Got caught napping by the bank holidays and have only just realised that today is Friday, and there is European Cup rugby on! So imagine a long and hilariously funny post here. Or just skip to the fixtures.
Onna telly this weekend
Showing matches that are televised in the UK and Ireland or on popular subscription services. Bold indicates that it’s on a free to view channel. Times are in the UK zone, so adjust as necessary.
Toulouse almost concede the dumbest try of the season: well on the attack, they give it away with a sloppy shovel off the ground, hacked ahead by Chiefs, carried over by Toulouse but scrambled touch down. They’re checking a whole lot of things, but I’ve no sound on. Eventually decide Chiefs knocked it on, so goalline drop out.
Toulouse have stretched Chiefs a couple of times out wide when they’ve been able to get it out quickly. And then sometimes you just bounce off the defender and pin your ears back! Blair Kinghorn slots the extras and Toulouse are back in front! 17-16 after 33.
Toulouse the better team by far and much more experienced.
The key thing for Exeter’s new players, some of whom have the necessary to become very good, is to take all they can from the experience and come back stronger.
No complaints from me and my man continues to have a very good season.
Toulouse had three contenders for player of the match, four if you count Dupont, who could probably get the gong before the game starts. Kinghorn scored two tries and was 6/6 with the boot for a personal tally of 23 points. Jack Willis will again have the RFU looking at the ground and shuffling their feet, but young Costes in the centre got the accolade. I remember him from last year’s U20s, he is going to be something very special.
Ticht, I thought I saw that in real time and assumed the ref/TMO would look at it and was surprised they let it go. Thought I may have seen something that wasn’t there, but that’s a nasty bit of footage.
It must be nice to be able to afford an AB, even if he has family ties to Ireland and is only there for 6 months.
Don’t suppose one of his brothers would like to come to the Weedge for the price of a few fish suppers and all the Irn Bru he can drink?
To all my Twitter pals – thank you for the chats and whatnot over the years. I am coming to the end of my life, and I suppose this is goodbye. I get weaker by the day, and confused at times (drugs? cancer?who knows!) So it's a goodbye from me. Be kind, accept love, enjoy.
— Ephemerid213 Wear a mask! (@ephemerid213) April 17, 2024
I am putting this here instead of on Ephie’s blog, because I don’t know her well enough to know if she’d like it. It’s quite depressing, but very lovely.
Lhasa de Sela wrote this while she was dying of cancer. I’d guess that she’s expressing feelings that most cancer sufferers experience, but Ephemerid is in a different class to most people.
I can’t say I remember Ephie, but from reading the posts there, as they say you can tell the mark of someone by their friends. I would have liked to have read that board, I think.
Starting to get to the business end of the various tournaments! Noticed on Superbru that only 5 points separate Sarries in 3rd and Sale in 8th in the English league – also a lot of very close matches. Good for the game there, I would think. Not as tight in the URC, although pretty much anyone from the Lions in 11th could make the playoffs with a decent run. Although facing Leinster, Munster, Cardiff, Glasgow and Stormers on successive weekends is almost certainly a bridge too far for the Lions. Even if the first four are home matches. I suppose we can hope that Leinster put out their Schools ‘C’ team, the Bulls hammer Munster so they’re too buggered to play us, Cardiff don’t pitch and Glasgow have already secured a home QF/SF path and leave their first side at home. Stormers will probably need to win to secure a decent playoff fixture so unlikely they’ll be charitable. And it’s a derby.
For atmosphere, have a gander at the crowd in Suva, where the Fijian Drua are hosting the Hurricanes this morning – fabulous to see! Think the Canes will discipline them in the end*, but the Drua have scored some great tries in the last couple of seasons – could be some very entertaining rugby.
Ultimately, as opposed to a Tory MPs ‘constituency work’.
And then a sloppy piece of defending by the Drua allows Billy Proctor to scoop up the chipped kick and dot down under the posts. Could be a long evening if the Drua don’t get their hands on the ball..
Drua finally get it through the phases, and just as I was about to moan about the ref not penalising the Canes for lying all over the wrong side, the Drua 13 bursts through the ruck, offloads to Rabitu, the 10 who scores a lovely try! Converts it too, so it’s 7-7 after 12 minutes.
