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There are a few decent hookers knocking about. Jamie George, Rob Weber, LCD, Tom Youngs.
Looks like Guy Novès is going to take over the reins at FFR.
Hartley deserves to be dropped from the England squad. And this big lump from Sarries deserves to be in it from what I have seen of him.
Well that is all over then 😕
Will be a fun second half!
Great second half so far. Barf making a real game of it. "One Punch " Fearns on now. 🙂
LOL B***.
Semi finals better than the final this year
You would think the irish wouldnt do this after the uproar over broken backs after Pape's ban. Whats the bet the irish prop will escape a ban? Yellow card 10min rest
Red card, 10 week rest[img] 
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Not sure what the Bath game plan was in the first half, trying to force the game and poor field position control. Smarries took their chances and defended well but Bath never gave themselves a chance really. Pity as it was such a great day for rugby and not a great deal was played. Gutted at the result but I got to boo Ahton so not a total loss 🙂
Couple of bad passes and execution cost Bath 2 tries against them, and also Saracens lucky to not have two cards against them.
There was also one massive collision of immovable objects when Burgess tackled a Vunipola.....
Congratulations to Glasgow. Munster soundly beaten at Ravenhill. Can't deny I'm disappointed but happy for Glasgiw to get themselves some silver. No less than they've deserved for the way they've approached the pro12 this season. Well done to them this evening.
Bath unfortunately played their final last weekend.
Jings; I hope DD is OK,worst week of rugby in his life!
Jings; I hope DD is OK,worst week of rugby in his life!
😀
Had far worse weeks duckers. Like I said, happy for Glasgow to have a trophy. It's no more than they deserve. Guess you're also referring to Brizzle's umpteenth choke? It'd be an insult to the likes of wrecker and prawper Brizzle fans were I to be upset by their result. Weegies will be having a good night in Belfast and so they should! 🙂
DD, the trick will be for Townsend to do it again,ever. The SRU rewarded the way he built the team by cutting contract offers by a third to all out of contract players this year all over the country;oh and no more trainees is the other scuttlebutt...I guess second rate kiwi analysts and fast tracked players must be more important. I wanted Brizzle to come up,unlike Reading Pinks,they have a sustainable model,I think it is a daft system both leagues have. So you won the league over the course of the season,but here; let's give another side a second chance...
Wow, Matthew Tait playing Full Back for England this afternoon. There's a return for you.
Good on him.
He deserves another cap after this season's performance.
Always been hampered by injury though.
I'm saying nothing! Good luck to the lad.
Be interesting to see how Josh Beaumont goes today, he's been putting in some great performances for Sale this season & deserves his run out with England.
Is it on TV?
Ok I will say it the Gav monstered him 😆 I think Tait is a great player that was ruined by englands weird selection policy back then. Young hyped thrown in got a beating discarded. Awful way to treat a young player.
Funnily enough the same happend to Gav when you think about it!
Well we have all the young hope on the field today. Cuthbert did well vs Ireland let's hope Wade isn't smashed to pieces. A bit of e open played now culled by the rain perhaps but the back line that everyone has been shouting about is getting their chance. Interesting to see how Cips goes.
On that note, II notice ForReal may be I trouble - maybe cited for yesterday's high tackle on Watson.
Morgan: Phil Bennett…Brilliant! Oh, that’s brilliant! John Williams, Bryan Williams, Pullin, John Dawes great dummy. To David, Tom David, the half-way line! Brilliant by Quinnell! This is Gareth Edwards! A dramatic start! What a score! Oh, that fellow Edwards!Oh, no wait a minute….. hang on the referee wants to have a look at this. It’s going to the TMO.
Referee: Hello Alan [TMO] can you hear me?
TMO Alan: Hello? Hello? I can’t hear you? Can you hear me?
Referee: I can hear you but can you hear me? Hello? [fiddles with battery pack and ear piece for a minute]. Hello? Can you look at something for me?
TMO Alan: I can hear some of your words but will guess the bits I can’t hear. What shall I look at because I wasn’t really watching the game?
Referee: I want you to look at the final pass to Edwards – was it forward? Try or no try? Also go back 2 minutes, was there a high tackle on Barbarians number 15?
TMO Alan: Understood. [TMO watches 15 repeats of the forward pass from 7 different angles]. Hello? Hello? I have a decision for you.
Referee: ….er, right go then tell me…
TMO Alan: The ball comes out of the hands in a backwards direction, then moves forwards but the hands are facing backwards at all times. The fingers are also pointing backwards if that matters? The player’s socks are green and the moon is in the waxing phase.
Referee: Er, OK…so what is your recommendation? I am looking at a screen about 80 metres away but am happy to guess based on these grainy pictures if it gets me more air time? Hello? What is your recommendation?
TMO Alan: Hello? You want a recommendation from me? There is a reason I am a TMO and not a referee so er, um my recommendation is to go with your decision and not to cause too much controversy….
Referee: OK. I can barely see the screen but it looks like a forward pass so no try.
