This weekend sees the start of the new Pro-14 season, and the finish of the English Premiership. The only guarantee is that Saracens will be dead last, which will have rugby fans all over Europe crying disconsolately into their beer.
On the telly
Friday 2nd October
| Zebre v Cardiff | 18:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Ulster v Treviso | 20:15 | Premier Sports1 |
| Leinster v Dragons | 20:15 | S4C / Premier Sports 2 |
Saturday 3rd October
| Scarlets v Munster | 15:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Green v Gold | 16:00 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Connacht v Glasgow | 17:15 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Edinburgh v Ospreys | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
Sunday 4th October
| Gloucester v Northampton | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Leicester v Harlequins | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| London Irish v Bristol | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Sale v Worcester | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Saracens v Bath | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
| Wasps v Exeter | 15:00 | BT Sport 3 |
Ovally Balls 
Got plenty of beer.
And about 7 litres of wine fermenting.
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The Telegraph are offering me “Unrivalled clarity” free for one month. I could do with some, but I’m concerned they might not really have any.
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Chimpie – covid secure booze supplies. Nice!!
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Just to mention that my beaver-awe hindered my mentioning that that place in Ulm was also a duck paradise. I also learned that coots are aggressive, dominating little bastards in the world of wildfowl, which was a surprise to me.
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@BB – good call. Hearing Jackie deadpanning the opening two lines of Say a Little Prayer is a favourite of mine.
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Coot = Scrum Half?
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CMW unrivalled clarety is far better.
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Calling me a coot, dawg?
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I would rate both Craigs and Stewart Lee a 10 in comparison to Marler and Spitting Images’ efforts.
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Indeed. Coots are the scrum halves of the waterways.
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Magnificent creatures, Coots.
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Oooohhhh, cheers Iks. Whenever you mention beavers I’m reminded of this:
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“Calling me a coot, dawg?”
More a hen.
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Cluck off you bastard!
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You can rail against me all you like…
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WALES SQUAD
Forwards (21): Rhys Carre (Cardiff Blues, 8 Caps), Wyn Jones (Scarlets, 25 Caps), Nicky Smith (Ospreys, 35 Caps), Ken Owens (Scarlets, 77 Caps), Ryan Elias (Scarlets, 13 Caps), Sam Parry (Ospreys)*, Samson Lee (Scarlets, 41 Caps), Dillon Lewis (Cardiff Blues, 26 Caps), Tomas Francis (Exeter Chiefs, 48 Caps), Leon Brown (Dragons, 10 Caps), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys, 138 Caps), Will Rowlands (Wasps, 1 Cap), Jake Ball (Scarlets, 46 Caps), Seb Davies (Cardiff Blues, 7 Caps), Cory Hill (Cardiff Blues, 25 Caps), Aaron Wainwright (Dragons, 21 Caps), Ross Moriarty (Dragons, 45 Caps), Taulupe Faletau (Bath, 76 Caps), Josh Navidi (Cardiff Blues, 24 Caps), Justin Tipuric (Ospreys, 76 Caps), Josh Macleod (Scarlets)*.
Backs (17): Rhys Webb (Ospreys, 33 Caps), Gareth Davies (Scarlets, 53 Caps), Kieran Hardy (Scarlets)*, Dan Biggar (Northampton, 83 Caps), Rhys Patchell (Scarlets, 19 Caps), Callum Sheedy (Bristol)*, Owen Watkin (Ospreys, 22 Caps), Nick Tompkins (Dragons, 4 Caps), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets, 81 Caps), Johnny Williams (Scarlets)*, George North (Ospreys, 95 Caps), Josh Adams (Cardiff Blues, 24 Caps), Louis Rees-Zammit (Gloucester)*, Jonah Holmes (Dragons, 3 Caps), Leigh Halfpenny (Scarlets, 89 Caps), Ioan Lloyd (Bristol)*, Liam Williams (Scarlets, 63 Caps).
Some good young lads. Good to see Navidi and Foxy back. Jonah Holmes still a mystifying pick.
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And France:
France squad:
Forwards: Cyril Baille (Toulouse) Jean-Baptiste Gros (Toulon), Julien Marchand (Toulouse), Camille Chat (Racing 92), Peato Mauvaka (Toulouse), Demba Bamba (Lyon), Georges-Henri Colombe Reazel (Racing 92), Bernard Le Roux (Racing 92), Paul Willemse (Montpellier), Killian Geraci (Lyon), Romain Taofifenua (Toulon), Charles Ollivon (Toulon – captain), Francois Cros (Toulouse), Cameron Woki (Bordeaux-Begles), Dylan Cretin (Lyon), Gregory Alldritt (La Rochelle), Selevasio Tolofua (Toulouse).
