Wasps v Bristol and Exeter v Bath in play-off drama, The Blackness v the Wobblies, and round two of the new Pro-14 season.
And John Cooney inexplicably left out of the Ireland squad.
Here be the weekend fixtures.
On the telly
Friday 9th October
| Sharks v Lions | 5:55 | YouTube / Sky Sports |
| Dragons v Zebre | 20:15 | Premier Sports 2 |
Saturday 10th October
| Wasps v Bristol | 13:30 | BT Sport 1 |
| Cheetahs v Pumas | 15:25 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Exeter v Bath | 16:30 | BT Sport 1 |
| Ospreys v Ulster | 17:15 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Treviso v Leinster | 17:15 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Bulls v Griquas | 17:55 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Cardiff v Connacht | 19:35 | S4C / Premier Sports 2 |
| Munster v Edinburgh | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
Sunday 11th October
| New Zealand v Australia | 04:00 | Sky Sports Main Event |
| Glasgow v Scarlets | 17:15 | Premier Sports 1 |
Ovally Balls 
That’s better. Time for a new image I think.
LikeLike
Now for my phone?
LikeLike
Ah, Bruce Craig. One doesn’t see enough of his chipmunky little face in one of BK’s posh boxes nowadays.
LikeLike
Thanks for the link to the interview, BB. I quite liked Ansbro when he was a player and he’s one of those players who one wonders what might have been.
On the other hand, this is prose I could’ve done without reading:
“Adopted into a white family, a young Ansbro grew up in Dumfries before being schooled in the art of rugby in Lancashire. Soon the call of university at Cambridge followed, but it was the attention of Northampton while on the field that would change the trajectory of his rugby route.”
LikeLike
We watched Lubitch’s To Be or Not To Be last night. What a film.
LikeLiked by 1 person
‘Mon ra Weedge!!!
Need a win tonight.
LikeLike
Border kitty?
LikeLike
Nah. Next door neighbour’s cat. Although the amount of time he spends either on our front windowsill or at the back door complaining (loudly) that we’re not letting him in and glaring at me (see above) when we don’t, he might as well be. Although he does exactly the same with his owner, and the house on her other side, AND the house down from there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why dugs are better than cats, episode 45,207.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ach, I don’t mind him really. He likes to roll around on the patio out our back door and we’ve had some good conversations if I’ve been out there.
On the other side of that, there are a few houses around here that seem to have yappy wee mutts (not classed as ‘dugs’). Heard one in the street behind us yapping for about 15/20 minutes one night. That was bad enough, but it was round about midnight.
LikeLike
we’ve had some good conversations
What does he think about the new law changes? And Scottish independence?
True that wee yappy things are not proper dugs.
LikeLike
He’s unsure about the former and in favour of the latter.
LikeLike
Let the poor troubled cat in, BB! Thauma must be nearby…
LikeLike
He’s certainly not ‘troubled’ in any way, just grumpy. Anyway, he’s already sauntered in the back door a couple of times during the better weather, so don’t want to encourage him any more.
LikeLike
Scarlets’ fightback is on.
LikeLike
Valiant, if fruitless effort, by Steff Evans.
LikeLike
Good win by the boys!
LikeLike
Good win by the boys! Part 2. (The fitba’ team actually won a game!)
LikeLike
Good grief. Scotland winning football games. The end times are here.
LikeLike
LikeLike
He’s a classy guy, donzo.
LikeLike
I really don’t get this “politics should be polite” vibe that Democrats (and their British equivalents) go for. The result’s the same – an enemy of the USA got taken out by the good guys and they complain about the tone. Let alone, the fact that bin Laden’s murder may have … may have …. been an assassination but that’s ok as he was measured in the way he spoke.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Democrats are a bit less measured when they think the cameras aren’t rolling
LikeLike
It wasn’t so much the ‘impoliteness’. It was the surrealist wittering about the ‘beautiful dog’ and whinge about not getting credit.
LikeLike
What’s the world coming to when a western government can’t politely gloat about assassinating ne-er-do-wells around the world with impunity?
LikeLike
“It wasn’t so much the ‘impoliteness’. It was the surrealist wittering about the ‘beautiful dog’ and whinge about not getting credit.”
Quite, one was presidential in relaying news about the death of a man who claimed responsibility for the biggest attack on the US since Pearl Harbour, frankly news the American people had waited to hear for ten years.
The other was a gloating ignoramus who took personal credit for the actions of the military, despite being a draft dodger who later called soldiers who died “suckers” and “losers”.
