Cooney. Baloucoune. Stockdale. McCloskey. All injured last week by the brutal Weegiegibbons. This means Ulster are starting nineteen-year-old Nathan Doak at scrum-half. Good luck to the lad!
Today’s picture was inspired by today’s walkies, where we ran across an enormous Doberman carrying a rugby ball in his mouth (a real ball, not a toy as in this pic). Owner hastily explained that Dobie had ‘found’ the ball and there was not a crying child somewhere.
My own dug was enormously impressed and tried her best to get him to do a bit of rough-and-tumble, but he was disdainful. Or was not going to be fooled into dropping the ball.
Onna telly this week
Friday 1st October
| Scarlets v Lions | 19:35 | BBC2 Wales / Premier Sports 2 |
| Connacht v Bulls | 19:35 | TG4 / Premier Sports 1 |
| Bristol v Bath | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 2nd October
| Argentina v Australia | 08:05 | Sky Sports Main Event |
| South Africa v New Zealand | 11:05 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Treviso v Edinburgh | 13:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Lyon v Bordeaux | 14:00 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Leicester v Saracens | 15:00 | BT Sport 3 |
| Glasgow v Sharks | 15:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Biarritz v Toulouse | 16:00 | FreeSports |
| Zebre v Ulster | 17:15 | Premier Sports 2 |
| Ospreys v Cardiff | 19:35 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Munster v Stormers | 19:35 | RTÉ / Premier Sports 2 |
| Castres v Toulon | 20:05 | FreeSports |
Sunday 3rd October
| Dragons v Leinster | 14:00 | S4C / RTÉ2 / Premier Sports 1 | ||
| Sale v Exeter | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 | ||
| Clermont v Racing 92 | 20:05 | FreeSports |
Ovally Balls 
Dogs and balls, Thauma, they’ll always be as one. Or not, depending on which dogs, which balls and what stage of life. Is it always a dog’s life?
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Are the Scarlets any good? Hope not. Don’t think we’ve deployed any Suzi’s to Llanelli. Cardiff is as far as they’ll go without danger pay.
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Scarlets were very good two (?) seasons ago, but lost their mojo.
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Are the Scarlets any good?
No.
They’re starting two 21yo “locks” tonight as our traditional locking crisis starts early, only 1 game into the new season.
My expectations are well managed.
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Scarlets are a bit cheap. Two locks for the Price of one?
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Supersport studio are talking about the incredible depth of experience in the Scarlets side. “They bring work rate off the ball” as well. Scarlets by 39.
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Sounds like they’ve been dipping into the bargain bin for pundits as well.
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Two locks for the Price of one?
Good to see standards still being maintained.
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Supersport studio has three pundits. So far we’ve got Con-it, Con-art, Con-aggt, and Con-nought. And that’s just from Warren Brosnihan who keeps reminding everyone that he played in Ireland.
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Then again, listening to the Welsh lads going through the Lions side, I don’t feel so bad!
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Fingers crossed, Bristol actually remember how to play rugby tonight.
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Early try Scarlets. From a free kick off the scrum. Didn’t really look like they wanted to contest the scrum. 7-0.
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Lovely break by Hendrikse and the Lions are on the line! But can’t get over. Good Scarlets defence.
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FFS! You can’t tell the two sides apart, from behind: kits are the same colour on the back.
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Scarlets 8 playing the ball on the ground and Hendrikse knocks over the penalty from half way. 7-3
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Scarlets with the lineout on the Lions 5m. Send it wide and too easy – try for Tom Rogers. Great conversion from the touchline and 14-3 after 20 minutes.
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Terrible ball management by the Lions and the Scarlets pour downfield again from a free kick. Lions get out of jail from a knock.
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Oodendal penalised for tackling the man without the ball and 3 easy points. 17-3.
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Producer showing hundreds of replays of a perfectly legitimate tackle on Hendrikse. Why? Sometimes I get pissed with the TV moguls looking for shit that isn’t there.
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* I may have a different view if it’s Kiwis getting put under the microscope.
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BRB, your lads are handling the Lions pretty well up to now
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Lions get the penalty and look for posts rather than the corner. Puzzling because they need more that 3 and aren’t looking sharp in the backs.
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Somehow Bath aren’t 4 tries up, Bristol being saved by knock-ons and a small in-goal area. Bath have scored one and Luatua has just even the count. Conversion missed and it’s 8-10.
Bristol just saved by another knock-on.
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Lions botch a lineout on the 5m. Have another go 10m out and fuck that up too! Scarlets get to the Lions 10m and get the penalty. Pretty much a 10 point reversal through sloppy play.
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20-6 at the break and Scarlets look like they could crochet a lovely jersey in the 2nd half and still win.
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Need to get your lineout sorted, Refit.
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Think I’ll go over to the Wesht for the second halfs
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Keep us posted, Ticht!
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Good try for Connacht
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Lots of pickngoes end in the score 17-7 to the Wesht
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50m score from Connacht might be chalked off
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Nope try stands
It’s worth looking up, great run.
22-7 with the conversion to come
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He hits the fucking post with thekick ffs
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@Borderboy – just the lineout?
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Jaco Kriel had a peach of a shiner. Lions with a lineout inside the Scarlets half. They desperately need something here, but haven’t looked like scoring. They get a good maul going but fuck it up. Scarlets scrum.
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Well, you’ve won the last three.
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Rabz Maxwane gets the ball after an hour and promptly throws it forward. Lions get the penalty from the scrum and have a lineout 10m out from the Scarlets line.
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That was a lovely try from Bath though.
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Lions score. Deebs will have the details. :-)
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Lions batter away with little imagination, but get it over and it’s 20-13 after 60 minutes. Scarlets haven’t done much in this half. And 5hen the first time the Lions go through some good phases, they run out of support and cough up the penalty in easy range. 23-13.
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Feck! All the good work the Lions did in the 3rd quarter undone in a couple of minutes. Man in the bin and 26-13 down.
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Static Lions attack, concede a penalty in the Scarlets 22. They tap, go and score a 90m try. Great vision! Crap defence, but great vision and management of the ball.
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I see th Bulls aren’t doing much better.
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Palindromic score now: 31 – 13.
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Did Tom Dunn lose a bet? What’s with *that* hair?
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Lovely line from Farrell cuts the Bulls to shreds, conversion goes over
29-7
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Great score by Evans!
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Bath down to 13 temporarily. Jake Kerr over for a try and Bristol in the lead! He missed his first lineout, but has been spot on since, and he could have had a try earlier which was given as a penalty try. Brizzle favourites now.
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Yes Ticht.
I’m afraid I can’t explain it.
It’s the (false) hope that kills you.
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And also could have had one where he rolled over one too many times. MOTM!
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