Your week-end programme, unfortunately mostly brought to you by internet providers and subscription television.
Italy/ Fiji : Saturday 1pm. Cancelled
England/Ireland: Saturday at 3pm
Wales / Georgia: Saturday at 5.15 pm
Scotland/France: Sunday at 4pm
But before that, right after breakfast, you’ll watch the most important game of the week-end, and it has nothing to do with the season.
No, it’s not Ireland at Twickenham, nor France at Murrayfield.
It’s much earlier in the day, and it’s Argentina vs Australia.
Can the Argentineans replicate last Saturday’s fantastic game when they stunned the All Blacks and won 25-15? Can they keep the same intensity and dismantle Australia as well? In the absence of South Africa, could they nick the Tri nations for the first time?
Most neutrals would hope so, but I’m not neutral. I desperately want a win for the South Americans.
Let’s see:
Mario Ledesma has stuck with the same players. Australia have beefed up their pack and recalled a couple of old horses. I doubt it will be enough. When Australia dispatched the ABs B team with not much to spare, Argentina crushed their A team. It suggests a gap in power and organization that Australia should not be able to fill, even in front of their fans. Both teams have great attacking power (often underestimated in Argentina’s case), but Australia’s pack might be on the back foot for long periods, particularly if Nic White is as slow as usual: he’ll be eaten alive by the ferocious Argentina back row.
Open the Malbec, it’s about time.
Argentina: 15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Orlando, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Rodrigo Bruni, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chapparo
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Santiago Grondona, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Emiliano Boffelli, 23 Santiago Cordero
Australia: 15 Tom Banks, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Jordan Petaia, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Reece Hodge, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Matt Philip, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Valetini, 20 Liam Wright, 21 Jake Gordon, 22 Noah Lolesio, 23 Filipo Daugunu
Date: Saturday, November 21
Venue: McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle
Kick-off: 19:45 local (08:45 GMT)
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO: Nic Berry (Australia)
England v Ireland
A bit after lunch, we’ll sit down on the couch (not too comfortably; we don’t want to fall asleep), and we’ll go to England. It’s basically Group A’s final as neither Wales nor Georgia threaten to top the group after their poor results last week.
England did not particularly set the world on fire vs Italy or Georgia, but they’re solid, experienced and well-rehearsed. They stubbornly follow their game plan to the point that they seem bewildered when it does not work. But it’s mightily efficient against most teams. Will it be enough vs Ireland? A better question would be: can Ireland win in Twickenham without Henderson, Furlong, Carbery, Larmour, Ringrose, Henshaw, Sexton? Irish coaches, like most, are conservative and have not really blooded new players.
For all the deserved praise and success that Ireland enjoy at club level, numbers simply dictate that they don’t have enough players to step in when the starters are injured. Not only will Ireland start with three inexperienced players in key positions (FB, FH, SH), but also with predictable centres and a pack that won’t impress England. And then the bench should make a big difference. There was an interesting analysis of the coming game by Irish legend, Shane Byrne, in Planet Rugby; he knows his stuff better than I do, but unlike him, I can’t see anything but a win for England.
Whose round is it now?
England: 15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jonathan Joseph, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 Joe Launchbury, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements: 16 Tom Dunn, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Jonny Hill, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Dan Robson, 22 George Ford, 23 Max Malins
Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Chris Farrell, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris, 7 Peter O’Mahony, 6 CJ Stander, 5 James Ryan (c), 4 Quinn Roux, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 Ronan Kelleher, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Ed Byrne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Will Connors, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Billy Burns, 23 Jacob Stockdale
Date: Saturday, November 21
Venue: Twickenham
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Pascal Gauzere (FFR)
Assistant Referees: Mathieu Raynal (FFR), Alex Ruiz (FFR)
TMO: Nigel Owens (WRU)
Wales v Georgia
Now, wake up please, if only for going to the bathroom. In a few minutes, Wales will take on Georgia.
It may look like a dead rubber to many, but it certainly is not. Both teams desperately need to stop the rot. Georgia’s lame defeats to Scotland and England highlight the gap between tier one and tier two nations: the Georgians will want to prove that they belong to a higher level, but it’s going to be hard. Several of their players play in France, but mostly in the bottom half of the Top 14 or in the ProD2. Expect a lot of naivety in defense and a serious lack of skills in attack.
Wales? According to Boris during PMQs, Wales want to avoid going from the Capitol to the Tarpeian rock, but how? Between Scylla and Charybdis, go with the proven and tested, or with the unknown? Oh Boris, shut up, please! Pivac’s rung the changes: no fewer than thirteen new players, some of them quite exciting. As a game it may not be a classic – such is the difference between the two teams – but at least it should bring back some smiles in Wales.
