Six Nations have announced that they are ringing the changes for next year’s tournament. OvallyBalls had an exclusive mole in the decision room.
Six Nations Clown Five: Listen, chaps, I’m awfully sorry we failed to get the Six Nations behind a paywall so that we could destroy the popularity of the only tournament that is broadly watched, but we’ll try again in a couple of years.
SNC2: I’m not a fookin’ chap.
SNC4: Ah, bellissima! Like me, you are wearing a molto clever disguise to our top-secret meeting in this luxury ristorante.
SNC2: Catch yerself on. I’m wearing what the boss told me to wear: blue.
SNC5: Can we just get back to our onions? We have a tournament to ruin here.
SNC6: Onions? Oignons? En France, we return to our moutons.
SNC3: We quite like our lovely sheep as well.
SNC1: Ach, can we knock the tired wee 70s jokes on the heid? We’ve two major things to discuss here: playing matches on a Thursday (a THURS-DEE!), and deep-sixing one rest weekend.
SNC3: Thursday matches! It was bad enough, look you, when the Friday ones started. Working people are not going to be able to get to these matches, or maybe even watch them on the telly.
SNC5: Surely they will just have their servants do anything necessary on those particular evenings?
SNC6: Bah, the British do not know how to live. They eat their dinner – and quelle horreur d’un repas – at a silly time. They are weaklings who cannot stay up to a reasonable hour.
SNC4: Sono d’accordo.
SNC1: I dinna like the Thursday match, but I’m a wee bit more concerned about losing the rest weekend. That’s 5 Test matches in six weeks. Do we not have a small concern about player welfare there?
SNC3: We’ve not got a huge squad to field from the valleys.
SNC4: È vero, this also concerns us.
SNC2: Agh, it’s all right, we’ll just call on Leinster’s academy if half the squad end up in the hospital.
SNC6: Eh ben oui, we have many teams in the Top14, and perhaps we can bend the rules on players being called up.
SNC5: No worries here either, chaps … heh, heh: and chapesses. So is it all settled, then?
SNCs 1, 3 and 4 (simultaneously): Fuck off / vaffanculo.
SNC5: Perhaps I have not yet properly explained the emoluments available to those who agree to these proposals.
[whispers]
All: Crack on!
Ovally Balls 
Lions scoring at a point a minute so far. 0-14 after pretty much that. Owne Farrell ‘brilliant’ according to a site I’m following.
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Bugger. Looks like Darcy might be injured. He’s had quite the 15 minutes.
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FN pull one back! Interception and pins his ears back. 7-14. Lions in tatters.
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Seru Uru powers through the disconsolate and discombobulated Lions defence! 14-14 and the tour is falling apart!
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Scrappy half. Lions seemed to lose all their fizz when Darcy went off. Not a huge number of pastries – Cummings been ok as has White, Big Duhan taking high balls! Ryan, Fin Smith, back row, midfield all been poor. Blair did some good stuff, but thrown a couple of interceptions.
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Lion Kings not roaring at Marvel Stadium!
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Chris Jones from the Beeb saying that Osborne’s second try should be chalked off – way, way forward, a disgrace! Or in his words:
Very neat Lions try but I was directly in line with the Kinghorn pass and am very surprised it hasn’t been checked.
Ringrose then knocks on trying to dot down. Ring rusty? Anyway, it’s 14-19 and the Lions are prowling!
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Duhan McMerwe scores in the corner after more good work from Farrell! Own putting his hand up for a Test spot!
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Rob Leota crashes over the the First Nations to bring it back to a five point margin, with five to play! And that’s how it stays, as the Lions stay unbeaten down under.
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Bugger. Ozzy deid. Another legend gone. Less than 3 weeks after the final gig with Sabbath too. Wonder if he had an inkling that his time might be up and held on for that.
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I wondered that about Ozzy as well. Of the legends, with huge numbers of anecdotes about him – mostly good and humourous, some sad, some bad. Need to go back and find my Sabbath albums and blast away!
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Earl out, Morgan in
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Kudos to Ringrose who was picked then said to Farrell (Senior) that he was still feeling affects of concussion, so took himself out of contention. Sione has a bit of a tight hamstring apparently, so he’s out. Think Scott Cummings is unlucky not to be on the bench, he’s been better than Ryan on this tour. Hansen obviously not fit, I’d have had him in for Freeman (or Lowe).
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Well, finally, Ryan makes a Lions 23.
When he broke through in 2018, it’s fair to say we’d him pencilled in as a Lions starter if not captain for this tour – but he hasn’t really reached those levels.
I’d gues he’d still start for Ireland alongside McCarthy – if we’re putting Beirne at 6, but Beirne and McCarthy seems to be the preferred pair now
I’m guessing Hansen would have come in if fit – felt sorry for Freeman shoehorned into a role that Hansen executes well, but not really his game.