Match has settled into a ‘pattern’ of the Drua flying into defenders and offloading, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, with the Canes trying to play a slightly more structured running, passing and occasionally chipping game. Drua just getting a bit more of the ball now and extracting a few penalties, but their offloading game is also resulting in a number of knocks.
Refs are sponsored by Jack’s of Fiji, which, Google informs me, is not a variety of cider but a family friendly clothing range. The Leinster overlords will be hoping for a slightly more family friendly approach to the tackling, with precious Jordie trying to hold the line in midfield. Canes 10, Aidan Morgan, got a busted nose inside the first five minutes but is playing on, with it strapped up!
Proctor slices through the hesitant Drua defence (never thought I’d write that!) with a lovely step and acceleration, to put Jordie of the Dubs parish through for the third Canes try. 7-21. Jordie grinning with innocence of a man yet to be taught the grin-mace of PO’M. Little bastard will learn quickly when he arrives at the Palindrome.
Penalty to the corner, lineout, maul and hooker O’Reilly peels off to run in and flop over the line. That’s the bonus point and it’s 7-28 at the break.
Drua start the second half in fine style – but not the style you’d expect! A 5m lineout, taken at the back and mauled over! Conversion missed, 12-28. Drua are forcing the Canes into mistakes and a couple of penalties now, but are missing that crucial clinical finishing to punish them properly.
The Drua take it through 14 phases deep inside the Canes 22, but inevitably, almost, knock it on with the line is sight. TMO picks up a head shot in the build up, and Du’Plessis Kerifi is binned for the Canes. Drua opt for the scrum with a man advantage and a creaky Canes replacement front row. Isiah Walker-Leawere now binned for the Canes for a deliberate knock on at the breakdown. Scrumming against six and they go over, but has it been held up? Inconclusive and the Canes dodge one there.
Storming for the line again, but fucking knock on again! They’ve blown 3 or 4 gilt edged opportunities and could be leading, but for their poor handling. They start again from outside their own 22 and get it wide. Jordie deliberately knocks it down, but it’s backwards, so just a lineout. A weird rule – he made no effort to gather the ball, just prevent the pass completion, but because it’s backwards it’s okay. Dumb rule, the Drua had numbers.
Drua get an offside penalty and kick for posts – over it goes and the score is 15-28 with 10 to go. Drua need to score quickly to have a chance of keeping their winning streak (6 on the bounce, 8 from the last 9) intact.
Scrum penalty as they flatten the denuded Canes pack, but bugger it up running it out. Again. Then concede a penalty themselves. Jordie lines it up and knocks it over. 15-31. He’s now the second highest points scorer for the Canes at 770-odd, behind only one Beauden Barrett, with 1,260-odd.
Canes have conceded 10 penalties in the 2nd half to one by the Drua, illustrating the huge pressure they’ve placed under, but to their credit, they’ve largely kept the Drua at bay and forced quite a few turnovers and knock-ons from the tackle. But now a 3rd yellow also illustrates a fair amount of ‘defending on the edge’ from the Canes. The following passage is a vignette of most of the 2nd half: the Drua run the penalty, the ball carrier gets isolated after a few phases and they concede the turnover, this time to a penalty for holding on. Canes to the corner, lineout, rumble it over. Replacement prop with the honours. 15-38 the final score which doesn’t tell you anything about the match – the Canes were clinging on for much of the second half, but did enough in the first 30 minutes of the match to put it out of reach of a sloppy, if willing, Drua.
Queensland Reds against the Highlanders up next. Probably won’t be as enthusiastic with the commentary, I’m sure you’re relieved to hear.
Reds doing most of the playing so far, up 10-0 after Tom Lynagh slots a penalty. Yes, his son. Highlanders have offered almost nothing thus far beyond penalty-conceding defence and you feel the Reds will put them away with ease, if they can just get that last pass to stick. Finally, with a penalty advantage, and 19 phases later, they get their second try. Lock Ryan Smith barges over from close range and Lynagh adds the extras 17-0 after 28 minutes. Both sides full value for their respective scores.
