Last night I was ‘forced’ (Mothership usage of term, meaning doing it quite voluntarily) to watch a Peter Green tribute show led by Mick Fleetwood.
There is a star-studded cast of musicians, mostly playing very well, but they insist on playing twelve-bar blues, which must be the most rigid and repetitive form of music in existence, except for the even more terrible ones.
It’s like watching endless pick-and-goes, only there might be a chance of something exciting and different happening as a result of those pick-and-goes. A try might be created, or a horrible mistake might occur that leads to an end-to-end score by the opposition.
No chance of anything like that with twelve-bar blues, even as played by expert musicians. It is going to have exactly the same key and rhythm, the same clichéd lyrical and musical tropes, everything completely predictable and boring. The musical ball gets recycled, stuffed up the jumper, and goes again. And again. And again.
It’s also like watching scrums being reset for what feels like hours, but is probably only about three or four minutes. And the same thing happens in every scrum, but the referee just calls for a reset again. And again. And again. A dystopian nightmare.
But rejoice! There is some rugby available to watch in the near future, and hopefully it will be much more exciting than that.
Onna telly in the next week or so
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.
Friday 6th September
| Tonga v Fiji | 04:00 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Japan v USA | 11:05 | TNT Sports 1 |
| Scotland v Wales (women) | 19:35 | iPlayer |
Saturday 7th September
| Bayonne v Perpignan | 13:30 | Premier Sports 1 |
| England v France (women) | 15:30 | BBC1 |
| South Africa v New Zealand | 16:00 | Sky Sports Mix |
| Argentina v Australia | 20:00 | Sky Sports + |
| Bordeaux v Stade Français | 20:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
Sunday 8th September
| La Rochelle v Toulon | 16:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
| Vannes v Toulouse | 20:00 | Premier Sports 1 |
Ovally Balls 
Love the analogies, Thauma! Thanks for the refresh ATL.
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Getting back to the rugby, for as moment, and my apologies for doing so, but following up on Trisk’s post yesterday.
Watched it again, of sober mind and body, and the Boks definitely had the better of things other than critical errors after the initial AB onslaught in the first 15 or 20 minutes. Huge amount of talk down here about how the Kiwis got away with murder (almost literally in the case of Cane’s hit on Kolisi*) with two head shots (the other on PS du Toit in the 20th minute), as well as not being pinged at the scrum, with the ref calling the 9 to just use it. However, if the refs letting you get away with it, why would you stop? The Kiwis were deadly on turnover ball, but were noticeably on the back foot towards the end of each half. The intercept early in the second maybe gave the scoreboard a slightly skewed look, but once they were down to 14, it was a question of Bok composure to get over the line, which they did.
I don’t think the Boks will be as loose this weekend, and will look to squeeze the Kiwi forwards more, build scoreboard pressure and hopefully pull away in the last 20. Read somewhere that the ABs haven’t scored at all in the last 20 this season – can that be correct? Also, looking at the recent history between the two, since the 57-0 drubbing in 2017, it’s been 6-all with a draw in the 13 matches since then. And the Boks have won five of the last seven – that I really wouldn’t have bet on!
*A generous interpretation is that it was initially shoulder to shoulder contact and Cane’s shoulder then slid up to hit Kolisi in the face. Didn’t seem to be too much attempt at using the arms, though. Neither Cane nor Vaa’i has been cited, so maybe – just maybe – I’m needing to open both eyes when looking at the replays. Something Siya couldn’t do after the game. Cough.
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I’ve a vague recollection that Brace has been guilty before of being very harsh / strict early on in the hope that everyone will behave. I think I recall a pen againt Munster after 30 secs or so at the first ruck
Then doesn’t follow up. I recall a Uruguay match in a soccer World Cup long ago where ref sent off one of their players after 90 seconds. Instead of imposing order – the Uruguayans figured he wasn’t going send another off anytime soon, and he’d didn’t.
I get the feeling here that the Fassi yellow card – designed to show who’s boss – had no impact once next perpetrator was let off or no pen awarded. Players soon sussed that the yellow was a token.
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Trisk – 1986 World Cup. Foul on Gordon Strachan after a minute, Uruguayan sent off, Scotland need to score against 10 men in 89 minutes to go through. Guess what happened…….
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Not that I’m still bitter, or anything.
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@BB
Ah, Scotland… couldn’t remember if it was ye or Denmark…. all in same group, no?
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Denmark thrashed Uruguay and beat West Germany and won the group, then got thumped by Spain in the nest round. That was the World Cup that Fergie was in charge of because Big Jock died in Cardiff at the play-off. Just looking at the squad, we still had a lot of bloody good players, YET WE STILL COULDN’T FECKIN’ QUALIFY!
Ahem.
