Rugby - Truck and Trailer!

[Havak]

Good old Eddie. Accusing NZ of being illegal at the breakdown and insisting Irishman Alain Rolland polices it.

What with that and Robinson nursing a back injury Saturday is looking more interesting now.

I seem to have developed a form of Pavlovian response. Every time I see you mention "World Champions", I feel the urge to mention "fifth ranked team in the world".

Does telling an untruth count as Pavlovian then?

My statement is accurate – yours is two places out. And the only two teams above us are the ones who got very lucky last month. Lucky that Clive has such a huge ego and that Dally couldn’t direct traffic. And that the other 30 players who went thought it was a sightseeing tour.

The Wallabies may lose that position come November – and the ABs will go the traditional NZ route and avoid playing us in England for twenty years now.

Serve the ABs right if he did go. He's playing better than I've ever seen him, and I've never been a great fan.

He will linger in the hope that my prediction of Henry’s demise beats your optimism for the man. When the next coach ignores him he may take the hint.

Call he harsh, but he was an Essex boilermaker.

Call you harsh for criticising the home counties? Not me.

Marty H isn't in his class, IMHO.

McCaw is like Jack (and possibly Robinson this season) – a class apart from the normal. Hollah is okay – but against pug nose and dreadlocks he pales in comparison.

By rights, Mortlock should be skipper.

Makes more sense – Sharpe is hardly safe in his position and seldom manages 80?

Seven point start for Aussies? That tempting. How much cash have I got?

Bok’s-PI’s is tough but I suspect 7 to the Islanders is fair. The Boks will bring more structure to the party than the ABs did last week, and I fancy their back row will disrupt PI set piece possession pretty well. The backs are boys against giants though…?

Tigers paid off Ramiro Pez yesterday – two years early. He second earned only to Jonno alledgedly. Not Deano’s best legacy! If you thought Luger was a rabbit in the headlights you should have seen Pez when a flanker ran at him!

We also have a Samoan Fly half here under evaluation – guy called Roger Warren. Anyone know anything about this resident of south-south Leicester?

[Andydog]

Originally posted by finbar
6.5 or 7.5 start for the Wallabies?

Hmm.. it's looking very close.. Aussie are strong in defence.. 6.5 start seems fair? 30 gold on the ABs please!

And don't forget we have the Boks -v- the PIs on Saturday as well. Any thoughts on a favourite there? And a margin?

7 seems a bit light to me, how about a 9.5pt start for the PI's? I'll put 30 gold on the Boks!

[MrWhereItsAt]

Originally posted by Andydog


Hmm.. it's looking very close.. Aussie are strong in defence.. 6.5 start seems fair? 30 gold on the ABs please!

Strong on the defence? Careful, we might just wheel out some more hard-hitting PIs!

[finbar]

Before I forget, which I didn't, I just didn't remember:

OUR CIV GOLD BANK ACCOUNT:

Andydog 246.5
Bearcat 80.5
Caligastia 90.5
finbar 34.5
Frozzy 124
Havak 88.05
Journeyman 122.5
LDiCesares 152.3
Mickeyj 143.5
NeoStar 114
ravagon 110.25
redbull 80
Tamerlin 59.3

Now to go back and field Havak's obviously jaundiced posts and Andydog's obviously astute posts!

Oh, I've just been watching the British Open at Troon. I'm very fond of golf. I wish I had more talent at the game. Anyway, I particularly enjoy watching the Majors to see the fat, sulking Scot implode. He was 2 under coming to the 18th. Of course, he has just split with his wife. She booted the fat, sulking poonce out, more like. Be that as it may, he was teeing up on the 18th. The commentator observed that Monty had celebrated his wedding reception beside the 18th roughly 14 years earlier, and assumed he would have put such a memory out of his mind. Thankfully not. The fat, sulking haggis squirted it right into long grass, hacked it out short of the green, knocked it on to about 15 feet ... and, unfortunately, holed the putt for par. Still, there's always tomorrow for the fat, sulking dirigible to go down in flames!

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
Good old Eddie. Accusing NZ of being illegal at the breakdown and insisting Irishman Alain Rolland polices it.

The Irish grenouille is reffing? Wonderful. I love his accent.

Does telling an untruth count as Pavlovian then?

I don't know, I was telling the truth!

My statement is accurate – yours is two places out.

