Three years ago, we were in Bilbao for the Challenge Cup final. What a difference a pandemic makes. Also, the sun was shining, at least in Spain.
Regarding the Little Cup, Flair99 says: “To find Montpellier there is quite stunning, they’re fighting to avoid relegation, and they’re certainly not pleasant to watch. How about Leicester?”
Same, Flair, same.
La Rochelle v Toulouse will undoubtedly be a more interesting match. I’m calling it for La Rochelle, because I would like them to win.
Onna telly this week
Friday 21st May
| Leicester v Montpellier | 20:00 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 22nd May
| Sharks v Stormers | 12:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Lions v Bulls | 14:30 | Premier Sports 2 |
| La Rochelle v Toulouse | 16:45 | BT Sport 2 |
Sunday 23rd May
| Nada |
Ovally Balls 
33 – 10 (!)
LikeLike
Hamish has been a naughty boy. Ten mins for him.
LikeLike
Hendo goes over and Embra get a second yellow.
LikeLike
And McCloskey furra liiinnnneeee!
LikeLike
Springbok squad being named right now. No Marcell Coetzee. A fair number of Sale players:
Forwards: Lood de Jage
Dan du Preez
JL du Preez
PS du Toit
T du Toit
J Dweba
R Elstadt
E Etzebeth
N Janse van Rensburg
S Kitshoff
V Koch
S Kolisi (C)
F Malherbe
M Marx
B Mbonambi
O Nche
S Ntubeni
T Nyakane
C Oosthuizen
M Orie
K Smith
RG Snyman
M v Staden
D Vermeulen
J Wiese
LikeLike
Boo. Down with the norngibbons
LikeLike
Morne Steyn is in!
Backs:
L Am
D de Alende
F de Klerk
A Fassi
E Jantjies
H Jantjies
C Kolbe
J Kriel
W le Roux
M Mapimpi
S Nkosi
S Nohamba
Y Penxe
H Pollard
C Reinach
W Simelane
R Specman
F Steyn
M Steyn
D Willemse
LikeLike
BP try!
LikeLike
BP +1
LikeLike
great 2nd half
wasps score in the 86th minute to clinch it.
36 – 39
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now we’ve got double yellows: Lowry (debatably) and Timoney.
LikeLike
And Schoeman (sp?) scores.
LikeLike
And another score!
LikeLike
So, 26-31, 5 mins to go, both teams with a try BP.
LikeLike
Getting interesting
LikeLike
Oh shit! Embra score down most of the pitch!
LikeLike
Ye dogs
LikeLike
Both captains are challenging.
LikeLike
I thought Lowry got clattered!
LikeLike
Oh fuck off, ref!
LikeLike
Phew.
LikeLike
Good call, obviously
LikeLike
Aaaargh Kinghorn
LikeLike
Ridiculous call.
LikeLike
That was a really dumb box kick
LikeLike
It’s alright thaum I think embra have arsed it at the end
LikeLike
OH YES!!!!
LikeLike
See?
LikeLike
That was a cracker of a match.
LikeLike
Saw McCloskey coming as MotM at least half an hour ago.
LikeLike
There is no team that can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like embra
LikeLiked by 1 person
Or defeat from the jaws of a draw, as the case may be.
LikeLike
Used that facility in Shannon once – really cool being able to grab cases off the carousel at JFK and walk out to the taxi rank…
however, based on my experience of US immigration (JFK, SFO) , I shudder to think what the gang at Dublin are like if they’re the grumpy ones……
LikeLike
Spent an enjoyable 70 mins watching Castleford vs Warrington in the RL challenge Cup semi final. Hadn’t watched so much RL in a long while. (70 mins cos I missed first 10)
Actually, at U14 training these days we’re playing a kind of League (can’t get union players to retire 5 m – or is it 10? – overnight (or ever, maybe)).
I’m beginning to think that at this age its what we should mainly play and bolt on rucking as they get better at catch-pass and tackling.
LikeLike
“There is no team that can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like embra”
Just watched part of a documentary about Scotland in Argentina in 1978. Embra are beginners compared to that.
LikeLike
@BB – It’s before my time, but where were the jaws of victory? Results look like a convincing defeat, a crappy draw and an amazing win that wasn’t ever going to be enough.
