Entertaining. Indefatigable. Bloody-minded, hard as nails (well, obviously there is an obstructed view).
When Mark Williams (pictured) won the World Snooker Championship in 2018, he stripped off for the ensuing press conference, as he had promised to do.
This year, he has promised to run naked down the M4 if he wins.
Given that he’s 51, perhaps he should borrow Andy Powell’s golf buggy instead.
But this is why Welsh rugby can and will rise above their current crisis, and hopefully with all four regions somehow surviving the mess. Welsh sides are currently Irish teams’ banana peels in the URC.
While full houses at Welsh stadia have been a rarity in recent years, Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau sung with full heart at the Millenium Stadium still manages to bring a bit of unexplained grit to the eyes of this non-Welsh person (well, full disclosure: I had a half-Welsh granny).
And, to add the icing to the cake, the Welsh don’t vote for Tories. Hopefully they won’t vote for the even more repulsive Reform in May either.
Might have to go and hide behind the sofa now.
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I’ve seen better lineouts.
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Our line-outs are never great.
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We’re toast.
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Oh wait, we have the ball!
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And Montpellier get it and kick it beyond the dead ball line! Yay!
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TRY IZZZZYYYYY!!!!!
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Corker!
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Shit. Missed conversion, so 2 points behind.
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Fuck. Bloody Billy V.
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Izuchukwu is struggling, he looks exhausted atm
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Google tells me he played at Kelso!
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Ward did well there
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Game over before HT, barring a miracle.
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High BMI-ing it wins again
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26-12. I doubt we’ll come back from this. We need McCloskey, and we need Kok.
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Having Hendo wouldn’t hurt either, Thaum
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Ticht – maybe. He’s been more of a liability lately, which is why he’s not there.
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Although I think in some players that have obviously been past their prime – thinking also of AWJ and POM – their leadership perhaps counts for more than their actual play.
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Someone on the Glasgow board said that Kok was injured, the coms didn’t say so before the game – is he crocked, Thaum?
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Not that I know of, but it was surprising he was left out of the 23, so maybe!
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Brilliant try from Montpellier. We are down and out. Not sure if I can even watch any more.
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Ticht – come to think of it, he’d just come back from injury before the previous match, I think, so it’s possible.
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That’s that, then
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Oh fuck, it’s beyond repair now.
We deserved something this year. I keep coming back to the penalty try decision a couple of weeks ago for a tackle that wasn’t in fact a tackle at all, leading to a draw, when we would otherwise have had a win.
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TRY Baloucoune!
Too little, too late, sadly.
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Oh, that was a lovely try for Ulster.
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That was a brutal scrum.
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It’s just humiliating now.
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Try Lowry. As if it counted.
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That’s a pretty good score from Ulster
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The hedgehogs are engaging in serious foreplay.
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This is going to be very addictive
https://maptap.gg
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Sorry, Thaum, this wasn’t much of a contest.
Montpellier, almost anonymous all year, look like a serious threat for the Brennus, what with UBB necessarily tired after tomorrow and Toulouse still so and so…
Mind you, and to emphasize the importance of the T14, every Montpellier player being interviewed after the game, said it was only àa beginning and they should gun for more important silverware.
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It is, Ticht! Got 837 on my first go. If things go as they usually do when I start something new, that number will decrease rapidly the next few times I try it.
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My new favourite is Parseword, by the Wordle bloke.
https://www.parseword.com/daily
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Ooh, no Goode or Dayglo on comms.
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This is starting to look pretty brutal for Leinster.
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I think Leinster are wishing they’d just put that free-kick off the field.
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Apparently there are advantages to having a shitty mullet?
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I don’t get to see a lot of URC matches, but I don’t think I’ve seen Leinster give up so much ground in contact before.
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Oh dear.
How sad.
Never mind.
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That was too easy, a bit like last night.
I don’t get to see much URC but Leinster look like a mid table T14 team. They lost almost all collisions and showed very little invention. Without the 2 YCs ( Lucu’s was funny, let’s admit it!) I don’t think they’d’ve scored in the second half.
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Flair, I watched all the games this season but I can never remember much about them afterwards, once it’s done it’s done. However, looking back over the results on the EPCR site the URC teams held their own against the French.
UBB are on a different level at the moment. Their defence had Leinster rocking backwards and their attack is simply beautiful.
The crazy yellow for Lucu (who continues to be spectacularly good) made a big difference
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Someone on the Glasgow board said that Kok was injured
No – not that I heard. Out of contract – and budgets are now tighter in Ireland, so no scope to carry a veteran winger. The fear is that decline won’t be gradual but that they’ll fall off the cliff.
Maybe he was offered – but on less money or shorter terms. That’s frequently the case when older lads move on.
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They lost almost all collisions and showed very little invention
Lack of invention has been a Leinster problem for a long time now- the old “Leinstertainment” model has long gone.
Their general strength is defence (plus f**k-acting at rucks – swinging around the wrong side, leaping over etc. They got away with plenty of that yesterday to no avail)
General pattern – is get a midfield penalty, kick to the corner, win the lineout, maul / ‘pick and go’ repetitively to score – they’re very efficient at this.
Naturally, their “kryptonite” is a big pack – Toulouse have one, SR have one, UBB have one. A pack that stops them dead in their tracks in midfield, and can withstand the maul/pick+go routines. Now – that’s true of almost any team.
With no invention in backs – Ringrose famously made 1 pass in the 2023 final vs SR. Henshaw and Ringrose are now there for their defensive qualities, Keenan doesn’t look back from the injuries, O’Brien gives it 100% all the time – good winger but won’t inspire fear.
At 10 – well, Prendergast looks shot, didn’t make the 23.
Byrne shows in flashes what made him starter at U20 then mixes it with poor decisions and execution,
Frawley – did well when he came but finally he’s off to Connacht to play 10 rather than get pigeonholed as the utility back at 23.. Should have moved 2-3 years ago when the chances were there.
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Feeding into the decline of a lot of their Irish international core is the change in financing. Previously, central contracts were essentially free but Leinster got same/slightly higher player budget than other provinces – so they could offer the second tier contracts better than they;d get elsewhere, plus a better chance of making international panels.
Now they have to contribute up to 40% – which means a lot less freedom to offer big bucks to the second layer and outbid other provinces. Munster or Ulster can match but can’t outbid so Leinster could set the floor very high – O’Gara commented on this. This has changed – hence a lot of movement recently compared to years gone by.
The other thing feeding in – is “minutes”. Guys like Porter have played endless games of 60+ mins – most props are going 45-55.
RWC23, URC, 6N, European Cup, summer tour to SA, URC, 6N, European cup, Lions, URC, 6N – that’s what Porter, Sheehan, Ryan, McCarthy, Doris, Ringrose, Keenan have experienced. If not injured they look jaded.
Porter who was famously unbreakable – got injured in the autumn, and pretty soon afterwards so were his young replacments Paddy McCarthy and Jack Boyle – pushed into high pressure games they weren’t ready for
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The crazy yellow for Lucu
I think there need to be guidelines on hair – tie it up/back
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@ticht
http://www.maptap.gg May 24
98🎯 98🔥 96🔥 100🎯 96🔥
Final score: 976
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