[The Welsh controlled big screen now shows another high tackle on the Welshman JPR Williams. The mostly Welsh fans react angrily through the haze of dry ice from the pre-match entertainment. Some of them even put down their pints to remonstrate with the referee]
Referee: Er, I can see another incident on the big screen. Is this another high tackle on Barbarians 15? Can you look at this. Potential foul play.
TMO Alan: I have 24 angles of this so it may take some time. [7 minutes later the TMO has completed his reviews and the crowd has taken up knitting to fill the time]…….Hello. I have a recommendation.
Referee: What is your recommendation?
TMO Alan: The tackle starts around the waist, moves up to the shoulders and his elbow does brush his face. I recommend a red card. [TMO consults the latest IRB communication to work out if this is the latest directive he is applying or last month’s]
Referee: [The referee’s battery pack has now given up so he has to stand on the side line and phone the TMO using the water boy’s mobile phone which is on a pay as you go contract so he is understandably concerned his free minutes are being used up] OK, so a red card. My recommendation is also a red card because I have to stay in Cardiff tonight. If it is the wrong decision the disciplinary committee will overturn it so no worries.
So a red card? Who is the red card for?
TMO Alan: Yes, a red card. Who is it for?
Referee: That is what I asked you! Who is it for? Who am I giving the red card to?
TMO Alan: You want my recommendation? I cannot conclusively see from the pictures which number it is so I will say it is inconclusive and therefore my recommendation is also inconclusive. I can only see the offender’s shirt, face and most of his number but it is inconclusive. Conclusively inconclusive.
Referee: …er, OK. I will give a general team warning and tell them to stop.
…er, so, where were we? I will disallow the try and give a penalty to the Barbarians 20 metres out and give a 5 minute lecture to the All Blacks captain about dangerous play and some other stern words I can come up with in the next minute or two.
TMO Alan: That is also my recommendation.
[15 minutes after Gareth Edwards put the ball over the line the referee gives a penalty to the Barbarians on the 22, forgets about the initial high tackle and disallows The Greatest Try of all Time.
The crowd file out and head home never to talk about the day they saw The Greatest Try of all Time]
https://theblitzdefence.wordpress.com/2015/04/11/the-greatest-try-of-all-time-has-been-disallowed/
Just noticed Moriarty is in the welsh training squad. Always said refs were picking on him unfairly.
England 45 - 5 Barbarians at half time!
Cipriani looking comfortable an assured, centres and Yarde looking fantastic. I feel sorry for tait he's in the wrong company and is being made to look ordinary. Launchbury back near his best. Props looking good. The futures bright & a cricket score.
MoM, 100% and a try for Cips. He should be in the team. 73/12 wow.
Sadly Farrel has received only a citing commission warning for his high tackle on Saturday [url] http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/32952164 [/url]
73-12 full time. Cipriani scores 33 points & makes man of the match.
Some great performances all round, especially from Slade at 12. Cowan-Dickie not able to hook the ball though which is a worry.
Two tries for Cips, 33 points out of 73.
Micky mouse match today.Yesterday was much more important. Farrell can count himself lucky the citing commissioner graded his high tackle such that he avoided a suspension.
..and Gloucester blow it at the death!
Oh glaws, oh glaws, oh glaws.
Based on his performance today, I reckon that the england coaching squad might be cursing their decision to let Moriarty go to wales. He was head and shoulders above everyone in that game.
Anyone know where I can watch the barbars game online?
They usually get put up on YouTube, have a search. Quality can be a bit so-so
Some highlights here
Wales will have all 10 of their English-based squad members available for full World Cup preparations following the Aviva Premiership clubs striking a deal with World Rugby.There were concerns that the English contingent would miss the training camps in Switzerland and Quatar, plus the opening warm-up game against Ireland on August 8.
That’s because, under World Rugby’s laws, clubs are not obliged to release players until 35 days before the World Cup starts.
And Premiership Rugby (PRL) have in the past refused to release players to Wales outside of the official international window.
But now PRL - the umbrella organisation for the Aviva clubs - have reached a one-off agreement with World Rugby, which will see players from all countries released from today.
? Why are they being nice? This is making me nervous.
There can be only one answer; ££££££££££££
Matt Morgan in squad... still think he should be a winger. No way is he ahead of Biggar, Priestland, Patchel or Hook as a 10.
Jeez, this guy really knows how to self destruct. Great performance which should have put him in the World Cup squad now likely to never play for England again if the drink drive charge being reported in Mirror and Sun is correct.
And that's after an interview on Sunday where he talks about not going on the Sale end of season bus nutting contest to stay home and work with Margo Wells. 🙄
It's all over the news. Just when you thought he really had calmed down, played a blinder for England which probably had him in the no 2 spot, and that's that thrown away. He won't play for England again that's for sure.
Agent spin has him cooperating with police and attending police station. Yeah that's a good idea when arrested.
You can she why he was driving, I mean its hard to get a black cab, Addison Lee or an uber right - hardly any of those in Chelsea ?
Toulon would be wise to have nothing to do with him