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 
Looks like he’s carrying on. Must be mad.
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TRY Fuuuuuurlong!
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woohoo.
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Wow, Ireland just turned up the intensity a notch.
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Damn! Other Barrett (sp?) converts the tricky try. 10-7.
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Hendo on for Beirne.
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This Irish kit isn’t green enough for me.
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BB – thought that too, but perhaps the poor video quality.
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Are they using NTSC (Never Twice the Same Colour) cameras?
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The shirts are weirdly multi-shade on the front. It’s a minging kit.
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Not sure how we’re in front at HT! Weird game, exacerbated by the terrible filming.
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Stat flashed up: Ireland have highest win rate against ABs (50%) since 2016. SA second.
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Ireland need just a bit more patience
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Ireland sneak up about 10m behind the ref’s back, and he doesn’t notice.
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He moved the Abs back 10m Thaum.
Pretty bitty match this.
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Oh okay, missed that! Glad we didn’t cheat.
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Bugger. One point behind now. Shouldn’t have taken Stu off.
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Fuck fuck fuck.
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Terrible replacements. We are going to get stuffed now.
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News from France
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Well, there it is. Aki fucks up a pass in our own 22, and they score again. Match lost.
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That’s killed it. ABs been the best side this last quarter.
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I will never understand why they replace players who are playing well and don’t seem fatigued just because.
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A team that was doing well even with 14 men for 20 mins fell apart when the replacements came on.
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Also felt like we didn’t have enough attacking backs. Lowe saved a couple of tries, but perhaps Stockdale could’ve done something?
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If anyone has LinkedIn
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Thanks for that, Refit! It was off, actually.
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Ye gods! Bristol Women have beaten Leicester 0-74 this evening. Will have to find some highlights to watch.
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Thanks Refit, turned it off. Especially since Bill Gates took the knee for Trump. Wanker.
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So I still haven’t seen the rugby from the weekend, as I was at a Thai dumpling making course on Saturday afternoon and evening. Mrs Deebee had given me a voucher for it ages ago and this was the last time I could redeem it. Fantastic fun, learned a lot about all sorts of stuff – fish sauce tasatings, pickles and kimchi tasting in between making pot stickers etc, then a lovely dinner of everything we’d made.
Got home pretty late, with a box of stuff to make my own at home, and woke up to a glare from Mrs Deebee when she spotted the new tree in our garden waiting to be planted. I bought a Thai lime tree (can’t call it the other name here in SA), because you don’t get the leaves in our supermarkets. Planted it yesterday, without removing too many of the rose bushes. Ahem.
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(can’t call it the other name here in SA)
I’d bet not…..
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Also felt like we didn’t have enough attacking backs
Lowe is not picked as a speedy winger but for his power in contact and “big left boot”
Osborne – runs good lines but again lacks some pace at 15
O’Brien – all action but I’m not convinced he’s a real speedster (and at 27 that speed is only going one way)
Aki looked done on the Lions – he was our best player in RWC23, but time is undefeated.
Ringrose was anonymous except for the missed tackles – his trademark run up fast had him running past attacking player
McCloskey played well – replacing him with Aki made no sense
We got no positive impact from the subs
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I’m sure Farrell with figure it all out, just hope it takes longer than three weeks to do it!
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Well, I should jut go back and cut and paste the same comment that I’ve put in here the last 2 years or so.
Maybe Ireland were undercooked – very few played any minutes this season. Equally, maybe they’re “cooked” – after the Lions
But I think we’re seeing the impact of playing a small group endlessly.
Changes have been injury enforced (playing too many high level games with no rest- Keenan, Doris) or retirement (as even the players recognise they’re done even if Farrell won’t – O’Mahony, Healy)
Where new faces come in – it’s nearly always the Leinster understudy – some work out (Osborne – despite my comments on his speed – that could be mitigated for)
There’s been bad luck – eg Ahern, Edogbo, Izuchukwu seem to be always injured around the time squads are picked or get injured after selection. Similarly, lads like Baloucoune, Hume, McNabney never seem fit when international game come around
This never seems to be the case with Leinster – as a lot of their second string don’t start serious games like the Munster / Ulster players do.
Equally, players are ignored – Coombes, McCann, Wilson, Timoney (ok, he gets picked but then never plays or makes the 23), , Kendellen and Hodnett
Maybe some or most of these don’t make the grade but they ought to get a shot
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I think this might be taking the piss, for England vs Fiji
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cp8y9d0yl3go
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Borthwick doing a reverse Rassie?
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Good luck Scotland
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Gulp….
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On the one hand, at least the ABs are taking us seriously for a change.
On the other hand, the ABs are taking us seriously for a change.
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You’ve got this, Scotland! Codie Taylor is ageing being propped up (literally) by the Aussie, de Groot on one side and flaky Fletcher Newell on the other. A second row of Josh and Fabian? Sounds like an effete boy band from the early noughties. Rookies, newbies and wouldn’t be anywhere near an All Black engine room were it not for injuries to Barrett (past it), Patrick Tuipoluto and Tupou Vaa’i. Sam Darry (who?) covering lock on the bench. Pfft! Ardie in the backrow is okay, but asked to do too much, Sititi and Lakai are lightweights – just what Scotland want: you need BIG BASTARDS to knock over the Scots. So, powderpuff pack.
