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 
@refit
Ref blew for a penalty against Sinkler for that as well!
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Bristol/Quins is good fun. Bristol leading 18-8 after 33 mins.
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3rd try to Bristol. 25-8
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Hey, BB
Greatest Scottish Indie bands, ranked https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/may/04/the-greatest-scottish-indie-bands-ranked?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR0-hHFAHOdSqtYjWu8Z8Aqi-F5xMwRy98S2f-ebwy41WjWXvFOeLS1SFAE
My wife reallyed like Orange Juice and Edwyn Collins, I was err, a Fanny
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Seems like Tompkins is signing for the Legends next season.
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@ticht
No Delgados on the list, which is like doing a best outside half list and not having Sam Costelow on it.
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I was a Chemikal Underground fan, ticht. Picked up most anything I could find from the label.
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One of my favourite bands, the Delgados. There was a pub in London we used to go to after work and they’d play your CDs if you asked them. All the bar staff became Delgados fans after I asked them to put on my The Ds at the Beeb.
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The trouble with this no-platforming is it doesn’t just mean that former Home Secretaries who were responsible for the deportation of people who shouldn’t have been deported don’t get the chance to air their views in public but that their children can’t get to air their views in respectable circles.
This is from today’s Sunday Times:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ESlv7AxX0AA4pOe?format=jpg&name=medium
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Yos, Tam, the Delgados do seem to be a big omission from the list
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Thanks Ticht, I’ll have a look at the list after the game.
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20 minutes in to coverage on the BBC on Scotland vs France – we’ve been talking about England.
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Quins demonstrating their well-known inconsistencies – they were very good against Exeter last week. Perhaps it’s just too much to ask every week………………..
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BB, in fairness isn’t the Scotland France programme starting at 14,30.
That’s what my TV guide says anyway.
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Cant believe both Barclay and POC making light of the Marler nonsense. Maybe it’s just something players accept and find funny.
It could easily be a police matter as far as I’m concerned.
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I wouldn’t want him playing for one of my favoured teams again certainly.
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Fancy Scotland today.
Wishful thinking perhaps
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Dov,
BBC 1 Scotland schedule: https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl6v
Here’s the blurb. There must be something in there which gives the reason as to why they’d be speaking about England but for the life of me I can’t work out what it is. Any ideas?
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1. Marler – great prop, tackler and over the ball. Stupid man. I think he’s finished and that was his way of signing off. A pity. I hope he gets help.
2. George – a bit quiet but in the thick of it. I think LC-D is going to replace him fulltime now.
3. The Sinck – lovely all-round player but bit of a berk sometimes
4. Kruis – will be forever under-rated. Great player and will be missed. Good luck to him.
5.Itoje – Just fantastic at the moment
6. Lawes – Forever a favorite of mine
7. Wilson – Top man and hard
8 Curry – continues to astound
9. Youngs – Holding on ’til the next generation. Played well yesterday but not brilliant
10. Ford – Ever improving – and calmy kicked from the tee when asked. Good tackler now
11. May – hope he’s ok………Daly looked back at home on the wing
12.Farrell – kills you from the tee on no backward steps. He’s an animal, but he’s our animal.
13. Manu – Fantastic threat and good reader of the game – still has his rushes of blood. Red reserved.
14. Watson – welcome back – good player and less bewildered now.
15. Slade – Just a very talented player
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Right you are tomp.
Weird that they schedule 2 different programmes if they essentially the same thing.
They were always going to spend half an hour on the only other game having not had the coverage yesterday.
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Scottish telly, dov. Scottish people who like rugby love hearing about the England team.
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POC is a pretty good technical analyst
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I’m with you as well, dov. I think Scotland can win today.
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I would love to see Dombrant and Randall in England shirts.
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He is ticht.
He’s also very very wrong about Marler
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Scotland bring their game against ireland and avoid silly mistakes they will win. Still think this French team are being overrated.
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I didn’t see the beginning of the programme, Dov
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There was an interesting article on Jamie Ritchie the other day, I’ll post it half time
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France fairly comfortably for me. Scotland just don’t seem to be able to make it gel for long enough each game. Would love to see a rousing Scots win, but my head says no.
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Happy, happy me today. Remember my whinge about the unavailability of proper bagels? Well, it motivated me to do a search and it turns out there’s a bagel bakery in town that does them properly: first boiled, then baked. They’re delicious. Can’t find smoked sablefish, but mackerel does nicely.
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@Thaum – it’s disappointing this news didn’t make it on to the BBC coverage of Scotland-France.
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Bristol win 28-15, just in time for the Scotland match to start.
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I believe our Sag was involved with the AC Acoustics at some point regarding Scottish Indie.
Record labels that took all my money were Les Disques du Crépuscule, 4AD and Beggars Banquet among others.
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Hoping for a cracking game (with a Scotland win, of course).
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There was a in interesting “Just what is a sablefish” item at halftime in one of the other Scotland games though, I’ll have to look it out.
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Gwaan Cov!
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Wtf with that change kit?
Bad start
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Scotland playing in the England ODl cricket world cup winning kit
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Could be a yellow for a tip tackle? Perhaps more? Might only just be a penalty for ‘rolling over’.
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Strange one this as everyone was so low in the first place.
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I’m glad our Blog Queen is being served the bagels she deserves.
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French player gets yellow. Ref says to Hoggy “You happy with that?” Hoggy doesn’t look happy with that.
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I think both teams could feel hard done by there, but the outcome seems fair.
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Hmm. Yellow probably fair
Could have been given red
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Brown’s fecking darts
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Yellow card, give everyone a bagel and carry on.
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Good reffing. Clear and accurate. Listening to the German commentary so there’s a great ref mic.
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Yellow probably right given they were pretty much on the turf already. FFS Scotland on the lineout!
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Lucky boy I’d say.
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N’tamack can’t catch for cack.
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