Nuh. France, Ireland, the All Blacks and the Wallabies have beaten you. Oh, and the Boks beat the Irish, so, logically, that slips the Boks in front of you, too. And if the PIs beat the Boks, that, logically, slips the PIs in front of as well.

Mmmm. So I retract my earlier denial that I was wrong. I was wrong. You're sixth. Seventh, if the PIs beat the Boks.

Call you harsh for criticising the home counties? Not me.

Is Hampshire a home county? I won't hear a word against anywhere that produced John Arlott and his sublime accent.

Makes more sense – Sharpe is hardly safe in his position and seldom manages 80?

As I say, an accident of timing. Anyway, there's plenty of experience around him.

Seven point start for Aussies? That tempting. How much cash have I got?

Let me scroll down and have a look ... you have 88.05. I'm not sure what units Civ Gold breaks down into, but you have 5 of them.

Andydog has reckoned 6.5 start for the Wallabies. I think that's fair. I'm tempted to have something on them.

Bok’s-PI’s is tough but I suspect 7 to the Islanders is fair. The Boks will bring more structure to the party than the ABs did last week, and I fancy their back row will disrupt PI set piece possession pretty well. The backs are boys against giants though…?

The London Kiwi reckons 9.5 start for the PIs. I reckon that's fair too. I honestly have no idea how the game will pan out.

Tigers paid off Ramiro Pez yesterday – two years early. He second earned only to Jonno alledgedly. Not Deano’s best legacy! If you thought Luger was a rabbit in the headlights you should have seen Pez when a flanker ran at him!

Paid out his contract or a settlement?

We also have a Samoan Fly half here under evaluation – guy called Roger Warren. Anyone know anything about this resident of south-south Leicester?

Don't know him. I'll do some checking. Relative to your prior para, though, about rabbits in headlights - perhaps Warren is an unfortunate name?

[finbar]

Originally posted by Andydog


Hmm.. it's looking very close.. Aussie are strong in defence.. 6.5 start seems fair? 30 gold on the ABs please!



7 seems a bit light to me, how about a 9.5pt start for the PI's? I'll put 30 gold on the Boks!

As I observed to Havak, I reckon those margins are fair. If he agrees on the PI-Boks margin, I shall record your bets. You Civ Gold billionaire, you!

[Caligastia]

With those margins...

30 on the ABs and 30 on the PIs.

[finbar]

Gotcha.

[Havak]

Crikey has Monty hit on your partner or something?

The Irish grenouille is reffing? Wonderful. I love his accent.

He is quite a poor ref sadly. Probably only about 200% better than anything you have down there.

Hmm the hook was showing right through that scratty bit of bait?

I don't know, I was telling the truth!

You were using a form of logic I have previously been criticised for.

Adapting it to my own use – Aus are 2nd in the rankings, we beat them in the RWC final therefore we are 2nd in the rankings…? Chronology is not my strong point.

Lets just leave it at we are World Champions. Cue Pavlov...

Is Hampshire a home county? I won't hear a word against anywhere that produced John Arlott and his sublime accent.

I regret to confirm it is indeed a ‘Home County’.

Anyway, there's plenty of experience around him.

Behind him. Not in front.

Let me scroll down and have a look ... you have 88.05. I'm not sure what units Civ Gold breaks down into, but you have 5 of them.

I must have been swindled!

Paid out his contract or a settlement?

Settlement reportedly. But Tigers are ultra secretive about such things.

And yes Warren is an unfortunate name in that context!

The margins are fine by me. 10 on the Wallabies (yes I know…). 5 on the Islanders (no I do not mean the ABs!) to add some interest.

[Caligastia]

I think I just saw moths fly out of Havak's wallet.

[finbar]

Originally posted by Havak
Crikey has Monty hit on your partner or something?

No, the fat, sulking tosser earns my wrath merely for being what he is - a fat, sulking tosser forever prepared to blame everyone else when something goes wrong, unable to contemplate the possibility that he, even sometimes, might be at fault. He was at it again last night. Lining up a putt, a mosquito farted on the island of Skye. He pulled away from the putt, glared in the direction of Skye, returned to the putt, and missed it. And blamed the mosquito. Someone like Darren Clarke, OTOH, would light another smoke, order a pint, and get on with life. But then he's a Paddy. It's hard to credit that Sam Torrance and the fat, sulking tosser fall under the same flag.

He is quite a poor ref sadly. Probably only about 200% better than anything you have down there.

Hmm the hook was showing right through that scratty bit of bait?

