Great effort from Wales so far – hope they can keep it up! ABs look more human than in recent years…

Used to get them every other ride in summer – haven’t had any since I started using this stuff:

The UK’s No.1 Midge Repellent

can’t recommend it highly enough.

All 3 of mine have been in the trailer (Cougar 2 Chariot – now Thule) from the age of about 4 months with appropriate accessories – baby sling, then an additional seat attachment.

Not cheap but I’ve had plenty of use from it and consider it good value – we’ve also used it as a running buggy and for generally transporting kit and children to the beach.

Edit to add we’ve also got a Little One Comes Too which is a great bit of kit once they’re a bit older.

Kryton57 – Member
which then negates one of the 4/5 decent cented we have.

Assuming you meant centres – where are they then as they don’t appear to have been selected recently?

I think Jones is sticking with Ford as despite his woeful performance in many areas he’s one of the few England backs that appear able to fix a man and release a back line.

England backs still appeared incapable of passing the ball down the line yesterday without running sideways or passing behind and checking the player – schoolboy stuff. I only saw the highlights but still saw a number of opportunities squandered – notably Care’s break where there was a 2 on one overlap if he’d have straightened and passed and the turnover ball which should have caused problems but was easily defended by Wales because we (Josephs?) passed the ball behind the player. We scored from Care’s break after a couple of extra phases but Aus may not give us that opportunity.

No you need these cleats:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/time-atac-xc-cleats/rp-prod764?gs=1&gclid=Cj0KEQjw4J-6BRD3h_KIoqijwvkBEiQAfcPiBbFjSoh1V_MGcnXJ8KKxmqeckFbGLYScXowq62gghEsaAmmo8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Saw it in the flesh today – they’ve done a really nice job.

A must see really – lets hope John can sort his picture posting out…

Come on John – you can do it!

Low level bimble through the forest past Swallow Falls down to Betws for food / shopping / drinking? Park in the little car park after the A5 crosses the river North of Betws and either one of the party runs back up the A5 to collect or walk back through forest after food?

Or Indy Climbing Wall? Does mean a trip into Angelsey but not that far.

http://www.nuffieldanglesey.org.uk/climbing-wall/%5B/url%5D

I’ve seen it as a player – it’s actually gets much worse as you go down the leagues and can involve some machiavellian politics…

Scamper – I’m aware of the contradiction. Ultimately the ref on the day and the TMO saw the incident in both real time and slow motion repeatedly and didn’t think it worthy of even a penalty. The citing committee then cover themselves in glory by deciding it is a citable offence (ie worthy of a red card) but not deserving a ban because it’s not worthy of a red card (and therefore presumably not a red card offence); perhaps they wanted to give fans something to argue about whilst waiting for the final games?

Can anybody find the actual RBS 6 Nations Disciplinary Committee statement as that may (although I doubt it) make things clearer?

Flash – that’s a gif I never tire of watching. A part of me does feel that if Ashton and Farrell had played in an era where this was the standard reaction to sly niggle and off the ball stuff they’d have stopped doing it by now…

aa Well it was cited so must have been citable. Wasnt deemed worthy of a red but was certainly deemed foul play”

Well he was cited and the RBS Citing committee found it wasn’t a citable offence ie not worthy of a red. You’re saying that anyone charged with an offence is guilty which clearly isn’t the case. We’re clearly not going to agree so probably worth moving on.

What do we think of the Francis ban? For me either 2 international referees interpret the laws completely differently from the citing committee when presented with the same information (ie penalty vs red card) or Joubert completly abrogated himself of the responsibility for making a crucial decision on the day. I think this is a slippery slope as it’s always easier to kick the can down the road and ask someone else to make a decision and a ban doesn’t have the same impact on the team as a card.

BBS + others

He didn’t strike a prone player, he cleared out a player who was very much in play whilst trying to drive his own player over the try line. I don’t think we’ll agree on this one but I at least am heartened by the decision of the citing committee.

I do agree with you that gouging has no part in the game (and has never been acceptable in any era) and a zero tolerance approach is the right way ahead. That said I’m not convinced it was a deliberate but poorly executed gouge in this case – just looked like a frustrated player trying to grab; admittedly arguably reckless. Either way I think it’s inconsistent verging on farcical than an offence that supposedly merits an 8 week ban is reviewed by both ref and TMO during the game who decide it’s not worth a yellow. As someone pointed out above had Wales got the extra try – and they were bloody close – then the 8 week ban would have seemed a fairly cheap price to pay…

AA – even in your link (which is from the worst angle and doesn’t show it in context) then it’s clear he’s struck him in the armpit / under the shoulder. The wrist / forearm ends up in his face but that’s absolutely normal – he’s trying to get him away from the ball carrier; if you really think that level of contact in a ruck / drive for the line should be a citable offence then maybe rugbys not the game for you. I’d suggest you’d see similar or worse at 30% of rucks in most premiership games. I’m not suggesting we go back to the days of 99 calls or packs milling at each other but a ban for this would be pathetic.

