What a cracker of a first round! Some delectable rugby, some surprises, and plenty of dodgy reffing decisions to moan about.
Tonga and Samoa have yet to play, but Wales easily contained Fiji. The big surprises were the performances of the two South American minnows: Chile gave Japan a good fight, although they ran out of puff before the end, and Wrwgwai (that’s the Welsh spelling of Uruguay, per MisterIks, apparently) gave France a hell of a fright.
So what’s in store for this weekend? Mostly very one-sided fixtures; it’s not even worth speculating about the scores. The closest matches may well be Samoa v Chile, Australia v Fiji, England v Japan, and South Africa v Romania, now they’ve lost Marx and seeing as how they don’t have a proper 10.
Thaum, it was just before I moved to Feance, so even though I was tichtheiding it was down a few rungs, I played either 3 or 8, depending on who else was available for the village team
Thaum, actualy it was:
J’aime l’eau. [×], ticking meaning no.
James Lowe [+) ticking meaning yes.
What else would you expect from an Irish lad at large in France?
Nice game, no niggles, no injury apparently, crafty and fast. Ireland vs SA will be some game.
For the Boks today, we need a big, big win and no injuries or cards. Need to get stuck in and keep the scoreboard ticking over, without resorting to 7s style flingaboutery. It’ll be difficult for any of the guys to really make a statement for inclusion in the Ireland match, but no doubt a few will be looking to poke the coaches in the ribs a bit.
Andre Esterhuizen will look to keep upping the ante for the 12 jersey, Moodie at 13 isn’t a realistic proposition as first choice 13, but getting more games under belt there can’t do any harm. Kleyn and Orie will both want to make a statement as bomb squad members for the big matches. That’s about it.
45 minutes to kick off. Slurping bubbles in anticipation of a good performance by the Boks and making pasteis de nata in solidarity with Portugal yesterday. Some Japanese-style-sort-of chicken marinating for a bit later, soggy lettuce leaf on the chopping block for England, corn poached in coconut milk with spices as a nod to Fiji (sort of), nothing for Australia. Think I’ve got all the bases covered.
Ovally Balls 
Tonga get the first points in the second half with a penalty, and the crowd seem to be behind them.
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Hendo coming on with a shiner before he starts.
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Ireland have made a slew more subs, and the bench must be about empty. Not sure this is a great idea.
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But TRY Kilcoyne!
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No, Herring the Ulsterman!
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Or no, wait, maybe no try. *shrugs*
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I don’t really know what else Herring could have done, as he was getting shoved from behind (as it were), but yes, it was probably a double movement.
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The fluency has gone for the moment, Ireland were looking very professional in the first half
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Ticht – a wobbly first 15 minutes, then some cohesion, then mass replacements that have fucked it. Hopefully we can hang on.
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But hey, TRY Lowe! I don’t know how he got into there.
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Thaum I missed the first 15, taking Mrs TH to a work party
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I said Ireland would win by 40, I still think it’s on
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I’m having my first beer for about three weeks after a really bad bout of gastroentershiteus
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Someone in the crowd is holding up a sign that says:
J’AIME L’EAU
JAMES LOWE
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Chek Budvar since you ask
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Och, sorry to hear that, Ticht. Nasty. Glad you’ve recovered.
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TRY Aki!
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Great line from Aki
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Thaum, I’ve come to terms with it so I’m not looking for anything, but I missed my mother’s funeral because of it.
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I hope Scotland can get Darcy Graham and Duhan that much space out wide next week
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Oh shit (oops), that is awful, Ticht. What a horrible confluence of events, and my condolences.
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Aki has just scored again.
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Was there a live stream / recording of the funeral that you were able watch, Ticht?
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Nah, we didn’t think there would be the call for it.
It’s just one of those things
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Oh, hell. So it goes.
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I even bought a suit :-)
It doesn’t fit me now, the trousers fall off me.
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Magic weight-loss clinic. :-)
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Aye, I did this once before in my 20s after a dodgy jar of pickled mussels
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Ah, that might not have been good in your 20s when you might have been Tichtheiding?
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Ireland have got it together again for this last quarter
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TRY Herring! (I thought it was held up, but ref says it’s okay.)
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Thaum, it was just before I moved to Feance, so even though I was tichtheiding it was down a few rungs, I played either 3 or 8, depending on who else was available for the village team
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Feance is nice this time of year
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Telt youse :-)
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59-16 despite some shaky periods. I’ll take that.
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Chek Budvar since you ask
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THAUMATURGE
16/09/2023 at 21:45 (Edit)
Och, sorry to hear that, Ticht. Nasty. Glad you’ve recovered.
Luckily it wasn’t an American Bud!
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Very good win for Ireland! They’ve got to be favourites against the walking wounded of the Boks.
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I’m telt! Off to bed now, but have a very pleasant evening.
And good for you taking advantage of your freedom of movement at that age.
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Thaum, actualy it was:
J’aime l’eau. [×], ticking meaning no.
James Lowe [+) ticking meaning yes.
What else would you expect from an Irish lad at large in France?
Nice game, no niggles, no injury apparently, crafty and fast. Ireland vs SA will be some game.
LikeLike
For the Boks today, we need a big, big win and no injuries or cards. Need to get stuck in and keep the scoreboard ticking over, without resorting to 7s style flingaboutery. It’ll be difficult for any of the guys to really make a statement for inclusion in the Ireland match, but no doubt a few will be looking to poke the coaches in the ribs a bit.
Andre Esterhuizen will look to keep upping the ante for the 12 jersey, Moodie at 13 isn’t a realistic proposition as first choice 13, but getting more games under belt there can’t do any harm. Kleyn and Orie will both want to make a statement as bomb squad members for the big matches. That’s about it.
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45 minutes to kick off. Slurping bubbles in anticipation of a good performance by the Boks and making pasteis de nata in solidarity with Portugal yesterday. Some Japanese-style-sort-of chicken marinating for a bit later, soggy lettuce leaf on the chopping block for England, corn poached in coconut milk with spices as a nod to Fiji (sort of), nothing for Australia. Think I’ve got all the bases covered.
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That first try was horribly easy. I don’t think this is going to be a fun afternoon for Romania.
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SA currently running at a try every 3 mins.
19-0
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I gave up watching after 3rd try.
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SA running ahead of schedule – the 4th try is in the 11th minute.
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Romania win a penalty from the restart, but the winger pushes it wide of the posts.
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5 tries in 15 minutes for SA. There should be a way to stop the game at HT.
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Reinach gets a hattrick.
33-0. 24mins
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No proper TMO check for the shoulder to the head, on the Romanian player?
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Kleyn got very lucky there, it was clearly a headshot
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