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Now for the crunch

Now to the serious business. A month into this momentous Rugby World Cup we now know the line-up for the next weekend’s Quarter-Finals: just for the record, England v Australia in Oita and New Zealand v Ireland in Tokyo on Saturday; Wales v France in Oita and Japan v South Africa in Tokyo on [...]

October 14, 2019 // 0 Comments

Then and now … and then some

For those of generations after mine – and indeed my own to the extent that memories may be fading – one of Britain’s light-entertainment stars of yester-year was proud Yorkshireman Wilfred Pickles (1904-1978). Pickles’ signature radio programme Have A Go graced the BBC airwaves from 1947 to [...]

October 13, 2019 // 0 Comments

Thoughts coming into this sporting weekend

RUGBY WORLD CUP As Japan braces itself for super-typhoon Hagabis and sympathy undoubtedly ought to be extended to everyone affected by its arrival including those fans who have travelled half way around the world and booked hotels and tickets for matches which now will not take place, plus those [...]

October 12, 2019 // 0 Comments

John Mann MP/ what a man

I suspect the name of John Mann is not that familiar with many of our readers and, if it is, it would be as the man who called to his face Ken Livingstone “a fucking Nazi”. He is the Labour MP for Bassetlaw, taking over from Joe Ashton and elevated to the House of Lords by Theresa May as [...]

October 11, 2019 // 0 Comments

Perfection – or glorious uncertainty?

Yesterday sports editor Tom Hollingworth posted an early-morning instant personal reaction to the impact of that super-typhoon Hagibis had wreaked upon the hitherto admirable smooth running of the 2019 Rugby World Cup even before it had hit land. Having, like all good and true followers begun my [...]

October 11, 2019 // 0 Comments

Blown away

Overnight I was listening to Rhod Sharp’s Up All Night programme on Radio Five Live when it cut at 4.00am (UK time) live and direct to Rugby World Cup press conference at which it was announced that two games on Saturday have been cancelled – one of them the Pool C shoot-out between England and [...]

October 10, 2019 // 0 Comments

The PC advance continues …

Just as the human condition defines our view of the world, so does our stage of life. It’s not so much a case of “Stop the world I want to get off!” but the fact that – as we reach the cusp of adulthood – our backgrounds and circumstances determine our [...]

October 9, 2019 // 0 Comments

Turning up the volume

Make no mistake, thanks to the choice of host nation and the party atmosphere generated by the fans, this is already a great Rugby World Cup despite the on-pitch controversies over new high tackle rules and the ‘slippery ball’ handling errors caused by the temperatures, humidity and dew. At the [...]

October 8, 2019 // 0 Comments

Ginger Baker – RIP

Going back to the Dark Ages when I was a teenager I have to be honest and admit the brilliance and joys of the supergroup Cream – rightly lauded as a seminal influence upon rock musicianship and heavy metal music – rather passed me by. Perhaps in those days I was a bit of a wimp. While [...]

October 7, 2019 // 0 Comments

With half-time approaching …

As the Pool stage draws to its conclusion this week it seems to me that the Rugby World Cup has served primarily to highlight some of the sport’s strengths and weaknesses as it seeks to develop its global reach. Whilst its special qualities have ticked the boxes as a festival of athleticism, [...]

October 7, 2019 // 0 Comments

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