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 |
It began with the facial and physical resemblance, then the error-prone incompetence. I didn’t factor in that Frank was a much nicer human being than Gavin though.
Back to the drawing board…
LikeLike
Where you will find a whip, a tarantula and a fireplace salesman. Must be able to do something with that.
LikeLike
CMW – onna graun Sweden is a socialist utopia so it would be fine.
LikeLike
Well 2 out of 3 ain’t bad, maybe 3 out of 3 if your tarantula has 5 fingers.
LikeLike
Not sure why that link doesn’t show the youtube picture. But finding it revealed this little discovery. And I thought The Exorcist had only new ideas!
LikeLike
Iks – it does if you don’t mangle the URL, which I’ve fixed. ;-)
LikeLike
Ta, Thauma!
LikeLike
I’m really keen to hear Iks’ story about buying a fireplace from Christopher Lee.
LikeLike
That would make a good ATL.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Or indeed Daliah Lavi though I suspect we’d be in his whimsical bittersweet Newport-based fantasy world for that one.
LikeLike
I think I’ve previously told the story about the time my Granny sold a toothbrush to Michael Le Vell from Coronation St.
LikeLike
@OT – that does at least pass the test you set earlier with flying colours.
LikeLike
Just over a month to go before the opening round of the Six Nations. Seems like the last one only just finished.
LikeLike
Felt like it would never end.
LikeLike
I’m old enough to have watched Colin Bell play numerous times :great athlete, quiet and modest attitude, top footballer.
LikeLike
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/oct/28/newsstory.sport2
LikeLiked by 2 people
RIP Albert Roux
Takes me back to the days when cookery programmes would bring you top French chefs teaching you to fry and poach eggs or make an omelette, much better than watching Gregg Wallace gurning and criticising the output of a better chef than him.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think they did name a stand after Colin Bell in the end.
LikeLike
Manchester City that is, not the Roux brothers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Colin Bell Soufflé? A bit light and fluffy for a man of his achievements.
LikeLike
@OT – cooking shows have moved from education to entertainment.
When you watch the versions of Masterchef half the “interest” is how the contestant will mess up their dish – undercooked…overcooked…curdled sauce…
I’ll have to find time to watch a few of those Roux brothers videos… I’m a decent enough cook but I’m always interested to see an expert at work (now they also have advantage of much better pans and knives – I spotted the Le Creuset pans in the video – got one at home that’s lasted 20+ years)
LikeLike
Lions stormed out to a 9-0 lead against the Evil Blue Bulls, but two penalties from Chris Smith have reduced the deficit to 9-6 after26 minutes at a soggy Loftus. Lions need the win to get a home semi.
LikeLike
LikeLiked by 2 people
9-9, but a couple of very promising youngsters in the Lions ranks making an impact. Watch out for Jannie du Plessis and Willem Alberts.
LikeLike
Bulls scrum fairly rampant at the moment.
LikeLike
12-9 to the Bulls at half time. They really bossed the 2nd quarter.
LikeLike
Bloody Bulls bully their way over.* 19-9 with 30 to go.
* Papier sniped over from a dominant scrum.
LikeLike
Lions scrape a penalty to get back to seven down.
LikeLike
19-15 with about 7 minutes to go! Can they sneak it?
LikeLike
Bullocks! Bulls with a penalty. 22-15. Less than 2 minutes to go.
LikeLike
A good effort by your Lions against the Bulls second-stringers.
LikeLike
No sweat, we’ll pack the OAP’s away next week and run the Blunder-Bulls off their hooves.
LikeLike
that’s the spirit DeeBee – never say die in these difficult times
LikeLike
Slade me mucker, we’re gonna plaster them.
LikeLike
Ahem…
“The U-turns have come thick and fast, from exams and exam results, to free school meals, BTecs and failed school openings, to the point where the education secretary is routinely likened to the pathetic TV comic character Frank Spencer, of the 70s sitcom Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em.”
LikeLike
The Danish equivalent of the BBC, DR, has a new animated series aimed at four- to eight-year-olds about John Dillermand, the man with the world’s longest penis who overcomes hardships and challenges with his record-breaking genitals.
Why didn’t I think of this?
LikeLike
@craigs
I don’t see the scandal. After all we had Jimmy Saville and Rolf Harris on the telly for years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Iks – Evenin’me old traction engine.
LikeLike
Then again:
LikeLike
The Danes stuck with only allowing one thing on TV at a time for a lot longer than almost anywhere else. Shame it’s not still the case really.
LikeLike
It’s all happening right now.
LikeLike
CMW – I’d never heard him speak before but somehow it all makes sense.
LikeLike
Watching what’s happening on Capitol Hill and all I can think about is what it means for my Kamala Harris 1000-1 bet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Craigs – Iks? Yes, he makes a sort of whirring chuntering noise that builds up into a roar with a bit of clanking in the background.
LikeLiked by 2 people
All I can think, watching the events in the US, is it would be very different if they were BLM protesters.
LikeLike
They’d be dead before they reached the steps, refit. Have you seen the photos comparing the police presence?
Have fond memories of the anti-Section 28 protestors who abseiled into the House of Lords in the 1980s.
LikeLike
The Fonz:
LikeLike
Fucking hell, the mayor of Washington requested the National Guard, and the request was refused. This from BBC News channel interviewing a Congressman hiding in a bunker in the Capitol building.
LikeLike
LikeLiked by 3 people
Not sure if coincidence or not (possibly overloaded servers), but am having trouble reloading this and other sites.
LikeLike