2020 was a fabulous year. If you’re a highly contagious virus. For the rest of us, it meant lockdowns, Brexit, and – most importantly – severe disruption to the rugby schedule.
The Six Nations finished on Hallowe’en, and we had an odd Autumn Nations Cup, in which one nation never played. Leagues were all over the place. Mostly, fans are still not allowed to attend matches, even when those matches have not been cancelled.
On the up side, the Saracens got relegated.
And there is the sheer beauty of this to end the year (thank you, Beeb):
Meanwhile, the OvallyBalls mascot is on the scent of newsworthy items.
She has been paying attention to recent news items, including this article, which contains the following snippet:
This requires not only forwards tracing (identifying who you might have given the infection to) but also backwards tracing (where you got it from).
Obviously, tracing both backwards and forwards is her forté, but it has caused her to wonder if, in rugby, we should refer to the forwards and the backwardses. Or be like the French, and call them the in-fronts and the behinds. She likes behinds.
But enough of that shite….
A new year has just emerged, squalling and puking in the manner of these things, and we have been finally shat completely out of the EU, but we do have the hope of vaccines (along with the knowledge that the Tories will inevitably fuck up the distribution).
And now Chimpie has a fully erect Melbury (no, me neither) that he is preserving and oiling. So that’s good news for him, even if the rest of us may wonder what the purpose of this ‘Melbury’ is.
I raise a glass to all the contributors and lurkers of OvallyBalls, with best wishes for 2021 for yourselves and those you care about*.
Happy new year!
*Except where that involves teams playing Ulster or Ireland.
Onna telly this week
Friday 1st January
| Bristol v Newcastle | 15:00 | BT Sport Extra |
| Scarlets v Dragons | 17:15 | S4C / Premier Sports 1 |
| Cardiff v Ospreys | 19:35 | S4C / Premier Sports 1 |
Saturday 2nd January
| Pumas v Lions | 12:00 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Treviso v Zebre | 13:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Wasps v Exeter | 14:00 | BT Sport 2 |
| Sharks v Griquas | 14:30 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Edinburgh v Glasgow | 15:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Gloucester v Sale | 16:30 | BT Sport 2 |
| Cheetahs v Western Province | 17:00 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Ulster v Munster | 17:15 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Leinster v Connacht | 19:35 | Premier Sports 2 |
Sunday 3rd January
| Leicester v Bath | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 |
@BB – There are probably ‘Murcans queuing up to sell them to us and now they can.
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My porteña friend (ie from Buenos Aires) thought that eggs grew on trees for years.
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Whereas in fact they drop off the branches after only a few days.
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Yes, because eggs are notoriously resilient when dropping from a height.
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Well plenty of them do get tangled up in their wee parachutes and untangling them is a bugger. Then again the rest run off to range free and have to be herded so it’s six of one and half a dozen of the other.
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“S4C is broadcasting now”
Three Cars, Three Teams, Five Hundred Pounds. Lisa Angharad and the Welsh Whisperer take their “Hewlfa Drysor” to Chwilog to see who will become car treasure hunt champions.
English subtitles available
Blues-Ospreys kicks off at five past ten.
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There’s a pretty frightening picture if you go on S4C’s website.
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Strange! I won’t spoil the excitement for you, then.
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Well, I’ve just gone to S4C’s website, and didn’t see any particularly frightening picture. So I thought maybe I’d search for ‘rugby’, and when I clicked in the search box, the first suggestion that came up was ‘beavers’.
I am not joking.
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You’ll have spelt it wrong.
The picture in question is the one advertising what’s on now. I would say it says rather a lot about what you might expect from Welsh TV. I’ll probably get in trouble now as BRB will turn out to be the chap in the picture.
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I hasten to add that I am 100% sure that this is not a search term I have previously entered anywhere as far as I can recall.
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This one?
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If S4C have finally put together something on beavers to debunk the 900-year-old testicle myth then all power to their elbows.
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That’s the one.
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I thought that was just a couple of typical Welsh people, and it didn’t disturb me at all.
