Saturday 28th November 2020
Argentina vs New Zealand
Newcastle, NSW
Kick off 08:45
New Zealand shake up the pack, bringing in prop Nepo Laulala, lock Scott Barrett, and backrow Akira Ioane. Argentina make 10 changes with only Nicolas Sanchez, captain Pablo Matera, Guido Petti, Marcos Kremer and hooker Julian Montoya keeping their places. Question: can Argentina raise it again, or will a New Zealand side facing a third successive loss for the first time since 1998 save face?
A New Zealand loss and the pressure on coach Ian Foster would keep building; can Argentina bring the sustained ferocity of two weeks ago again, or is lifting themselves for a third match in a row too much? Does the passing of Diego Maradona give them something to focus on, or does it unsettle them (or have no effect whatsoever)? One leans towards an All Black win ā if only because they just donāt do consecutive losses very much.
New Zealand ā Beauden Barrett; Jordie Barrett, Anton Lienert-Brown, Jack Goodhue, Caleb Clarke; Richie Moāunga, Aaron Smith; Ardie Savea, Sam Cane (capt), Akira Ioane; Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett; Nepo Laulala, Dane Coles, Joe Moody.
Replacements: Codie Taylor, Karl Tuāinukuafe, Tyrel Lomax, Patrick Tuipulotu, Hoskins Sotutu, TJ Perenara, Rieko Ioane, Will Jordan
Argentina ā Emiliano Boffelli; Ramiro Moyano, Juan Cruz Mallia, JerĆ³nimo de la Fuente, Santiago Cordero; Nicolas Sanchez, Felipe Ezcurra; Facundo Isa, Marcos Kremer, Pablo Matera (capt); Lucas Paulos, Guido Petti; Santiago Medrano, Julian Montoya, Mayco Vivas
Replacements: Santiago Socino, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Lucio Sordoni, Matias Alemanno, Santiago Grondona, Gonzalo Bertranou, Santiago Carreras, Lucas Mensa
Scotland v Fiji
BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Match Cancelled
The āMystic Megā in me predicts the record books will show a 28-0 win for Scotland. Itās a pity that Fiji havenāt had the chance to show what they could do this autumn. Scotland will also regret missing a chance to wrap up with an expected win, and maybe play some more open rugby after what seems to have been something of an arm-wrestle/penalty-fest against France.
Wales v England
Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
Kick-off: 16:00
Having broken ā as expected ā a nasty losing streak against Georgia, Wales now face into an England team that pretty much did to Ireland what Ireland had done to Wales in the first round of matches. That said, in the last Six Nations game in an almost identical scenario, it was much closer than anyone might have expected (33-30), albeit Wales scored two converted tries when England were down to 14 following Tuliagiās red card.
The expectation must be that England will wrap up the group games with a win in their first appearance in Llanelli since 1887 ā which was a nil-nil draw ā but England continue to stir resistance in Welsh international teams, so Ireland will watch with interest (at least for a bit).
Wales – Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Samson Lee, Jake Ball, Alun Wyn Jones, Shane Lewis-Hughes, James Botham, Taulupe Faletau, Lloyd Williams, Dan Biggar, Josh Adams, Johnny Williams, Nick Tompkins, Louis Rees-Zammit, Leigh Halfpenny
Replacements – Elliot Dee, Rhys Carre, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Aaron Wainwright, Rhys Webb, Callum Sheedy, Owen Watkin
England – Elliot Daly, Jonathan Joseph, Henry Slade, Owen Farrell, Jonny May, George Ford, Ben Youngs, Mako Vunipola, Jamie George, Kyle Sinckler, Maro Itoje, Joe Launchbury, Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Billy Vunipola
Replacements – Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, Jonny Hill, Ben Earl, Jack Willis, Dan Robson, Anthony Watson;
France v Italy
Stade de France, Paris
Kick-off: 20:10
France scored five tries to beat Italy 35-22 in Paris during this year’s Six Nations. Italy have shown enough in the two games vs England (to wrap up the 6N) and Scotland that they might give a what looks like a France āBā or a France XV a hard time for an extended period.
France – R. Neti, P. Mauvaka, D. Aldegheri, K. Geraci, B. Pesenti, C. Woki, A. Jelonch, S. Macalou, B. Serin, M. Jalibert, G. Villiere, J. Danty, J. Barraque, T. Thomas, B. Dulin, T. Thomas, B.Dulin
Remplacements – T. Baubigny, H. Kolingar, U. Atonio, F. Cazeaux, S. Rebbadj, B. Couilloud, L. Carbonel, Y. Moefana
Sunday 29th November 2020
Ireland v Georgia
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Kick-off: 14:00
With only Ulster prop Eric OāSullivan joining the squad, Farrell has resisted calls to throw caution to the wind and call up Casey, Byrne, and various members of the last couple of cohorts of U20s. The suspicion is that whatās required is a confidence-boosting win vs Georgia ā something along the lines of England’s or Scotlandās 40+ point wins. Whatās least required at this point in time is something akin to Walesās competent but unexciting victory.
