Rugby - The Lull After The Storm

[Havak]

Yes England will take their best on tour - though I wouldn't be surprised to see Wilkinson not travel to be honest -so he can rest ahead of Lions 2005. He'll take Hodgson and probably Walder to gain experience. I also firmly expect Jonno to retire after the six nations so there will be a new skipper too. In those circumstances the tour is going to be even tougher for us.

[Caligastia]

Well, at least you'll always be able to point back to 2003 and say "You wouldn't have beaten that team!"

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
IQ did not dictate my position. Height and ‘build’ did.

Mmmm. I sniff an inherent contradiction in there somewhere.

Still if they ever run out they could always remake everything with a new cast for contemporary audiences.

They've already started! "The Forsythe Saga"! And I'm sure there's another one or two. Oh, and just to underline the creative bankruptcy that plagues our ABC, guess what their big new project for 2004 is? A modern Australian family coping with living in an 1840s house in 1840s conditions.

More Production work up this way for the Finbars. After all to look authentically 19th Century England you would need to film in remote Northern Italy these days.

Remote Umbria would suit us just fine.

Hindsight, yes, good point. Far easier to spot a stupid decision several hundred years later.

Presumably, in 2203, some Kiwi historian will stumble on the fact that Carlos for Mehrtens was a fatal choice.

Love of Good Ale comes behind only love of Rugby, love of the better half and my keen interest in UK history in my life. Analyse the order I presented those in as you will!

You've just coined a new acronym - KDMNAG. I shall leave you to ponder its meaning.

And I gave no Scottish franchise any chance at all against them either!

I've been giving serious thought to the plight of Scotland's rugby. Based on my observations at the Highland Games I attended in Oban, where superhuman feats were performed by burly chaps in tartan skirts, I'd opine that the Scotland XV lining up in tartan skirts would scare the bejesus out of an oppo more than any Kiwi haka ever would.

A shame – I am ‘as keen as mustard’ on the Colonial Rebellion as I am in the Napoleonic era.

The icing on the culinary metaphor cake, indeed.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
The main problem Caligastia is that the England side will not be the 22 that figured in Sydney

Clive did say it would be the 22 from Sydney. I'd be surprised.

[finbar]

I can only put Havak's absence from our midst yesterday down to his desire to keep an extremely low profile after the announcement that Leicester, in a desperate attempt to halt their slide to rugby ignominy, have signed the skipper of China's rugby team.

No, this is not April the first. Now, let's take a moment to contemplate the possible reasons for the signing of the Chinese backrower:

1. The lad's name is Johnny Zhang. Could it be that someone whispered in Deano's ear that "Johnny's available!"? And Deano, oblivious to the "h" in the name, whipped out the cheque book and did the deed before the existence of the "h" was revealed to him?

2. Or could it be that Deano, concerned about his leaky defence, has opted, literally, for the Great Wall of China?

3. Or could it be that Deano, having decided the Pork Pie diet was the root cause of the team's slide, has extended the menu to include Peking Duck?

We await Havak's clarification with bated breath. Not to mention his justification of the signing on the basis that Johnny Zhang is entitled to a Leicester passport because, at some point during the Boxer Rebellion, a Leicester-born soldier, spraying his seed around, found fecund local ground.

It's also typical of Leicester, the party poopers, to release this news on the same day that John O'Neill announced that he was stepping down ten months early from his position as Chief Exec of the ARU. Unlike Leicester's news, the O'Neill news is entirely explicable.

While overseeing Australian rugby's rise to never-before-seen prominence and wealth, he made many enemies along the way, and not just amongst the Wallaby players and staff. His contract wouldn't have been renewed next September anyway and he knew it. OTOH, it's also arguable that there was little left for him, personally, to achieve in terms of Australian rugby's off-field performance. He would dearly have loved to step up a level to the IRB, but he'd made as many - if not more - enemies at that level as he'd made domestically. John O'Neill's one of those fascinating characters whose strengths are also his weaknesses. Still, regardless of what anyone thinks of him, no one with any brains would deny he made an enormous contribution to Australian rugby.

