First up sorry for the silence but I’ve been away on a training course and apart from catching up on all the rugby of the past ten days in the limited time available to me, there was precious little for sitting down and writing. As a result it’s a bit of a whip round thisContinue reading “The Lions tour continues its roller coaster ride – and despite the setbacks the show must go on!”
Category Archives: General Commentary
The Lions Roar – Gatland picks his squad for the tour to South Africa
After much speculation, second guessing and will it won’t it musings, we are now so much closer to an event that despite all the pandemic controversy we are all eagerly awaiting. Lions Coach Warren Gatland has finally lifted the veil on his selections, and much to our surprise it’s a 37 man squad that, barContinue reading “The Lions Roar – Gatland picks his squad for the tour to South Africa”
Six Nations 2021 Report Card – Part 2
With the dust now settled on what for us has been one of the most riveting Six Nations in years, it’s time to hand out the marks. Despite the lack of crowds, the quality of rugby for the most part did not suffer and we were treated to a series of vintage games that areContinue reading “Six Nations 2021 Report Card – Part 2”
The Six Nations that keeps on giving has one final hurrah this Friday night in what should be a thriller – even if you’ll need to bring your calculator!
Sure in a perfect world and all the controversy aside we should now be dissecting the ramifications of what has been one of the most enthralling Six Nations Championships we can remember in a long time. However, before we do that there is still the unfinished business of France and Scotland’s postponed Round 3 matchContinue reading “The Six Nations that keeps on giving has one final hurrah this Friday night in what should be a thriller – even if you’ll need to bring your calculator!”
It’s Grand Slam time for Wales, with France needing to stop them and get a bonus point if they are going to keep us in suspense till next Friday
We should, had COVID-19 not got in the way, be toasting this year’s Six Nations Champion by the time referee Luke Pearce blows for time on Saturday in Paris. If Wales complete their Grand Slam journey and beat France, then we will indeed be toasting all things in Red. However, should they come unstuck inContinue reading “It’s Grand Slam time for Wales, with France needing to stop them and get a bonus point if they are going to keep us in suspense till next Friday”
The final round of this weekend’s Six Nations action see France’s superstars take on an Irish side suffering from an identity crisis
Tournament favorites France make their second road trip in this Six Nations before a welcome return to the Stade de France. While some have said that France don’t travel well, we’d argue that is not borne out in results. If you look at their performances in 2020, of four matches away they won two andContinue reading “The final round of this weekend’s Six Nations action see France’s superstars take on an Irish side suffering from an identity crisis”
Six Nations Round 2 looks set to be a cracker – with England having everything to prove and needing a big win sadly at Italy’s continuing expense, while Wales will want to build on their defeat of Ireland but Scotland may have something to say about it!
Despite the lack of crowds that give the Six Nations its essential festival atmosphere, the rugby on display lacked for nothing in intensity and excitement. Italy and France got us started and while the result was never in doubt, France laid down a marker in full technicolor that they are the team to beat thisContinue reading “Six Nations Round 2 looks set to be a cracker – with England having everything to prove and needing a big win sadly at Italy’s continuing expense, while Wales will want to build on their defeat of Ireland but Scotland may have something to say about it!”
As we look towards a Six Nations that may or may not happen – we reflect on last year’s much maligned Autumn Nations Cup and what it told us about the state of Northern Hemisphere rugby
Before we bash it too much – let’s all be brutally honest. While it may have struggled to fire our imaginations for the most part, in a year where we were starved of Test Rugby, the cobbled together Autumn Nations Cup did give us some worthwhile reasons to gather around our televisions, provide some heatedContinue reading “As we look towards a Six Nations that may or may not happen – we reflect on last year’s much maligned Autumn Nations Cup and what it told us about the state of Northern Hemisphere rugby”
So what did the recently concluded Rugby Championship (aka Tri Nations this year) tell us about its competitors after one of the strangest years in terms of Test Rugby?
Let’s be honest in general 2020 is a year that most of us can’t wait to assign to the scrap heap of history. Our beloved sport was put on hold for several months and when it did return it was forced to play out in empty stadiums in the Northern Hemisphere. On that note ourContinue reading “So what did the recently concluded Rugby Championship (aka Tri Nations this year) tell us about its competitors after one of the strangest years in terms of Test Rugby?”
Is it a final in name only or could the last Test of the year have a surprising twist in its tail?
It would appear on paper that the supposed showpiece event of the Autumn Nations Cup is for all intents and purposes a bit of a non event. England roll out all their big guns while France are left to assemble a rag tag team of scraps from what the domestic clubs feel they can liveContinue reading “Is it a final in name only or could the last Test of the year have a surprising twist in its tail?”
The Lineout 