Georgiaās famed strength in the scrum and maul seems to be ā right now ā a thing of the past, so Ireland might feel able to play with some abandon without fear that every forward pass or knock forward results in a lengthy struggle at scrum-time. Equally, it might go the other way and we play a tight forward-dominated game knowing that we can overpower Georgia physically: basically, doubling down on what didnāt work vs England. As expected, Burns will start at 10 with Murray, but in general this is a fairly full strength team, with subs and starters swapping.
Ireland – Jacob Stockdale, Hugo Keenan, Chris Farrell, Stuart McCloskey, Keith Earls, Billy Burns, Conor Murray, Finlay Bealham, Rob Herring, Andrew Porter, Iain Henderson, James Ryan, Tadhg Beirne, Will Connors, CJ Stander
Replacements – Dave Heffernan, Cian Healy, John Ryan, Quinn Roux, Peter OāMahony, Kieran Marmion, Ross Byrne, Shane Daly
PRO 14
Saturday 28 November
Connacht vs Ospreys ā Connacht are unpredictable. Theyāve beaten both Glasgow and Edinburgh then lost to Cardiff and Scarlets. Ospreys on the up following a come-from-behind win vs Benetton. Prediction: Connacht.
Sunday 29 November
Treviso vs Dragons ā Dragons are improving, but havenāt played since the Munster game on 1st Nov. Treviso failed to see out a win vs Ospreys. Prediction: Treviso.
Scarlets vs Leinster ā Scarlets gave Ulster a fright last week, but Leinster seem unlikely to lose.
Cardiff vs Glasgow ā Despite the 40-5 scoreline, Cardiff gave Leinster a hard enough game last week. Equally, Munster didnāt win as comfortably vs Glasgow as 27-13 sounds. Cardiff look well drilled, and Glasgow are abrasive. Your guess is as good as mine.
Monday 30 November
Munster vs Zebre ā Zebre were easily beaten by Connacht last time out. Munster havenāt lost in the Pro-14.
Edinburgh vs Ulster ā Edinburghās last game was a thorough beating by Leinster. Ulster arenāt yet beaten and seem to be dogging out wins. Lean toward Ulster.
Mystic Meg machinations by TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA
Onna telly this week
Friday 27th November
| Sharks v Pumas | 17:00 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Newcastle v Sale | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 28th November
| Argentina v New Zealand | 08:45 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Northampton v Harlequins | 14:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Griquas v Golden Lions | 14:30 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Bristol v Worcester | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Gloucester v Wasps | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Wales v England | 16:00 | S4C / Amazon Prime |
| Western Province v Blue Bulls | 17:00 | Sky Sports Arena |
| Exeter v Bath | 17:30 | BT Sport Extra |
| Connacht v Ospreys | 19:35 | FreeSports |
| France v Italy | 20:00 | Amazon Prime |
Sunday 29th November
| Ireland v Georgia | 14:00 | Channel 4 |
| Treviso v Dragons | 16:00 | FreeSports |
| London Irish v Leicester | 16:1 | BT Sport 2 |
| Scarlets v Leinster | 17:15 | S4C / Premier Sports 2 |
| Cardiff v Glasgow | 19:35 | Premier Sports 2 |
Monday 23rd November
| Edinburgh v Ulster | 20:15 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Munster v Zebre | 20:15 | Premier Sports 2 |
Ovally Balls 
Dab, only two gears. First is forwards and kick, Second is pedestrian and clueless.
LikeLike
@Tomp it wasnāt that bad, but Poiteās performance was… idiosyncratic.
LikeLike
@Sunbeamtim at least theyāre winning. No complaints if we win the tournament next week. EJ said he was going to rebuild after the RWC and itās always the best idea to sort defence first.
I still canāt work out what Daly is doing at FB though.
LikeLike
It’s a tribute to the Boks the way Jones has got England playing.
(I thought they made some decent breaks in the first half)
LikeLike
It may work, but it must be quite frustrating for international quality players to be used as mere pawns at the hand of their coach. For all their shortcomings, French players would never accept it.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I do wonder about Eddies approach to the whole set up. Whilst I agree, Dab, that it is always good to see England winning, I am happy to piss and moan too, its a great situation to be disatisfied with. Flairs point, if I have it right, is interesting. Obviously, you play Eddies way, or you are out. This must explain Daly. If you have no room for individual expression, how much does that take away from the joie de vivre of the group? Apart from Maro, who obviously enjoys physical dominance and winding people up, noone in this England group appears to be playing with a smile on their face. Ever. It just doesn’t look like much fun to play for England. I get that if you are losing every game out of sight, but not when you generally have complete control. The ABs traditionally cut loose after going a couple of scores clear, the French are given to bonkers moments that create wonderful rugby or occasionally disaster, but they always seem to enjoy playing for their country. Maybe it is just a national trait, and it is the only way we can play and win, maybe next week or next year we will see a bunch of smiling happy rugby assassins elevating themselves to world domination, but right now it all seems a little dour, mechanical and disappointing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The pack seem to smile a lot – Curry and Sinkler especially.
