The Clocks Tick Down to Paris - Rugby 2023

[Antepli Ejderha]

https://twitter.com/ProgressiveRug/status/1618267293448048640?t=uC9nkIOfduopxQrbD_TTQw&s=19

No mention of the bench telling Jim Hamilton that he'd been winded.

[Antepli Ejderha]

All four regions call on Phillips and the WRU board to go.

[Etienne]

You're getting Tom Harrison ex of the ECB to run the 6 Nations. Lucky you.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Ivan Nemer: Benetton Treviso suspend Italy prop after rotten banana incident - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/64432631

It was a racist incident.

[Antepli Ejderha]

The Scarlets beat the Bulls, they get a bonus point and deny the Bulls a losing bonus point. But how?

They were under the cosh for the whole of the second half.

[Antepli Ejderha]

https://twitter.com/MikeBubbins/status/1619499870854979585?t=eLFfhO7nIWPbqqwB6nqxIw&s=19

Phillips does indeed go, and relatively quickly.

Nigel Walker is placed in interim charge.

[Antepli Ejderha]

https://twitter.com/girlfrommarsza/status/1619592161988845568?t=bxbYoI7ZzcWbEWtyhy1bng&s=19

This is a good read.

[Antepli Ejderha]

https://twitter.com/NZRugby/status/1619941563404009472?t=kjFc082xCo7fcKNOWOIXvg&s=19

Kudos to NZ rugby for this tweet, they've got the tone right.

[Ray de Galles]

An early announcement of the Wales team for the weekend's game against Ireland. It's a strange mix of some brave choices of young players (Dyer, Hawkins, Jenkins on the bench) and some whose time does seem to have passed (AWJ and Baldwin, even if the latter is only there due to injuries).

[Antepli Ejderha]

https://twitter.com/LouisReesZammit/status/1620804107392155654?t=0vmytIwNYHTCfDem706ZLw&s=19

LRZ nails it

[Ray de Galles]

Just before we tip wholeheartedly in to 6N frenzy, another head coach goes within a year of the World Cup ;

Vern Cotter: Fiji head coach resigns seven months before World Cup

[Muukalainen]

You know you've made it big in world rugby when you get featured on Squidge Rugby. Alright, I'll settle for anonymous uncredited drone footage then. Squidge's latest video, So why do teams kick so much in modern rugby? includes some very brief excerpts from our home game against Karjala (from Lappeenranta) in 2020. So if you're desperate to find out what our pitch in Pateniemi looks like, go to any or all of time stamps 2:26, 2:34, 2:43 and 2:51 of the video. For the really desperate, here is the original video that the excerpts are taken from.

[Ray de Galles]

Halfpenny out for Saturday with a back spasm and Liam in. Feel sorry for Leigh but that's an upgrade in many ways.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Ireland: Keenan; Hansen, Ringrose, McCloskey, Lowe; Sexton, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Bealham; Beirne, Ryan; O'Mahony, Van der Flier, Doris.
Replacements: Herring, Healy, O'Toole, Henderson, Conan, Murray, Byrne, Aki.

Wales: Williams; Adams, North, Hawkins, Dyer; Biggar, T Williams; G Thomas, Owens (capt), Francis, Beard, Alun Wyn Jones, Morgan, Tipuric, Faletau.

Replacements: Baldwin, Carre, Lewis, Jenkins, Reffell, Webb, O Williams, Cuthbert.

[Antepli Ejderha]

You know you've made it big in world rugby when you get featured on Squidge Rugby. Alright, I'll settle for anonymous uncredited drone footage then. Squidge's latest video, So why do teams kick so much in modern rugby? includes some very brief excerpts from our home game against Karjala (from Lappeenranta) in 2020. So if you're desperate to find out what our pitch in Pateniemi looks like, go to any or all of time stamps 2:26, 2:34, 2:43 and 2:51 of the video. For the really desperate, here is the original video that the excerpts are taken from.

Squidge is really good, I know Ray has raved about him for a while.

[Ray de Galles]

Shirt sandwich: why England’s red-splattered horror shreds rugby tradition

Steve Borthwick’s men will run out on Saturday in one of the worst rugby shirts of all time. It doesn’t have to be this way

Martin Pengelly

[Antepli Ejderha]

All the U20 Six Nations matches are on the BBC iirc.

Italy France kicked off at 6.30, the other two start at 7.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Italy 27 France 28, Italy should hand won as they missed 4 of their 5 conversions.

[ad hoc]

I see the "rugby Europe" competition has been expanded from the previous 6 lesser nations to an 8 team event in two groups of 4. (I presume this is partly to do with Russia being kicked out). The added countries are Belgium, Netherlands and Poland

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Am I under the right impression that Wales and Ireland have a fairly bitter rivalry when it comes to the Rugby, in a way they probably wouldn't at football? If so, is there a particular reason for that?

[Flynnie]

Am I under the right impression that Wales and Ireland have a fairly bitter rivalry when it comes to the Rugby, in a way they probably wouldn't at football? If so, is there a particular reason for that?

They’ve been the two best Celtic nations for the last 20 years, arguably the two best nations in the tournament period, and have played a lot of big games.

I also think some of the Welsh fans consider the Irish to be a bit Johnny-come-latelys to rugby (which is unquestionably true) and rather smug without being particularly knowledgable (which may not be true, depending on who you ask).

[Antepli Ejderha]

Am I under the right impression that Wales and Ireland have a fairly bitter rivalry when it comes to the Rugby, in a way they probably wouldn't at football? If so, is there a particular reason for that?

A lot is to do with Gatland and how he was treated by the IRFU.

[ad hoc]

I see the "rugby Europe" competition has been expanded from the previous 6 lesser nations to an 8 team event in two groups of 4. (I presume this is partly to do with Russia being kicked out). The added countries are Belgium, Netherlands and Poland

The first game of this new era finished Romania 67 Poland 27, which doesn't sound terribly competitive

[Flynnie]

Yeeeeeeech, if you support Wales anyway

[Antepli Ejderha]

At least we drew the second half. That's about the only positive.