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 
‘mainly men’
It always is apparently….
Ahem.
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Deebs – so old fashioned. Why stick to categories? Just a couple of work colleagues having a great time.
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Absolutely Craigs! Although naked shimmying down drain pipes in the middle of the night is an acquired taste!
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Depends on a lot of factors Deebs.
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Why did Nivea cream?
Because Max Factor.
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Well that brought loads of people to the conversation!
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Scotland, meanwhile, have announced that South Africa and Australia plus another unnamed side will play them at Murrayfield on successive weekends next November.
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Scotland by 15.
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Looks weak.
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I’ll be relieved if rugby still exists as a professional sport here next Autumn
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The bois
Liam Williams; Josh Adams, George North, Johnny Williams, Louis Rees-Zammit; Callum Sheedy, Kieran Hardy; Nicky Smith, Sam Parry, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Alun Wyn Jones (capt), James Botham, Justin Tipuric, Taulupe Faletau.
Replacements: Elliot Dee, Wyn Jones, Leon Brown, Cory Hill, Aaron Wainwright, Gareth Davies, Ioan Lloyd, Jonah Holmes.
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Craigsman bringing the ‘jokes’
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Chimpie – just reminded of a naff joke from my school days. No need to project your own insecurities.
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I was reading that it (or one of them) takes a little while to start working. Is he going to have a camera on him for 2 weeks or however long it is?
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@tomp
I think every time a new vaccine comes out he should have it injected live on telly. The Pfizer one, the Moderna one, the AZ one. They all need 2 doses so there’s lots of fun to be had.
Having said that he did have Covid earlier this year so he doesn’t need a vaccine.
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Maybe all drugs should be tested on Matt Hancock. Including the ones we already know about.
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Drugs, vaccines, e numbers..
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We probably don’t yet know the fatal dose of any of these vaccines. Am sure Hancock could step in and do us all a favour.
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There was that time he tested some half-strength Viagra:
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That clip never stops being creepy.
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Any time I’m tempted to feel sorry for Matt, I remember that clip and don’t.
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*shudders*
Once you scratch that Hancock veneer, there’s something disturbing underneath
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Fascinating fact:
‘Scotland are on a run of 12 games without receiving a yellow card, a run which started at the beginning of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, it is the longest active run of any Tier 1 side and their best ever run since they were introduced in 2000.’
We’re just so squeaky clean.
Will now probably get through about 5 on Saturday.
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What happens if you inject a litre of milk into the bloodstream? Questions must have answers.
That clip makes me think that he was asked to stand close and was uncomfortable. And them came across like a complete weirdo.
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He’s also got a stiffie.
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Unproven. Could be a phone.
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Tbh I didn’t look until just now.
Thanks Tomp.
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Nice. Craigs won’t be able to get that out of his head for the rest of the day.
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Hat Mancock
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This is for Matt
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Dunno why that killed the blog…
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Everyone just waiting for the glory that is the Scotland team announcement. Voila!
15. Stuart Hogg CAPTAIN (Exeter Chiefs) – 79 caps
14. Darcy Graham (Edinburgh) – 14 caps
13. Chris Harris (Gloucester) – 22 caps
12. Duncan Taylor (Saracens) – 27 caps
11. Duhan van der Merwe (Edinburgh) – 4 caps
10. Jaco van der Walt (Edinburgh) – 0 caps
9. Ali Price (Glasgow Warriors) – 36 caps
1. Rory Sutherland (Edinburgh) – 10 caps
2. Fraser Brown VICE CAPTAIN (Glasgow Warriors) – 53 caps
3. Zander Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 33 caps
4. Scott Cummings (Glasgow Warriors) – 16 caps
5. Jonny Gray (Exeter Chiefs) – 60 caps
6. Blade Thomson (Scarlets) – 8 caps
7. Jamie Ritchie VICE CAPTAIN (Edinburgh) – 22 caps
8. Matt Fagerson (Glasgow Warriors) – 8 caps
Substitutes:
16. Stuart McInally (Edinburgh) – 40 caps
17. Oli Kebble (Glasgow Warriors) – 4 caps
18. Willem Nel (Edinburgh) – 39 caps
19. Sam Skinner (Exeter Chiefs) – 9 caps
20. Blair Cowan (London Irish) – 17 caps
21. Sam Hidalgo-Clyne (Exeter Chiefs) – 13 caps
22. Huw Jones (Glasgow Warriors) – 25 caps
23. Sean Maitland (Saracens) – 49 caps
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Toonie gone a bit tombola-ish
Predicted Taylor
VDW starting & nae meatball a bit of a left fielder
Nae Mish, whit?
One thing that has me perplexed is that none of the unused Embra or Glasgow players have been allowed to go back and play (cue large humpings due to severely weakened squads), but some of the premiereship players played last week & are selected? What gives, man?
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hope Taylor can get through a game without breaking, he’s great when in form.
This is a better team overall I think (excepting the missing mish & unproven JVDW) than we put out v. France
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Imagine we’ll fall to a dull, narrow defeat with at least one example of poor execution.
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…….not with 4 Exeter players (which is too many anyway!)
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Duncy injured ?
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Too Scottish.
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Let the snark begin
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Ireland: Stockdale; Keenan, Aki, Henshaw, Earls; Sexton, Murray; Healy, Herring, Porter; Henderson, James Ryan; Stander, O’Mahony, Doris.
Replacements: Kelleher, O’Sullivan, John Ryan, Roux, van der Flier, Gibson Park, R Byrne, Farrell.
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Draw on both the saffa and kiwi count.
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Matera’s suspension lasted a long time.
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Chimpie – it’s well known that the unions read this blog and take my comments seriously.
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At least somebody does….
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Read the blog, take Craigs seriously, or both?
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All properly intelligent people read this blog (so that leaves out the whole Tory government). No properly intelligent person takes Craigs seriously.
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Cbimpie i have Scotland 4-3 ahead on the Saffer count?
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And isn’t it 3 to 2 to the Scotch on Kiwis?
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Forgot about treacle toes. So we’re ahead by a kiwi. Am I making up an o’saffa?
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