This post has very little to do with rugby (there is some connection), but I lost the plot after reading about David Frost’s ‘speech’ on Tuesday, in which he repudiated the world-beating, superfantabulistic deal that he and Spaffer Johnson negotiated and signed with the EU less than a year ago.
These morons have no understanding at all of Northern Ireland, and nor do they care to understand. They seem to be only listening to the DUP, who are in serious decline, and whose worldview is anathema to most of the population – a population who you will remember voted against Brexit.
Why do people vote for them, you ask? It’s not because they like them or agree with their politics or religious fetishes, but because they are (were!) afraid of ‘Them-uns’ getting in instead.
It’s true that the Republic of Ireland was rather priest-ridden in my youth, but those days are long gone after the Magdalene Laundries scandal and other events; meanwhile, you will still find signs on the roadsides in NI proclaiming things like FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, and other lovely, inspirational messages, while abortion remains next to impossible and same-sex marriage has only recently been forcibly imposed by Westminster. Many people in NI who might previously have supported unionism are reconsidering on the basis of these changes and non-changes.
The Belfast / Good Friday Agreement has effected an amazing alteration in the physical and political landscape. Gone are the metal detectors and the tanks of my youth; in their place is a vibrant (yes, an overused word, but it fits here) downtown Belfast, with plenty of two-way cross-border traffic, a great food / café / arts culture, and a general air of tolerance and co-operation. People in East Belfast are learning Irish and playing GAA sports.
Northern Ireland has seen some empty supermarket shelves, but primarily in those retailers who are English-based. Other businesses have adjusted, and are buying in from the Republic and the wider EU. There haven’t been any petrol shortages.
(As for ‘sausage wars’, no honest Irishperson buys the clearly inferior English sausages. Irish sausages are gorgeous, and almost certainly have a lower sawdust percentage [citation needed].)
So along comes David Frost, with the DUP cooing in his ear, to assert that the Northern Ireland Protocol – which, remember, he negotiated and signed and proclaimed to be the greatest deal ever – is not fit for purpose, mostly because it exposes that NI, which remains in the Single Market, is prospering much better than the rest of the UK. And he wants to scrap the whole thing, putting the entire peace process into question.
So in other words, the DUP would prefer to have the Northern Irish people suffer the same privations as those on the island of Britain, because that would make them more British.
It seems that most Northern Irish, of whatever persuasion, don’t agree. They seem to prefer the all-island approach that is clearly advantageous.
And here’s where rugby comes in. Rugby has been an all-island sport since partition, and has seen a massive benefit from that: not just in trophies and matches won, but as a unifying factor. (Football has been divided, with little success for either country.) Ulster has its nine counties, with Tommy Bowe, for example, from County Monaghan. We have punched above our weight for such a tiny country in which rugby isn’t even the second or third sport. We have, in good GFA tradition, fudged the ceremonials by doing two anthems. It might not be ideal, it may irritate others (sorry!), but it’s the best we can do for now, and it works.
The likes of Frost and Johnson are careless of this carefully-built cooperation, and willing to destroy it all on the altar of their own egos. They are willing to send us back to bombs and threats and check-points and feel-ups and knee-cappings and murders. They are willing to divide an island – yet again – that their predecessors have ravaged and pillaged and planted and starved. They are the greatest argument for a united Ireland in my lifetime, and I expect now to live to see it happen.
Onna telly this week
Friday 15th October
| Ulster v Lions | 19:35 | BBC2 NI / RTÉ2 / Premier Sports 1 |
| Dragons v Stormers | 19:35 | BBC2 Wales / Premier Sports 2 |
| Sale v Harlequins | 19:45 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 16th October
| Zebre v Glasgow | 13:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Brive v La Rochelle | 14:00 | FreeSports |
| Wasps v Exeter | 15:00 | BT Sport 2 |
| Treviso v Ospreys | 15:00 | S4C / Premier Sports 1 |
| Montpellier v Clermont | 16:00 | FreeSports |
| Leinster v Scarlets | 17:15 | S4C / TG4 / Premier Sports 2 |
| Edinburgh v Bulls | 17:15 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Munster v Connacht | 19:35 | RTÉ2 / Premier Sports 2 |
| Cardiff v Sharks | 19:35 | S4C / Premier Sports 1 |
| Toulon v Racing 92 | 20:00 | FreeSports |
Sunday 17th October
| Bath v Saracens | 15:00 | BT Sport 1 | ||
| Lyon v Toulouse | 20:00 | FreeSports |
Ovally Balls 
Rugby definitely the winner earlier, handy 5 points for embra
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The Wesht really have their tails up here
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Bloody nearly scored again. Now they have a penalty in front of the posts, more or less.