Highlanders finally get their mitts on the ball, go through a few lacklustre phases that gift them a penalty. Kicked to the corner, take the lineout beautifully at the back and offload, only to leave the ball lying at the side of the ruck for the Reds to clear. Highlanders win the lineout again and take through five phases before knocking on. This isn’t a vintage Highlanders side, unless you like your vintage like a Triumph Stag, described in Time’s list of the 50 worst cars thus:
You could put all the names of all the British Leyland cars of the late ’60s in a hat and you’d be guaranteed to pull out a despicable, rotten-to-the-core mockery of a car. So consider the Triumph Stag merely representative. Like its classmates, it had great style (penned by Giovanni Michelotti) ruined by some half-hearted, half-witted, utterly temporized engineering: To give the body structure greater stiffness, a T-bar connected the roll hoop to the windscreen, and the windows were framed in eye-catching chrome. The effect was to put the driver in a shiny aquarium. The Stag was lively and fun to drive, as long as it ran. The 3.0-liter Triumph V8 was a monumental failure, an engine that utterly refused to confine its combustion to the internal side. The timing chains broke, the aluminum heads warped like mad, the main bearings would seize and the water pump would poop the bed — ka-POW! Oh, that piston through the bonnet, that is a spot of bother.
The Highlanders offer all of this except the fun to drive bit or the shiny chrome.
Lynagh junior attempting his own ending of dynasty work by firing a missile of a pass straight into his number 8’s nether regions. Cue mirth on the Reds bench. Reds get yet another penalty and kick to the corner, maul, recycle, bash, rinse, repeat, knock on and the Highlanders bring a pretty grotty 40 of rugby to a merciful end nudging it into touch from scrum.
Highlanders start the second half with great intent (and a couple of forward replacements already on), and take to the line after 20 patient, albeit somewhat dithering, phases. And then knock-on with the line in sight. Reds get the penalty at the scrum and clear to midfield. Highlanders come gain and move up to the 22, where the 10 is turned over by a prop at the ruck. For shame! Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest iron ore and coking coal producers has ads flashing in the background. A bit ironic given the lack of steel in the Otago pack.
Highlanders come again, more runny nose than rampaging Celts, but you know, work with what you’ve got, and get a penalty after another dozen or so phases. Kick to the corner, fail to set the maul and manage to win the scrum. Another breakdown penalty after a no-look pass goes to, well, no-one and the Reds can’t capitalise. Lineout, maul, halt, phases, knock-on, Reds clear to inside the Otago half.
Like many a cold, and this commentary, the runny noses are thick and persistent, launching another assault on the Reds midfield before knocking on again. That said, I don’t think the Reds have had the ball in the Otago half in the second stanza so far. Now they do, a penalty at scrum time for ‘front row angling in’ according to the caption (looked more like faceplanting in the fine Queensland turf, to be honest) and they try a dinky chip that doesn’t work. Otago with the penalty a couple of phases later and it’s back to almost halfway.
Reds with a 5m scrum (no idea, I went to put the kettle on) and they hammer the Otago eight again, release and score a simple try through the hands. 24-0 after 63 minutes. Otago win it off the restart and take it through multiple phases for four minutes before winning a penalty. They made a huge number of metres in that period, although largely sideways and backwards. Nonetheless, they’re metres!
Another penalty, another lineout, another maul (this one not sacked or collapsed), they make forward metres and then get pinged for obstruction. Reds clear and eventually boot the ball into the Otago 22. Same pattern of phase after phase before spilling the pill and gifting possession back to the Reds. Otago showing great creativity at the scrums, and have now been penalised for every possible offence there, from collapsing to early early engage, scrumming skew and avoiding contact. A masterclass.
5 minutes to go and only the grim car-crash-rubber-necking curiosity of seeing whether a Kiwi side gets nilled in Australia is keeping me going. Otago get a scrum on the Reds 10m line and get penalised again for skew engagement. Reds kick to touch and run it, looking like an outfit loosely based on a rugby team. Spill it, but Otago were offsides. Can they get the bonus point try? Yes they can! In the ultimate comedy, the Otago wing misjudges the badly hoofed crosskick and floats over his head, where the Reds wing picks it up and flops over the line. 31-0 and the final whistle. I need a lie down.
Ovally Balls 
Exeter penalised at the breakdown this time and Toulouse narrow the gap to three from the tee. 10-13
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Toulouse almost concede the dumbest try of the season: well on the attack, they give it away with a sloppy shovel off the ground, hacked ahead by Chiefs, carried over by Toulouse but scrambled touch down. They’re checking a whole lot of things, but I’ve no sound on. Eventually decide Chiefs knocked it on, so goalline drop out.
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Another breakdown penalty, another 3 points. This time to Chiefs. 10-16 on the half-hour.