The Vunipola brothers don’t get on, apparently, and there might still be a bit of ill-feeling towards the players from that club that cheated.
Probably the main thing is that they realise that because they’re England they’ll never be liked by anyone else. It’s a heavy weight to carry.
LikeLike
The French jerseys are really sharp.
LikeLike
Excellent Italian score. Zanon (?), the outside centre’s made a couple of good breaks. Then super work by the outside half Garbisi and Canna.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Try Italy! Really well worked, lots of patience and Canna over!
LikeLike
These French lads should pay more attention to Shaun Edwards.
LikeLike
Nice try for Italy,
LikeLike
If Italy win Scotland go into the final, so Forza Ya Bass
LikeLike
Depends how many they beat them by,
LikeLike
Danty blasts over. A modern day Basta.
LikeLike
That was good power to get over through three players
LikeLike
France would need two BPs in defeat, but tbh I think itās moot
LikeLike
Iāll catch the second half later, Iām signed up for an online gig, Kjh, if you are lurking itās the The MĆ”irtĆn O’Connor Trio with my pal Seamie OāDowd, live from Sligo County Library
LikeLike
Sinkler looks a strained kind of smile to me.
LikeLike
SBT
he looks like he might become a new version of Jo Marler – he looks very unsettled at times………….
LikeLike
….hope I’m wrong
LikeLike
Rough couple of minutes for Drula.
LikeLike
Holy cow, Villier’s got some gas.
LikeLike
That was terrific. It’s great to see lads like Villier and Speckman playing like that.
LikeLike
Somebody’s just switched France on….
LikeLike
France whacked them in the end. 5 tries to 1. Too much pace and power and coaching.
LikeLike
Good win for France B, if a bit laboured for 50 minutes.
The best tribute to Dominici was VilliĆØre (.#11) scoring a try, like a hot knife through butter.
But no more than half a dozen of these players, most of them in their early 20’s, will push to get in the A squad:
Macalou, Woki, Dulin – about 30yo, back from 2 years of serious injuries- the two locks Geraci and Pesenti, possibly VilliĆØre, Mauvaka and Kolingar, plus the subs Couilloud and Carbonel.
To score 5 tries vs Italy, albeit depleted, is not bad. But England next week will be much much harder. I just hope its not the moment England chose to unleash their excellent backs.
LikeLike
And now that they’ve played 3 games, Serin, Jalibert and Thomas will go back to their clubs. The team will be even greener than tonight.
They had only 111 caps altogether, and most of them were between Serin, Atonio and Dulin. It will be a long afternoon in Twickenham.
LikeLike
Darth Vader RIP
LikeLike
everyone’s got run over!
LikeLike
……it was much safer when we had Belisha Beacons
LikeLike
That Genge seems a nasty fellow, especially when he is smiling.
Easy enough win for England. Wales looked more organised, and the old pros HalfP, Faletau and BDB did well, but not much else to get excited about. It was drab, Dab.
Now I’ll have to put up with another centre called Williams being-over hyped in the Welsh press. We’ll have to see whether they go with the Mr. Glue or Mr. Cuttingedge line.
Lee had a torrid time, but Hoity Poite seemed to be pushing early too. There was a distinct step up in ability and effectiveness between Curry and Underhill versus Lewis-Hughes and Botham.
I can’t remember ever having such a flat pulse when watching a Wales v England fixture. Shrug and meh.
LikeLike
Need that Dave Prowse to explain the lockdown rules.
LikeLike
What the hell is that Irish kit like?
Bloody awful is the answer.
Was that an Ulster player dropping the ball….. ?
LikeLike
The foot stamp was naughty by Keenan.
LikeLike
TRY! (Ulsterman)
LikeLike
Yes, one that you don’t think should be in the team?
LikeLike
*mutes BB*
LikeLiked by 1 person
Georgian try!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Really well taken too!
LikeLike
Great try Georgia! Hell that was good!
LikeLike
Holy crap, a lucky escape in the F1. The driver escaped (relatively) unhurt.
LikeLike
BB, this is what Canterbury, the kit provider say:
LikeLike
What’s with the Irish kit? Lose a spray painting contest? Big scrum from Georgia! Sensible scrumming in sensible jerseys.
LikeLike
“Youth, vibrancy and energy”? In an Ireland kit?
LikeLiked by 2 people
TomP – wanker. (Whoever wrote that, not you.)
LikeLike
* hand trembles over banhammer *
LikeLike
Not used to Irish line-outs going smoothly. Eerie.
LikeLike
And I thought I smoked some heavy shit last night. Canterbury take the cake. Lace it with doobie. And scoff it in one go.
LikeLike
Nice pass by Stockdale, for Keenan’s try.
LikeLike
TomP ā wanker. (Whoever wrote that, not you.)
No need to clarify, he’s been called worse.
LikeLike