Author: thaumaturge

The new English Premiership season kicks off tonight with Bristol v Saracens. No doubt I speak for all of humanity when I say that I hope that home advantage bears up. We also have some forrin matches, far away, between minor sides, and some Women’s World Cup matches. Onna telly this week Friday 17th September … Continue reading The Return of the League of *cough* Gentlemen

You wait bloody ages for an ATL, and then two turn up at once…. No prizes for guessing which is the work of Craigsman, and which of Deebee7. The Glorious Series Continues Pre/Ramble So it’s a bit weird that, with a Lionz series in south Africa being poised with one game each, rugby fans seems … Continue reading Duelling Bloggos

And so to the second Test of the series, with the Lions in pole position at 1-0 up, having won both the rugby and reffing in round one. Rassie’s upped the ante this week and lurched uncontrollably into orbit, giving the tourists the moral high ground too. Is Rassie trying a Mourinho by taking all … Continue reading Lions are Roaring, Rassie’s got Boring: Round 2 of the Tests

So here we are then. At the business end of what has been a shambolic and in many ways disappointing Lions tour. No fans, Covid a constant threat to the tour as a whole, weak provincial teams not offering much, players in and out of isolation and still very little clarity on the actual fitness … Continue reading Springboks versus British and Irish Lions, First Test: Thoughts of a Nervous Bok fan

Since there’s nothing else worth watching this weekend (Ulster’s season having finished), Flair99 has some top tips on Top14 matches: Three intriguing games in France this week-end. Friday at 20:45: Racing vs Stade FrançaisThe winner gets to the semi, the loser goes on vacation (about time). So Paris vs Paris, about 5kms separate their two … Continue reading Top14 and Lions Talk (but we can’t understand them)

Three years ago, we were in Bilbao for the Challenge Cup final. What a difference a pandemic makes. Also, the sun was shining, at least in Spain. Regarding the Little Cup, Flair99 says: “To find Montpellier there is quite stunning, they’re fighting to avoid relegation, and they’re certainly not pleasant to watch. How about Leicester?” … Continue reading Three Frogs and a Tigger

the Not Johnny Clegg Story of Travel In Africa Link to Part I We climbed quickly into the air and escaped the clutches of Kinshasa below us, with Brazza rapidly fading behind us too as we headed towards Douala and sanity. It’s a relatively short flight, across Congo-Brazza, Gabon, and I would imagine Equatorial Guinea, … Continue reading Le Zoulou Blanc, Part II

the Not Johnny Clegg Story of Travel In Africa It’s August ‘97 in Joburg, and the phone rings in my office with a hysterical voice on the other end shouting, “So you’re the one going to Cameroon with me? What do you know about it? You know you can’t eat the fruit and vegetables, or … Continue reading Le Zoulou Blanc, Part I

Little bitta English Premiership … women’s Six Nations. Onna telly this week Friday 16th April Northampton v London Irish 19:45 BT Sport 1 Saturday 17th April Sale v Gloucester 12:30 BT Sport Extra Exeter v Wasps 12:30 BT Sport 3 Ireland v France (women) 14:15 BBC iPlayer/Red Button; RTÉ Two Scotland v Italy (women) 17:00 … Continue reading A Smattering of Matches