First a nod to the retirees. *Nods*
Tonight we have the Little Cup Final, Glasgow v Toulon. The French side are half-way down their league table while Glaes are fourth in the URC, and have home advantage … but I think it will be a close-fought affair all the same. The Home of the Big Yin by 4.
Then tomorrow there’s the Big Cup Gladitorialism of Leinster v La Rochelle. Ronan O’Gara will be rubbing his hands at the prospect, especially after his club side beat the Blue Meanies last weekend in the URC semi-final. But Leinster have made 12 changes to the B-team they put out last week – mostly to concentrate on this Cup, one assumes. BUT Sexton is still injured, which could be a big factor; one of they Byrne brothers is in instead.
It’s a tough one to call too, but I think home advantage will tell again. The Home of Leopold Bloom by 5.
Onna telly this weekend
Friday 19th May
| Glasgow v Toulon | 20:00 | BT Sport 1 |
Saturday 20th May
| Leinster v La Rochelle | 16:45 | ITV1 / STV / BT Sport 2 |
Ovally Balls 
Hello?
LikeLike
Ah! There you are – was telling me I couldn’t post. Steven Kitshoff and Malcolm Marx have just launched a beer called Bomb Squad Lager. Think I’ll buy a few cases for the World Cup. Should probably test it out first in the Rugby Championship. Maybe the Currie Cup. Maybe for breakfast, even. Just put a cornflake in it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lager & cornflakes?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Crickey! Just tuned into the Crusaders-Blues SF, expecting a tight old tussle – 39-3 to the Crusaders 10 minutes into the second half!
LikeLike
49-8 with three minutes to go.
LikeLike
Looks like I was a wee bit off with my prediction of a Crusaders win by just 6 points 🤷
LikeLike
Mo’unga over Barrett by a good bit.
LikeLike
Another flying visit to UK, airport report. Keflavik Airport, Reykjavik, has an excellent smoking area right off the central terminal food area. Roofed but open slatted on one side, may be a little chilly in winter.
LikeLike
Looks like I was a wee bit off with my prediction of a Crusaders win by just 6 points 🤷
That’ll teach you for copying my prediction!
LikeLike
Cricket rollicking along rather nicely! England on course to post 350+ for the day, assuming they can build a decent partnership in this session. Everyone chipping in at a frenetic pace, but at 176-4, they need someone to stick around and make a big score. It won’t be the skipper, he’s just chucked his wicket away nicking off to a wide, wide delivery. No idea what Stokes is reviewing? Clear, if faint, edge and off he goes. 176-5. Oh dear.
LikeLike
tbh its bloody annoying Deebee. It’s the fucking Ashes, for chrissakes, not sodding pyjama cricket. 5 starts, all thrown wickets away. Baz ball fine, but not on the first day of the first test in an Ashes series. Grrr. Root and Bairstow need to calm it down a bit.
LikeLike
Absolutely, SBT. I know it’s been working for the last year or so, but you can’t play T20 against this attack, all day long.
LikeLike
These two going along at a love ODI middle over rate. Match still pretty evenly balanced though.
LikeLike
There you go, top form, eye in, should have been a big ton. Premeditated charge . Hmm.
LikeLike
Bold declaration! Think England are 40-50 short actually. Pitch doesn’t seem to have too many demons and you’re offering Aus the Day 2 pitch and maybe more? Unless England get a couple this evening and in the morning session tomorrow, it could backfire badly.
LikeLike
No demons in the pitch. Going to be a long day for England in the field tomorrow.
LikeLike
THE HASK is on Question of Sport.
LikeLike
Mo’unga didn’t half put some zip on his pass, for the first try.
LikeLike
Mo’unga vs DMac in the final. Brumbies put on a good show, but basically lost a tight game by being sloppier, missed touch, restart straight to into touch, missed penalty that should have been a tap ovr, and a few daft decisions by Wright at 15.
Logging in here on a borrowed laptop, this site is almost impossible to find on the Bing search engine, which is really winding me up, as the same search will produce different results a few hours apart. Is that what AI is all about ?
LikeLike
HIghlights of the Chiefs/Brumbies.
LikeLike
Broad doing his thing……………….lovely.
LikeLike
Jaffa by Moen. 5 down.
Chrome browser, just search ovally balls and it comes up first choice. interesting.
LikeLike
John Ryan having a lovely time with the Chiefs ….
LikeLike
Dramatic ending to Top14 final – Ntamack having just kicked a pen dead, and knocked on under no pressure scores the winning try on 78′ – tough on La Rochelle who were probably better team.
Good game – though.