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Enough of that anyway. Moving on to more serious matters:
https://michaelfaletra.weebly.com/giraldian-beavers.html
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Fair enough and respect for your approach, Slade.
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CMW – now, that is a frightening picture. And so is the Derrida reference.
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And NN!
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Thanks Thauma – wasn’t aware of the conditions used for veal production. Mrs Deebee won’t have it in the house, so I don’t get to eat it anyway. Ditto foi gras and anything she deems ‘cute’.
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Thauma, maybe your mate thought eggplants produce eggs? Mate of mine tells a story from a woodwork class at school where he was cutting a particularly expensive hardwood into a sanding block. Teacher yelled at him “What are you doing? Do you know how expensive that is? Do you think it just grows on trees?” Cue 30 kids in fits of laughter.
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That’s quite a thing. It would’ve livened up my woodwork lessons if we’d had a discussion about whether wood grows on trees. A tree can’t be a tree without wood I’d say but what is the essence of a tree?
Anyway, I did 2 years of woodwork at school so am not qualified to answer. What I learned most in those lessons was a bloke who had easy access to chisels could quite easily use them as a classroom management technique.
Metalwork was better. The teacher was a strange old cove who was happy to kick kids out of the class. In my class there was a group of youngsters who were happy not to be doing metalwork. However, he’d only ever throw 1 student out per lesson so it was a race to get kicked out. The easiest way was to have forgotten one’s apron but he had spares. I think I made an ashtray in the class.
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Lions are 13-10 up against the Pumas in Nelspruit. Dare I say it, but the whole Pumas side looks like coach Stonehouse is their personal ‘nutritionist’. He’s an ex-bodybuilder who admitted being on the juice.
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Also a rugby player and wasn’t on the juice when playing rugby. Unlike, say, a certain ex-Lions coach.
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The one who rose to prominence at the Bulls and played for the Sharks, Griquas and Northampton Saints as well? And coached Gloucester for 3 years before moving to Japan?
Pumas 17-13 up at the break. Handling in the cold and wet conditions not great. Luckily the Lions won’t be facing similar or worse in the near future.
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Lions roar back into the lead, lovely hands in the build up. What do I know?
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That was good by the Lions.
Stonehouse coached Faf de Klerk at school I think. At the Pumas for some time as well, of course.
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And another! Pumas knock on in contact and the Lions send it down the line through the hands and score under the posts! 17-27 and another try for the bonus point.
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Another needed, of course.
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A couple of drops by either side and then a very fine bit of play by the Pumas.
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Pumas capitalize on the spill this time, quick hands and a grubber behind the defence for an easy score in the end. 25-30 with about 12 to go.
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25-30 to the Lions.
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Lions happy to sneak the win and not even bothered to try and get the bonus point.
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Lions sensibly take the win without risking injuries to their most valuable commodity – their players.
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The brutal logic of the Capitalist way of thinking that sees humans as commodities. Sickening.
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Lots of DNA in the build up to Embra v Glasgow
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Good line speed AKA massively off side
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Penalty advantage at scrum wAng it out ffs pyrgos
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Hmmm………Exeter 2nd/3rds doing as predicted………….
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All that pressure nil points. Classic embra
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….still…………… a fair gamble by Baxter – internationals have to have days off and, whilst losing, they stay top of the table and can play all available first picks in the ‘return’ European games against Glasgow and Toulouse (Ntamack injured – broken jaw). At same time 2nd/3rd stringers get experience whilst opponents are obliged to play first strings.
………….or something
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Piece of advice – stay indoors in West/Central Glasgow tonight
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Nil-nil after 40, error strewn and Edinburgh profligate in attack, but I quite enjoyed that half
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Wasps 34 – 5 Exeter
………”lots of take-aways” as one might say!
Still. Launch, Willis both played 80 mins.
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No one wants any points in this game. Quick tap not the best option
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Nel shoving seuli up his own hole
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Gray ravaging our lineout
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Be disappointed if there are any points in this game now
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Kick the goal!!!
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