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It was dire stuff Chimpie, but we’ve gone there and played poorly and lost before, so it was good to come away with the five points
I thought Kinghorn showed a bit more control today, and off the back foot for a lot of the time, that is the sort of thing he needs to learn to make the transition to 10 successfully
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Premier player not the winner. Glitching like buggery
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Yup, I’m focusing on the 5 points rather than anything else.
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Connacht have got Doak rattled. They have been targeting him off the ball (that was why the earlier pen was reversed, but it wasn’t the only time).
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Getting feisty
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Asinine by O’Connor.
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Naughty ulsterman
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Woohoo! Even stevens on the cards after Connacht give away another penalty.
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Cardiff 18 – 14 Drags at oranges.
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And 17-6 at the whistle in Dublin.
Ulster needs their behinds kicked in a friendly little half-time chat.
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This is a really good game for the neutral, Hendo could be arrested for pilfering like that
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I am struggling to find any pastries at all from this match.
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And Connacht score again.
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Sorry Thaum, that was a really good try.
Nice shot of Eric Elwood in the stands
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And a Connacht intercept (again) gives them the BP try.
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Somewhere, Claw just threw his beer at the ceiling
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:-D
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TRY Ulster! Didn’t think it would happen. TMO permitting, natch.
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It’s good, but the conversion (Lowry; Doak’s off) isn’t.
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“What are ye for fuck’s sakes, you’re all on your knees”
:-)
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I’ve never rated Burns, and I realise I’m jining it for him to play a blinder against Edinburgh, but he’s been poor again tonight. Carty has been good, otoh
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Caught that too, Ticht. Foul-mouthed Weshterners.
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You and me both, Ticht. I cringe when he gets the ball.
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That sums the match up
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Jesus fucking christ. Ulster looked like making a break through Baloucoune, Connacht somehow poach it and are unopposed to the line as the clock goes red.
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36-11.
Connacht were frighteningly ferocious and creative. Ulster were shit.
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Connacht have earned a good few pints of the black stuff tonight, well done The Wesht.
Ulster will still be there abouts at the business end of the season, they are too good a side not to be
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Cardiff managed to win with 14 men for most of the second half, 31-29.
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Beautiful kick by Jack Crowley.
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Ospreys have got little spangles on their kit. Lovely!
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Yikes, unzud score after about 20 seconds
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Guess finlay christie isn’t coming back to Scotland
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And another one. Going to be a cricket score
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4 tries after 14 minutes
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I can’t help feeling a bit of schadenfreude when the Yanks get stuffed at anything.
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31 points after 30 minutes
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20 minutes even
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Praising ref alert
Hollie Davison has been very good and un-phased by big name players nagging at her
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I’m ignoring the USA ABs game, it was always going to be a total hiding
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Looks like a more-or-less full-strength Munster are going to lose to an Ospreys side missing their international players. This has been a shit weekend for rugby. >:-(
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… Unless you’re Claw, obvs.
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Well done, Os very good win
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Munster try a 56m kick at the death for a LBP, but miss.
Ticht
Hollie Davison has been very good
I haven’t been paying full attention, especially as someone rang up while I was watching, but I noticed at least two occasions where she got in the way of the play. I thought she had very good arm gestures though.
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Big win for the O’s, surprisingly competitive up front. O’s play fairly horrible rugby, but on that evidence so do Munster against teams that front up. Still enjoyable as it was a good contest.
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USA got a try!
Unfortunately unzud got 9. And that’s just the first half
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CMW – Ospreys did the business. Munster weren’t shit like Ulster.
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Chimpie – lol. NZ will be kicking themselves.
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