Je m’en fucking fous qu’Irlande ne joue pas ce weekend; l’opportunité c’est fucking énorme de regarder d’autres matches, et bien sûr ce video à voir encore et encore.
Vous avez entendu parler, naturellement, de ces minuscules fucking poissons des rivières brésiliennes qui s’attaquent par milliers a l’équipe imprudent, le nettoient, en quelques fucking instants, à petites bouchées rapides, et n’en laissent qu’un squelette immaculé ?* C’est ça que Jamie George fucking pense se passerait chez Twickenham le samedi.
“We want to take the fans on a journey with us over the next few months,” talonneur George a dit à BBC Sport. Qu’est-ce qu’il est fucking on? Ils vont voyager all right – chez eux par un early vol.
Mindez-vous, les Welshie gallois n’avons pas l’air de prendre le monde par orage non plus. Leur talonneur Dewi Lake raconte le moment où Fatland l’a demandé d’être capitaine:
“It was Monday morning, I was on the physio bed, and he came over and asked if I’d like to captain the team,” said Lake. Qu’est-ce qu’on peut fucking dire?
Meanwhile, chez les écossais, entraîneur Toonie a perdu le fucking plot en décrivant “Zander Fagerson’s availability for the opening World Cup game against South Africa as ‘a huge boost’.” Pour ce weekend, la France a choisi un équipe beaucoup plus fort que le weekend passé, et alors je pense que l’Écosse sera fucking smashed.
*C’est fucking Camus. On est très fucking culturé ici.
Onna telly this weekend
Saturday 12th August
| Portugal v USA | 14:00 | ? |
| Ulster v Munster (women) | 15:00 | iPlayer / YouTube |
| Georgia v Romania | 16:00 | ? |
| Connacht v Leinster (women) | 17:15 | YouTube |
| England v Wales | 17:30 | Prime Video |
| France v Scotland | 20:05 | Prime Video |
| Chile v Namibia | 22:00 | ? |
Ovally Balls 
https://www.planetrugby.com/news/a-closer-look-at-all-of-owen-farrells-bans-for-dangerous-tackles
All of the above were serious shoulder charges to the head. They are the only ones that get talked about. It is his default tackle technique. There are probably hundreds that are to the chest or shoulder that he has never been penalised for, but in the real world constitute a no arms tackle, which is illegal. He is not tucking the arm and driving with the shoulder, but still making no effort to engage in a wrap. This allows him to give the full force of a shoulder hit, without risking damage to his upperarm/bicep . ( Excluding the swinging arm headshots on Atkinson and Robson ).
It is a rugby league tackle technique. Thats fine in rugby league, but you still get sent off if there is head contact. How many times in union have we seen guys penalised for no arms tackles trying to stop a try in the corner, often with more of an attempt to wrap. If you succeed in knocking the guy into touch it is a penalty try and yellow card. Even if you are no where near the head.
I suppose the only mitigating factor for the judges is that they were Aussies, and probably watch a fair bit of NRL. If that was Gallagher premiership surely he would be gone for at least six weeks.
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In the first twitter video, the most telling clip is the shot of the England management team, including his dad. That must have been at least 8 years ago ?
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Scotland squad , no surprises ?
https://scottishrugby.org/scotland-squad-named-for-rugby-world-cup-2023/#:~:text=The%20other%20players%20preparing%20for,Rory%20Darge%20and%20Matt%20Fagerson.
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Guardian article has it as 19 forwards and 14 hookers.
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Guess who we get to blame for the reduction in Farrell’s card
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Here’s how to do it Owen.
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Where the review committee get it absolutely 100% wrong is that Basham’s trajectory is irrelevant: at no stage did Farrell even attempt to use his arms in a legal tackle. It was a pure no-arms hit from the outset; that it caught Basham on the head and he failed his HIA makes it even worse.
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Deebee, you get this wrong. Stop fighting windmills.