The point is about which you’d rather have as a president, and also I suppose about the voters who still support him, despite public displays like this.
LikeLike
You must have missed the bits with Obama.
Better some shit about a dog than the sanctimoniousness ‘God bless America’ shite that Obama was spouting.
Anyway, Trump gave the dog a medal and tweeted a fake photo of it. That’s Presidential.
LikeLike
Can’t be prez without buying into the ‘murican exceptionalism stuff.
Not like trumpton is short of it. As a thin veneer to trump exceptionalism which his first priority.
LikeLike
FORWARDS (23)
Simon Berghan (Edinburgh) – 25 caps
Jamie Bhatti (Edinburgh) – 15 caps
Fraser Brown (Glasgow Warriors) – 50 caps
Blair Cowan (London Irish) – 17 caps
Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) – 12 caps
Cornell du Preez (Worcester Warriors) – 7 caps
Matt Fagerson – (Glasgow Warriors) – 6 caps
Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 29 caps
Grant Gilchrist (Edinburgh) – 42 caps
Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) – 57 caps
Richie Gray (Glasgow Warriors) – 65 caps
Rob Harley (Glasgow Warriors) – 21 caps
Nick Haining (Edinburgh) – 3 caps
Oli Kebble (Glasgow Warriors) – uncapped
Stuart McInally (Edinburgh) – 37 caps
Willem Nel (Edinburgh) – 38 caps
Jamie Ritchie (Edinburgh) – 18 caps
Sam Skinner (Exeter Chiefs) – 7 caps
Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) – 7 caps
Blade Thomson (Scarlets) – 5 caps
Ben Toolis (Edinburgh) – 25 caps
George Turner (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps
Hamish Watson (Edinburgh) – 32 caps
BACKS (17)
Darcy Graham (Edinburgh) – 11 caps
Nick Grigg (Glasgow Warriors) – 9 caps
Chris Harris (Gloucester) – 18 caps
Adam Hastings (Glasgow Warriors) – 20 caps
Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs) CAPTAIN – 76 caps
George Horne (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps
Damien Hoyland (Edinburgh) – 4 caps
Sam Johnson (Glasgow Warriors) – 13 caps
Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 25 caps
Blair Kinghorn (Edinburgh) – 21 caps
James Lang (Harlequins) – 2 caps
Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 48 caps
Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 32 caps
Finn Russell (Racing 92) – 49 caps
Scott Steele (Harlequins) – uncapped
Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh) – uncapped
Duncan Weir (Worcester Warriors) – 28 caps
LikeLike
Scott Steele!
I didn’t realise that Oli Kebble was SQ now, I thought he was next year, but there he is.
LikeLike
Blair Cowan back, also. He’s been good of late.
I’m surprised Sam H-C didn’t make it back into the squad, he has been playing well in recent weeks
LikeLike
Glad Finn is back, hopefully he doesn’t arse up this time.
Steele hasn’t made a squad before but he’s had a lot of starting game time. Imagine SHC would be next cab off the rank.
Centre options aren’t massively whelming. Hope Johnson gets back up to speed quickly, Harris has been going well though.
Cowan is a surprise but back row options are a bit thin on the ground with injuries. would be surprised if he gets much game time.
A back 3 of any of Hogg, Graham, DVDM, Kinghorn or Maitland would be grand. Kinghorn seems better on the wing at international level. Hoyland deserves a call up, can’t see him getting game time though unless injuries.
Bit of a drop off in quality from starting props (z-fags & Sutherland)
I am, to be frank, not feeling massively optimistic.
LikeLike
JVDW is qualified now but he hasn’t exactly made a case for inclusion of late.
LikeLike
Prompted by Ian Gillan article in the Graun, here is a good one, almost a bit proggy for BB.
LikeLike
You can safely forward over the first 50 secs.
LikeLike
So, are the Aussies reborn, or are the ABs on the wane ?
LikeLike
they both suck.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I saw someone note the zippiness of SHC’s pass at the weekend.
He’s capable of a great pass. If he could do it consistently and not wang the pill footward or skywards at regular intervals he may have been a regular internationalist. Be great if he could (finally) sort it out.
LikeLike
If SH-C improves as much as many guys do when they go to Exeter,( doid wonders for Nic White) he will be superb. I was really impressed at how quick his passing was on Saturday, if he can improve the accuracy, he will work really well with Russell. He’s got the break, and the kicking game already.
