Was a Louise involved ?

Or a Bird Aeris? 😀 Always happy to simplify a problem. You can thank me later.

Are you infering that it is not supposed to look like that ?

I’ll second that BoardinBob.

Another for copper slip.

Paramo for jackets and 5.10 for shoe sole rubber. I will buy stuff from others but those are the defaults.

France 22 Japan 22 ! French are getting better. 😀

^ egf. Bike related . . . surely not.

dantsw13 – 6N predictions. Italy last, France second last.

So much for my predictions, all the results but not even close with the scores. 🙂

I see what you mean, just Faletau and AWJ from the starting XV.

On the plus side Scotland were worse off than that on paper though Gray was much better at carrying than usual. What the Scots did really well was to protect their ball after the carry and get it to Price (cracking good player in the making) quickly, I’m not sure Wales have the back row to give Webb the same service.

NZ to win but might be close if Wales can remember to go forward before they go wide. Kiwis are missing the “go forward” of Keino and Retallick a lot.

I suspect Hartley is on the bench so that George can get rid of the perma-sub tag. George seems to be the better player, but Hartley first with George as the “finisher” is the best way to cover the hooker position over 80+ minutes. In ye olden days George would probably have been the starting hooker.

I wonder what the evidence is to support the use of “tactical” replacements. It is touted as helping to reduce injuries, but I’m not sure that it does. I vaguely remember that it was introduced after a Saffer admitted feigning injury so that his team could have a fresh player.

England by 20
NZ by 5
Scotland by 10
Ireland by 20

I have one, I like the big peak for when it’s raining but the adjuster thingy at the back takes a bit of care to get right. No idea what it looks like when it’s on but then I only ever wear it when I’m on my bike. As I would also be wearing a small rucksack, shorts, pads and what could easily be mistaken for an adult nappy it may provide some useful distraction. 😳

Lawes has been superb so far.

Both.

Just you leave Kruis alone, he’s being rested. Might do you a deal on Ed Slater, Kitchener or Dave Attwood though. 😀

Additional predictions:
All teams will push in scrums before the ball is in.
No scrummage put-ins will be straight.
Aussie props will go to ground as soon as they think they can get away with it.
Very few line out throws will be straight.
TV cameras will be trained on the coaches during the game !!!
All 50:50 decisions will go to the ABs.

England to win if they can get the ball a bit more often than last time.
France to win provided that their 10 has been taking the medication.
Ireland to win – not sure how pretty it will be.
Scotland to not win – score dependant on Kiwi selection/attitude.
Wales will get confused but win anyway.

Underhill’s tackling was good, but England were not set up to take advantage of it and put pressure on the ruck. It may be a personnel thing as the back row all played well as individuals but did not seem to be a complementary unit. Perhaps it will change in the next match now that they know that his Bath/Ospreys form does translate to internationals.

AA – how could they lose with a pack like that ?

Just watching the France game. Good luck to the Scots . . . you may need it.

I reckon both England and Scotland were just playing to their strengths. Watson is quick to the breakdown so he aims for the ball (it’s the very best part of his game), no one in that England team is particularly good at the steal so they didn’t bother rather than risk the penalty. If a Curry or Wilson or Itoje were playing they may have had a go.

Not 35, but I thought 20+ was on the cards. The Bok back 3 would have to improve to reach woeful and Louw and Du Toit lack sufficient mobility for the back row. Jantjies is very erratic as well though better when Serfontein is at 12. I thought Ireland were excellent and picked the fights they could win clinically.

Whisky, single malt only. Various.

99.987% from home , just East of the Cairngorms.

England squad – only 2 scrum halves. Gazillions of superb locks and great depth in most other positions but the weakness is 9. Youngs is magnificent on his day but erratic for the next 6+ matches. Meanwhile Care would be good if box kicking were abandoned and the opposition didn’t try anything unexpected (like a Spanish Italian Inquisition). Unfortunately I can’t think of any better English qualified alternatives. I wonder who will cover for an injury and why they are not in the squad for preparation.

Just started using a Paramo Ciclo in the pouring rain over the last 2 days. It’s superb but has to be thought of as a jacket+fleece so a single layer underneath works well at the moment.
I finished both rides (plenty of very sweaty bits and lots of driving rain) with my baselayer a bit damp on the outside but my body was dry. I think there were times when the baselayer was wet but things seemed to dry out well when my effort dropped to “sweating a bit” rather than “leaking”.
I wouldn’t normally go out when it’s that bad but I wanted to give the jacket a decent test.

Dumb comment alert ! Are all your spokes tight ? 😳

I changed from 30 round to 32 oval without altering the chain. No problems for 6 months so far.

mikewsmith – Material wears through first. The last pair was only after about 3 months/1100 miles-ish. To be fair, all of my shorts wear in the same place. I once had a pair of Sombrios that lasted nearly 2 years though and they were second hand – only one pocket was the drawback. The best thing about the Enduras is the 2 map pockets, I find those really useful.

Fergal, it will be tricky but I will just have to survive. Mrs Lf has refused to embroider a werewolf’s head onto them.

Thanks Gnusmas much appreciated.

Gnusmas, any chance of a linky ?

Sweet, reminds me of my years in Switzerland. You are obviously a fashion model. 😀

What size rims are you running the HR2s on Lemures (or is it Casper) ? 🙂

Tonight.

Good to hear you’ve survived. Looking forward to the write up.

Ground control to Major Poopscoop have you:
a) been detained in a hospital ?
b) drowned in a ditch ?
c) been arrested for vagrancy ?
d) been attacked by the midge preservation society for killing the little bu**ers with your vodka bottle ?

Please provide situation report.

STW would sell that tyre and get a M’Mary or a Minion of course.

My son used to remove the seatpost/saddle when he left his bike. Thieves like to ride the bike away or put it in a van. If they are using a van then they are probably serious about their vocation and will only target pricey bikes. He had 4 stolen before he started doing this and none after.