What was done does not matter. What matters is who did it.
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Tilting at windmills is one area I’m unmatched at, Flair. I’ll be damned if I jettison such a talent!
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World Rugby are appealing
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Moral victory to England as corrupt World Rugby machinations ruin world cup preparations.
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Ireland (v England):
(Province/Club/Caps)
15. Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD)(30)
14. Mack Hansen (Connacht/Corinthians)(14)
13. Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD)(50)
12. Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians)(46)
11. James Lowe (Leinster)(20)
10. Ross Byrne (Leinster/UCD)(19)
9. Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(25)
1. Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD)(53)
2. Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne)(17)
3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf)(66)
4. Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne)(39)
5. James Ryan (Leinster/UCD)(captain)(53)
6. Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution)(94)
7. Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD)(50)
8. Cian Prendergast (Connacht/UCD)(2)
Replacements:
16. Rob Herring (Ulster/Ballynahinch)(35)
17. Jeremy Loughman (Munster/Garryowen)(1)
18. Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers)(30)
19. Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University)(2)
20. Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College)(29)
21. Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen)(105)
22. Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution)(4)
23. Keith Earls (Munster/Young Munster)(99).
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England are gonna get minced.
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Only one Ulsterman, and he on the bench! Nearly all Leinstermen, who lost both the European Cup and the league-whose-name-changes-daily.
So perhaps England will only be lightly mashed.
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Refit – I doubt it but they will lose
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Leinstermen, who lost…. the league-whose-name-changes-daily
Didn’t even make the final…..
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Nearly all Leinstermen
This is the risk – we’re all in on the cohesion that a virtual club side can bring but is there a limit to the benefits when the preRWC camps will increase every team’s cohesion?
Been here before – 2015 we looked the business but injuries to O’Connell, O Mahony, Sexton, and a ban for O Brien and suddenly the defence is torn to shreds by Argentina.
And as you note – Leinster have lost (albeit late on) in last 2 Heino finals and last two URC semi finals (at home) – a big heavy team will ultimately wear them down…. (Munster aren’t a big heavy team but they play KBA in the LaR mould and ball in play time can be a killer)
We ought to win this world Cup based on last 2 years – but the nagging fear is that everyone knows Leinster’s weakness even if few can take advantage.
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I think France will win it. We will be lucky to get out of the group – it is a tough group – and even if we do, surely not without injuries (and Sexton both fragile and not up to match fitness), there is an impossible QF. France have lost Ntamack, of course, but as long as Dupont stays injury-free, I think they’ll romp it.
Munster aren’t a big heavy team but they play KBA in the LaR mould and ball in play time can be a killer
Munster have always been much more than the sum of their parts. Sure, they’ve had their ROGs and POCs, but there’s something about that jersey that matches the look in POM’s eyes….
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Thaum, did you get my email, sent to google mail?
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“We will be lucky to get out of the group”
Shameful under dogging :-) Ireland are the number one side in the world and have been for a year, 6N and Grand Slam champions, lost to Scotland twice in ten years, the last time being five years ago in Edinburgh, their encounters with South Africa have gone on home advantage over the last seven years, this Ireland is the best I’ve ever seen them.
I have hopes Scotland can beat South Africa, but little or no hope that we are beating Ireland, not unless we are playing an already-qualified Ireland B team in the final group fixture and we are playing to get to the QF.
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Ticht, that last bit worries me no end – a Celtic Conspiracy™ to Boot the Boks™. I suppose all we need to do is beat both so that it’s irrelevant.
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Deebs, I have long admired the Boks’ Backs (TM) (can’t do the fancy wee letters thing) but AM being out is a huge loss.
That being said, any side struggles if they are getting beaten up in the forwards and if the Boks do the Boks’ thing up front Scotland will struggle against them
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My dad’s got a ticket for this
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New post coming up.
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Taps fingers waiting for new post, having suffered so often at the hands of the Chesire DC.
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Wait no longer!
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