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 – if only because they just don’t do consecutive losses very much.
New Zealand – Beauden Barrett; Jordie Barrett, Anton Lienert-Brown, Jack Goodhue, Caleb Clarke; Richie Mo’unga, Aaron Smith; Ardie Savea, Sam Cane (capt), Akira Ioane; Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett; Nepo Laulala, Dane Coles, Joe Moody.
Replacements: Codie Taylor, Karl Tu’inukuafe, Tyrel Lomax, Patrick Tuipulotu, Hoskins Sotutu, TJ Perenara, Rieko Ioane, Will Jordan
Argentina – Emiliano Boffelli; Ramiro Moyano, Juan Cruz Mallia, Jerónimo 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 “Mystic Meg” in me predicts the record books will show a 28-0 win for Scotland. It’s a pity that Fiji haven’t 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 – as expected – 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 Tuliagi’s 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 – which was a nil-nil draw – 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 ‘B’ 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 O’Sullivan 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 what’s required is a confidence-boosting win vs Georgia – something along the lines of England’s or Scotland’s 40+ point wins. What’s least required at this point in time is something akin to Wales’s competent but unexciting victory.
Georgia’s famed strength in the scrum and maul seems to be – right now – 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 didn’t 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 O’Mahony, Kieran Marmion, Ross Byrne, Shane Daly
PRO 14
Saturday 28 November
Connacht vs Ospreys – Connacht are unpredictable. They’ve 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 – Dragons are improving, but haven’t played since the Munster game on 1st Nov. Treviso failed to see out a win vs Ospreys. Prediction: Treviso.
Scarlets vs Leinster – Scarlets gave Ulster a fright last week, but Leinster seem unlikely to lose.
Cardiff vs Glasgow – Despite the 40-5 scoreline, Cardiff gave Leinster a hard enough game last week. Equally, Munster didn’t 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 – Zebre were easily beaten by Connacht last time out. Munster haven’t lost in the Pro-14.
Edinburgh vs Ulster – Edinburgh’s last game was a thorough beating by Leinster. Ulster aren’t 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 
Am experiencing a touch of laryngitis. The recommendation is to gargle with warm salt-water (warm to dissolve the salt), which is disgusting. So I’ve hit on the alternative solution of applying nice, cold salted caramel ice cream to the affected area. Seems to work. A bit.
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Ulster’s thumping of Embra will make you feel a wee bit better no doubt.
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Oh shit, forgot all about the match! (Have I mentioned that I don’t approve of Monday night matches?)
Just checked the score, and that does indeed look vicious.
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Booo!
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Rumours of a professional rugby team in Hartford, to ground share with Hartford Athletic soccer team.
No more info available than this instagram account tho.
https://www.instagram.com/hartfordharpooners/
Would be nice, as no major sports teams in Connecticut excepting Hartford Athletic in the USL Championship the tier below MLS soccer. A lot of local schools are picking up rugby ( or were pre malarkey) as an off season sport.
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Pretoria’s too quiet for Deebee. He needs the incessant sound of gunfire that you hear day and night in his beloved eGoli.
According to a recent global survey, Pretoria is the most dangerous city in South Africa.
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_current.jsp
Plus, it’d be uncomfortable living in the home city of the only South African side to win a SuperRugby title (4 titles so far).
Wouldn’t be if they were gracious about it.
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Pablo Matera suspended for xenophobic comment he made on social media almost a decade ago. He was having a barnstorming season, but it’s right that he gets censured. Sometimes, people are stupid.
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The very definiton of scientific rigour:
https://www.numbeo.com/crime/indices_explained.jsp
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Works for me. People who’ve been to Pretoria will almost definitely have been to Jo’burg too. And they’re terrified of the violent swamp that is Blue Bulls country.
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SBT – there’s a lot of lacrosse in that area of the US – I played there briefly in the early 80s
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SBT, I don’t follow the NHL so hadn’t realised that the Hartford Whalers have been out of business for more than 20 years. However, I did find out that the franchise re-located and is now called the Carolina Hurricanes and that the Hurricanes’ affiliate team in something called the ECHL rejoices in the name the Florida Everblades.
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I had same thought – where are the Hartford Whalers now? I guessed they’d relocated south or west as so many did in the 90s
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German police have opened an investigation into the disappearance of a large wooden sculpture of a phallus from a mountainside where it appeared without explanation several years ago.
Iks – it happens to all of us, we get drunk, we think it’s funny to steal funny things, we wake up and realise our mistake. If you return this sculpture to it’s rightful place then I’m sure everyone will look the other way.