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Toulouse have stretched Chiefs a couple of times out wide when they’ve been able to get it out quickly. And then sometimes you just bounce off the defender and pin your ears back! Blair Kinghorn slots the extras and Toulouse are back in front! 17-16 after 33.
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Blair Kinghorn over! Toulouse lead by 5.
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Kinghorn in again! Toulouse turning on the style and out of sight.
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Dupont over the line now. A lovely step, after a pass from Ramos. 45-19 after 58mins.
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Commiserations Slade, Toulouse were exceptional today.
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Toulouse the better team by far and much more experienced.
The key thing for Exeter’s new players, some of whom have the necessary to become very good, is to take all they can from the experience and come back stronger.
No complaints from me and my man continues to have a very good season.
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Missed the second half. Apparently Chiefs did too.
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Missed all of it because we were round a recently-widowed friend’s, but it sounds like it was a good match.
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Toulouse had three contenders for player of the match, four if you count Dupont, who could probably get the gong before the game starts. Kinghorn scored two tries and was 6/6 with the boot for a personal tally of 23 points. Jack Willis will again have the RFU looking at the ground and shuffling their feet, but young Costes in the centre got the accolade. I remember him from last year’s U20s, he is going to be something very special.
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Jack Yeandle could, no should be in big trouble,
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tompirracas
2 hours ago
Ah, right. I got that a bit wrong.
Staggered, I am! TomP being facted – and on a bit of Welsh rugby trivia too!
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Ticht, I thought I saw that in real time and assumed the ref/TMO would look at it and was surprised they let it go. Thought I may have seen something that wasn’t there, but that’s a nasty bit of footage.
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Jordie Barrett to Leinster in December until the end of next season
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It must be nice to be able to afford an AB, even if he has family ties to Ireland and is only there for 6 months.
Don’t suppose one of his brothers would like to come to the Weedge for the price of a few fish suppers and all the Irn Bru he can drink?
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For those who knew Ephemerid, from the Grain days
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Ken Owens is retiring
https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2024/0417/1444041-wales-and-lions-hooker-owens-announces-retirement/
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That’s very sad, Refit. Please send Ephemerid my best.
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I’ve sent Ephie a DM, but you can also post a message here https://ephemerid213andfriends.wordpress.com/2024/04/17/wednesday-17/
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I am putting this here instead of on Ephie’s blog, because I don’t know her well enough to know if she’d like it. It’s quite depressing, but very lovely.
Lhasa de Sela wrote this while she was dying of cancer. I’d guess that she’s expressing feelings that most cancer sufferers experience, but Ephemerid is in a different class to most people.
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I can’t say I remember Ephie, but from reading the posts there, as they say you can tell the mark of someone by their friends. I would have liked to have read that board, I think.
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A tribute to Ken
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(Sorry, couldn’t help it!)
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Starting to get to the business end of the various tournaments! Noticed on Superbru that only 5 points separate Sarries in 3rd and Sale in 8th in the English league – also a lot of very close matches. Good for the game there, I would think. Not as tight in the URC, although pretty much anyone from the Lions in 11th could make the playoffs with a decent run. Although facing Leinster, Munster, Cardiff, Glasgow and Stormers on successive weekends is almost certainly a bridge too far for the Lions. Even if the first four are home matches. I suppose we can hope that Leinster put out their Schools ‘C’ team, the Bulls hammer Munster so they’re too buggered to play us, Cardiff don’t pitch and Glasgow have already secured a home QF/SF path and leave their first side at home. Stormers will probably need to win to secure a decent playoff fixture so unlikely they’ll be charitable. And it’s a derby.
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For atmosphere, have a gander at the crowd in Suva, where the Fijian Drua are hosting the Hurricanes this morning – fabulous to see! Think the Canes will discipline them in the end*, but the Drua have scored some great tries in the last couple of seasons – could be some very entertaining rugby.
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Drua get the crowd going with a fabulous haka (not sure if it’s called something else in Fiji) and it’s all systems go!
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Canes have made a whirlwind start, and the Drua are battling to keep them out. Only a couple of sloppy passes have prevented an early try thus far.
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And then a sloppy piece of defending by the Drua allows Billy Proctor to scoop up the chipped kick and dot down under the posts. Could be a long evening if the Drua don’t get their hands on the ball..
