Bleater's Blog
  1. The Season Run In
  2. It’s Six Nations Time!
  3. 2024 Has Arrived
  4. It’s Nearly Here…… January
  5. Countdown to Chri….. January!
  6. RWC 2023 - The Final Approaches
  7. Rugby World Cup 2023 Plus
  8. The Rugby World Cup Approaches
  9. The Summer Break
  10. The Final Countdown
  11. The Summer Tours Up Next
  12. Rugby Continues Thankfully
  13. The Six Nations - Happy Days
  14. 2023 Has Arrived
  15. The Halfway Point of the Season
  16. The Season Continues into Autumn
  17. Here we go! A new season
  18. The Twilight Zone
  19. The Season is Nearly Over
  20. The Six Nations and Some
  21. The 6 Nations Begins
  22. 2022 and All THAT!
  23. Christmas is nearly upon us!!
  24. We’re Still Waiting
  25. The Season Progresses
  26. At Last - We are back
  27. The New Season is Nearly Here
  28. Lions Tests are Here!
  29. The Lions Up next
  30. Now It’s Europe
  31. 6 Nations Beckons
  32. 2021 at last! A year of renewed hope!
  33. A New Premiership Season
  34. Still NO Grassroots Rugby!!!!!
  35. It Continues - NO GRASSROOTS RUGBY!!
  36. No End In Sight To The Madness
  37. Autumn Internationals BUT Still NO Crowds
  38. We're Back - In Part At Least
  39. The Restart is Still a Long Way Away
  40. When will we play again?
  41. Time for a beer and a haircut!!
  42. It's easing apparently???!!!
  43. Behind Closed Doors or ...... ??
  44. Lockdown or not to lockdown
  45. The Debate Continues
  46. Yet another new page
  47. The Nightmare Continues - the blog
  48. The Season Grinds to a Halt
  49. The Season Moves On
  50. It's Official - The Drought is Over
  51. 6 Nations Starts
  52. Another New Page - Sorry
  53. 6 Nations Beckons
  54. Welcome To A New Decade
  55. It'll soon be over. Xmas that is
  56. Xmas is Coming
  57. Back to the Grassroots Game
  58. Bleater in Japan
  59. The Grassroots Season Starts
  60. Not Long Now!
  61. Japan Still Beckons
  62. Japan Beckons
  63. Nearly Time To Look Ahead
  64. The Summer Break is Here
  65. The Final Countdown
  66. Yet another section of drivel
  67. The Season Continues for a Little Longer
  68. The 6 Nations Continues
  69. Six Nations and More
  70. It's RWC Year!!
  71. Its Definitely Winter
  72. Winter is here. Brrrr!!!
  73. Its the Autumn, soon to be Winter
  74. We Are Off And Running
  75. The New Season Approaches
  76. Still the Summer Tours Go On
  77. The Summer Internationals Plus, Plus
  78. The Season Climax Approaches
  79. Summer is Coming
  80. Another Section, More Drivel
  81. 2018 Already!!!! It'll soon be Xmas
  82. The Season Approaches the Half Way Point
  83. The Season Takes Shape
  84. The Season Starts
  85. More Pre-Season Build Up
  86. Pre-Season and Other Stuff
  87. The Lions Tested
  88. The Lions Roar
  89. We Are Still Counting Down
  90. It's All About The Lions
  91. The Countdown to Season's End
  92. The Season Continues Apace
  93. It's Time for the 6 Nations
  94. 2017 - Let The Fun Begin
  95. The Big Man Will Be Here Soon
  96. Let's Countdown to You Know What
  97. It's Time For Europe
  98. The Season Is Well Underway
  99. At Last Let The Competition Begin
  100. Not Long to the New Season
  101. Not So Much Rugby Now
  102. Still Plenty of Rugby to Debate
  103. The Summer Break
  104. Here Comes Summer
  105. They Think It's All Over
  106. Jones - A New Era
  107. It Was A Grand Slam!!!!
  108. 6 Nations - A Grand Slam??
  109. Six Nations 2016
  110. A New Captain, A New Start
  111. Welcome to 2016
  112. The Countdown to Christmas
  113. Winter Has Arrived
  114. November Movember
  115. The World Cup Is Over
  116. Rugby World Cup Quarters
  117. Rugby World Cup into the knockout stages
  118. Rugby World Cup Day 9 to Day 24
  119. Rugby World Cup Day 1 to Day 8
  120. Sept 9th to Sept 17th
  121. August 24th to September 7th
  122. August 11th to August 23rd
  123. July 16th to August 9th
  124. July 1st to July 15th
  125. June 17th to June 29th
  126. June 2nd to June 16th
  127. May 19th to June 1st
  128. May 7th to May 17th
  129. April 28th to May 6th
  130. April 22nd to April 27th
  131. April 13th to April 21st
  132. March 13th to Aprill 11th
  133. March 5th to March 12th
Bleater's Blog
  1. The Season Run In