I’m not being partisan either – I’d say the same if the situation was reversed. I also think it’s fairly farcical that a player can get banned for 8 weeks for an offence that on the day both the ref and TMO reviewed yet didn’t think was worth a card. If rugby loses its physicality then much of what makes the game great will go with it and we’ll descend into footballerish name calling and pathetic niggle.

DanW

On Marler’s forearm / punch. In the context of the game I don’t see how it was illegal let alone a card.

That picture was prior to the contact. I don’t know how anyone can think it was anything other than a cheap shot to the chin when Evan’s head gets rocked back, Marler’s elbow ends resting on his chin… and also the bit where you clearly see the forearm and elbow hit the chin Add in the stare deep in to Evans’s eyes and the timing not in keeping with the flow of play. Marler is hardly the first to ever do anything like this but it’s pretty brainless if picked up and a good try reversed.[/quote]

From this picture how else could he have cleared Evans out?

[/url]

He didn’t hit him the head because it wouldn’t have been effective; Evans would have taken a blow to the side of the head and not been rolled onto his back. He hit him on the left shoulder / upper chest to roll him onto his back; Evan’s own arm stops any meaningful contact with the head / chin.

On Youngs:

Some of his passing is truly awful; the ball is often lobbed out from a ruck often at head of feet height. It’s a running joke with the Tigers fans I work with. Saying that, I agree that he did have one of his better games on Saturday.

I agree with the first couple of sentences but not the last! I thought he (unusually) had some really good quick ball on Saturday but didn’t capitalise on it – often all he needed to do was give a decent quick pass to Ford or Farrell to release the back line. IMO he took it on himself too much and his service was not up to international standard. Good call by EJ to give Care a start.

On Marler’s forearm / punch. In the context of the game I don’t see how it was illegal let alone a card. He was driving Dan Cole over the the try line, Rob Evans is lieing on his side trying to get his hand under the ball to hold Cole up. Marler strikes Evans on his upper shoulder / chest with his forearm to force him onto his back and prevent him holding Cole up. This picture shows it pretty well: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35802422

That’s absolutely normal in any game – I’ve done it and had it done to me many times. Surely anyone who’s played in the pack beyond schoolboy rugby can say the same thing? The reason he didn’t go for the head (in addition to it being illegal obviously…) is that it wouldn’t have achieved the aim of controlling the torso and getting Evans away from Cole.

I didn’t think there was much in either the Marler forearm or the Francis nose tweak – I’ve certainly given and received much worse in my playing days…

The Marler name calling was footballerish, has no place in rugby and is therefore by far the worst crime imo.

Anyway on a lighter note we’ve all done this haven’t we?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35292422/rugby-player-dives-over-wrong-line-celebrates-and-is-pummelled-by-opposition

Point of note, brown was englands key influencer. 7 defenders beaten, 138m made. To say he’s not world class is incorrect

He’s probably the best we’ve got and certainly did some good stuff yesterday but there’s still plenty of room for improvement. He should have scored in the corner when he made that break in the first half and his passing remains a bit suspect. In particular it was noticible that he received
a much better pass from Itoje than he gave in the build up to the try.

bad llama My phone is Android works phone is Apple the iphone drives me up the **** wall!

Two examples
Type a text and want to attach photos
Android type your message then paper clip brows and attach photo.

IPhone
Go into camera brows images select the ones you want, with the little blue ticks then type your text message but as you typing you text message at the end of line the text disappears. Delete what you though you had typed up to what you can see on screen press return type more of your message until the text disappears (return again so on and so forth).

On a web page want to go back to the previous page
Android press the back button

Apple scroll all the way to the bottom of the web page until the back arrow appears to click on ……seriously! Or am i missing something?

You’re missing something. To include a photo in a message – type the message then press the little camera icon and either browse to your photo or take a new one. To go back a page in Safari just swipe the screen with a slight downward motion and the back button appears. I thing your post just confirms that we like what we’re familiar with… I have to use a blackberry for work and can confirm that is particularly poor.

That’s a very Scottish sounding defence Dan!

DanW It is unfair to blame him solely for Priestland’s charge down as Simpson’s pass to him was suitably awful.

Dan some interesting opinions but you’re not exactly helping refute AA’s point that England fans don’t actually know who’s on the pitch…

Dan You look at the stats -ABs kill teams in the last 5 mins of the first half, and the last 20.

Yes but they’re playing heads up, fast open rugby for 80 min and teams tire at the end of halves.

Tallie – the space isn’t there early in the game. You have to earn the right to play that way late on.

Tell that to the ABs or Aussies or indeed most Super teams? I’d agree it wouldn’t earn such spectacular results earlier in the game but it’s more entertaining and arguably successful than smash and kick. Plus Wales do largely have the players that can play fast open rugby?

