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 
Prendergast off, Crowley on.
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Clyde – yes, and the clock had already gone red, so it was (also) a win-or-lose kick.
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Crowley with another 3 points.
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DOOOORiSSSS!
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Aus down to 14 for the last 10 mins, Frost putting the shoulder into an Irish chin, off the ball.
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Aussie 19 spending 10 minutes or more in the bin.
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Aus score again.
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TRY Baird!
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Drama in Bordeaux. Fiji player is tackled metres from the France line and Ramos bats the ball down, from the offload. The ruling is offside in the tackle, but backwards and there were other defenders, so it’s ‘only’ a yellow for the fullback.
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POM with a wide smile!
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TRY Henshaw off a lovely JGP cross-field kick.
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Fiji get turned over and France clear the ball up the pitch. They play out the last few seconds and then get the ball into touch. Fiji were better in every stat, except the one that mattered. Final score 34-21
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Well, that was much better than last week. I said we needed more attacking backs, and we got it in Hansen. I’ve never rated him too highly, but he was very good today.
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Also surprised that this was his first start at FB – isn’t that his normal position for Connacht?
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Regarding posting images, not Imgur isn’t an option. Apparently this site, https://postimages.org/, is a good, free alternative.
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Although of course it’s standard procedure to play any non-Leinster player out of position when they’re in for Ireland, and then say they’re not good enough.
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Bongi’s back!
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This is incredibly silly
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Looking forward (sort of) to this. Should be a good game anyway.
While watching I also like to keep an eye on the Graun’s MBM for thi…
Wait! There’s no Graun MBM?!?!?! So they can do one for a non-British team (Ireland) last night, but not for a (currently) UK team today? Mind you, they ignored Wales too…
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I wonder if Lee was too busy with his mum’s kitchen*, to do an MBM today?
*An ongoing segment of the Blood & Mud podcast.
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Andrew Brace doing Andrew Brace things.
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Dempsey in!!!!
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Ball in play for what seems like half an hour ends with Poomas pen, which they miss. Still 7-0.
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Ashman in at a great angle and gets our second!
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Lots of endeavour from the Argies, but (so far) haven’t really got into our 22.
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Finn manages to strip the ball in the tackle. Did seem as though an Argentinian hand was around his eye area as the tackle went to ground, but I think it was accidental.
Pretty good first half from us defensively.
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Pardon me, but a quarter of Ireland is (still) British. Hopefully not for too much longer, mind.
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I’m legitimately surprised Brace only ruled that (correctly) a penalty.
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Ashman in again! He came from so far back he started in Leith! Argentinian kicking has been woeful. Missed two fairly easy penalties and missed touch there.
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Best Pumas attack so far! Then they knock on.
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Contepomi trying to demolish his box due to frustration with his team.
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Is this a try for Argentina? Pretty close, but not clear either way.
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For Fuck’s Sake Scotland! 55 minutes we’re comfortable. 60 minutes they have two tries.
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This last half hour has been disgraceful from us.
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This might be my fault. I picked Arg by 9 on the ‘Bru.
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Well done Argentina. Reckon if Santi Carreras had been on for the full game they would have had it won even earlier. Fully deserve to be in the top 6 seeded draw for the RWC.
Now actually glad that the Graun didn’t do an MBM.
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Townsend has to go. Never mind whether he has a contract to the RWC, he has to go.
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Argentina scored 5 tries in 23 minutes. Reckon our new defensive coach has his work cut out. Still give away too many penalties. Yes, Finn gave away a loose pass that was intercepted but that doesn’t excuse the rest. Why did Toonie gor 5-3 on the bench? Was it just to put Duhan on? Forwards were knackered by the end.
Last night our fitba’ team played terribly for half an hour, then came charging back and almost won. Today our rugby team came charging out, then had a played terribly for (almost) half an hour and lost. Maybe one day a Scottish sporting team will put in a good performance for the full 80 or 90 minutes? Is that too much to bloody ask?!
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BB, don’t be too harsh with your team.
Argentina were woeful for almost an hour, it looked like their B team. Enter the bench, particularly the regular 9 and 10, et voilà, you get a much better Argentina.
Scotland like many teams alas do not have enough pro players to have a bench as good as the starters.
At some point, we’ll have to revert to fewer subs, it’s too much an advantage for those who can afford it.
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BB, don’t be too harsh with your team.
Argentina were woeful for almost an hour, it looked like their B team. Enter the bench, particularly the regular 9 and 10, et voilà, you get a much better Argentina.
Scotland like many teams alas do not have enough pro players to have a bench as good as the starters.
At some point, we’ll have to revert to fewer subs, it’s too much an advantage for those who can afford it.
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Still angry.