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then got thumped by Spain in the next round
Yeah, weird game IIRC – Denmark went ahead, gave away a goal through messing and fell asunder. 5-1 I think
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Just looking at the squad, we still had a lot of bloody good players, YET WE STILL COULDN’T FECKIN’ QUALIFY!
The Ireland of football World Cups?
****ducks as the missiles fly in****
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Nah. The Irish bottle it AFTER the group stage in rugby. We bottle it DURING the group stage in fitba’
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To be fair, it’s not often we haven’t managed to bottle the group stages either.
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I suppose the other (possibly slight) similarity is that Ireland have had over the past 3 or 4 RWCs, probably their best side ever yet can’t get past a certain stage.
Between the 1974 and 1986 World Cups, Scotland had some of their best teams/players ever, yet couldn’t get past a certain stage. Most of this was self-inflicted from our side (poor management, player screw-ups, annoying one of the best Brazilian sides ever and so on).
Maybe its now become a subconscious mental thing?
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Maybe its now become a subconscious mental thing?
The South Africa of cricket world cups?
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1974 was unlucky – basically eliminated by only beating Zaire 2-0 when Brazil won 3-0. Probably should have beaten an admittedly limited Brazil team that kicked it way to the semis. Two nil-all draws …
There were only 3 good teams in that WC (apart from your good selves) – WG, NL and Poland.
Sweden were fairly handy, Argentina going through one of their downswings, Italy – 1970 team ageing out mainly.
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1978 – everyone completely forgot how good Peru and especially Teofilo Cubillas had been in 1970….so he and they reminded us all. Played well when pressure was off vs NL.
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1974 – slowed the game down against Zaire when we should have gone for more goals, plus Bremner missing an open goal against Brazil.
1978 – Christ, where do I start? Ally’s Feckin’ Army, Ally MacLeod dismissing Peru as ‘old’, Willie bloody Johnson getting sent home, no Danny McGrain (best right back in the world at the time) or Gordon McQueen, IRAN!!!!!, bubble perms, not playing Souness until the Dutch game.
Still, we’ll always have Archie.
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Willie bloody Johnson getting sent home
I liked Johnston – marvellous player with that great West Brom side of late 70s with the “Three Degrees” (very nonPC now) of Regis, Cunningham, Batson.
Absolute headbanger though.
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Too true – good interview with him here…
https://www.nutmegmagazine.co.uk/issue-8/so-willie-argentina/
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Googling Willie Johnston – living all the time (as we’d say) – led me to Jimmy Johnstone, and the rowing boat adventure
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See you Jimmy.
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Boks to face ABs on Saturday, with Moodie in for Arendse on the wing (injury enforced), Pollard at 10 (no idea why), Williams to start at 9 – love it, he was much better than Reinach last weekend, our 1st choice loose trio, with du Toit restored to the side of the scrum is great news, as is Siya’s inclusion, Etzebeth to start is great news too, with the front row unchanged. Ditto the bench front row, but a 5-3 split on the bench sees Kwagga and Elrich Louw as the other forwards (both loosies), so expect du Toit to go to the second row when Etzebeth is done after 55 minutes or so. Jaden Hendrikse is a potentially terrific 9 and in Sacha FM and Lukhanyo Am, we have two very classy outside backs on the pine.
Willie le Roux, Canan Moodie, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Cheslin Kolbe, Handre Pollard, Grant Williams, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Ruan Nortje, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche.
Bench: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Kwagga Smith, Elrigh Louw, Jaden Hendrikse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Lukhanyo Am
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All Blacks have made some interesting changes too, with Blackadder and Caleb Clarke (both possibly their man of the match last week) out injured. They’ve reshuffled the backs considerably and it looks possibly more daunting than last week – in come Sevu Reece and Mark Tele’a on the wings, with Will Jordan shifting from wing to fullback, where most Kiwi fans want him in a completely reshuffled back three. Centres the same, but Cortez Ratima, highly rated in New Zealand and a quicker option at 9 partnering D-Mac in the halfbacks, with Perenara and Barrett dropped to the bench.
In the forwards, Wallace Sititi comes in for Blackadder, so probably not losing too much there, with the rest of the pack unchanged from last week.
All Blacks: Will Jordan, Sevu Reece, Rieko Ioane, Jordie Barrett, Mark Tele’a, Damian McKenzie, Cortez Ratima, Ardie Savea, Sam Cane, Wallace Sititi, Tupou Vaa’i, Scott Barrett, Tyrel Lomax, Codie Taylor, Tamaiti Williams.