You're not wrong. If you'd simply typed: "You'll like him as a ref", it would have made the same point in a marginally more subtle way.

You were using a form of logic I have previously been criticised for.

Of course. It was working to your advantage. Now it's working to mine, so it's fair enough.

Adapting it to my own use – Aus are 2nd in the rankings, we beat them in the RWC final therefore we are 2nd in the rankings…? Chronology is not my strong point.

No, obviously not.

Lets just leave it at we are World Champions. Cue Pavlov...

Speaking of the dead Russian, as we are, Dermott demonstrated the theory the weekend before last. I was bringing him back from the park in the car. I saw a cat loitering outside next door. Thinking he hadn't seen the cat, I waited till the cat disappeared inside next door's property. I opened the car door. Dermott bolted straight into next door after the cat. The cat fled into the next property with Dermott at a million miles an hour after it. Out of that property, down and across the street - down quite a steep hill - along the footpath, before the cat vaulted a 3' stone wall and up into a garden. Followed by Dermott. I'm bellowing after him, he's deaf to my bellowing.

Then silence for about 90 seconds and no sign of Dermott or cat. Then Dermott reappears out of the garden and up the middle of the road. Carrying his front left paw. Staggering back up the hill on three legs, up the middle of the road, he looked like an old Confederate soldier limping home from Gettysburg.

End result: a trip to the vet and $94 later, he'd damaged his wrist (the first joint up a dog's leg) and was on anti-inflammatories for 5 days. It's still not right. I think I'll have to take him back for an x-ray.

The margins are fine by me. 10 on the Wallabies (yes I know…). 5 on the Islanders (no I do not mean the ABs!) to add some interest.

Gotcha. I'm inclined to go the same way.

Now. On a completely unrelated matter. Have you ever contemplated joining the church? I read in this morning's paper that researchers have pieced together the diet of the average medieval monk:

Lunch - eggs fried in lard, porridge, pork chops, bacon, mutton, 225 grams of bread and 4 pints of beer.

Dinner - mutton stew, venison, fish stew, bread and dripping, 4 pints of beer and a flagon of wine.

It wasn't noted, but I'm sure the researchers also discovered, used as a bookmark in a medieval monk's Bible, a season ticket to Welford Road.

[Caligastia]

[finbar]

Place your bets!

Okay, we have bets placed as follows:

Wallabies -v- All Blacks

With 6.5 start for the Wallabies, meaning the All Blacks have to win by 7 or more, or the Wallabies have to finish within 6, or draw or win the match.

Andydog - 30 All Blacks
Caligastia - 30 All Blacks

finbar - 10 Wallabies
Havak - 10 Wallabies

POOL: 80 Civ Gold

Springboks -v- Pacific Islands

With 9.5 start for the Pacific Islands, meaning the Boks have to win by 10 or more, or the Pacific Islands have to finish within 9, or draw or win the match.

Andydog - 30 Springboks

Caligastia - 30 Pacific Islands
finbar - 10 Pacific Islands
Havak - 5 Pacific Islands

POOL: 75 Civ Gold

[finbar]

Hey Havak! So you voted down the President in South Leicester?

[Havak]

Late post – been working hard.

Twas not me betraying Emporer Tony Finbar. My Constituency is a Tory stronghold. If they ever lose Melton and Rutland they are finished as a party.

What made me laugh about both by elections is the Tories brought in a highly reputed campaign manager and still finished a poor third.

And I’ll have Caligastia know I am a really generous guy. I buy a round each and every month of Sundays.

It's hard to credit that Sam Torrance and the fat, sulking tosser fall under the same flag.

You certainly feel strongly about then guy. I can watch golf and enjoy it but I find listening to Monty and most other golfers/pundits has the same effect on me Goochy used to – very good for insomnia.

Of course. It was working to your advantage. Now it's working to mine, so it's fair enough.

Yes I see your point I think.

But Tigers beat Wasps twice – that must make us league and European Champions? I like this system!

Staggering back up the hill on three legs, up the middle of the road, he looked like an old Confederate soldier limping home from Gettysburg.

Hope the old boy feels better soon.

You realise he got the better of you – fooled you into thinking he had not seen the cat? Score one to Dermott!

It wasn't noted, but I'm sure the researchers also discovered, used as a bookmark in a medieval monk's Bible, a season ticket to Welford Road.

For the first time in a long time I am feeling religious again.