  2. It’s Six Nations Time!
  3. 2024 Has Arrived
  4. It’s Nearly Here…… January
  5. Countdown to Chri….. January!
  6. RWC 2023 - The Final Approaches
  7. Rugby World Cup 2023 Plus
  8. The Rugby World Cup Approaches
  9. The Summer Break
  10. The Final Countdown
  11. The Summer Tours Up Next
  12. Rugby Continues Thankfully
  13. The Six Nations - Happy Days
  14. 2023 Has Arrived
  15. The Halfway Point of the Season
  16. The Season Continues into Autumn
  17. Here we go! A new season
  18. The Twilight Zone
  19. The Season is Nearly Over
  20. The Six Nations and Some
  21. The 6 Nations Begins
  22. 2022 and All THAT!
  23. Christmas is nearly upon us!!
  24. We’re Still Waiting
  25. The Season Progresses
  26. At Last - We are back
  27. The New Season is Nearly Here
  28. Lions Tests are Here!
  29. The Lions Up next
  30. Now It’s Europe
  31. 6 Nations Beckons
  32. 2021 at last! A year of renewed hope!
  33. A New Premiership Season
  34. Still NO Grassroots Rugby!!!!!
  35. It Continues - NO GRASSROOTS RUGBY!!
  36. No End In Sight To The Madness
  37. Autumn Internationals BUT Still NO Crowds
  38. We're Back - In Part At Least
  39. The Restart is Still a Long Way Away
  40. When will we play again?
  41. Time for a beer and a haircut!!
  42. It's easing apparently???!!!
  43. Behind Closed Doors or ...... ??
  44. Lockdown or not to lockdown
  45. The Debate Continues
  46. Yet another new page
  47. The Nightmare Continues - the blog
  48. The Season Grinds to a Halt
  49. The Season Moves On
  50. It's Official - The Drought is Over
  51. 6 Nations Starts
  52. Another New Page - Sorry
  53. 6 Nations Beckons
  54. Welcome To A New Decade
  55. It'll soon be over. Xmas that is
  56. Xmas is Coming
  57. Back to the Grassroots Game
  58. Bleater in Japan
  59. The Grassroots Season Starts
  60. Not Long Now!
  61. Japan Still Beckons
  62. Japan Beckons
  63. Nearly Time To Look Ahead
  64. The Summer Break is Here
  65. The Final Countdown
  66. Yet another section of drivel
  67. The Season Continues for a Little Longer
  68. The 6 Nations Continues
  69. Six Nations and More
  70. It's RWC Year!!
  71. Its Definitely Winter
  72. Winter is here. Brrrr!!!
  73. Its the Autumn, soon to be Winter
  74. We Are Off And Running
  75. The New Season Approaches
  76. Still the Summer Tours Go On
  77. The Summer Internationals Plus, Plus
  78. The Season Climax Approaches
  79. Summer is Coming
  80. Another Section, More Drivel
  81. 2018 Already!!!! It'll soon be Xmas
  82. The Season Approaches the Half Way Point
  83. The Season Takes Shape
  84. The Season Starts
  85. More Pre-Season Build Up
  86. Pre-Season and Other Stuff
  87. The Lions Tested
  88. The Lions Roar
  89. We Are Still Counting Down
  90. It's All About The Lions
  91. The Countdown to Season's End
  92. The Season Continues Apace
  93. It's Time for the 6 Nations
  94. 2017 - Let The Fun Begin
  95. The Big Man Will Be Here Soon
  96. Let's Countdown to You Know What
  97. It's Time For Europe
  98. The Season Is Well Underway
  99. At Last Let The Competition Begin
  100. Not Long to the New Season
  101. Not So Much Rugby Now
  102. Still Plenty of Rugby to Debate
  103. The Summer Break
  104. Here Comes Summer
  105. They Think It's All Over
  106. Jones - A New Era
  107. It Was A Grand Slam!!!!
  108. 6 Nations - A Grand Slam??
  109. Six Nations 2016
  110. A New Captain, A New Start
  111. Welcome to 2016
  112. The Countdown to Christmas
  113. Winter Has Arrived
  114. November Movember
  115. The World Cup Is Over
  116. Rugby World Cup Quarters
  117. Rugby World Cup into the knockout stages
  118. Rugby World Cup Day 9 to Day 24
  119. Rugby World Cup Day 1 to Day 8
  120. Sept 9th to Sept 17th
  121. August 24th to September 7th
  122. August 11th to August 23rd
  123. July 16th to August 9th
  124. July 1st to July 15th
  125. June 17th to June 29th
  126. June 2nd to June 16th
  127. May 19th to June 1st
  128. May 7th to May 17th
  129. April 28th to May 6th
  130. April 22nd to April 27th
  131. April 13th to April 21st
  132. March 13th to Aprill 11th
  133. March 5th to March 12th
2021 at last! A year of renewed hope!
Bleater's Blog 32 of 133

