Six Nations Week Two Predictions

Last week Malcand me were both 100% on the results but he has the edge on points difference. For Ireland v Italy he was 7 points away to my 14, England v Wales 8 to my 10 but for Scotland v France I was only 8 points off, edging his 9. Those are cumulative differences from the actual scores of both teams giving him a 24 to 32 lead.

So on with this week.

France 20 -24 Ireland

Wales 21-10 Scotland
Italy 13-34 England

Game one is in Paris and may well be seen as the Championship decider. Ireland are still unbeaten since 2008. But O'Gara is being retained ahead of the fit again John Sexton, who to me looks as good as O'Gara, just a few years back rather than the one of today. France are without Aurelien Rougerie and Benjamin Fall after injuries they sustained at Murrayfield. However, I think the French scrum half Morgan Parra may have just given added incentive for the French to win in Paris for only the third time since 1952, by calling them cheats. Has he forgotten which player on the same park 'cheated' in the two nations meeting in football.

Wales take on Scotland in Cardiff and I'm sorry to say to the Scots but I don't think the Welsh will be giving away 10 minutes of sin binning a crucial player at the crunch time again. They were almost ready to dominate England last weekend, while the Scots failed to cut out the errors that gave the French the came just down the track from me here. Wales will win this with ease I feel never being troubled by the Scots, even with Euan Murray back for this 'Saturday' game.

On Valentines Day the English won't be wasting any love on their hosts in Rome. I don't think the English will take their foot off the pedal in the second half as the Irish appeared to last week, so I may well have underestimated the score line here. England to win setting up the next game to decide the championship if I'm right all weekend at Twickenham in a fortnight's time.

Six Nations Week One Predictions

Malc is back blogging. Hurrah!! And has laid down the gauntlet of predicting the scores if the Six Nations. So here is my take on the weekend's action.

Ireland 41-9 Italy
England 21-16 Wales
Scotland 16-17 France

Game one is in Dublin. The only decision to be made is in the score. I see Ireland dominating the Azurri. The only real choice is how many tries they can run in, I expect the majority of Ireland's tries to be in the second half.

I think game two may well be between the two teams challenging Ireland for the trophy BO'D is carrying above. However, England will kick their way to victory. They always seem to.

I think Scotland will be up for Les Bleus arrival at Murrayfield. I remember two years ago partying away with some French fans in the Grassmarket into the small hours. I think they will be celebrating again this weekend but only by the skin of their teeth.

Final Farewell to Bard of Scottish Rugby

You may have had to make a "wee shimmy" today in Hawick to get a glance at the coffin carrying the voice, nae the bard, of Rugby Bill McLaren on his final home match.

On the birthday of the Bard of Ayrshire what more appropriate day to lay to rest the Bard of Hawick. There may be dancing of the streets all over Scotland tonight at Burns' suppers up and down the land. It will not be because McLaren told them so, but it seems a fitting way to mark his final journey earlier to day. I just hope nobody is like they have "kicked 3 lbs of haggis" tonight that is for the eating tonight.

Thankfully the hearse didn't "take off like a frightened" anything but carried the voice, now silent, at a sedate pace.

They'll Be Mourning on the Streets of Hawick this Evening

The voice of Rugby, especially Scottish Rugby, but the Five/Six Nations as well Bill McLaren has passed away aged 86. From 1953 when he first commentated on Rugby Union on the Radio through the migration to television 6 years later until he retired in 2002 he was the voice that many people associate with Rugby Union in the same way that Eddie Waning's was with Rugby League.

He is the only non-player to have been invested into Rugby's Hall of Fame and there is good reason for that.

Of course he was famous anytime a Scot performed a particularly spectacular play that looked like leading to a certain win but saying:

"They'll be dancing in the streets of [insert appropriate home town of player] tonight."

No doubt tonight they'll be mourning on the streets of Hawick, one of the homes of Rugby in the Scottish Borders, tonight for a true gentleman, scholar, legend an authority of the game.

Bill McLaren 1923-2010

UPDATE: The following is a compilation of some of the phrases he would come up with on the hoof.



Further Update: Here is a Keith Wilson poem as featured on BBC TV about the six nations, of course we only hear the voice of one commentator. Of course none other than the voice of Rugby.

Rugby Men Really Do Make the Tough Calls

In the last week there have been two revelations from the tough men of Rugby Union. The first came from Scotland's Euan Murray who has refound his Christian faith and as such is not playing any rugby at any level on a Sunday. Then there was Gareth Thomas of Wales coming out as gay.