All Blacks waning, Scotland waxing ?
LikeLike
Ha, yep that was me Chimpie.
LikeLike
‘All Blacks waning, Scotland waxing ?’
Pfffft Pffft. Pfffffft.
Scotland suck too.
LikeLike
@SBT
he could be great. But he’s not that young any more (says the old fart).
LikeLike
Jeez, Chimpie. 27 is a mere baby age. Nic White 30, and I thought he was MoM on Sunday morning. Scrum half could easily play top level International stuff til 35. Get your point about old dogs and new tricks, but Baxter……
LikeLike
Well I’d be delighted if he peaks in the coming years.
LikeLike
We’re in level 3 restrictions here since last Tuesday – so ‘no contact’ training is back on the agenda again – so I guess there’s no excuse for us not to get this beaten out of our U14 charges as there’s very little else we can do except passing drills.
Level 3 is back to mid-June here… takeaway/outdoor service only in restaurants – no “wet” pubs. Stay in your own county and a 5-km limit on travel – unless you can prove your journey is necessary… ie work / shopping.
NPHET – national public health emergency team – equiv to UK’s SAGE had apparently suggested going from level 2 to level 5 – complete lockdown.
Government had a conniption… somehow the recommendation emerged/leaked on a Sunday night. So, it was clear that CMO was going to get a thorough doing-over the next day over the ‘leak’ – I guess it’s an open question of whether the recommendation was leaked by government so they’d be able to take the “higher” ground and deflect the suddenness of the leap.
Right now – we’re up at 600+ cases a day but unlike March/April/May – a lot fewer hospital admissions, ICU admissions and deaths. Level 3 when applied ot Dublin seemd to have stabilised numbers there – so there;s a chance as a state-wide exercise it might also work.
“Oop North” it’s much nastier – 1000 cases yesterday (equivalent to about 2500 down here). Infection rates around Derry are up around 1000 per 100K – ‘world beating’ levels.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Trisk – I hope you are still able to train long term despite the shite situation.
Although, whenever I hear about levels of severity or alert I picture the government of any country doing something like this:
LikeLiked by 2 people
As a result of above – only national rugby competitions are continuing – AIL runs on.
We managed 2 U14 games last weekend (3-4 Oct) before the restrictions came in – no idea when we’ll next play. Our older cohort (Black) won easily enough – our younger group (Red) lost in an away game to Rugbaí Chorca Dhuibnhe (gwee-nuh ….if you’re interested) – they were an older cohort with a very good 12 who made most things happen for them.
Highlight for me was #2 son – in his first game at 10 – scoring a fairly neat try. We were in the RCD 22, and had moved our quick winger into OC. Cathal got the ball as first receiver from the ruck and spotted the defence drifting out where they figured the danger was… he came back on the diagonal and scored under the posts.
We’ve been trying to get the lads to put some width on the ball so I asked him afterwards – why’d you cut back… he said “Oh, I saw the space….”
We can coach some stuff – but I’m not sure you can coach that awareness/vision.
LikeLiked by 4 people
@craigs
There was the comment that if we’re jumping from level 2 to 5 – why have levels 3 and 4?
Yeah, we can train away in pods of 15 – we are allowed tag/touch rugby where the “tag” is two hands on the chest.
I’m always in 2 minds about tag…. on one hand it does (or should) encourage passing and moving the ball wide. On the other it tends to reinforce bad habits with tackling – standing upright, no foot movement…coming from gaelic where you ‘tackle the ball’ (basketball style) – there’s always a tendency to go high where the ball is…. reaching across / pawing with arms instead of lining the man up and leading with the shoulder.
I’m more in favour of tag as a tool nowadays – basically I’m running games of RL-lite. Play-the-Ball after a tackle, turnover possession after 5 tags – only thing I’ve not got them doing (yet) is retreating 5 metres (I’d be afraid they’d do it with rucks – although standing back from rucks a few metres away from the action isn’t an issue some of them have…..)
LikeLike
10 years to the day since Angolan refugee Jimmy Mubenga was killed while on a British Airways plane waiting for take-off at Heathrow. There’s a rugby connection as England Rugby are sponsored by BA so today ‘Lesbians & Gays Support the Migrants staged a protest outside Twickenham Stadium calling on England Rugby to drop British Airways as a sponsor.’
LikeLike
Following up on BBs this day in history series, I was idly browsing and feel really old, today was the day Sid reported Nancys death, and was arrested.
LikeLike