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I am sitting here watching the RWC semi final between France and England. The score is 6-5 to France.

I have to say that the 40 minutes I have just watched is the worst standard of rugby yet seen in this competition. Let's hope they find some skill and imagination in the dressing room at half time.

Vive la France

It's to do with reaching the latter stages. Sometimes the occasion overwhelms the entertainment.

How would a celt know!

Woo Hoooo

Well Derek. Where are you going to get a SprinkBok scarf before next Sunday? Or maybe even a Puma one?

Happy Days.

Shame about Saints, mind, they got stuffed!

Did I tell you my mother is Argentinien and my father is Nelson Mandella so I still have 2 teams in the competition


I'm glad swearing is banned on this site

If the final is against the Argentines, it’ll be the hand-of-god island squabble all over again. Let’s hope it’s the South Africans.

It is. And the springboks looked scary.

The final will be very tight. My heart tells me the Grumpy Old Men, but my head tells me the Boks. That winger that South Africa have is something else, but we've killed off better players than him.
I'm not proud of our style, dour, turgid, kicking, spoiling, but hey, we could be on the verge of a consecutive World Cup!

Alan

Conky wrote:...on the verge of a consecutive World Cup!

Would that be the same as "...on the verge of consecutive World Cups!"



I would say that anyone who whinges about the way any team win a World Cup are simply bad losers having a whinge. If there are any Australians reading this please take note and shut up.

That said, I would prefer to see a team winning through skill and flair if at all possible. This is unlikely to happen now that France are out of the competition so the best I can hope for is watching that man in green score 3 or 4 trys from interceptions in his own 22

Derek

Derek T. wrote:

Conky wrote:...on the verge of a consecutive World Cup!

Would that be the same as "...on the verge of consecutive World Cups!"
Derek

Bloody Hell Derek, have you been taking Julian Pills!

My version just required some skills of deduction, and therefore threw in some free entertainment.
For something to be consecutive, it has to have something before or after it. As our soothsaying skills are on the wane, it is clear they must have won the last one. So when you know all of that, England are on the verge of a consecutive World Cup.

QED

Alan

Conky wrote:have you been taking Julian Pills!

Don’t take too many of those — it doesn’t turn out too good, and I should know.

My distinctly limited skills in this area lead me to understand that the word consecutive is used to describe the relationship between multiple events. I don't think you can have a singular consecutive event, which is what (in the absence of knowledge of a similar previous event) your intial statement implied.

Ddaw1

Derek T. wrote:Ddaw1

LOL.

I've seen on the news all day that the hard working middle class (who are them buggers?) are drinking dangerous amounts of alcohol on a consistant but civilised basis.
So in my daily attempt to aspire to a higher social echelon, I drank a bottle of Hardys Crest (Yes Killerb, I can hear your tutting from here), and have now moved on to my last large glass of Martinez 85, with accompanying Partagas!

So maybe that explains why I am chuckling out loud at this latest passage of Posts!
(That is the Hard Working Middle Class way of correctly explaining LOL!)

Alan

I did read something about this phenomenon which, apparently, is most prevelant in the sleepy suburbs of Surrey.

The article I read today claimed that a consumption of 22 units of alcohol per week is classed as dangerous. Just out of interest, does anyone know which term would be used to describe an alcohol intake that was "dangerous x 7" ?

Derek

Ddaw1 ???

I couldn't possibly comment.

Perhaps it would be good if someone could quantify 22 units in beer, wine and port. Assumptions to be used for each class should be 4%, 14% and 20% respectively.

Derek

A unit is 10 ml of alcohol. A 1 litre bottle of 1% wine would be one unit. A 1 litre bottle of 10% wine would be ten units. A 1 litre bottle of 20% Port would be twenty units. A 750 ml bottle of 20% Port would be 15 units.

So a botlle and a half of Port per week.

Helpful?

So, according to The Times, if you live in Surrey and drink more than 1.5 bottles of port per week your alcohol intake is dangerously high.

I am so glad I don't live in Surrey otherwise I'd be in real trouble

Derek

So a bottle of wine most nights, a couple of bottles of Port a week, a couple of sessions a week (7/8 pints a session), plus assorted odd drinks when I'm bored. Like last night I had an Ouzo and Lemonade! No idea why.

Where is it I book in to this Rehab place?????

I'm not sure The Priory is but do you think we could arrange discount for a group booking

Derek

This has useful links on the subject.