Backs: Antoine Dupont (Toulouse), Baptiste Serin (Toulon), Romain Ntamack (Toulouse), Matthieu Jalibert (Bordeaux-Begles), Virimi Vakatawa (Racing 92), Arthur Vincent (Montpellier), Gael Fickou (Stade Francais), Olivier Klemenczak (Racing 92), Vincent Rattez (Montpellier), Arthur Retiere (La Rochelle), Teddy Thomas (Racing 92), Anthony Bouthier (Montpellier), Thomas Ramos (Toulouse).
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I’d pick Elliott Dee on the wing before Jonah sodding Holmes.
Pivac Out!
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Not many missing from the Wales squad who would have an obvious chance of playing. Tomos Williams, Anscombe, Ellis Jenkins if he isn’t finished, Lane, Shingler I guess. Anyone else?
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Ah, there’s one. Where is Dee?
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What’s happened to Beard? He was alll right whenever it was in the old normal days.
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Anscombe’s knackered for another year I was reading.
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Might be the end for him too then. Forgot about Beard – I believe he was in the Ospreys team at the weekend and yes he did seem to go OK for Wales, certainly had a knack when it came to defending mauls.
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AWJ really is a machine! What I found a bit surprising was Samson Lee only has 41 caps. I thought he’d have a fair few more than that, but he has been in and out the team on reflection, so I’m not sure why I’m even writing this, let alone posting it.
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‘Fox News host Laura Ingraham has warned that Joe Biden will institute “rolling lockdowns” to control the coronavirus – turning the US into Wales.’
the horror
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Does this mean anywhere that has a lockdown will turn into Wales?
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Bad news for the Scotland rugby team if it does.
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We’re under a lockdown so we’re already Wales.
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will make picking the Lions easier
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Sag was always pining for a return to Yr Hen Ogledd.
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Is this like Wales?
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Ireland’s Six Nations squad
Forwards: R Baird, F Bealham, T Beirne, E Byrne, W Connors, J Conan, C Doris, C Healy, D Heffernan, I Henderson, R Herring, R Kelleher, P O’Mahony, A Porter, Q Roux, James Ryan, John Ryan, CJ Stander, J van der Flier.
Backs: B Aki, R Byrne, J Carty, A Conway, S Daly, C Farrell, J Gibson-Park, R Henshaw, H Keenan, J Larmour, K Marmion, S McCloskey, C Murray, G Ringrose, J Sexton, J Stockdale.
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Ulster fan pleasing: MCloskey in.
Ulster fan displeasing: Cooney out.
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Hope my doing all this leg-work on behalf of Irish fans is appreciated.
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He missed out bus stops, Craigs.
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You’ll never please Ulster fans.
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“Is this like Wales?”
Yes. Only colder and in some parts drier.
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There’s a relative lack of tanning salons in Scotland and all.
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Tbh growing up in Scotland and Wales sounds like Kent but with worse weather and less general crime.
Am just hoping covid doesn’t creep down just yet. Cos gin might.
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Gnome update. One student told me she has a fair number of friends living near the border with Germany and they have garden gnomes but ‘closer to Prague you don’t see them (gnomes) so much’.
Sounds as if even being close to Germany increases your susceptibility to splashing out on a garden ornament.
This is backed up by a conversation I had yesterday with another student, who is from the town of Jirkov (which I often confuse with Jankov). Jirkov’s about 15 kilometres from the border and her family are into ceramic hedgehogs and frogs.
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‘There’s a relative lack of tanning salons in Scotland and all.’
there is?
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Ably pre-empted by Chimpie.
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One student told me she has a fair number of friends living near the border with Germany and they have garden gnomes but ‘closer to Prague you don’t see them (gnomes) so much’.
The Magignome Line, perhaps?
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I have a ceramic frog.
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Sancho Panza wants the frog, but he’s not getting it. Same goes for my wooden cow, camel on a spring, Mr Tortoise the doorstop and my decorative cuddly-toy sheep. He has good taste, not that it’s going to do him any good. I won’t be selling any of them to Germans or Czech borderers either.
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“Every year the town organizes the Jirkov Crossmarathon”
Dear me.
According to Wiki the most famous people from Jirkov are a father-and-son pair of sculptors called Brokoff!
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I don’t have a gnome. I live far from Germany.
QED.
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CMW,
Long cellar was built in year 1555. People built the cellar for 40 years. It had 150 counters. Its second name is Sand cellar. Long cellar served to the brewery and to a beer storage. Thanks to this, the beer was better. Beer was brewed in Jirkov from year 1443. People brewed beer in the 16th and 17th centuries. A brewery was built near Long cellar in year 1841; thanks to this, Long cellar lost importance.
Since 2006 the town cellars are accessible for visitors. Since 2011 the town cellars were declares cultural monument.
This part of the wikipedia entry was definitely written as a homework project.
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Hugh Bladen on fire:
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