Rugby World Cup 2003 - Crunch Time!

[Havak]

Remarkable self restraint.

I do wonder if anyone would eat black pudding if they stopped and thought what it actually was - damn tasty though.

Are there any teams arriving from the UK without antipodean exiles? I think the kilted Kiwi quota is down for Scotland with Laney dropped - must read up on their Aussie contingent.

Of course we ended up taking two Boks (Abbott and Catt) and thus have lost the moral high ground on this one somewhat.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak

I do wonder if anyone would eat black pudding if they stopped and thought what it actually was - damn tasty though.

I assume everyone knows what it is. My grandmother used to have it sliced and fried.

Are there any teams arriving from the UK without antipodean exiles? I think the kilted Kiwi quota is down for Scotland with Laney dropped - must read up on their Aussie contingent.

There's an ex-Sydney club player with them. He spent time in England, I think we talked about him once before. And Matt Cockbain's brother is with one of the other teams, but I forget which.

Of course we ended up taking two Boks (Abbott and Catt) and thus have lost the moral high ground on this one somewhat.

Perish the thought.

[Andydog]

Originally posted by Havak
Now on this we can probably agree. I’d love them to be that honest. Public transport in the UK is absolutely awful. Don’t forget as your train was over twenty minutes late arriving you can claim half the fare back. Bet it will make you feel better?

Well. The ticket inspector hadn't come around to inspect the tickets. Because my ticket didn't have his stamp on it they weren't interested in progressing my claim. I had a row over it but the Johnny No-Stars behind the counter was obviously used to it and wouldn't budge. So yesterday I had to fare dodge to make it up. And just to teach them a lesson, I also fare dodged today.

Now don’t tell anyone this will you – but there’s an element of pure mischief in my doing that.

Your secret is safe with me... Next time you won't find that button quite so easily!

The dynamic remains fascinating – pack versus backs, unpredicatable talent (Carlos) versus total reliability (Wilko)…really hope it comes down to the final we might be expecting.

I read somewhere that England is lining up a cash cow clash with New Zealand after the World Cup. It would be between an England XV and the New Zealand Barbarians, with an aim to repeat (in all but name) this November's potential World Cup final. Thus it wouldn't be an official Test as all Test matches must be sanctioned by the IRB, who in the past have blocked some potential Twickenham money-spinners including a tri-series with Australia and South Africa?

It’s on my list for sure – Lions 2005 was a possibility until it was pointed out to me it’s in your winter, your winters are apparently not nice, and that the country didn’t have a very big ‘pub per head of pop’ ratio and may not be best geared for 20000 brits on the lamb at one go. Have I been misinformed?

I would say our winters are warmer on average than England winters. It does get colder as you go south, perhaps Dunedin and below may get as cold as England on occasion. My hometown is Christchurch and I remember being shocked at the cold of London during my first winter here, once it was so cold my lips hurt. I would say the climate is warmer and less variable than England’s. It’d be a lot warmer and sunnier in the North Island would it not Caligastia? Frozzy?

As far as pubs go, I’m not sure the head of pop figures but even though our cities are smaller, there are still plenty of pubs and clubs. We even have electricity you know. The nightlife in the cities on the weekends is fantastic, get amongst it mate. The great thing about our pubs is that there is no stupid 11 o'clock closing rule, so the drinking tends to last most of the night. The only thing I would say though, you may struggle to find a drop that's as pasty and lumpy as your English Bitter.

[Andydog]

Originally posted by finbar
I assume everyone knows what it is. My grandmother used to have it sliced and fried.

It's dried blood isn't it? It's disgusting anyway, tried it once and spat it out again. Who do you think thought that one up, and what the hell was going through his head at the time?

Actually Finbar, you seem to enjoy cooking, here is something I whipped up last night, took about 15 minutes:

Steamed Salmon with Yoghurt and Dill
Put yellow mustard, plain yoghurt, olive oil, chopped dill, chopped scallions, pepper, and white wine vinegar into a small saucepan, blended well and gently heated until it warmed through. Took 4 salmon steaks and pressed 2 sprigs of dill onto the bottom of each salmon steak. Put the salmon in a steamer and pressed 2 more springs of dill onto the top of each salmon steak. Covered, brought the water in the bottom of the steamer to a boil and steamed for 6 minutes. Turned the heat off and let the fish stay in the covered steamer for another 3 minutes. Transferred the fish to serving plates, removed the bone and peeled away the skin. Served the fish with the sauce.

