Rugby

My not-so sporting weekend (so far)

Come the weekend and no doubt like many sport (but not betting) obsessed Brits yesterday I set my cable television controls for the Sky and BT channels – and, to be fair, also for the BBC1’s Football Focus with Dan Walker – in search of something entertaining and/or diverting to watch. [...]

September 27, 2020 // 0 Comments

The future of sport – discuss

As yesterday at 11.00am we watched Sir Patrick Vallance and Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty do their Two Ronnies act scaring the heebie-jeebies out of the UK general public with their presentation on the gathering storm of a second “Covid-19” wave of infections and deaths from 10 [...]

September 22, 2020 // 0 Comments

England white ball – top of the world

In the 50-odd years I have been following and covering sport the England international side has let itself and supporters down competitively. In international football tournaments we fail to beat the big boys, often as not losing in the quarter finals on penalties. In Rugby World Cups we produce [...]

September 14, 2020 // 0 Comments

Ah well, there’s always next season …

Saturday 5th September 2020: English Premiership – Round 18 – Harlequins v Bath Rugby at The Stoop, kick-off 2.00pm. Result: Harlequins 27 Bath Rugby 41. Harlequins 0 league points: Bath Rugby 5 league points (1 bonus). New league positions: Bath Rugby 5th, on 50 points; Harlequins 8th, on 37 [...]

September 6, 2020 // 0 Comments

Once more unto the breach … (again)

For obvious (coronavirus) reason Rugby’s 2019-2020 Premiership season made a welcome but weird and tentative return last night at the Stoop some three months after it had scheduled to finish in May, with the 7th in the table Harlequins hosting 2nd-placed Sale Sharks. Despite its inherent sexism, [...]

August 15, 2020 // 0 Comments

Back in the fold again …

No longer able to claim my former status as a correspondent – I unofficially retired from my post as a contributor on matters relating to English rugby Premiership team Harlequins three or four years ago (depending upon which season/year one is talking about) having become disillusioned with both [...]

August 10, 2020 // 0 Comments

What’s in a name? Plenty … er, obviously

It’s stating the obvious to mention it, but in a 21st Century dominated as it is in cultural and campaigning circles by themes of equality, diversity, LGBT [and is it Q? – in any event, the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning rights], anti-colonialist and [...]

July 8, 2020 // 0 Comments

One who made it and one who never did

For a fascinating piece on an all-time English cricketing great – and also a New Zealander who toured represented his country at both cricket and rugby, albeit without playing a Test match in either – Rusters interested in sport should follow my link below to Simon Burnton’s [...]

June 24, 2020 // 0 Comments

A welcome return on the far side of the world

Yesterday, tipped off by reading Sandra McDowell’s piece in the Rust, after going out for a short walk to collect my newspapers, I made a deliberate decision to tune in to the Sky Sports Main Event channel and have the inaugural match of New Zealand’s new five-team rugby tournament Super Rugby [...]

June 14, 2020 // 0 Comments

Fiddling while Rome burns (and why not?)

Somewhere around 6.30am this morning Him Indoors will be bringing me my first cup of weekend tea in bed. After that we shall gradually prepare to make our way to the drawing room to watch Sky Sports’ live coverage of the Highlanders taking on the Chiefs in Dunedin in the opening game of Super [...]

June 13, 2020 // 0 Comments

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The Tanner Report: Fulham 0 Aston Villa 3

September 29, 2020 // 0 Comments

Where does Head Coach Scott Parker go from here? Fulham have lost their first three games each by a margin of 3 goals. The first against Arsenal was justifiable but the next [...]
North by Northwest 1959

September 28, 2020 // 0 Comments

The other day a good friend told me he knew someone living on his own who derived much pleasure from Cary Grant films. For me the king of Romantic Comedy was at his peak with [...]
Brighton 2 Manchester United 3

September 27, 2020 // 0 Comments

The Seagulls can count themseves unlucky to lose this one. Leandro Trossard struck the frame of the United goal three times and the VAR decision that Neil Maupay handled the [...]
My not-so sporting weekend (so far)

September 27, 2020 // 0 Comments

Come the weekend and no doubt like many sport (but not betting) obsessed Brits yesterday I set my cable television controls for the Sky and BT channels – and, to be fair, [...]
What the doctor said

September 26, 2020 // 0 Comments

Throughout the pandemic I have heard very little from doctors on the coal face on how grave the situation is. This is a question I posed to the doctor who gave me a thorough [...]