Last Barrett standing is at 10, clogging up that channel. Um, right, fair enough, the rest of the backs are scary as fuck, but it’s easy – starve them of possession and all is well! Scotland by 19, for a famous win!
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That looks to be a stronger NZ line up than last weekend – with Sititi back starting
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Beirne’s red card has been rescinded and he’s back for Japan
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Bok side for France on Saturday:
Damian Willemse, Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Cobus Reinach, Jasper Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (capt), Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth, Thomas du Toit, Malcolm Marx, Boan Venter.
Bench: Johan Grobbelaar, Gerhard Steenekamp, Wilco Louw, RG Snyman, Ruan Nortje, Andre Esterhuizen, Grant Williams, Manie Libbok
Starting XV is pretty much expected, with Ox Nche injured. Rassie selecting a very good backline, with a small quibble being Kriel over Moodie, but it’s a nod to the strength of the French attack that he’s put Kriel in as the marshall of the backline. A couple of eyebrows raised over Boan Venter as starting LH prop, but he’s decent enough and it means that the replacement front row is an all-Bulls one in Louw, Grobbelaar and Steenekamp. It’s arguably a stronger scrumming unit too. I think both props will be on from half time, with Marx maybe playing until 60 (minutes, that is).
The big question – and possibly risk – is the composition of the bench outside of the front row. Two locks, RG pretty obvious, but Ruan Nortje not so much – are we going to change the entire front five, or will he play flank, as he has done a fair bit this season (and quite well, too). Kwagga Smith has a niggle, which is a huge blow to the bench – so Andre Esterhuizen? That is pretty risky, to be honest.
Grant Williams can cover 9 and wing, so okay there, but Libbok only really 10 – so Sacha would have to go to 15 if Willemse doesn’t go the full 80. If one of the centres gets crocked, Willemse could move there, or Esterhuizen goes there, with our entire back row playing the full 80. It’s probably what will happen anyway. I’m pretty happy with the team, those one or two issues aside.
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France team to host the Boks:
15 Tomas Ramos, 14 Damien Penaud, 13 Pierre-Louis Barassi, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Nolann le Garrec, 8 Mickaël Guillard, 7 Paul Boudehent, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Régis Montagne, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Baptiste Erdocio.
Replacements: 16 Guillaume Cramont, 17 Jean-Baptiste Gros, 18 Dorian Aldegheri 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Hugo Auradou, 21 Oscar Jegou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Nicolas Depoortère
There are some names I’m not overly familiar with, like Barassi at 13, who I believe is a bit of a monster (big lad, been on safari to South Africa, hopefully didn’t hunt Springboks), Guillard at 8, I thought was a lock/flank and Boudehent I’m not overly familiar with either. The rest of the side is very familiar, and very, very good! I think this could be the match of the Autumn internationals, if both sides play to their potential.
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@refit
re Beirne – apparently Beauden Barrett took most of blame – said he was running a dummy line and wasn’t expecting the ball hence he was upright, and Beirne did his best to absorb the collision
(and it looks like Beirne was expecting the pass out the back to Black 5(?) and was attempting to fence off Barrett and not concede a pen for tackling a man w/o the ball)
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All that said – Beirne doesn’t need to play this game but Farrell probably needs Beirne to play with Ryan in this game
Casey to play with Crowley (yay!) and Tom Farrell gets to start. Stockdale on the wing is good (as is Timoney).
I’m guessing with Conan on the bench – Doris plays 40-50 max. Bench is a bit mid. Not sure what Blade offers now that wasn’t apparent 5-8 years ago – be better to try Gunne or Doak or Murphy.
Again – appearance of rotation / evolution but still stasis in many areas
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Boudehent I’m not overly familiar with
@deebee
La Rochelle – Good player – decent lineout operator
No Ollivon or Alldritt (rumours of falling out in case of Gregory)
Looks like an appealing match to watch
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Ha! Look upon these Mighty Scots and weep!
Scotland: Kinghorn; Graham, Hutchinson, Tuipulotu (capt) Steyn; Russell, White; Schoeman, Ashman, Rae, Gilchrist, Cummings, Brown, M Fagerson, Dempsey.
Replacements: Turner, Sutherland, Millar-Mills, Sykes, Darge, Bayliss, Dobie, Jordan.
Nae Zander. Bugger.
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I was at the Scotland/NZ game in 1984?85? when Keith Robertson got a last minute equaliser
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Trisk, I don’t think there are weak or lousy players in the French set up, so I’m expecting Boudehent to be decent enough! I think it’ll be important for the Boks to score early and keep France at bay, so they hopefully douse the fires of the crowd and players. I think we’ve got the better bench, so parity or better going into the last 20 could be all-important.
There’s a few schools of thought down here on the match – one that France are not all that, and the Boks should take it comfortably enough (I know, arrogant Saffers etc etc), another that this is being earmarked as Galthie’s launch for 2027, and beating the Boks is the marker that France want to put down for that (I know, arrogant Saffers etc etc), whilst others, myself included, think it’ll be as close as any of the last few matches between the two sides (I know, etc etc).
We don’t play France very often, so the sample size is quite small, but the Boks have won four of the last five against France (biggest margin either way is four or five points), but significantly, France haven’t beaten the Boks in Paris since 2005, their 30-26 win in Marseille being the last win. Is that significant? No idea. All I hope for is a great game, no cards or controversy and hopefully a Bok win!
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