International Rugby

[Jon Crofts]

Thanks Axl, it’s a fascinating culture from the outside but I can imagine it’s a bit of a mare living with it!

[Monty]

That amazing thing during Covid when there was a segment on Japanese media about how the Japanese language, because it's more elegant and expends less breath, spreads the virus less. It does make our homegrown chauvinists and exceptionalists look like rank amateurs.

[Jon Crofts]

Can anyone explain the difference between Sigren’s yellow and Curry’s red?

Maybe it’s just the IRB with an agenda because I don’t understand these rules any more.

[Axl Rose]

Thanks Axl, it’s a fascinating culture from the outside but I can imagine it’s a bit of a mare living with it!

It certainly is fascinating, Jon! I've had many a great time here, and I was always brought up to take people as I find them. I can usually ignore the twats, and it's a very non confrontational culture anyway, so there is very little, if any physical threat. But yes, it can grate on occasion.

Monty, funny you should bring that up. At the time I found myself shaking my head in exasperation. I did chuckle when, I think it was in the summer of 2021, Japan topped worldwide infections. It was barely reported here obviously, and when it was, of course it was hinted at that foreigners (mainly Koreans and Chinese...and the US army bases taking the brunt) were to blame. Or that other countries had stopped testing properly, and that Japan was remaining diligent in continuing to do so.

The only problem was that the Japanese seemed to forget that they had closed the borders, and no foreigners were bringing anything in...as they actually weren't allowed to come in 😂

There was a big furore also at the university I work at. To return to campus and do face to face teaching, all foreign instructors/professors etc, had to be fully vaccinated. Japanese people in the same positions didn't. This did not go down well. I didn't really care, as my wife had just given birth and I was quite happy to sit on Teams after 1 hour of sleep and amble through a seminar with students who refused to turn their cameras on. The land of the socially inept.

Anyway, apologies for clogging up the rugby thread with my moans and groans!

[Monty]

No it's very interesting! I think outsiders can struggle to realise quite how crazy Japanese xenophobia can be, especially younger generations of sad-sack otaku types who think it's all sunshine and anime. Bit of a similarity with how some (some!) very pro-EU types in the UK associate the bloc with openness and liberalism, and must get the most almighty shock from reading some of the thoughts of voters in Spain, France, Germany, Italy etc on immigration, or culture, or nationhood, or marriage...

But that REALLY is getting off topic. Looking ahead, I'd really love to believe Scotland can pull off something later. I just think there's about as much chance of Jeffrey Archer winning the Nobel Prize for Literature.

[Jon Crofts]

Back to the rugby.
Farrell misses the Japan game thank god and judging by the look on his face at full time knows he won’t be a shoe in after that. I really can’t see England winning that last night with him in the side as captain.

[Brazilian Villain]

The state of that South Africa shirt, worst so far and not exactly intimidating.

[PaulWinch again]

Back to the rugby.
Farrell misses the Japan game thank god and judging by the look on his face at full time knows he won’t be a shoe in after that. I really can’t see England winning that last night with him in the side as captain.

I think they might have won - England have played very well with Ford at 10 and Farrell at 12, but we would have lost Ford having complete control. He definitely shouldn’t be starting for me.

[paul_e]

Back to the rugby.
Farrell misses the Japan game thank god and judging by the look on his face at full time knows he won’t be a shoe in after that. I really can’t see England winning that last night with him in the side as captain.

I think they might have won - England have played very well with Ford at 10 and Farrell at 12, but we would have lost Ford having complete control. He definitely shouldn’t be starting for me.

Manu put in a proper IC 14man  performance, if Farrell plays he couldn't have done that.

[paul_e]

If anyone can tell me how there wasn't a red at the start of this match I'll admit that I don't understand the game. I see nothing in that as mitigation and yet it wasn't even a yellow. To have that call in the same weekend as the Curry one is ridiculous and shows how badly implemented these head collision rules are.

[Brazilian Villain]

If anyone can tell me how there wasn't a red at the start of this match I'll admit that I don't understand the game. I see nothing in that as mitigation and yet it wasn't even a yellow. To have that call in the same weekend as the Curry one is ridiculous and shows how badly implemented these head collision rules are.

Rob Kearney on Irish TV said it should definitely have been a red. They also said Finn Russell should have had two yellows, first for the deliberate knock on and then for the late 'cheap shot'.

[SamTheMouse]

Sounds like the French authorities managed to fuck it up royally for thousands of people last night. A mate was there last night took him over 90 minutes to enter the stadium, 45 minutes at half time to get a beer, hundreds of toilets were out of use and after the game the Metro wasn’t running.

I was at a gig there this summer and the food and drink offering was poor to say the least. The Metro afterwards was incredibly well organised though so sounds like they've dropped a bollock there.

You're better off getting a merguez sandwich from down the boulevard before the game.

The Velodrome is a bit of a dump, sadly. As is the rest of the city.

[Monty]

Sounds like the French authorities managed to fuck it up royally for thousands of people last night. A mate was there last night took him over 90 minutes to enter the stadium, 45 minutes at half time to get a beer, hundreds of toilets were out of use and after the game the Metro wasn’t running.

I was at a gig there this summer and the food and drink offering was poor to say the least. The Metro afterwards was incredibly well organised though so sounds like they've dropped a bollock there.

You're better off getting a merguez sandwich from down the boulevard before the game.

The Velodrome is a bit of a dump, sadly. As is the rest of the city.

Very unfair! You want a sad dump where beauty should be you should go to Calabria mate.

[SamTheMouse]

That's a whole region! Seems harsh. Mind you, the whole of the Bouches-du-Rhône can get stuffed, to be honest, and take the Gard with it.

[paul_e]

If anyone can tell me how there wasn't a red at the start of this match I'll admit that I don't understand the game. I see nothing in that as mitigation and yet it wasn't even a yellow. To have that call in the same weekend as the Curry one is ridiculous and shows how badly implemented these head collision rules are.

Rob Kearney on Irish TV said it should definitely have been a red. They also said Finn Russell should have had two yellows, first for the deliberate knock on and then for the late 'cheap shot'.

I can see the argument for the first but the cheap shot wasn't even a penalty.