I’m not sure who invited Liz Truss, and perhaps that’s why everyone looks a bit nervous, as if they’re expecting a devastating mini-budget in the middle of the festivities.
Nevertheless, a very happy feasting season to all, and may there be some cracking derbies over the next week or so.
Crackling derbies would be good too, only that depends on the pork markets.
We don’t see any cheese boards, and obviously That Is a Disgrace.
Ovally Balls 
10 tries to Saints, Alex Coles gets a hat-trick and MotM. Final score 66-21.
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Bloody hell, Stephen Jones is as bad at prose as he is at hiding his bias for Saracens.
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The Legend that is Coo-Face,, the one and only Duncy Weir is playing his final game for Glasgow tonight. We’re winning 26-20 and he converted the latest try.
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I remember in the auld days of AoD I was very confused about the hostility against Wales’s fly-half, who seemed a decent enough bloke to me.
Then someone clued me in.
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Glasgow go from 26-10 (not 26-20) to winning 47-10. Its the Power of The Dunc! And he gets a try (+ 4 conversions)!
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BB – annoyingly, that’s hoisted you above us on the table, but we still have a game in hand.
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We’re just in our rightful place, Thaum.
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Even Franco was smiling when Duncy scored!
BTW – these highlight packages are awful. Don’t show replays of some tries, but do for others. 5 minutes is nowhere near enough.
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BB – sometimes they don’t show the tries at all, just the conversion after.
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Duncy Weir’s farewell was written in a script, the try, the pulled hamstring etc. His last second drop goal v Italy was a great Scottish rugby moment.
He won two league titles with Glasgow, no mean feat.
Soz Thaum, but my main memory of him as an Edinburgh player was again a last kick of the game to win it, this time vs Ulster in Belfast.
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Interesting weekend of URC matches, highlighting the overall strength of the Irish sides – three in the top six, and Connacht not far off 7th or 8th, depending on results next time out. Glasgow starting to move through the gears now as well and up to second. Stormers still two points clear with a game in hand and well placed, but the next best SA side is the Lions in 7th! But a growing gap between the top six and the chasing pack. Bulls and Sharks, for all their Boks and resources, are in the bottom third of the table. Cardiff handily placed in 4th, above both Irish giants (sorry Thauma).
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We also have a game in hand. :-p
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Thaum, that game at hand is in Edinburgh in March – it was rescheduled to Friday the 13th!
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Less than a month until the 6N kicks off, can’t wait for it! England probably should be favourites, based on the November results, but France I suppose will be confident they can do the job, opening and closing the tournament at home to Ireland and England respectively, and theoretically at least, having home advantage against their two closest rivals. England open with an easy-looking fixture against Wales, before heading to recent nemesis Scotland, so could be out of the running by Week 2.
Which Italy will pitch up? If htey hit the ground running, they could snatch a win against Scotland at home in Round One, but I don’t think they’ve got enough to go to Dublin and win in Round 2. If Scotland win their opening match in Italy, they’ll be desperate to beat England and then Wales, to set up a strong finish against France and Ireland, but that’s a nasty couple of fixtures to finish with, to be honest. Can’t see Ireland beating either of France or England away either, so the final standings look like this:
France
England
Scotland
Ireland
Italy
Wales
You can all relax now and just enjoy the rugby.
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That’s the (community) spirit. I hope they were best Toulousain sausages.
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One for the Whisky Nerds…..
Daughter 2 works for a whisky bottling company, so Christmas and birthdays are sorted!
Below is this year’s selection. Although, looking at the tasting notes I’m surprised it tastes as good as it does.
“This Highland whisky’s aroma is an earthy mix of smoked haddock, hessian, wet sand and gravel. The palate is complex; opening with coffee, dark chocolate before the expected smoked barley, cullen skink and peat smoke come through”.
Don’t think I’ve ever drank west sand and gravel before…
https://www.whiskyhammer.com/item/177658/Ardmore/Ardmore—2009-Single-Cask-709252-Berry-Bros-and-Rudd.html
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Think I’ll pass on that one! :-D
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Reminds me of a work road trip lo these twenty years and more ago in the US. I had been driving for 10 or 12 hours, and finally arrived at my destination late at night and hungry. All I could find was what would kindly be described as a ‘dive’, but their kitchen – such as it was – was open, and they served booze, which was also high on the list of desirables.