Priestland, Tipuric and Owens. Plus england ran out of puff

Agree but it’s also a question of intent – Wales seem to need to have their backs against the wall and be down by a fairly big score before they start to throw it around.

I also think that 19 points didn’t really reflect the dominance we had in the first half – we still missed far to many chances and ended up with 3 points where we should have had 7; for which I largely blame Youngs.

I suppose the other obvious question is why Wales can’t at least attempt to play the way they played in the last 20 for a full 80?

I know England tired and ultimately ended up with 14 men but to me Wales always look much more dangerous when they throw it around instead of playing a one dimensional kicking game.

I’d drop both Ford and Youngs personally.

I’d like to see Ford in a game where 50% of the passes aren’t too high, low or arrive at the same time as the back row…

That was too close for comfort.

Thought Youngs was awful! I don’t think Ford would have got charged down if he hadn’t been reaching for a pass around his ankles. So many poor passes within the England team in general but when it’s your scrum half (and largely from decent quick ball) in particular you’re in trouble.

I **** hate Wayne Barnes. Pissing about delaying the put in to a perfectly steady scrum just so he can make a point. Unfortunately he loves the sound of his own voice and thinks he is bigger than the game.

Shut up and let them play, man!

Have to agree, some refs (WB and Steve Walsh are prime culprits but it happens at all levels) seem to need to make the game all about them. The best refs allow the game to flow and you hardly know they’re there.

Oh and I’d vote keep this one too although not overly bothered either way…

anagallis_arvensis – Member
“Farrell’s push was tw*tish”
Seemed fine to me, its rugby not tiddly wi ks. Pen was a fair call on it.

Aren’t you contradicting yourself there? Surely giving away a needless penalty in the opposition 22 is the definition of being a ****?

I thought the Wales Ireland game, whilst not being the most flowing game in the world, was a compelling arm wrestle; particularly in the 2nd half. The Welsh back row were well balanced and pretty impressive (stand fast one Tips missed tackle which cost them a try) and for the first time in ages the Welsh bench seemed to have a positive impact.

I don’t think any of the other home nations will be particularly concerned by England’s performance but hopefully EJ has more up his sleeve. Sorting out the breakdown would be a good start…

I think Wales by 3 -5 points.

anagallis_arvensis – Member
Bloody good kicker though.

His kicking out of hand was ok but he missed a penalty he should have got if he’s going to justify his place in the team as a kicker. I didn’t think he did much else.

I’ll admit to not liking him though largely because of the annoying niggily stuff he does like the push on Laidlaw today. I can’t help thinking if he’d tried that 15 years ago someone like Scot Gibbs or Johnson would have made him aware very early in his career that it was a bad idea; although to be fair Schalk Brits did his best…

I feel the same about Ashton.

I wasn’t hugely encouraged by today – we still can’t pass the ball down the backline without most players over running and we still run out of ideas in the opposition 22 after about 5 phases.

Have you tried the US Navy Method? Supposed to be accurate within 3% for most people – generally works well for me.

http://fitness.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Body-Fat-Navy

Screwdriver / multi tool so you can adjust your stance / tighten your bindings? I normally prefer a decent size one which I leave in the chalet but it depends on the resort as occasionally the ones available at lift are poor quality.

Why do they keep stopping the fight every time there’s any contact?
Because the rules say that it’s meant to be semi-contact. Doesnt look too much like semi-contact.

So how do you score / win a fight? Are they supposed to be sparring? Is all TKD semi-contact or is that the difference between the 2 world championships?

Why do they keep stopping the fight every time there’s any contact?

Eric Rush’s eulogy to JL is also worth watching:

http://www.rugbydump.com/2015/11/4800/eric-rushs-hilarious-heartfelt-eulogy-to-friend-and-teammate-jonah-lomu

Good stuff – thanks for posting.

I had experience of BT’s awful customer service when I attempted to switch from Plusnet (a BT subsidiary!) to BT earlier in the year.

I paid in advance online to take advantage of an offer, the phone number swapped over painlessly but they were unable to swap the broadband. After 4 frustrating months of talking to various BT customer service people in the UK and India, I was told the only way to guarantee a transfer was to request a new number and wait up to a further 2 months without broadband or a phone.

I called Plusnet and they price matched BT’s offer. BT did eventually refund the full amount as promised by the penultimate (and probably most effective and honest) customer service chap but only after sending me a written bill stating that they wouldn’t. One final call to customer services eventually sorted this out – I reckon I made roughly 15+ calls to customer services totalling over 5 hours to not achieve anything particularly useful.

You can on a MK3 if you put the bike in on its side initially and fit the forks down into the rear seats foot well – you can’t have the passenger seat all the way back but it doesn’t need too much room. Bit of a faff so I only bother if I need the extra load space.

Not sure if the same apples for a MK4 but looking at Renton’s pictures it doesn’t look beyond the realms of possibility.