It was absolutely divine.

[Havak]

Because my ticket didn't have his stamp on it they weren't interested in progressing my claim

They don’t have any choice as far as I know – try writing to the Customer services Manager of the franchise and keep the template for regular re-use. And might I venture that fare dodging tomorrow is in order too?

Your secret is safe with me... Next time you won't find that button quite so easily!

I like a challenge.

You seem to have summed up the proposed game at HQ nicely – it won’t be a test match for that very reason. I think the RFU have an eye on the fact the three coffer filling autumn internationals this year are missing and they want to address the shortfall. It’s risky as it relies on everything largely going to the seeding at the RWC for starters of course. It would be hard for them to sell the match if NZ win the trophjy and we bomb out early. They haven’t canvassed the clubs about releasing players for a ‘friendly’ either - almost literally as soon as they arrive back in the UK. As out league program runs right through the RWC the clubs may not be best pleased.

We even have electricity you know

I can unpack the oil lamp then?

The only thing I would say though, you may struggle to find a drop that's as pasty and lumpy as your English Bitter.

And you were doing so well to that point!

I’ve clearly been speaking to someone who had a bad visit – it proves the point nicely that one should keep an open mind. It has to go back on my list – and maybe I should see if I can get a package for the Lions tour after all.

I did smile at the comment of your lips hurting. Our winters can be quite nasty, and whilst we don’t plumb huge depths for temperature the combination of near zero temperature, winter winds and driving rain (which is always coming at you head on in my experience) is perhaps my least favourite aspect of UK weather – but should be compulsory for rugger matches to separate the men from the boys?

*edit* Yes it's dried blood all right. And I have no idea what he was thinking - but it is surprisingly tasty.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Andydog
I read somewhere that England is lining up a cash cow clash with New Zealand after the World Cup. It would be between an England XV and the New Zealand Barbarians, with an aim to repeat (in all but name) this November's potential World Cup final.

I read somewhere t'other day that the NZRFU wouldn't release the players for it because it took the players over their season limit of matches.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Andydog

It's dried blood isn't it? It's disgusting anyway, tried it once and spat it out again. Who do you think thought that one up, and what the hell was going through his head at the time?

Some Celt using up the leftovers after he'd skinned and eaten his brother-in-law, probably.

Actually Finbar, you seem to enjoy cooking, here is something I whipped up last night, took about 15 minutes:

Steamed Salmon with Yoghurt and Dill
Put yellow mustard, plain yoghurt, olive oil, chopped dill, chopped scallions, pepper, and white wine vinegar into a small saucepan, blended well and gently heated until it warmed through. Took 4 salmon steaks and pressed 2 sprigs of dill onto the bottom of each salmon steak. Put the salmon in a steamer and pressed 2 more springs of dill onto the top of each salmon steak. Covered, brought the water in the bottom of the steamer to a boil and steamed for 6 minutes. Turned the heat off and let the fish stay in the covered steamer for another 3 minutes. Transferred the fish to serving plates, removed the bone and peeled away the skin. Served the fish with the sauce.

It was absolutely divine.

Sounds great. Mrs finbar's a fish eater, I'll give it a burl for her and let you know. When you say "yellow mustard", what sort do you mean?

Tonight I did us an Italian Roast Chicken. Pot-roasted on top of the stove, which is the Italian way. Dead easy. Give it a try:

Take one Free Range Organic Chicken. Wash it inside and outside and dry thoroughly. Insert sprigs of rosemary and sage into the cavity with a piece of unsalted butter, a couple of peeled and smashed cloves of garlic, some salt and lashings of pepper. Cut a lemon in half. Squeeze one half of the lemon all over the chicken. Season all over with pepper and salt.