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Looks weak, etc. Good to see Morgan get a spot on the bench, at least. I see Valetini and Skelton are back in the Wobbly side. Valetini adds value – has Skelton improved since he went to France? When he played Super Rugby and Tri-Nations he was huge, slow and powderpuff. More candyfloss than Brighton Rock.
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@deebee
has Skelton improved since he went to France?
Yeah, maybe less so last season or 2 but a big part of La Rochelle winning the ERC back to back in 2022-2023
Saracens really worked on his fitness – still huge but quicker and plenty powerful
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So he’s evolved from candy floss to macaron? Still short of good, er, hard, Brighton Rock!
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‘Mon the O’Lions!!
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Stadium looks amazing. (And huge!)
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Almost kickoff. Hopefully it’s at least a more balanced match than last week.
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I’m enjoying the handbags.
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Nice wee dive over the line from Sheehan.
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Aussies in! They’ve deserved the lead.
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I assume the Lions are going to start playing at some point?
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Aussies in again! Well on top now. Few tackles being missed.
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Lions being massacred here. Ran right through them.
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Lions try! All started with a good run from Freeman.
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Ooh, that was a lovely inside/outside step by Curry.
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Nice try from Jones!
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God I hate the Sky comms so much.
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Don’t mind Dan and ROG, but Harrison is awful. Shame Sky couldn’t get Cotter for this series.
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Beirne over in the corner!
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Farrell on for Jones? Playing 13?
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Bloody hell!
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Well that was fun! Brilliant try in the end.
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The utterly shell-shocked look from the Aussie bench was quite something.
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RIP to a great voice
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Big lads with fast feet
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Catching up from a cool, rainy Addis. The African Union and United Nations are both in town, so Mary and Joseph wouldn’t even have got a room at the inn. Maybe a dry pothole (not that many actually, at least on the main roads). Donors, eh? They make careers out of wanting to save the world, but they do it in fucking style and comfort!
Feel for the Wobblies, but they really shouldn’t have allowed the Lions back in with the lead they had. Or relied on a TMO decision after the final whistle to overturn the result. ‘Fessing up, I did hope it would be overturned to keep the series in the balance for this weekend, but if it were the Boks, I’d be delighted at a 2-0 lead. Such is the nature of sports allegiance! Fickicality? The robust defence of your team against perceived injustice?
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Just like Deebee, wished the last decision had been reversed but there was really no reason to do so. While the “tackle” by Earl deemed legal left me bewildered.
Anyway, underwhelming Lions still had too much power for the Wallabies who can find 15 excellent starters but not 8 extra players for nowadays ridiculous large squads.
I’ve been saying it for yonks now but I’ll repeat it it until the situation changes: Tier 2 nations, and Australia is dangerously veering into this lot, are disadvantaged by the ludicrous number of “subs” allowed. There should be no sub allowed unless an injury checked by an independant doctor forces a player off.
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Just like Deebee, wished the last decision had been reversed but there was really no reason to do so. While the “tackle” by Earl deemed legal left me bewildered.
Anyway, underwhelming Lions still had too much power for the Wallabies who can find 15 excellent starters but not 8 extra players for nowadays ridiculous large squads.
I’ve been saying it for yonks now but I’ll repeat it it until the situation changes: Tier 2 nations, and Australia is dangerously veering into this lot, are disadvantaged by the ludicrous number of “subs” allowed. There should be no sub allowed unless an injury checked by an independant doctor forces a player off.
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Unlike Flair, I only said it once!
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I probably wouldn’t go as far as independent doctors gauging player health on the spot, but I would say that a player forced off through ‘injury’ – whatever the injury – should be forced to face 14 days on the sidelines. Obviously this has caveats and loopholes, but would probably serve well for run of the mill matches and circumstances.
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Irishman disappointed that Irishman doesn’t start. But then this Scotsman says the same for Cummings and White. Reckon Sione must still have a niggle or he would start. Freeman lucky that Hansen is still injured (and Darcy got injured).
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Probably fewer changes than you’d might expect – but seasoned Farrell followers know he is loathe to make changes.
Leinster supporters like Hugo ought to realise this.
I’d probably thought there’d be more changes – maybe give Beirne/Curry a rest (or Sheehan/Furlong)
But then Beine probably means Chessum to 6, and resting Curry means Morgan / Earl probably – if you switched out Sheehan for Kelleher and Furlong for Stuart – you’d only have 4 Irish in the starting pack. So, that’s not enough cohesion for Farrell. Plus Earl starting, leaves no cover for Conan – unless Curry is also on the bench (unles he punted on Pollock)
Anyway, Farrell wants 3-0 – so he’ll go with his most cohesive group
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@bb – Hugo is from experience one of the less one-eyed Leinster supporters but they’ve gotten so used to Ireland being Leinster-centric that expect Leinster players to get the slot ….
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We’ve got another Tuipolotou on the way…
https://glasgowwarriors.org/glasgow-warriors-sign-tuipulotu/
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They’re like the Tuilagi clan – members appear continually
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