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Harlequins 32 Gloucester 26

The story in the media will doubtless be  the brilliant performance of Marcus Smith but, before I pay my tribute, let us not forget he missed three kickable conversions which would have put the game beyond a rather hapless Gloucester who have now gone 8 games without a win. Marcus is not the [...]

December 31, 2023 // 0 Comments

And so it comes to this (again) …

Life’s a funny old game, isn’t it? I hesitate to come out of the woods with my hands up in order to confess that I’m a curmudgeonly old sod but the honest truth I’ve never really been one for personal celebrations or indeed “jolly, festive occasions” generally. My parents insisted that [...]

December 26, 2023 // 0 Comments

Xmas Day Thoughts

There seems to be a disconnect to the way that Xmas is built up, particularly in the TV ads, and people’s actual enjoyment of the so-called festive period. As a single person I guess there are those that feel sorry for me, deprived as I am of a family Xmas. For me, its a time to read, listen to [...]

December 25, 2023 // 0 Comments

Melissa Caddick

I watched episodes two and three of these programme about the disappearance of Melissa Caddick – and the documentary on Thursday – and at times it was hard to differentiate between fact and fiction. I cannot believe that so many suckers were taken in by the fraudster. She had no licence [...]

December 23, 2023 // 0 Comments

Rugby Union in England – heading for a crisis?

Based upon history and indeed ongoing current evidence, it might be thought by some sports lovers that somehow “it comes with the territory” that – to one degree or another – every field of endeavour, activity or game with serious pretensions to being a truly global sport [...]

December 22, 2023 // 0 Comments

Brighton 1 Olympique Marseille 0 (Europa League qualifying)

This was not a great game – and one which Olympique Marseille could have won –  so, in true Rust fashion, I will provide not a match report, which you can read elsewhere in the papers and/or on other websites, but my opinion of what victory means to Brighton and why Brighton have [...]

December 15, 2023 // 0 Comments

Sir Anthony Seldon talk

In the week I attended a talk by the headmaster and politician historian Sir Anthony Seldon, former head of Brighton College, Wellington and now Epsom College. One has to admire his energy as he has written and published many political works including a recent unflattering one of Boris Johnson. He [...]

December 9, 2023 // 0 Comments

The Tanner Report: Ipswich 1 Fulham 3 Caribou Cup

Fulham’s mainly reserves overcame Ipswich’s reserves 3-1 comfortably. Leicester City are running away with the Championship after relegation and clearly there is a gulf between the Premiership and the Championship. This is also reflected in some players on view last night. Cameron Burgess, the [...]

November 2, 2023 // 0 Comments

Are fans getting a fair deal?

As a kid I loved football annuals. I don’t know if they exist any more in this brave new world of social media and digital publishing but best of all were the photographs. I’m reminded of Harold Pinter’s poetic eulogy of Leonard Hutton: “I saw Leonard Hutton in his prime Different time, [...]

November 1, 2023 // 0 Comments

Bad week for the Beeb

It’s hardly been a great week for ‘Auntie’.    The Reckoning was produced by ITV studios but broadcast on Mondays and Tuesdays on BBC 1. The final episode’s credits revealed that an investigation by Newsnight into Sir Jimmy Savile had been dropped. Next up was their coverage of the [...]

October 22, 2023 // 0 Comments

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