Brown the chicken all over in 1 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp olive oil on the stove in a flameproof pot with a lid. Add 2/3 of a cup of white wine, bring it to the boil for 60 seconds. Then reduce the heat to low, put the lid on slightly askew (to let the steam escape), and cook slowly for about 90 minutes. Turn the chicken over halfway through. Test with a skewer in the meatiest part of the leg to see if it's cooked. The juice should run clear.

Remove the chicken, wrap it in foil to keep warm. Spoon off the excess fat, add 2 tbsp of water, the juice of the other half of the lemon, and a piece of unsalted butter. Bring to the boil, deglazing the pan. Carve the chicken, serve with the reduced sauce.

I served it with some sauteed spinach and pine nuts, and a roasted pumpkin and celeriac mash. Yum!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
I’ve clearly been speaking to someone who had a bad visit – it proves the point nicely that one should keep an open mind. It has to go back on my list – and maybe I should see if I can get a package for the Lions tour after all.

Just wander around saying "Good'uz'gold" a lot and they'll reckon you're a local.

I did smile at the comment of your lips hurting. Our winters can be quite nasty, and whilst we don’t plumb huge depths for temperature the combination of near zero temperature, winter winds and driving rain (which is always coming at you head on in my experience) is perhaps my least favourite aspect of UK weather – but should be compulsory for rugger matches to separate the men from the boys?

Minus 14 - with windchill - one New Years Eve in New York was my crowning glory. God I love cold weather!

[Havak]

Sounds wonderful but there's something missing isn't there?

Ah yes thats it - a side serving of a pint of Bitter. No meal is complete without it.

One additonal piece of information on the black pudding - the further north you head in the UK the more likely you are to find it for sale in fish and chip shops - battered of course. I think heart disease is the UKs biggest killer before you ask.

*Edit* I think Stephen Larkham let himself get ambushed by the media Finbar - here is what he had to say about Argentina:

"I think they're very competitive so they'll do whatever it takes to win. If that means playing dirty then I'm sure they'll resort to those tactics."

Now that will stop them targetting him for sure.

[Andydog]

Originally posted by Havak

They don’t have any choice as far as I know – try writing to the Customer services Manager of the franchise and keep the template for regular re-use. And might I venture that fare dodging tomorrow is in order too?

They said that because the ticket inspector hadn't put his date stamp on it, there was no way to prove I was on the delayed trip. W*nkers! And no, I'll go back to buying the ruddy tickets again. Otherwise my luck will run out soon enough, and getting caught is more trouble than it's worth.

I can unpack the oil lamp then?

Leave it in. If your pulling power fails one night you can use them to attract sheep.

[Andydog]

Originally posted by finbar
I served it with some sauteed spinach and pine nuts, and a roasted pumpkin and celeriac mash. Yum!

Sounds fantastic. I'm having the gang over on Thursday so may give it a go then. What wine would you recommend to drink with it?

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Andydog
It’d be a lot warmer and sunnier in the North Island would it not Caligastia? Frozzy?

Summer is about the same as in the South Island, but winter is definitely warmer. The thing that kills me in Canterbury is the wind. I have rellies down there, so I've been a few times. Hey, maybe you saw my uncle's trucks from his trucking and demolition company down there. It's called "Frews".

[Caligastia]

Originally posted by Havak
*edit* Yes it's dried blood all right. And I have no idea what he was thinking - but it is surprisingly tasty.

Perhaps he got the idea one day after picking off a scab and eating it...

[flipside]

Originally posted by Havak


One additonal piece of information on the black pudding - the further north you head in the UK the more likely you are to find it for sale in fish and chip shops - battered of course. I think heart disease is the UKs biggest killer before you ask.

You know I really want to post this.

This is total proof of Havek's point and the best fish'n'chips in the world.

Ummm............ Groundnut oil..


THE LINK

[flipside]

Originally posted by finbar


Some Celt using up the leftovers after he'd skinned and eaten his brother-in-law, probably.

Funnily enough. I'm a Celt and have made black pudding, and my brother-in-law looks like a mini David Beckham, so this is posssibly the scariest post of all time.

Sereiously I **** you not.

If I can find a picture of me and Phil. I will post it here and you will realise why even though I love him skinning him is a decent idea.