[Tamerlin]

Stade Toulousain 19 - Leeds Tykes 3

A difficult victory under the rain and against tenacious opponents. I have not seen the game myself so I can't say anything about the score and the reality on the field.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
Stade Toulousain 19 - Leeds Tykes 3

A difficult victory under the rain and against tenacious opponents. I have not seen the game myself so I can't say anything about the score and the reality on the field.

It sounds like M'sieur Michalak remembered how to kick straight.

[Tamerlin]

Yes, a friend of mine saw the game and told me Michalack had played very well... thanks for the link.

I am about to watch USAP - Celtic Warriors...

[Tamerlin]

Union Sportive des Arlequins de Perpignan 26 - Celtic Warriors 19

Entertaining game with two different periods, the first dominated by the USAP and the other by the celts. The catalans scored with their forwards while the celtic warriors charged with the light cavalry. Maybe a too classical game from the welsh though nonetheless an efficient one. The problem is that the USAP has not yet solved their main weakness, discipline, and that it will certainly cost them a few important games again this year.

P.S: I have ordered le petit ophrys for you, it costs 18,81€ and should be available in 10 days.

[LDiCesare]

P.S: I have ordered le petit ophrys for you, it costs 18,81€ and should be available in 10 days.

Finbar, check all the pages in case Tamerlin eared one or two of them away just to have a few colloquialisms en reserve.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Tamerlin
Union Sportive des Arlequins de Perpignan 26 - Celtic Warriors 19

Entertaining game with two different periods, the first dominated by the USAP and the other by the celts. The catalans scored with their forwards while the celtic warriors charged with the light cavalry. Maybe a too classical game from the welsh though nonetheless an efficient one. The problem is that the USAP has not yet solved their main weakness, discipline, and that it will certainly cost them a few important games again this year.

Did Perpignan have their new Foreign Legion playing? Dan Herbert, et al?

Edit. I just checked the match report. They only had that epitome of English courage under fire and claimer of fraudulent tries, Mr Luger, on the wing. I assume Dan Herbert hasn't yet recovered from his injury, and I don't know where the Kiwi Robinson - or Robertson, whichever one it is - is.

P.S: I have ordered le petit ophrys for you, it costs 18,81€ and should be available in 10 days.

[finbar]

Originally posted by LDiCesare
Finbar, check all the pages in case Tamerlin eared one or two of them away just to have a few colloquialisms en reserve.

Rest assured, LDiCesares, I'd already considered that possibility! That's why I'm not sending him any money until I have the book, I've checked that every page is where it should be, and that he hasn't obliterated any sections with Tippex or a black marker pen!

[Tamerlin]

Originally posted by finbar

... I've checked that every page is where it should be, and that he hasn't obliterated any sections with Tippex or a black marker pen!

I have tried to but I had to give up as I could not read anything with all those white strips on my screen.

[finbar]

On a marginally more serious note, in keeping with my policy of publicising Leicester's efforts this season, I have to report that they fell over the line against a rabble of Taffys:

Leicester 34 -d- Gwent Dragons 3

Presumably, pre-match, for motivation, Deano paraded Johnny Zhang with a garden hose in his hand and threatened them with the Chinese Water Torture if they lost.

[Havak]

Zhang was not seen at the ground.

Monsieur Dume allowed Tigers to look a semblance of their old selves by employing some decent refereeing that allowed us to dominate the breakdown without having Dragons lying all over the ball.

Apparently it will be a strong side out at the weekend fro England although Wilko and Jonno will not feature. Ollie Smith has been called up - his second try yesterday was amongst the best individual efforts I've seen this season - the boy could have a great future in an England shirt.

Now what have I missed...?

Not too much gone on in my absence I see?