The wine list consisted of ‘red’ or ‘white’. When I asked the waitress what sort of wine the red was, she said, Honey, ah’m not a wine drinker mahself, but ah do believe it’s a sweet ‘n’ sour kinda wine. As there were no other options, I ordered a glass.
It was a scarily accurate description.
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Don’t think I’ve ever drank west sand and gravel before…
And you call yourself Scots? Pfft! I was face first in the gravel on my first night in Scotland!
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Opting for Castre v Bath.
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Not a great start for Barf. Castre score from a maul, bang on 5mins. Bath then equalise on 10mins, but Obano gets a yellow for a croc-roll shortly after the restart.
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Just before Obano is due to come back on, Will Muir takes out a player in the air and gets a yellow.
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Bath have done well to only concede 7 points during the yellow card periods and Ted Hill crashes over just before the 2nd one ends. Finn took the conversion clock right down to 1 second, to ensure they restart with 15 players.
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Bath on top! Dunn scores off the back of a maul and the Castre hooker gets a yellow for dropping it. 14-21 36mins.
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Castre will finish with 14. The number 4 flies into a ruck shoulder first and gets binned on 75mins.
Some lovely play from Bath ends in their 6th try. 20-43 with a couple of mins left.
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Sorry
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Jeez, Refit! First Ticht confesses he’s a teetotaler (by Scottish standards), then you throw the Hask’s latest sordid choice at us. Where’s the mod? Where are the standards?
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I just wish Sag was here to see it.
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Quick start by Bristol. Huge gap in the Bulls defence, that van Rensberg strolls through.
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Two tries in 5mins. Bulls making Lahiff look world class!
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3 tries in 7mins! Heward intercepts a pass and runs half the pitch. 0-21.
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Refit, there are 10 Boks in that starting Bulls side. Absolutely pathetic. Bristol have been sharp so far, but the Bulls? Bovine.
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Loving the ref doing nothing about a Bulls player hitting a Bristol player in the top of the head, at a ruck. Other than awarding them a try.
Ah well, Bristol score their 4th try. 7-28 with 16min on the clock.
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Bonus point in 15 minutes! Bulls defence is beyond shit. 7-28 and I reckon the Bulls have missed more tackles than Bristol have scored points.
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14-28 after Bristol decide they’ll avoid tackling too. Water break. The dam wall broke 20 minutes ago.
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Hewitt with a cracker in the corner! That dive got 10 from the Soviet judge!
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Spectacular finish my Heward, going airborne into the corner. 14-35
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14-35. Johan Ackerman looks shellshocked in the coaching box. Another Bristol try as they teach the Bulls how to play rugby. It’s pretty simple stuff: keep your shape, make your passes, and wait for the Blunder Bulls to miss tackles.
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The Bulls coaching staff look shell-shocked.
Marmion scores try number 6. 14-42 25mins.
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21-42 as the Bulls go for a record 9 minutes without conceding a try.
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Oh dear. Bristol player bats the ball into touch, just a Bulls player is going to score. I don’t think this is going to end well for him.
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Yellow for Lane, the FB and a penalty try.
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Rich Lane yellow carded and penalty try for slapping the ball out of play a metre from the line. 28-42 with a minute to HT. Still can’t see the Bulls winning this.
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Bulls all over Bears after the hooter and then Pollard decides to throw the intercept pass. 28-47 at oranges. Harlem Globetrotter stuff at Loftus, just without the panache.
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With the clock in the red, the Bulls get into the Bristol half, but get turned over. Marmion puts a kick towards the corner and the ball sits up nicely for Heward to score his hat-trick. 28-47 at oranges.
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Bloody hell. Oghre, Bristol’s hooker, almost kicked a 50-22 from inside his own 10m line.
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Genge almost scores, but gets tackled 1m from the Bulls line. Le Roux slaps the ball out the 9s hand after and gets a yellow. Rubiolo scores from the resulting tap. 35-54.
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Long raking kick from Marmion. It bounces horribly for the Bulls defender, straight into Ravouvou’s hands and he scores under the posts. 35-61.
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Randall and Thacker on for Bristol. That’s not going to drop the tempo at all.
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