Bench: Asafo Aumua, Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Fletcher Newell, Sam Darry, Luke Jacobson, TJ Perenara, Anton Lienert-Brown, Beauden Barrett
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What to make of the selections? Bok pack is definitely stronger as a starting unit than last week, and the ‘Malmesbury Missile’ (PS du Toit) will relish being back on the side of the scrum. Kiwi 10/12 not so much. Williams is a livewire 9, but in Pollard at 10 you have a pivot not known for creativity, I think is the polite way of putting it, so I don’t expect a free-flowing back division in operation with him on the park. The problem is, putting bombs up on that Kiwi back three is inviting disaster, so perhaps they’ll keep it in the forwards more? Fassi must be disappointed, as he was excellent last week, but Willie le Roux does sometimes play pivot on attack, so we’ll look to him to unlock the defence. We do have both Sacha and Lukhanyo Am on the bench to add some spark if needed in the second half, but I’m a bit iffy about the starting backs.
The Kiwis do lose their best ball carrier and top tackler from last week in Ethan Blackadder, who had a storming game, and Wallace Sititi is a rookie, albeit a good one. On balance, the Bok pack (and bench pack) should be better than the ABs. It’s in the backs that they’ve really thrown down the gauntlet with the elevation of the quicker serving Ratima to starting 9 and switching Jordan to 15, to link up with the elusive Tele’a and explosive Reece – the Bok defence will need to step up several notches from last week’s sloppy effort to contain these guys. That said, I can’t see the Bok defence being that crap two weeks on the bounce.
How will it pan out? Anybody’s guess – the Boks will be hoping that Matthew Carley blows the scrums this week and is stricter on the ABs penalty count (they had about three or four warnings last week before eventually getting the yellow) in order to establish forward dominance and field position, whilst the ABs will look for parity up front and unleash their fearsome looking back three on the Bok wide channels, which were easily breached last week. It has the feel of a more ‘traditional’ Bok-AB match up and I for one am loathe to make a prediction.
Boks by 2.
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Nerves have kicked in big time! Heart says Boks, obvs, head says anything can happen – a riposte similar to the Pumas match, or the Boks are more clinical and bulldoze their way to a win. Or a bounce of the ball decides it at the death. I’ll be trying to watch it on my phone, as Mrs Deebee and I are away for the weekend. 11th wedding anniversary! We’ll be sitting around the fire, listening to nature (and hopefully the rugby) with a glass of red wine and steak on the braai. Doesn’t get much better!
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Happy anniversary to the Deebees! Sounds like an excellent way to spend it.
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If the Irish and English on here are ignoring the rugby, can you at least get tetchy about the football you’ll be playing later. Disgraceful apathy!
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I’m currently enjoying England crushing France 26-0.
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France finally get on the board, but England cross the line a couple more times too. 38-14 after 65mins.
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That was a hell of a shove by the SA pack, on the first scrum. If the NZ front row weren’t awake, they are now.
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And they’ve done the same on their own-ball scrum too. SA putting a marker down.
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I’m already enjoying this match more than list week, simply because Brace isn’t on the whistle.
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Ooh, yellow for Wiese on 14mins, for a tackle off the ball, with NZ bearing down on the SA line.
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0-3 NZ, from the resulting penalty.
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Yellow for Reece for jumping into Le Roux, rather than trying to catch the ball.
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HIA for Cody Taylor – a nasty bounce of his head on the floor while being tackled.
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Kolbe doing Kolbe things, running through most of the NZ team, only being tackled deep in the 22. Then SA knock-on.
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England have absolutely humped France, 38-19.
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The lineout has been a mess for both teams – mis-timing jumps, over-throws, squint throws.
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Le Roux does a magnificent JD2 impression, right on his 10m line and SA are back to 15 men.
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Taylor has passed his HIA and Reece is back on. Both teams back to full strength.
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SA pinged for not rolling away, in their own half, and NZ kick the points. 0-6 28mins.
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A bit of a technical penalty gives Pollard the chance to get on the board from just inside the NZ half. 3-6 31mins.
Savea touched Etzebeth as he was being tackled by another player, which counted him as part of the tackle, and he was then pinged for not releasing as he clamped onto the ball.
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Good lord, NZ have some horrible mullets.
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The hooter sounds and Nortje is pinged for not rolling right in front of the SA posts. McKenzie kicks the points and the teams go into half time with NZ leading 3-9.
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McKenzie lining up a 55m+ penalty. Short & wide.
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Big cheer for Marx coming on, to replace Mbonambi,
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Eben dives for the line, ball in hand. Carley can’t see the ball over the line and the TMO agrees. SA had penalty advantage and they choose the lineout…
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They secure the ball and set the maul, but can’t get it moving. Cane is pinged in a resulting ruck and they go for a lineout again – Kolbe throwing in this time.
Looks like Cheslin might have a fall-back career, if being a winger doesn’t work out. SA set the maul again, but then go wide and Kolisi busts over the line for the first try. Pollard converts and SA take the lead for the first time.
10-9 50mins.
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Reece is pinged for offside, inside his own half, following a charge down by another NZ player. Feinberg-Mngomezulu opts for the points and SA stretch the lead. 13-9 55mins.
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