*English Rugby Union Season-Official Thread*

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20 minutes to go...

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

I've got the footie on telly and BT Sport rugger on the tablet. Worth the investment.

 

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Well, that was a proper rugby match. As Hooper summed it up well "its like playing in a washing machine."

The Bath pack look fantastic, but their line out was poor. Stringer and Ford look like a fantastic half back pairing. Micky Young was good too.

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

Well, that was a proper rugby match. As Hooper summed it up well "its like playing in a washing machine."

The Bath pack look fantastic, but their line out was poor. Stringer and Ford look like a fantastic half back pairing. Micky Young was good too.

Sense Newcastle won't be that easy to overcome as the season goes on.

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

Got two tickets in the centre of the upper tier at Twickers yesterday for a tenner off Ebay... a good day and a good result for Quins

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Having watched London Scottish dismantle Manchester, I've followed the progress of our northern cousins.

My report from the game I watched...

One could have forgiven Manchester for cutting short their journey and spending the day wandering about the dreaming spires of Oxford or having a punt along the Thames. Instead they foraged on along the M40 and M25, final destination Richmond.

A summer financial meltdown left the Mancunians with a depleted squad playing well above their level of capability. Nineteen games, nineteen defeats and 1,664 conceded points later, they found themselves in Richmond playing a formidable London Scottish destined for promotion to the Championship - a promotion away from rubbing shoulders with Bath, Leicester, Harlequins and the other giants of the oval shaped ball game. It was a long way to travel for another thrashing and let's face it, that was always on the cards.

London Scottish, justifiably, felt able to rest a few key players and a merry crowd were ready with their calculators. This wasn't set to be a battle between two lions fighting to lead the pride, it would best be described as a bloody bout between a Honey Badger and someones pet rabbit. Don't let the word honey convince you that the badger is anything but a ferocious beast.

Manchester started with a spring in their step and matched the Exiles for a short period. The coil soon lost it's bounce and the inevitable opening try came within ten minutes of the start. Some sloppy passing and poor handling prevented an early deluge of points. The Scots soon found their stride and began to work the ball around with flight and guile. A hot knife and butter would not do justice to the ease at which the Manchester defence was breached time and time again. At some point during the first half I got lost as to which players were running in the tries as my attention was drawn towards a rather attractive blonde sitting a few rows down from my small party. Exquisite beauty, similar to that of the eleventh try.

A half century (52-0) was posted by the interval and some refreshment was in order in the shape of a pint of the brown stuff. The Exiles started where they left off and the scoreline was increased by seven with an early try and conversion. Understandably, the heads of Manchester had dropped and the tries kept coming. Conversions were being missed at regular intervals preventing a three figure scoreline and lead.

The temperature began to plummet, but Manchester battled on bravely. London Scottish eventually got stuck on 87 points without reply. The last score to register was a throughly deserved try for Manchester. Deserved, not necessarily for their skills, more so for the fact that they never gave in. The home fans rightly applauded that final try and the Manchester players celebrated wildly providing a little cheer in what has been a torrid season. A Rocky Balboa quote would be good now.


"Yo, Adrian, we did it... We did it."

Whoops. Wrong one.

"The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward". Smart man.

London Scottish should be reasonably pleased with their overall performance and Manchester should take heart from the fact that they shall soon be playing at a level more suited to them. Heavy defeats should not be dwelled upon. I'm afraid I am going to use that cringeworthy old adage now... "It's not the winning that counts, it is the taking part".

Final Score - London Scottish 87 vs 7 Manchester

Quote of the Day: On his incumbant reitrement from rugby "I think I'll go down to the pub for a quiet pint... followed by 17 noisy ones" - Gareth Chilcott

Word of the Day: Apodyopsis - The act of mentally undressing someone


At the risk of sounding too much like Jerry Springer. Take care of yourselves....and each other.

Hmmm...

Since the emboldened quote, Manchester lost 78 out of their 81 fixtures. Their first victory after their 87-7 mauling was over two years and thousands of conceded points later. They almost put two wins together, had they not lost 68-0 to Scunthorpe.

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

Hmmm...

Since the emboldened quote, Manchester lost 78 out of their 81 fixtures. Their first victory after their 87-7 mauling was over two years and thousands of conceded points later. They almost put two wins together, had they not lost 68-0 to Scunthorpe.

Not quite what I'd expect to find in the Rugby Paper. That said, your report kept me interested longer...

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

http://thepepperpotpost.wordpress.com/2013/09/15/back-to-the-stoop-welcome-back-rugger/

First home match of the season Friday. Good to be back.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Nice report.

Delighted to see Brighton beat the Hove odd bods 20-15.

 

[Baron Pepperpot]

Nice report.

Delighted to see Brighton beat the Hove odd bods 20-15.

*NOTlike*

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

The company my missus works for are a sponsor of Exeter Chiefs, she got 3 VIP tickets for Saturdays match against Wasps. Never been to a rugby game before.
Very enjoyable, loved the drinking in my seat, great lunch, good game to watch but the atmos inside and outside the stadium was too quiet for me, but would i go again, definately

 

[Motogull]

Rubbish start by Glos. Manu has cheered me up though.

 

[CP 0 3 BHA]

Casual Saints fan here.

Rarely get to games these days but being at the final to see them win the European Cup is something that I'm unlikely to repeat with my round ball team.