Well the Rugby World Cup is over for another 4 years. A disappointing end for England but everybody seems to think its great for the country of South Africa that they have won it. We will see if there are any political alterations in that Country or not.
Similarly the RFU are convinced they re better prepared to benefit from the expected upturn in interest in the game here in England. I have always maintained that mini and junior rugby do not produce the players of tomorrow, they produce the spectators of tomorrow. As they play their rugby on a Sunday, Saturday is free for them to watch their hero's be it at the Stoop, The Allienz, The JJ Bell stadium or somewhere in the Midlands. when they are older and senior rugby beckons, will they sacrifice their Saturday jolly for the opportunity to be beefed by older bigger people? Time will tell.
The final itself was not the sort of spectacle to be attracting spectators through he turnstiles. A psychological blow for England when Sinkler was forced off so early was compounded by a 'park the bus' approach from South Africa which was hugely effective but a bit dull. So it is now up to the other rugby nations to work out how to bypass the bus and create some chances to break through. Did they plan to lose to New Zealand in their first game so giving themselves an easier route tot the final? I suspect that we will never know.
So we now move into the 6 Nations championship build-up with trains and hotels booked, we just need news of tickets!!
Also in the news today was a massive fine handed out to Saracens for allegedly breaking the salary cap in the English Premiership. If upheld, they could struggle to avoid relegation to the Championship which would make for some very interesting fixtures next season.
Away at Cornish Pirates and Ealing Trailfinders would be a really eye opener.
Eddie Jones is doing a talk and book signing here on the Wirral in the middle of November, so i am going along to that and will be interested to see what he has to say about all things rugby. I on the other hand am just off to read the latest on VAR and how football has made so difficult what rugby, cricket and tennis seem to find routine. It must be a culture thing!
Showing posts with label VAR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VAR. Show all posts
Tuesday, 5 November 2019
Tuesday, 4 June 2019
That rings a bell
New month, new post, and it's not as if much happened during May? Further developments after my little challenge in Barbados mean that I have detached the gel sack from the back of my eye socket. In practical terms that means I will have 'floaters' which my brain will eventually allow me to adjust to. The good news though is that I will not get a detached retina in that eye as the potential pressure has been relieved by the tear.
SWMBO and I paid a visit to Hillside Golf Club when they hosted the British Masters golf tournament. There were not too many top players in the field so we decided to go to the pro-am day. It was chucking down so we only stayed a couple of hours, but it was long enough to see a very jaded Robbie Fowler stuff a few into the undergrowth. Liverpool had beaten Barcelona the night before, so drink had definitely been taken. In contrast Kenny Dalgleish sunk a birdie putt on the 4th as it Alan Shearer. Stuart Broad sliced one into the grandstand at the 18th and that signalled to us it was time to go.
The following weekend, 'Off the record' Dick and his wife Gill came up for a couple of days to do the Oxton Secret Gardens festival with us. This is the traditional time of year when home owners throw open their gardens for people like us to nose around. It was a baking day and they must have made a goodly sum for the nominated charities. I do hope Dick and Gill enjoyed the trip. It is a fair old poke from their new home in Middle Wallop, or is it Nether Wallop? We were very pleased to see them.
Then last week we went to see Bill Bailey in concert at the newly named M & S Bank Arena in Liverpool. I suspect this arena will always be known as the Echo Arena, in the same way the one day cricket competition is still known as the Nat West trophy amongst the diehards, and the Santander bicycle system in London will always be referred to as 'Boris Bikes'. Whether that will change when he becomes Prime Minister is anybodies guess.
So back to Bill. There is so much talent bestowed on one man, it is criminal. His impersonation of Teresa May was brilliant, and his musical talent is so wide and diverse that every school child should be made to watch a video of him. We had a great time. This great time was then enhanced with a few hours in the flesh pots of Liverpool with number 2 daughter so that we got back home after 1am a little worst for wear.
Finally we had that greatly boring event which was the European Cup final. Nobody will remember it in Liverpool than anything other than a hugely one sided massacre of a poor team for London. Truth be told, UEFA go the final they deserved after making the teams wait three weeks to play it, it was like a pre-season friendly. Was it a penalty? In Europe possibly, in England, never, but the VAR boys were not going to throw their referee mate under the bus in the first minute. still it's water under the bridge, and we can now look forward to the start of the cricket season. Oh, hang on, that started six weeks ago!! I am sure footie used to be September to April and Cricket was May to August, when did the calendar change?
SWMBO and I paid a visit to Hillside Golf Club when they hosted the British Masters golf tournament. There were not too many top players in the field so we decided to go to the pro-am day. It was chucking down so we only stayed a couple of hours, but it was long enough to see a very jaded Robbie Fowler stuff a few into the undergrowth. Liverpool had beaten Barcelona the night before, so drink had definitely been taken. In contrast Kenny Dalgleish sunk a birdie putt on the 4th as it Alan Shearer. Stuart Broad sliced one into the grandstand at the 18th and that signalled to us it was time to go.
The following weekend, 'Off the record' Dick and his wife Gill came up for a couple of days to do the Oxton Secret Gardens festival with us. This is the traditional time of year when home owners throw open their gardens for people like us to nose around. It was a baking day and they must have made a goodly sum for the nominated charities. I do hope Dick and Gill enjoyed the trip. It is a fair old poke from their new home in Middle Wallop, or is it Nether Wallop? We were very pleased to see them.
Then last week we went to see Bill Bailey in concert at the newly named M & S Bank Arena in Liverpool. I suspect this arena will always be known as the Echo Arena, in the same way the one day cricket competition is still known as the Nat West trophy amongst the diehards, and the Santander bicycle system in London will always be referred to as 'Boris Bikes'. Whether that will change when he becomes Prime Minister is anybodies guess.
So back to Bill. There is so much talent bestowed on one man, it is criminal. His impersonation of Teresa May was brilliant, and his musical talent is so wide and diverse that every school child should be made to watch a video of him. We had a great time. This great time was then enhanced with a few hours in the flesh pots of Liverpool with number 2 daughter so that we got back home after 1am a little worst for wear.
Finally we had that greatly boring event which was the European Cup final. Nobody will remember it in Liverpool than anything other than a hugely one sided massacre of a poor team for London. Truth be told, UEFA go the final they deserved after making the teams wait three weeks to play it, it was like a pre-season friendly. Was it a penalty? In Europe possibly, in England, never, but the VAR boys were not going to throw their referee mate under the bus in the first minute. still it's water under the bridge, and we can now look forward to the start of the cricket season. Oh, hang on, that started six weeks ago!! I am sure footie used to be September to April and Cricket was May to August, when did the calendar change?
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