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Drua finally get it through the phases, and just as I was about to moan about the ref not penalising the Canes for lying all over the wrong side, the Drua 13 bursts through the ruck, offloads to Rabitu, the 10 who scores a lovely try! Converts it too, so it’s 7-7 after 12 minutes.
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Drua tried to take a quick goal line drop, only to knock it on. Scrum 5 to the Canes who score off the back of a very solid scrum. 7-14.
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Match has settled into a ‘pattern’ of the Drua flying into defenders and offloading, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, with the Canes trying to play a slightly more structured running, passing and occasionally chipping game. Drua just getting a bit more of the ball now and extracting a few penalties, but their offloading game is also resulting in a number of knocks.
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Refs are sponsored by Jack’s of Fiji, which, Google informs me, is not a variety of cider but a family friendly clothing range. The Leinster overlords will be hoping for a slightly more family friendly approach to the tackling, with precious Jordie trying to hold the line in midfield. Canes 10, Aidan Morgan, got a busted nose inside the first five minutes but is playing on, with it strapped up!
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Proctor slices through the hesitant Drua defence (never thought I’d write that!) with a lovely step and acceleration, to put Jordie of the Dubs parish through for the third Canes try. 7-21. Jordie grinning with innocence of a man yet to be taught the grin-mace of PO’M. Little bastard will learn quickly when he arrives at the Palindrome.
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Penalty to the corner, lineout, maul and hooker O’Reilly peels off to run in and flop over the line. That’s the bonus point and it’s 7-28 at the break.
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Drua start the second half in fine style – but not the style you’d expect! A 5m lineout, taken at the back and mauled over! Conversion missed, 12-28. Drua are forcing the Canes into mistakes and a couple of penalties now, but are missing that crucial clinical finishing to punish them properly.
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The Drua take it through 14 phases deep inside the Canes 22, but inevitably, almost, knock it on with the line is sight. TMO picks up a head shot in the build up, and Du’Plessis Kerifi is binned for the Canes. Drua opt for the scrum with a man advantage and a creaky Canes replacement front row. Isiah Walker-Leawere now binned for the Canes for a deliberate knock on at the breakdown. Scrumming against six and they go over, but has it been held up? Inconclusive and the Canes dodge one there.
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Storming for the line again, but fucking knock on again! They’ve blown 3 or 4 gilt edged opportunities and could be leading, but for their poor handling. They start again from outside their own 22 and get it wide. Jordie deliberately knocks it down, but it’s backwards, so just a lineout. A weird rule – he made no effort to gather the ball, just prevent the pass completion, but because it’s backwards it’s okay. Dumb rule, the Drua had numbers.
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Drua get an offside penalty and kick for posts – over it goes and the score is 15-28 with 10 to go. Drua need to score quickly to have a chance of keeping their winning streak (6 on the bounce, 8 from the last 9) intact.
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Scrum penalty as they flatten the denuded Canes pack, but bugger it up running it out. Again. Then concede a penalty themselves. Jordie lines it up and knocks it over. 15-31. He’s now the second highest points scorer for the Canes at 770-odd, behind only one Beauden Barrett, with 1,260-odd.
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Canes have conceded 10 penalties in the 2nd half to one by the Drua, illustrating the huge pressure they’ve placed under, but to their credit, they’ve largely kept the Drua at bay and forced quite a few turnovers and knock-ons from the tackle. But now a 3rd yellow also illustrates a fair amount of ‘defending on the edge’ from the Canes. The following passage is a vignette of most of the 2nd half: the Drua run the penalty, the ball carrier gets isolated after a few phases and they concede the turnover, this time to a penalty for holding on. Canes to the corner, lineout, rumble it over. Replacement prop with the honours. 15-38 the final score which doesn’t tell you anything about the match – the Canes were clinging on for much of the second half, but did enough in the first 30 minutes of the match to put it out of reach of a sloppy, if willing, Drua.
Queensland Reds against the Highlanders up next. Probably won’t be as enthusiastic with the commentary, I’m sure you’re relieved to hear.
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7-0 Reds. No idea. About anything.
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Reds doing most of the playing so far, up 10-0 after Tom Lynagh slots a penalty. Yes, his son. Highlanders have offered almost nothing thus far beyond penalty-conceding defence and you feel the Reds will put them away with ease, if they can just get that last pass to stick. Finally, with a penalty advantage, and 19 phases later, they get their second try. Lock Ryan Smith barges over from close range and Lynagh adds the extras 17-0 after 28 minutes. Both sides full value for their respective scores.