Time for the kebab.
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Johnny McNicholl, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Johnny Williams, 11 Louis Rees-Zammit, 10 Callum Sheedy, 9 Kieran Hardy, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 James Botham, 5 Seb Davies, 4 Jake Ball, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Elliot Dee, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Sam Parry, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Cory Hill, 20 James Davies, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 Ioan Lloyd, 23 Jonah Holmes
Georgia: 15 Lasha Khmaladze, 14 Akaki Tabutsadze, 13 Giorgi Kveseladze, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Tedo Abzhandadze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Beka Gorgadze, 7 Beka Saginadze, 6 Otar Giorgadze, 5 Kote Mikautadze, 4 Grigor Kerdikoshvili, 3 Beka Gigashvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements: 16 Giorgi Chkoidze, 17 Guram Gogichashvili, 18 Lexo Kaulashvili, 19 Lasha Jaiani, 20 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 21 Gela Aprasidze, 22 Demur Tapladze, 23 Tamaz Mchedlidze
Date: Saturday, November 21
Venue: Parc y Scarlets
Kick-off: 17:15 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce
Assistant referees: Andrew Brace, Frank Murphy
Television match official: Joy Neville
Scotland v France
Sunday in Scotland. Coronavember. In the old days pubs would’ve been closed. Just like now.
Thank dog for the rugby.
This is going to be an intriguing game, and since Fiji’s games were cancelled, it is in fact the final of the group B. Whoever wins gets to go to Twickenham. Unless, of course, Ireland have prevailed the day before, and Wales wake up from their torpor next week (as it is vs England, they may very well). So strike that, it’s just another game.
Shaun Galthié has named a strong team and with the exception of Ntamack, Bouthier and Cros, it’s the team that dispatched Ireland and Wales rather easily. Shaun Servat and Shaun Ibanez will be happy with their pack, as is Shaun Ghezal with his work at the line out. Shaun Shaun Edwards is not so happy with his pupils as they keep leaking tries, but the other Shauns don’t mind, as they score more tries than their opponents. Speaking of which, Scotland seem a bit weakened with the absence of Finn and his deputy Hastings. But they’ve got a great pack, an outstanding back row (Richie would be the first on my list), and in Hogg the best counter-attacker in Europe (bar Cheslin Kolbe, of course).
I wish I could elaborate but teams have not been announced, so I’ll just predict a wonderful game with plenty of tries.
Shaun Shaun may sulk. I don’t mind.
Oops, here is France. As predicted a couple of days ago.
France : 15. Ramos; 14. Thomas, 13. Vakatawa, 12. Fickou, 11. Rattez ; 10. Jalibert, 9. Dupo,t ; 7.Ollivon (cap.), 8. Alldritt, 6. Cretin ; 5. Taofifenua, 4. Le Roux ; 3. Bamba, 2. Chat, 1. Gros.Bench : 16. Marchand, 17. Baille, 18. Haouas, 19. Willemse, 20. Woki, 21. Couilloud, 22. Carbonel 23. Vincent.
As prognosticated by Flair99
Onna telly this week
Friday 20th November
| Harlequins v Exeter | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
| Sale v Northampton | 20:00 | BT Sport Extra |
Saturday 21st November
| Argentina v Australia | 08:45 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Bulls v Pumas | 11:55 | Sky Sports Arena |
| England v France (women) | 12:00 | BBC Two |
| Bath v Newcastle | 12:30 | BT Sport Extra |
| Cheetahs v Griquas | 14:25 | Sky Sports Arena |
| England v Ireland | 15:00 | Channel 4 / Amazon Prime |
| Leicester v Gloucester | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Worcester v London Irish | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Wales v Georgia | 17:15 | S4C / Amazon Prime |
Sunday 22nd November
| Wasps v Bristol | 13:00 | BT Sport 1 |
| Zebre v Connacht | 14:30 | FreeSports |
| Scotland v France | 15:00 | Amazon Prime |
| Ospreys v Treviso | 15:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Leinster v Cardiff | 17:15 | S4C / Premier Sports 1 |
| Ulster v Scarlets | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
Monday 23rd November
| Dragons v Edinburgh | 18:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Glasgow v Munster | 20:15 | Premier Sports 2 |
Ovally Balls 
Ireland running g from deep doesn’t work. They’re not putting pace on the ball, varying the angle of attack or even supporting the ball carrier very well. Problem is, keeping it tight they’re losing the collisions.
LikeLike
Nige with a bit of magic.