The former has made a decision passed on his personal belief and the later has made it known just who he happens to be. Neither of them should really have been headline grabbers yet somehow both are. For Euan it is following the footsteps of Eric Liddel or more recently Jonathan Edwards, but it is his decision and one he has taken which is being respected by his national coaches. As for Gareth as he himself says:

"I don't want to be known as a gay rugby player. I am a rugby player first and foremost. I am a man. I just happen to be gay. It's irrelevant. What I choose to do when I close the door at home has nothing to do with what I have achieved in rugby."

Indeed that is what we desire for all out sportspeople, their race, religious beliefs, sexuality should not be part of how they are remembered, it is what they do in the field of play that is and should always be important.

Yet the fact is that so few of our sportsmen are able to be honest, maybe with themselves, maybe with others that this is actually an issue, so much so that it startles some of the rest of the world. Of course rugby is far ahead of some of our other sports as far as making these choices seems to be respected and honoured. Not since Justin Fashanu has there been an openly gay footballer in this country, though the chances are that there are several out there. Also could you imagine a footballer going up to Alex Ferguson or any other manager and saying they'll not be playing any games on Sunday this season.

It is tougher being the first but it shouldn't be. Looking at the reactions of both the players respective coaches and organisations you see that maybe there is hope in the world of sport, of course the fans are another matter. I know full well how anti-gay some of the chants in a football crowd can be, and yes they are worse than your rugby crowd, but maybe they will actually act well once it is less of a novelty. But it is the aim that all sports fans should really be aiming for a normality for all their players.

Cross Posting: My Rugby Filled Saturday

This is cross posting to an article I wrote for Slugger O'Toole on Saturday morning.

This Nipple is suffering reverse rugby culture shock

Living as I do only a 30 minute train ride out from Edinburgh my insatiable thirst for Rugby is easily satisfied at Scotland’s national stadium. Though my Scottish friends have threatened to ban me attending 6 Nations games if our lads in green keep winning.

However, this weekend for me, a political activist, is just the two weekends before the voting in the Euro elections so I was heading into town for more campaigning. So I trundled down for the 10:25 from Bathgate, normally a pretty quiet service to see a queue of confused looking people at the ticket machine. < Read More >

Top O' the Mornin'

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

We'll let you all join in just don't turn too much of the "Black Stuff" green we don't like it like that. It's too American.

As for you lot down in Cardiff, enjoy it while you can we'll be moving the party there for the weekend. At least those who aren't still recovering from Cheltenham. So get the stocks of Guinness in we'll be celebrating come what may, but hopefully the end of 61 years of waiting. But you can join in I'm sure.

RBS Cut's Back Sports Sponsorship

A few weeks ago, before the whole debacle over their bonuses, the Royal Bank of Scotland had extended their sponsorship of the RBS Six Nations to 2013. After the fall out from that today's news that they are to scale back their sponsorship substantially.

What it entails is the end of their sponsorship of the Williams Formula 1 team when the current contract expires in 2010. Also a reduction of the contribution to their sports ambassadors including Andy Murray, Zara Philips and Jack Nicholas as well as other lesser deals. The net effect is a 50% reduction of their tens of millions in sponsorship.

Dr Andrew McLaughlin, RBS group director said:

"We recognise that we are now operating in a very different economic
environment and have been reviewing all of our activities since
October.

"It is imperative that we respond to the reality of the situation we face
and that we do so in an orderly way that respects the commercial agreements we
have in place and the implications for our partners and the jobs they support."

As a sportsman in my past I well recognise the benefits that sponsorship can bring to events and individuals. But as an Economics graduate I also realise that investment in sponsorship does not have a direct impact on the money making potential of a company and when times get tough will be seen as needless luxury that is hard to justify. Therefore RBS are making a sound business decision for themselves. Those they have sponsored will have to get on the treadmill and find out if anyone(s) else will take up the slack and the hole left in their budgeting.

Although Williams will have to replace their £10m per annum deal Sir Jackie Stewart is beleived to he holding out for his £4m deal, unlike Andy Murray who is happy to renegotiate his deal.

Rugger Club Booted Into Touch

Now in my University career I often had run ins with the Rugby Club. See as Treasurer of one of the light sports (ie small budget) there was a constant conflict with the heavy sports (including the king pins Rugby) over allocation of funding. Some of the most heated discussions in the Students Union (apart from the cultural role of Neighbours) was always the annual budget allocations. Often fighting to defend money to three of the often overlooked areas of student life boy did I usually go shoulder to shoulder with the Rugby guys.

We also tended to go shoulder to shoulder with them every Wednesday and Saturday night in the main Union Bar (actually I should now call it the Guild of Students as it was named when I returned to repeat my final year in the new Kingston University). Of course Rugby players are going to be one of the, if not the, most raucous sports groups on campus. What other sort of guys, and gals, are you going to get who want to ruck and maul, risk losing teeth (more in some cases), bruised and batter face, or possible spinal injury (even despite new guidelines). They like all student sportspeople love to unwind. Most students are aware that Wednesdays and Saturdays after sports activities that the various teams will return to base to let off steam.