LikeLike
LikeLike
Was at a craft beer and music fest in Pretoria yesterday, so missed the Chiefs match and the cricket, but it looks like my prediction from Friday is, shockingly, quite accurate: Aus on course for a healthy first innings lead and putting the pressure squarely back on Bazball. Still think knocking off 400 on Day 1 would have been a bigger statement, which it appears Stokes wanted to make, than a declaration with a handful of overs left.
LikeLike
In domestic rugby news, the Pumas and Cheetahs will contest the Currie Cup Final, despite the URC sides being able to field their big guns in the last few weeks of the season. I’m absolutely delighted that these smaller unions have posted a large middle finger to SA Rugby. Especially the Cheetahs, who get shafted every year despite producing some of the best players in the country.
LikeLike
That was a helluva try by Ntamack! Knife through butter stuff.
LikeLike
Yellow card for this…
LikeLike
To those who don’t watch Gaelic football (and increasingly that includes me) – the aim of the player in red (from Cork) is – I think – to either punch the ball or punch it out of the hands of the Mayo player (green and red) as he catches it….
I’m waiting on the first big concussion case …..
LikeLiked by 2 people
Game’s gone soft /sarcasm
LikeLike
England trying to throw away the first ashes test.
LikeLike
Root really didn’t need to come dancing down the track like that. He was looking so good – maybe too good? Brook was lucky not to nick off or edge onto his stumps early on, but has (just about) reined in his excesses. Just Bairstow and Moeen (at a push) to come. If England do bat out the day, they’ll be setting a stiff target, but they’re two wickets from the tail.
LikeLike
Dunno, Trisk, just looks like a healthy clobber disguised as an attempt at the ball. Did they have a good dust up afterwards?
LikeLike
Stokes being kept honest by Lyon. Doesn’t look comfortable against the spin. Australia’s over rate has been pretty shoddy this morning too. Far too much time setting the field between overs. Might get 24 overs for the session, with only two wickets to slow things up.
LikeLike
Think I got the hours of play wrong. Bairstow all at sea in that last over against Boland, but survives to lunch. Hopefully the weather plays along – this is very finely balanced!
LikeLike
Bairstow out to a reverse sweep, about as stupid as Root dancing down the wicket.
LikeLike
Yip! Stokes now into the 40s. Nobody has gone beyond that in this innings. He’s wincing a bit after that sweep, which isn’t a good sign either. And gone! Plumb! They review more out of desperation than hope. Cummins and Lyon getting Aus on top. 210-7
LikeLike
Well, umpires call clipping the top of leg. Looked more out to me! Think Robinson may get a few choice words here!
LikeLike
England need to conjure another 90 or 100 from somewhere. Not looking likely at the moment.
LikeLike
Cummins could do with a bit of level-headed support behind the stumps: Carey is calling for reviews of everything, with Smith egging him on. No reviews left. I wonder if that will bite them in the arse?
LikeLike
Moeen perfecting the art of the textbook cover drive that sees the ball fly off a thick edge to 3rd man! They all count, mind.
LikeLike
Well, England still n with a shout, but another hour of batting and a few more runs from those set top order batsmen who threw their wickets away and it would look a lot better. Aussies in the driving seat, no need to rush, they have all day to get 180 odd runs. Looks like we will be back to praying for rain.
LikeLike
Finely poised: if England can get two of Khawaja, Carey and Green before lunch, they’re still in it. They’ll need an early breakthrough though, to get the momentum going. May need all three of those wickets, actually.
LikeLike
Bairstow is too tubby to be an effective ‘keeper. Pick him for his batting and play Foakes
LikeLike
Slade, can you justify having both in the side? Who drops out? England are already without a ‘proper’ allrounder, with Stokes limping around on one leg. That means one of the other top 6 has to go, based on having three quicks and Moeen as a spinner. Can’t be Root or Brook on current form, or Cap’n Ben, so would have to be one of the top three, but Ollie Pope seems nailed on, so back to tinkering with the openers?
LikeLike
One down, six to go! Boland did his job last night, but couldn’t hang around too long this afternoon.
In other news, Ugo Monye apparently went to Ireland and declared that they won’t get anywhere in France because they can’t cope with big, nasty packs and they always get dumped in the quarters anyway (I may be paraphrasing slightly). His favourites are the Boks. Wise man, with well chosen words.
LikeLike
What now? 30 needed off 13 overs, Aussies only have two sticks left. Cummins is batting beautifully, with the obdurate Nathan Lyon for company. England can’t defend this, they need two wickets, and fast.
LikeLike
Those 40 runs that Stokes left on the table in the 1st innings…
LikeLike
To win a test match you have to be able to take 20 wickets. If you’ve got a shit wicket keeper – and Bairstow was shit in this test – you make that significantly harder. If we can’t fit Bairstow as a batter only, he shouldn’t play.
LikeLike