LikeLike
Nige blind to the English high tackles, not-straight throws and Itoje’s knock-on when he ‘stole’ the line-out ball.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Ticht no – was Simmonds looking good?
LikeLike
Ticht, not bound I’d say so not part of the ruck. Bit rough on him but by the book,
LikeLike
GET BLOODY MURRAY ON!!!
LikeLike
Oh, JGP. Awful.
LikeLike
Dab, yeah he was outstanding, it’s worth looking for highlights to see his try where he outstrips wingers and all sorts from 30 odd metres, but all round he had a very good game
LikeLike
Farrell’s reading the blog!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Is Andy Farrell thinking, “miss miss miss” when Jnr lines up a pot at goal?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ireland may want to invite Zac Burger from Griquas to tea. A 9 who is playing great rugby for a smaller union here. Gibson-Park isn’t up to it.
LikeLike
Farrell’s reading the blog!
And leaving Aki to read the game.
LikeLike
If there’s one result from this match, it should be that Cooney is the next SH on the match-day 23.
LikeLike
Murray off!
LikeLike
He’s about the 10th best half back in SA with more coming through. Bobby Alexander, also from Paarl Gim, is good. My bets are Nohamla and Hendrickse from the Sharks and Bernard van der Linde at the Bulls – he’s solid gold.
LikeLike
I loathe seeing Jamie George taking the receiving the ball on the wing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dab, fat lads called Jim on the wing for both sides.
LikeLike
That was brainless from England. So, so poor.
LikeLike
He is, which is why I’d rather he went to Ireland than anyone else. Still way better than G-P. Keep up, I don’t want our best going to Ireland, more the Quinn Roux level players.
LikeLike
Good lord, all of a sudden we’re winning scrums. Going for the corner – whew! Hope we get some points.
LikeLike
Bad decision.
LikeLike
Faz’s tackle at the beginning of that move was instrumental in the eventual turnover. Great stuff!
LikeLike
… And Faz’s blocking gives Ireland a line-out in the 22.
LikeLike
We get two Ulstermen on the pitch and spend all the time in England’s 22. Not managed to score yet, mind (I don’t think this is a try). But surely it’s time for a card?
LikeLike
What a tackle from Slade!
LikeLike
I must admit it was a great tackle.
LikeLike
That seemed harder not to score, than to score. Impressive by Slade.
LikeLike
Fucking hell.
LikeLike
Superb defence!
LikeLike
Shit lineout!
LikeLike
Just not Ireland’s day
LikeLike
Genge’s hair – did he lose a bet? Or a fight with a strimmer?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ireland gonna get nilled here. Unbelievable.
LikeLike
AT LAAAAAST!
Take back everything I said about ye, Stockdale.
LikeLike
Refit, it’s a micro mullet
LikeLike
Deserved try from Ireland, but a decent fullback would have done better defending that.
LikeLike
Great try Stockdale! 2 converted tries in the next 5 minutes?
LikeLike
We only need to convert one of them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Not that way. Maro of the Match goes to a bloke called Itoje. Assume he’s the guy who makes May look good?
LikeLike
Not Doris’s day.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Big Ellis’s hair looks ok. (In comparison to Will Stuart’s barnet).
LikeLike
With it being Movember there’s plenty of taches on display but Genge is the only one who looks like he hasn’t grown it ironically.
LikeLike
It seems like EJ thinks defenders are so on top at the moment that he’s given up thinking about attack. Really disappointing performance despite this being a comfortable win against a decent side.
LikeLike
Thank fuck we didn’t get nilled. Better side won; congratulations England.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dab, nice to see you here. Yup got to agree. Wings rarely get the ball in space, and when we do, its a hooker. Daly kicked again with May in the open 20 yds to a 1 on 1 too. Youngs and Faz just look totally unimaginative, and England totally lacked ambition in the second half, seemed happy to kick away posession and drive the Irish back in the tackle.
LikeLike
Itoje’s poetry’s shit but he’s far too smart to have suffer post-match interview questions from Rob Vickerman.
LikeLike
Next tim I see Shane Byrne, beers are on him.
I actually met him once, in an Irish pub in Paris. Nice guy.
Impressive defense by England, made it a bit easy by the predictability of Ireland’s attack. Why wait 75 minutes for a little gruber kick when you constantly bounce back ? And please bring Cooney in.
Wonderful try by Johnny May.
Thanks for the link. A bit dodgy but I saw most of the game.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thought Robson was awful when he came on. His pass kept putting people in trouble.
LikeLike
Flair – May’s try was indeed excellent. The bastard.
Why do Georgia look like a Joe Marler tribute band?
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is the Georgia back row
LikeLiked by 4 people