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Highlanders finally get their mitts on the ball, go through a few lacklustre phases that gift them a penalty. Kicked to the corner, take the lineout beautifully at the back and offload, only to leave the ball lying at the side of the ruck for the Reds to clear. Highlanders win the lineout again and take through five phases before knocking on. This isn’t a vintage Highlanders side, unless you like your vintage like a Triumph Stag, described in Time’s list of the 50 worst cars thus:
You could put all the names of all the British Leyland cars of the late ’60s in a hat and you’d be guaranteed to pull out a despicable, rotten-to-the-core mockery of a car. So consider the Triumph Stag merely representative. Like its classmates, it had great style (penned by Giovanni Michelotti) ruined by some half-hearted, half-witted, utterly temporized engineering: To give the body structure greater stiffness, a T-bar connected the roll hoop to the windscreen, and the windows were framed in eye-catching chrome. The effect was to put the driver in a shiny aquarium. The Stag was lively and fun to drive, as long as it ran. The 3.0-liter Triumph V8 was a monumental failure, an engine that utterly refused to confine its combustion to the internal side. The timing chains broke, the aluminum heads warped like mad, the main bearings would seize and the water pump would poop the bed — ka-POW! Oh, that piston through the bonnet, that is a spot of bother.
The Highlanders offer all of this except the fun to drive bit or the shiny chrome.
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Lynagh junior attempting his own ending of dynasty work by firing a missile of a pass straight into his number 8’s nether regions. Cue mirth on the Reds bench. Reds get yet another penalty and kick to the corner, maul, recycle, bash, rinse, repeat, knock on and the Highlanders bring a pretty grotty 40 of rugby to a merciful end nudging it into touch from scrum.
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Highlanders start the second half with great intent (and a couple of forward replacements already on), and take to the line after 20 patient, albeit somewhat dithering, phases. And then knock-on with the line in sight. Reds get the penalty at the scrum and clear to midfield. Highlanders come gain and move up to the 22, where the 10 is turned over by a prop at the ruck. For shame! Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest iron ore and coking coal producers has ads flashing in the background. A bit ironic given the lack of steel in the Otago pack.
Highlanders come again, more runny nose than rampaging Celts, but you know, work with what you’ve got, and get a penalty after another dozen or so phases. Kick to the corner, fail to set the maul and manage to win the scrum. Another breakdown penalty after a no-look pass goes to, well, no-one and the Reds can’t capitalise. Lineout, maul, halt, phases, knock-on, Reds clear to inside the Otago half.
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Like many a cold, and this commentary, the runny noses are thick and persistent, launching another assault on the Reds midfield before knocking on again. That said, I don’t think the Reds have had the ball in the Otago half in the second stanza so far. Now they do, a penalty at scrum time for ‘front row angling in’ according to the caption (looked more like faceplanting in the fine Queensland turf, to be honest) and they try a dinky chip that doesn’t work. Otago with the penalty a couple of phases later and it’s back to almost halfway.
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Reds with a 5m scrum (no idea, I went to put the kettle on) and they hammer the Otago eight again, release and score a simple try through the hands. 24-0 after 63 minutes. Otago win it off the restart and take it through multiple phases for four minutes before winning a penalty. They made a huge number of metres in that period, although largely sideways and backwards. Nonetheless, they’re metres!
Another penalty, another lineout, another maul (this one not sacked or collapsed), they make forward metres and then get pinged for obstruction. Reds clear and eventually boot the ball into the Otago 22. Same pattern of phase after phase before spilling the pill and gifting possession back to the Reds. Otago showing great creativity at the scrums, and have now been penalised for every possible offence there, from collapsing to early early engage, scrumming skew and avoiding contact. A masterclass.
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5 minutes to go and only the grim car-crash-rubber-necking curiosity of seeing whether a Kiwi side gets nilled in Australia is keeping me going. Otago get a scrum on the Reds 10m line and get penalised again for skew engagement. Reds kick to touch and run it, looking like an outfit loosely based on a rugby team. Spill it, but Otago were offsides. Can they get the bonus point try? Yes they can! In the ultimate comedy, the Otago wing misjudges the badly hoofed crosskick and floats over his head, where the Reds wing picks it up and flops over the line. 31-0 and the final whistle. I need a lie down.
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