LikeLike
Just back from a week at my mum’s where my brother has also mostly been living during the various lockdowns and the fallout from them both here and in Ireland. He’d put a great deal of thought into what he could play on the guitar with a ten year old who’s just started playing the violin, an eight year old with a ukulele that she barely knows one end of from the other and a four year old blowing a harmonica he’d found that belongs to my stepfather. Everything in the key of the last item obviously. Some of them they played along with, others they just sang. Sadly for you all you’ll have to make do with the originals.
*Music with uncle No.1*
LikeLiked by 2 people
At 3-1 against Holland we needed one more goal (and we’d already hit the bar) and with that team it was more than possible (Dalglish, Jordan, Gemmell, Souness, Robertson). Then about 5 minutes after Archie scored THAT goal, some bloody Dutchman hit the ba’ from about three miles away and Alan (Stands Still) Rough watched it fly by. He didn’t even move his perm.
So maybe it wasn’t snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Maybe it was more like destroying and crushing the dreams of an entire nation.
Until we qualified for 1982, when Narey annoyed the Brazilians with a toe-poke, then Hansen and Miller got in each other’s bloody way against the Russians.
Or 1986 when we couldn’t beat a Uruguayan side who played with 10 men for 89 minutes.
Or 1990 when we lost the bloody COSTA RICA!
Or 1998 when we made fools of ourselves against Morocco – but of course we’d be back soon.
At least I’m not bitter…
LikeLike
CMW, They thought they’d win the whole thing. Don Masson’s penalty miss when they were 1-1 v Peru was a key moment. Peru were quite tasty, mind, until the Argentinian generals bribed them to lose in the last 2nd round group game. Then Willie Johnston got done for drugs before the Iran game. The game v Holland’s probably their best ever result in a World Cup finals.
Will be supporting Scotland v England.
LikeLike
BB, Was that Arie Haan? He scored some belters in that tournament.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That can only be great CMW, even if it’s terrible it can only be great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A friend of mine blames the result of the 1979 referendum on the Don Masson penalty miss. It’s a very long and absolutely ridiculous argument that I give my backing to.
By the way, nonsense article in The Guardian today about how wonderful Euro 96 was.
LikeLike
Thing is, Ally didn’t believe that the Peruvians were quite tasty because he never bothered watching them (admittedly more difficult in those days) or find out how they played.
Iran was just a complete disaster. We didn’t even score our goal against them.
LikeLike
@Ticht – They had a lovely time and so did I singing along. More to come over the next few days.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Think it was TomP. Think there was one against Italy that was from even further out (possibly from Brazil).
LikeLike
I think beating a great Dutch team in the last game and not going through is snatching respectable defeat from the jaws of something worse.
LikeLike
My uncle was involved in some marketing stuff for the Argentina thing, he had an idea for a character who he called Argentine Angus, but I don’t think it got anywhere, a bit like the team itself to be fair.
He, my uncle, was a journalist but also one of the first football agents in Scotland, and to give him his due he had Sandy Jardine from Rangers and Danny McGrain from Celtic. To most people outside of Scotland that would require a “So what?” but Thaum will appreciate what a big deal it was back then
That uncle’s brother, my other uncle, was a pro footballer with Hibs, I remember very clearly him cringing at the Rod Stewart Scotland world cup song – “oh lay oy lay, oh lay oh lah, we’re going to bring the world cup back from over there (thah)”
Tam is right, the whole country thought we were going to win it.
Nightmare
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Argentine Angus”
Celebrating the global victory of the Argentine beef industry?
LikeLike
I know I’ve mentioned this before but in the run up to the 2010 World Cup my local cinema in Prague showed all the finals. 78 was the first final I ever watched so went to that one with a mate. You can drink in the cinema so we had a couple of bracers before kick off and then took two more beers in for the first half. However, there was a little speech first from the actual commentator on the final from Czechoslovak TV and then we got into. Unfortunately, we’d both forgotten that the final was delayed for 20 or 30 minutes. Well, we were running low on beer so a couple more each for the first half. Half time comes and time for one plus two for the second 45. As the game hits 80 minutes we’re both drunk but it dawns on us that the game is going to extra time. “Should we …?” “Of course.” Was horribly horribly hungover the next day.
LikeLiked by 2 people
On that basis if I want an excuse to get mightily pissed I guess I could start re-watching Wales rugby games from the 90s. Sorry Mrs CMW, I forgot what was going to happen in that one and it was the only way I could cope etc.
LikeLike