Therefore the fact the SRFU founding member Glasgow University Rugby Club like to unwind boisterously is no surprise. What is a surprise is the decision by the University Court to ban them from using the University's name from 1 January. Student sports clubs are also a transient beast, members come and go with the degree cycles. One of the players has said:

"It's simply not fair that we are being punished for incidents that go back six
years, when none of us was playing."

Another pointed out a possible level of victimisation going on when he said:

"What makes us worse than any other rugby club in Britain? What do they do
when they win a game? Take their tops off and sing a few songs. That's what we
do.

"Besides, the union holds Iron Stomach drinking competitions, when
people take their tops off and the staff put out buckets for being sick in - and
that's acceptable."

Now there is always the point that each passing generation of students in a club want to best the legends of the past. Heaven knows if there are still rumours going around Kingston about the Cross County team inflatable banana, which always appeared on the final stage of the final leg in relays. Possible the University of Surrey still remember the occasion they stole away and burst said banana, only for it to reappear at the next event patched up and recovered. But I guess these tales have been exaggerated in the telling or bested by succeeding generations, or at least the tales have if the actions have not.

And that is the thing. The tales are often a heck of a lot worse that the actuality. The reputation often precedes the events. Some in the club have said it is doing its best to move from being a drinking club with a bit of a Rugby problem to a Rugby club with a bit of a drinking problem. Having been in University changing rooms with a whole mob of sports and in senior Rugby and other sports changing rooms and in the bars afterwards, I'd guess that Glasgow definitely aren't the worse behaved Rugby Club in Britain. Student teams have nothing on the schenanigans of those who have jobs, money and often a greater need and enthusiasm to unwind, but the University Court is making them out to be by their actions.

Scottish Highlights of the Rugby Season???

We're in the depths of the Six Nations Rugby tournament and the Scots would normally be gearing up for this weekend's Calcutta Cup match against the Auld Enemy England in high spirits.

But if the reaction to my getting on the coach to return from the football at Hamilton the last international weekend is anything to go by eyes are meandering elsewhere. For I boldly took off my Livingston top to reveal my Ireland jersey on arriving back at the coach around the 5 p.m. kick off time in the Ireland v Scotland game. Only for the initial comments of derision to turn in to comments I think you;ll at least be supporting one winning team today.

So with Scottish sporting hopes so low for this time of year step into the breath one Andy Murray. Yes in the depths of Rugby season and tennis is the saviour of the nations hopes. Yesterday he beat wold number 1 Roger Federer without once facing a break point.

Now admittedly in 2008 half of the tournaments Andy has played he has been knocked out in the first round. However, the other half he has gone on to win. In fact he has tended to alternate these two all year. So Roger should have known he was doomed from the start as in the last tournament Andy played in he was knocked out in Round one.

Of course gentleman Rog is not going to hold sour grapes. Ahem!

OK so he'll criticise the style of the youngsters play which he says hasn't changed since they first met in 2005. But hang on he's beating Roger twice in their last 3 outings, is in the top 10. Yes maybe he runs a player around and waits for the mistakes, but he has youth on his side and no doubt his style will change as he gets older. Is Roger getting worried? Methinks he doth protest a little too much.

No Slam This Year

It has been a good weekend for many rugby followers, my apologies to Peter Black and and the whole plethora of English Lib Dem Bloggers. As an Irishman resident in Scotland it has been a glorious weekend. We are three weeks into this years six nations and already no country is on course for a Grand Slam and only Italy are really out of the running for winning this season.

With Scotland beating the previously unbeaten English at Murrayfield yesterday, I wish I'd not attempted to change trains at Haymarket at 4:45 yesterday and Ireland beating Waled this afternoon, I'm one happy rugby fan. Now there are four countries with a 2-1 record, England, France, Ireland and Scotland. It makes all the matches in the last two weeks vitally important.

I'm just happy that Ireland are not scheduled to play Scotland during Scottish confernece weekend this year. A couple of years back at the BBC reception on the Friday night the head of BBC Scotland addressed the delgates by saying I hope you will all be cheering on Scotland as they take on Ireland in tomorrow evenings tie. I said out load not all of us, know the people to the left hand side would expect nothing less, only to turn to my right and see the then Scottish leader Jim Wallace smiling braodly at my comment. Fortunately he has not bourn me a grudge. Although I am led to believe we were cheering on different teams at Murrayfiled last year.

Mind you Ireland have the last game of this years six nations on 18th March when we take on England at Twickenham. Who knows how important that game will turn out to be for both teams?