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 
Why are we watching the conversion from outside the stadium????
Woof! What a try.
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Where the hell did that try come from? Gourgues just appeared on the other side of the defensive line and set BB up to score.
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What a weird game of rugby.
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Don’t have BlueSky so can’t see the whole thread, but going by the picture, does it mean Welsh Rugby is like the Wicker Man and is going to go up in flames (on a remote Scottish Island)?
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So how will Scotland fuck it up today?
(Mind you, if we lose to Tonga, Toonie should be oot the door before the last fan has left the stadium).
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BB – It’s specifically this reaction to the suggestion that SCW can ‘fix’ Welsh rugby
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That should have been a try for Sione.
But never mind, as Jamie Ritchie does score!
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Also a 20 minute red for Tonga.
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Scotland turning up the style.
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And a second try! George Turner scores on his 50th cap! Started by Duhan taking the ball in the air. Thought he couldn’t do that.
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Tonga are very much living up to their reputation.
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Reputations are for living down to as well as up to.
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Solid half from Scotland, maybe should have scored a couple more.
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Not quite gelling as a group, but great to see Zander doing so well after about 8 months out.
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Just a bit flat this half from us. Don’t think we’ve scored while Tonga are down to 14.
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Tonga lose another man. Almost as bad as Ireland…
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This is actually pretty awful from us.
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And another one , YC, I mean.
Tonga are a pale shadow of what they used to be.
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Duhan at last!
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Oh, that was a lovely play, ending with Horne (G) scoring.
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Opening up now. Score still flatters us a bit, there was about 40 minutes where we didn’t score. George Horne doing George Horne things.
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A win’s a win I suppose. Good to see Zander back, Bradbury played well (and was MOTM, I think), Williamson too. Backline didn’t quite click, but I’d take Steyn or Rowe as 15 over Blair at the moment. Really didn’t score enough points when Tonga were players down, although Sione should have been given that try near the start.
Maybe a 6.5 or 7 out of 10?
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Hell, Broussett’s the ref. Makes Brace and Carley look like prime Owens.
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Ooof, that was quite the hand-off from Manny F-W. Slade needs to stop over-running his support lines.
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England got very lucky with ARG batting the ball back twice. Ojomoh furra lineee!
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Oh, that was a lovely kick from Ojomoh. Scores one and makes one.
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That was quite the maul.
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The law of unintended consequences again. Making the obstruction of retreating players illegal even when they are doing it in good faith, trying to catch the ball themselves, has led to more kicks than ever. The French call this ping pong rugby (table tennis ?). I know it takes some skills, but I find it utterly boring.
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Argentina comeback on?
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Slade finally doesn’t overrun a support line and scores a try.
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Lovely wee offload from Ojomo for Slade’s try. England needed that as the Pumas have been on top this half.
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Can’t see Argentina having another comeback like last week now.
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Not actually watching the game, but it seems to me the Argentina comeback was on until BB ruined it?
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What was I saying? They might still do this!
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Argentina have gotten away with a forward pass and a block in there, but fair play to them for the comeback. Good steal for England to win.
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Bugger!
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I’m still a little confused over the Curry tackle/penalty.
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Curry’s tackle was marginally late and unecessary as Malia had already kicked the ball. The fact that Malia was subsequently injured probably influenced the ref but it was a 50-22 anyway.
Squeaky bum time at the end. Argentina made too many errors, in the first half in particular. England still seem to not trust themselves. Good achievement though.
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hadn’t realised that today was Tonga’s ONLY Autumn international. Maybe instead of saying Scotland only play and beat Tier 2 nations, we shouold be asking why World Rugby aren’t doing more for the likes of Tonga. Italy also played Chile yesterday (don’t know how many games they’ve had). Can’t ‘grow’ the game if teams don’t play.
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James Ryan is an idiot.
Unfortunately, he’s had this idea for a while that he’s some kind of “enforcer”. Tip tackles, croc rolls, and ‘missile style’ ruck entries.
No sympathy at all.
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I didn’t see the game – out and about in Bury St Edmunds (or should that be out and abbot)
But seen/heard enough to respond to one or 2 comments
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Ireland should be down to 11 after the penalty try. Under any other circumstances there would have been a card issued
@ticht
Technically, had McCarthy been carded – we’d have gone down to 10 – because we’d have caused uncontested scrums – so would have lost another….
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If I were Farrell, I’d ban every player who earned a card for several matches at least
@thaum
Heat of the moment and all that…but Farrell is the person choosing these guys.
Ryan – completely deserved and been coming….
Crowley – daft apparently;
Prendergast – 3 offsides in a row – next man was going to suffer;
Porter – been living on the edge in scrums fpr a while
Most of the cards came from the pressure SA exerted – we couldn’t cope as a team and generally, that’s not on individuals.
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commentator describing a moment of indecision from Predergast as “a double pump”.
Unlike Oz last week, seems like SA stood off and waited for him to pass and then double teamed the receiver.
Prendergast is a good passer but in that circumstance he needs to carry – which he is loathe to do, so he fakes the pass to see if defence will commit and he can hit a different target
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You don’t become crap overnight, maybe have an off day, but they’ll be back.
@deebee
Maybe a Lions hangover, but the evidence is mounting that this team are on the slide – catastrophe theory says there’s not a steady decline but a drop off a cliff.
We’ve shown the world that a strong scrum will wreak havoc – and we have France and England as matches 1 and 3 in the 6N. I think we conceded 9 pens, plus the PT plus 2 YCs
Not every team has SA’s scrum power but ~England and France will have taken note
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England and France will have taken note
Christ, Scotland and Wales will be poring over that match
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Arrived back home to see England vs Argentina – 17-0 flattered England a bit – comms were talking about a “master class” at half time – good, no doubt – but if Gallo held on it was a different score – if nothing else.
Dropped off a bit when Argentina came back into the game (as they tend to do).
Overall, a good win but a good warning too
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“catastrophe theory”
Pffft. Proper teams commit to Catastrophe Practice.
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