Rugby

[ribrash]

It’s coming up to six nations and it’s at this time you realise the impact CoVid is having on a couple of hardworking trades people across France and Britain and Ireland... the arse has fell right out of ticket touting and pick-pocketing....

[TheGreenGoblin]

Scotland are leading against England. Have I caused quantum decoherence of the wave function by even mentioning that fact?

[Pontius Navigator]

But we have a faster jab rate

[TheGreenGoblin]

A famous Scottish victory. There'll be much secret celebration (Covid being such a buzz kill) north of the border. England defended mightily but Scotland really screwed up the English game plan and dominated possession.

[FD2]

Great celebration in the other half of the FD household!

[FD2]

I'm really pleased too, but the usual sour grapes in the papers - it was all down to England's appalling mistakes and nothing to do with Scotland's standard of play. 'Lack of match practice' in England etc etc. I expect the Scots were playing every weekend as usual.

[TheGreenGoblin]

An outstanding Scottish performance.

Good to see the Afrikaans Scotsman, van der Merwe's crucial role in the victory too!

Good George boy...

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duhan_van_der_Merwe

[FD2]

Was that van der MacMerwe?

[TheGreenGoblin]

Was that van der MacMerwe?

[FD2]

There was an RAF pilot on exchange in 845 (Junglie) Squadron in Hermes. I think he had S.A. connections as he had a fund of van der Merwe jokes and being a natural raconteur often had us all in stitches with those and other jokes.

There was a 'gathering' of ships in Singapore in 1966 and a comprehensive sports programme took place on the playing fields at HMS Terror, the shore establishment. Victorious was in, along with frigates and destroyers from the R.N., R.A.N. and R.N.Z.N. In the rugby games the RN and RAN managed to field one or two teams but the NZ frigate fielded three. The final was between their first and second teams and several of their players were playing in bare feet, but still had earlier managed to run rings around any opposition.

I must try and watch the Calcutta Cup game on YouTube and hope that Mrs FD2 doesn't get carried away!

[TheGreenGoblin]

As you know FD2, the van der Merwe's are always the butt of the joke. There used to be an Irish comedian called Paddy in Cape Town who delighted in asking if there were any van der Merwe's in the audience, there invariably was one, and Paddy would then promise to tell the jokes slowly for him! You know you are in trouble when even the Irish are taking the piss with that old joke!

As for playing in bare feet, all the top, Afrikaans speaking, rugby schools in the northern suburbs and towns in the Cape tend to train their kids bare footed on thorn filled fields. We soft footed English speaking southern suburbs types knew we were in for a torrid time when we played them!

[TheGreenGoblin]

Sorry to see Scotland finally succumb to the Welsh by one measly point (while playing with 14 men). The 6 Nations is wide open, I think, and very intriguing this year, with only the Italians, showing little promise, sadly.

Ireland and France? Difficult to call but I suspect the French will win out as some of the best of the Irish squad are hors de combat and the French are playing very well at the moment.

[Woody]

TGG , Ian16th is stealing our best player

https://www.news24.com/sport/rugby/west ... m-20210214

[TheGreenGoblin]

TGG , Ian16th is stealing our best player

https://www.news24.com/sport/rugby/west ... m-20210214

Kolisi, leaving for the Sharks, for shame! A Xhosa in the house of the Zulus!

[TheGreenGoblin]

France won, but so close! Good game!

[ian16th]

TGG , Ian16th is stealing our best player

https://www.news24.com/sport/rugby/west ... m-20210214

I have next to no interest in local rugby! Though I was at the 1995 World Cup Final

It got too confusing with the name changes and with 'Super Rugby'. It all went wrong when the ANC got involved and stopped the old province names being used.
Totally unnecessary. If the Irish Rugby Union can ignore the partition in 1921, the Cricket County Championship ignores the county changes, the SA Provinces can ignore the ANC.

A question for our Pretoria native. Who are 'The Bulls'? and who are the 'Blue Bulls'? And for our Western Cape supporter, what the difference between 'The Stormers' and 'Western Province'?

[TheGreenGoblin]

As ian16th knows, I am sure, back in the days of Currie Cup rugby, Northern Transvaal were known affectionately, by their supporters at least, as the Blue Bulls. With the arrival of Super 10 rugby they became the Bulls.

Like ian16th, I too miss the days of the Curry Cup when I was a Western Province supporter, living, as I did by then, within crowd roaring distance of Newlands stadium in Rondebosch.

[Woody]

The Stormers play in Super Rugby against Kiwis, Aussies and a couple of Argentinian teams, Western Province play in The Currie Cup solely within South Africa and it’s not just ZA teams with weird names, The Waratahs and the Brumbies are apparently Australian

Edit- The Currie Cup is still going

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currie_Cup

[TheGreenGoblin]

Yes it is but it is not the same to the old die hard traditionalists who miss the days when it was the premier S.A. cup.