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Deebs – those are awful tweets but they were written when he was a teenager. I think that shit like this should have an expiry date. Kinda like police cautions or tax records.
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‘Kinda like police cautions or tax records’
mm-hmmm? Tell us more about your past, craigs
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Thank flip social media wasn’t around when I was a teenager. Dog knows what crap would be out there.
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Chimpie – my friend at school got a formal caution for possession of weed. It was his yearbook entry. I think he had to declare it for 3 months to employers so it didn’t actually matter. I think he lied to the school though.
You can destroy tax records after 5 years after 31 January deadline of the tax year.
Innit.
I’m glad I didn’t have a twitter account when I was younger too. Terrible thing to have all of that recorded forever.
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Exactly, Chimpie. We all regret stuff we write when we’re young.
Once on AoD I wrote that I didn’t mind seeing England winning a game. After a period of reflection, I asked sag to take down the site and fire it into the sun to save my future embarrassment.
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Am surprised that the Pumas/Jags/Leicester/Stade didn’t check out the shite he was tweeting and at least ask him to delete it.
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Tomp – I expect you’ll be fired from your job soon.
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Self-employed, innit. I’ll have a word with myself.
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I expect nothing less than a harsh disciplinary process
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Suspend yourself on full pay pending the outcome of a long, drawn-out disciplinary process. Make sure you win it, resign and sue yourself for constructive dismissal. You could make a fortune!
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Tomp – in that case do the right thing and fire yourself. Otherwise how do we know if you aren’t still morally compromised?
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#TompOOT!!!
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‘Otherwise how do we know if you aren’t still morally compromised?’
His social media history suggests an advanced state of decay. He’s brought his organisation into disrepute.
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I might have to issue a correction in that Pablo wasn’t a teenager when he made those tweets. My general point still stands and we need to get Tomp fired ASAP.
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Chimpie – decay implies a downward trend. However, I suspect that he started from a low point to begin with.
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Starting at a low point doesn’t preclude a downward trend.
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Am surprised that the Pumas/Jags/Leicester/Stade didn’t check out the shite he was tweeting and at least ask him to delete it.
If he’s too stupid to delete the posts himself, I don’t see why his employers should kiss his arse and check for him.
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Clubs and national teams do it all the time and give the players training etc.
They do/should have people who look after these kinds of thing. Leicester signed him around the time he was posting that nonsense so I’d’ve thought they might have a look.
There’a contrast with Andres Esterhuizen, the Bok and Harlequins player, got caught using racial slurs at school. Banned from the game but came back.
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Concluded the disciplinary meeting about 20 minutes ago. Warned myself about moral decay. Nodded and accepted the judgement of me on me.
Then, made cheese on toast the Chimpie way.
Have fired myself for that.
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Or not made CoT if others are to be believed. Probably best to review firing yourself until there is clarity on the nomenclature. Reinstatement, on a higher salary, with lunch benefits pending the outcome of the decision on the definition of what you actually did with bits of bread and cheese, then back to the hearing. Probably need clarity on types of bread and cheese too, as this may have a material impact on the definitions crafted.
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Woah tomp. Just need to fire yourself. No need for torture.
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I think being a Welsh Bulls supporter is way beyond anything else.
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A Most Grand Slams this Century Wales SuperRugby-winning Bulls supporter.
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No World Cups, mind. This century or any other.
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7z World Cup aside, you’re right.
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Matt Dawson has a 7s world cup winners medal.
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Matt Dawson also has a rwc winners medal.
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Matt Dawson is also a prick, so it doesn’t matter how many winner’s medals he has.
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So harsh, BB. Maybe his finer qualities are just well hidden.
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I am thankful that not only was social media not about when I was a young ‘un (although I think I got Facebook at 27 or 28, so not that old), but also that camera phones weren’t a thing when I used to sing dreadful songs and show my hairy arse to anyone who would look at it!
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7z? May i present Sir with a lovely, sturdy straw to clutch at?
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Not really.
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Straw breaks blog’s back.
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I really hope he hasn’t done anything that would smack of hypocrisy recently.
Oh dear:
And after the scotch egg conundrum the other day, we get this:
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So that’s the test of a reasonableness now! “Oi! Stop serving that Scotch egg!”
“But it’s a an Ostrich Scotch egg, you daft twat! It’s fucking massive!”
“Oh, er, right, as you were then.”
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TomP, our news reported the event in Brussels simply as a gay sex party, there was no ‘mainly men’ or any other equivocation.
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