Author: thaumaturge

Have only got time for the briefest of posts, but wow! What a setback for France. Also, you know: the big Saffers v saintly Ireland (under-Ulstered) on Saturday. Prepare the sofa for hiding behind now. Onna telly this week Friday 22nd September Argentina v Samoa 16:45 ITV1 Gloucester v Harlequins 19:45 TNT Sports 1 Saturday … Continue reading World Cup, Round Three!

What a cracker of a first round! Some delectable rugby, some surprises, and plenty of dodgy reffing decisions to moan about. Tonga and Samoa have yet to play, but Wales easily contained Fiji. The big surprises were the performances of the two South American minnows: Chile gave Japan a good fight, although they ran out … Continue reading World Cup, Round Two!

And so the first weekend of battle dawns. Time to toss away the sparring, the jousting, the throwing down of the gauntlet and deferential soundbites. It’s here. It’s now. And it’s gonna be one helluva opening weekend! A massive match to open with and some potentially pool-defining Tests on the first weekend make this a … Continue reading World Cup, Round One!

Just a few days until the World Cup kicks off, and last weekend had us all reeling out of our shoes. There we all were in the home nations, complacently worrying about the likes of France, South Africa, New Zealand and (maybe) Australia, when it turns out that the Pacific Islanders (and Georgia) are the … Continue reading Maybe we’ve all been worrying about the wrong teams

Location: World Rugby’s Secret Mobile Headquarters Attendees: The ‘Independent Judicial Committee’ (three Aussies), Owen Farrell and a high-priced lawyer, Richard Smith KC. IJC3: Right, cobbers, let’s get started. The arvo’s wasting away. But we think matey’s got kangaroos loose in the top paddock. Farrell [hanging head, looking penitent]: I’ve brought some refreshments for everyone. IJC1: … Continue reading Disgusting Circus

Je m’en fucking fous qu’Irlande ne joue pas ce weekend; l’opportunité c’est fucking énorme de regarder d’autres matches, et bien sûr ce video à voir encore et encore. Vous avez entendu parler, naturellement, de ces minuscules fucking poissons des rivières brésiliennes qui s’attaquent par milliers a l’équipe imprudent, le nettoient, en quelques fucking instants, à … Continue reading Je m’en fucking fous

With the warm-up internationals for the World Cup getting into swing, the BTL underdoggers are out in force. Flair reckons that Scotland will beat France by 40 points; BorderBoy doesn’t seem very sure about getting out of the group in the Cup at all, whereas Deebee thinks South Africa shouldn’t even bother getting on the … Continue reading Pre-WC Internationals

First a nod to the retirees. *Nods* Tonight we have the Little Cup Final, Glasgow v Toulon. The French side are half-way down their league table while Glaes are fourth in the URC, and have home advantage … but I think it will be a close-fought affair all the same. The Home of the Big … Continue reading Little Cup and Big Cup