers, and you will be healed. Front up to the scrummage. Un-cancel the rugby matches. Work makes you free of coronavirus. Unless you’re dead.
Televisual rugby feasts not cancelled as yet:
Friday 6th March
| Sunwolves 14 – 47 Brumbies | 03:45 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Crusaders 24 – 20 Reds | 06:05 | Sky Sports Action |
| Waratahs 14 – 51 Chiefs | 08:15 | Sky Sports Action |
| Dragons 25 – 37 Treviso (really?) | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
| England 22 – 23 Wales U20s | 19:45 | BT Sport Action |
| Worcester 10 – 16 Saints | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 7th March
| Hurricanes 15 – 24 Blues | 06:0t | Sky Sports Action |
| Rebels 37 – 17 Lions | 08:15 | Sky Sports Action |
| England 66 – 7 Wales (women) | 12:05 | S4C / Sky Sports Action |
| Sharks v Los Jaguares | 13:05 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Bulls v Highlanders | 15:15 | Sky Sports Arena |
| England v Wales | 16:45 | ITV / S4C |
| Scotland v France (women) | 19:45 | BBC Alba / website/ button |
Sunday 8th March
| Bristol v Harlequins | 13:00 | BT Sport 1 |
| Scotland v France | 15:00 | BBC One / website / button |
Ovally Balls 
The Irishman is good but break it into two parts.
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Will try and do both over coming weeks
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Crazy that it was left to 24hrs before
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Indeed – all the fans from Scotland will be there already.
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Blog Meet preparation going well. Down to 8 including the Ikses. I can’t even offer a tour of the duck pond because it’s been drained.
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It’s a dreadful cock-up from the WRU. I don’t think anything has changed drastically between Wednesday and today, and it should have been cancelled before the away supporters were travelling down.
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We still need pics of the blog beerfest Herr Iks! And with your dashing Irish cousin HerrO’Iks.
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Shame his Scottish cousin Iget McIks can’t be there.
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Rugby League to the rescue
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Scotland has just banned gatherings of more than 500 people.
So Embra home games can go ahead?
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Pffft
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Wales v Scotland U20s might be the last game of the season in the NH
Currently Wales 10 – 24 Scotland on 53 mins
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Ooh, you got a link @ticht?
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10-31
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BBC iplayer, Chimpster, S4c
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Ah, got it
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15-31
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Chamberlain the Bristol 10 looks terrific, I’d love him to come to Embra
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Somewhat open game this
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After not even a full season our Super 6 is paying dividends, we used to always get blown away physically at this level but the Scottish lads are not getting bullied
Chamberlain in for a try, good pass from Embra’s Jack Blain
17-38
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Welsh hooker had a turn of pace
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That’s that 17-43, conversion to come 72 mins
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Playing some nice stuff. Another try
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Horrible haircut on Chamberlain
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What kind of monster drains a duck pond?
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Interception. That’s the 50
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So the take away from this weekend is that we gubbed Wales away, putting 50 on them
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Keep telling you Craigs, Iks is evil.
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Could it possibly be Ticht, that we are (possibly, perhaps, maybe) doing something right for once?
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I honestly think the Super 6 has made a difference, BB. There are a few people I “know” online who have connections with the teams and/or sons who play in it and they are saying the boys are benefitting from almost fulltime Strength & Conditioning training as well as spending time with the Edinburgh and Glasgow pros.
The guys who come in from the likes of Sale and Bristol will be used that environment, Ashman and Chamberlain – both of whom I’d love to sign for Edinburgh. Ashman was with Embra for a few months at the start of the season, he looks very much the part
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clumsy writing, but the beer has been flowing
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Well. That’s my rugby fix for the next few months.
Corona virus feeling a bit more real and less theoretical today with everything that’s going on. Acquaintance’s office is shut in embra after someone diagnosed. Some projects at work starting to get impacted.
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It just so happens that I’m doing my Gaelic duolingo
This came up
Bidh e ceart gu leòr
It will be ok
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Ooh! New Furs!
And they’ve gone folky! Sort of. Ish.
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I always liked his voice, BB
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Scrum porn.
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9 should have picked the ball up and gone with it there, Refit, his oppo was miles away on the wrong side.
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Morning all!
I can report that last night’s piss-up went ahead as planned, with Iks, MrsIks, Claw, Boa, Meades, Xan and the mister and me. We are still convening today as planned (more or less), and MrsIks has promised to find a rugby ball that can be chucked around. So there will be rugby, although perhaps not to the high international standard expected. On the up side, there will probably be less punching and gouging, and fewer dodgy ref decisions.
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Is it possible to get a live stream of the event, Thaum? Unable to get a stream on Cricfree or VIP for the Rabbitohs Sharks game, looks like a rugby free weekend unless we can watch you guys. Sounds a bit scrum- lite tho ?
If not, will look forward to the highlights package. Have fun, and please drink too much.
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‘On the up side, there will probably be less punching and gouging,’
Dunno, the duck pond draining might have pushed iks over the edge. He could lose it if a decision goes against him
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Is it possible to get a live stream of the event, Thaum?
Absolutely not. What happens in Heidelberg, stays in Heidelberg.
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Boa and Meades??? Wouldn’t have thought there was enough Brutalist architecture in Heidelberg for them.
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BB – there wasn’t enough Brutalist architecture in Heidelberg….
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Thaum – I suppose it makes sense then to drain away a duck pond to make way for more concrete.
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Apparently Ireland imports 80% of its bog roll from the UK.
Good luck guys.
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Thaum – amazing. Gutted not to be there.
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Am just imagining the conversations with the locals in the pub.
German pub goer. So let me get this right. There’s this rugby tournament between England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France and Italy. You’ve travelled from the UK and Ireland to watch the matches on the telly. In Germany. And the matches have all been cancelled anyway.
Thaum. Yes.
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Ha, here is a good one for the Heidleberg crew. This guy was born there to an American father and a German mother.
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https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/13/premiership-clubs-block-maro-itojes-racing-92-loan-to-spark-row-with-rfu
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He’d play almost every minute of every game if he went.
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