I find myself with a spare ticket for a couple of the RWC matches at the Olympic Stadium on Wed 23 September (France v Romania, 20.00) and Wed 7 Oct (South Africa vs USA, 16.45). Before I start offering these around to people at work, does anyone want to volunteer to come and drink beer (or cider) with me whilst watching rugby on either of those days. Ticket costs are £35 and £20 respectively.

If there is not a more worthy acceptance, I would love to join on one of the dates — you choose which.

Given that I have a ticket for the final I am standing back and letting others jump in.

However, if the game on the 23rd does not get snapped up I could step into the breach.

I watched both quarter finals today. Wales put on a very brave and spirited performance but ultimately suffered from the absence of many of their first choice players. The All Blacks were simply awesome. Watching prop forwards bursting through the French line with ball in hand and skillfully offloading to other burly forwards was quite something to watch. The French were poor, but I have seen nothing from any other team that makes me think the All Blacks can be stopped from winning this. Australia might be the best chance but they have not yet been properly tested.

Ireland got well and truly humped by the Argies.

Who would have thought that Scotland would be the only northern hemisphere country left in the competition? (even if only for the next 80 minutes )

Forty minutes from the semi-finals and leading by a point - Yikes!

It's like 1978 all over again

...and that, gentlemen, is what glorious defeat looks like. Again.

But wasn't it glorious?

England lost with far less glory.

LGTrotter wrote:But wasn't it glorious?

It was - apart from the moaning at the end which is to be violently discouraged. Suck it up. This is not soccer.

What's the difference between the England rugby team and a tea bag?

A tea bag stays in the cup for longer.

Must admit to being fed up with the expression "glorious failure'. On the way to the Wales game on Saturday I was telling myself please not it be another such occasion as it's happened way too many times to be a coincidence. Some teams are simply better at closing down games and whilst I really felt for Scotland, Australia have done it so many times to us it feels like groundhog day.

However, Derek is right, there's little point in moaning about the ref ( as some of my compatriots did about Wayne Barnes on Saturday), both Wales and Scotland should have showed more composure (and why Scotland went long on that lineout I'll never know).

All Blacks now seem to be hitting their stride and it wouldn't surprise me if they had a repeat game with the Pumas in the final. I for one will continue to watch (unlike the chap in work who sold both his sets of qtr final and his final tickets back the RFU as soon as England failed to qualify).

I bought finals tickets on 11th September with no real expectation of seeing England. A little hope perhaps....

I suspect we will see NZ v. Australia in the final but I think it would be a much more exciting event if the final involved Argentina.


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I am hoping for NZ v Oz - a real grudge match with lots of blood and thunder, followed by the Blacks winning by a bad decision to award a penalty in the final minute

What, no love for RSA? I'd have thought that RSA vs AUS would be the most entertaining...

Glenn E. wrote:What, no love for RSA?

No. Still much to do to earn love from me.

If anyone is in central London today with a little time spare the Trafalgar Square fanzone opens 10-4 with the Webb Ellis cup on display amongst other activities. I'm working there today.


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benread wrote:If anyone is in central London today with a little time spare the Trafalgar Square fanzone opens 10-4 with the Webb Ellis cup on display amongst other activities. I'm working there today.

I'm not in London today otherwise I would have popped along, Ben. I know Daniel is but I don't think he is interested in the fine art of egg-chasing so you are unlikely to see him :rolleyes:

Perhaps he can be encouraged to bring fortification to those in need! Although it seems the official line is that whilst cuddles and kisses are permitted by members of the pack, alcohol is officially frowned on whilst working! ( for the record, 2 cuddles, 1 kiss and 1 rather random fondling of my beard have all been received without encouragement on my part!)


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benread wrote:for the record, 2 cuddles, 1 kiss and 1 rather random fondling of my beard have all been received without encouragement on my part!

Good to hear that Julian has been to visit

My thoughts for the weekend's matches (and not a word about them on the BBC Breakfast sport this morning although plenty on the NFL!):

-Can't see the Boks getting within 10 of the ABs

-Pumas to down the Wallabies

That would create an interesting scenario, Ian.

Will 80,000 Brits, most of them English, bring themselves to cheer on the underdog Argies?

I will be!

DRT wrote:Will 80,000 Brits, most of them English, bring themselves to cheer on the underdog Argies?

I found myself supporting Argentina against New Zealand at one stage during their match a month ago. Time for some déjà vu. Now if only we could have persuaded Marty to bring several just-released '83s back with him, then we could have had an "on release" vs "matured" horizontal tasting...