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Flair – we didn’t even use all of our bench. Bhatti (a front rower), Jordan and George Horne didn’t come on. Bayliss and Turner came on in the 70th minute, long after the tide had turned. Duhan on the bench – why? Yes, we had to take off Gregor Brown (a big loss) for HIA, and D’arcy Rae was limping, still left 3 forwards.
Still, no doubt Toonie will take the ‘learnings’ from this.
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Aïee! ‘Learnings’ makes me want to punch tender parts.
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Morning all! Was away with mates from Cape Town for the weekend, down in Clarens a week before the cherry festival. Ate loads of cherries. They may be a few punnets short for the festival. Weather was very wet, but we had booked a quad bike thing in the Maluti mountains. Was touch and go for a while, but we did it and had hours of fun bashing through the mud and water. Got up to the top of the mountain and the spectacular views of both the Free State and Lesotho in every direction. Was well worth it!
The rugby after that was pretty scary – the Bok pack got a hiding until the last 20 minutes or so, with Rassie changing four of the starting pack inside the first 25 minutes after Mostert was red carded. Supersport crew showed camera angles suggesting that the initial impact was with the chest of a player who was already tackled and on his way down. Felt James Doleman got bullied by his TMO into a straight red – why not use the bunker if it’s available? Anyway, got the win despite a ferocious onslaught from a very game and capable Italian side – that Capuozzo at FB is something else, and their centres gave our guys a torrid time, especially in the first half. The Italian pack is pretty decent too. Other than some really impressive scramble defence from Willemse and van der Merwe early doors, Italy could have been 15 or 20 points up in the first quarter. I think the Boks will look back at that one and know we got away with one!
CMW – thoughts are with you in this difficult, and frustrating, time.
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Didn’t see much of the other rugby, but managed to half watch England dismantle the All Blacks. Very, very good performance, even if Pollock is a pillock. He’s such a good player, but unfortunately also a bit of a twat. I think a couple of grizzled French and Irish forwards have his number on their dance cards for the 6N!
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Deebee, I may be wrong but I think there is a difference between a straight red card and a red card issued after a bunker review.
After the foul play review, if the card is red, the player himself cannot come back but he can be replaced by a team mate after 20 minutes.
Hence the choice made by the ref during Italy/SA.
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I’m pretty sure the bunker can also administer a full red card.
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@thaum
Although of course it’s standard procedure to play any non-Leinster player out of position when they’re in for Ireland, and then say they’re not good enough
Or play them in new combos and then wonder why it looks janky. So, back we go to players who train together….
Also surprised that this was his first start at FB – isn’t that his normal position for Connacht?
I think he’s played there regularly w/o being regarded as fb first and foremost. I think I said earlier that his recent “club” form was nowhere near what we saw in the 21/22/ and 22/23 season – but he was very good
Now in perspective – Aus had a nightmare with fielding kicks – they may just need to go to the nearest AFL club and ask for a few lessons in catching. Bringing back O’Connor didn’t seem to work. Suaaili was disappointing. Line out was a mess (like Ireland last 2 weeks)
Warning for Ireland was how easily Aus made metres after contact – SA can’t not have noticed. All 3 tries were just get close and bludgeon over
Prendergast was fine – though he wasn’t stressed – as someone said the things he does well, he did well and the bad bits were as bad as ever. This time last year, Aus stood off Sam and waited for him to decide to pass and then double tackled the receiver – strangely they abandoned that policy in favour of blitzing him and all 3 Hansen tries came from that – he’s good at delaying the pass.
Third try was a bit lucky, Prendergast sliced the kick, O’Brien did well to catch it but dropped it trying to offload – however, it went backwards and Hansen pounced. But when it’s your day …it’s your day – my son’s team won a year ago in a game where they scored 3 tries from 2 chargedowns and an intercept.
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I saw most of Eng vs NZ – bravo to England. Ford obviously took a lesson from Christophe Lamaison – chip away at the lead with DGs
I thought England were hard done by on the Ford try – Barrett strips the ball. But hey lads and lasses – welcome to Piardi-world where “there are too many rules”.
Overall, England were very good.
On Pollock, my eldest (19) thinks it’s just the way he is – it’s not consciously done at all. But I will say, he’s got some pace
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BB, Duhan on the bench wasn’t a daft option, there was enough cover in the starting XV plus others on the pine for every permutation of injury or replacement in the backs. Duhan can do what no one else in the Scotland team can do, he’s proved it often enough.
The blunder was not picking a dedicated lock and losing our blindside very early.
I think a lot is being made of the Arg bench, the three forwards who came on actually made their scrum worse. The half backs made a difference but they capitalised on a couple of howlers from Finn when it just wasn’t on.
That handed momentum to Argentina and players always talk about how difficult it is to get that back. Argentina went up through the gears, they hadn’t been allowed to play at all for the first hour because our defence was so strong, then it all went very runny very quickly.
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