32. 2021 at last! A year of renewed hope!


Saturday 30th Jan: 09:10

What a fantastic game last night but more on that in a moment. Obviously the fact the Friday Club were having a limerick competition over zoom caught the imagination of some of you. Thank you Paddy and Nigel for your contributions. Yes, mine was controversial and went down like the Titanic on a stormy night in the Atlantic. I have also been surprised by the positive response to the crap dad jokes. All I can say is keep reading.

So to Ashton Gate. I’d anticipated a good game and that is what we got. So much so that within seconds of the final whistle I got a mail from a life long Bath supporter eulogising about the quality of Bristol’s rugby. He was not wrong. Bristol, especially in that first half, tore Bath apart. Put to one side the fact Bath were without a couple of their internationals and they lost both second rows early on, a full strength Bath side would not have been able to contain the Bears. The ball was moved quickly away from contact, the support play and off-loading was sublime and the decision making spot on. Yes there was plenty of one out runners and a number of rolling mauls but this was rugby as it should be played, and don’t forget Harry Randall and Max Malins are with England. The scrum half Uren was outstanding and you can see why Wayne Pivac capped Ioan Lloyd in the autumn. O’Connor in the centre was superb and the South Island contingent were simply irresistible. Bath tried to play to their game plan but they simply weren’t able to a) get enough ball and b) execute because Bristol in defence were on top form. Bath’s defence was poor at times. I’ve seen Crowborough Under 14s keep a better defensive line! What a great game enhanced by my special “upside down” fish pie and plenty of Sav to wash it down with.

Sale fought back to finally over come Leicester Tigers. Haven’t seen any of this but it seems the South Africans stood up for their new coach; Alex Sanderson.

Today Gloucester host the Saints and Worcester welcome Exeter. The game at Kingsholm should be the better of the two. Don’t forget the Currie Cup final is on SKY 12:55pm and Scarlets v Leinster is on S4C tonight from 19:15.

Good article in the Daily Fail about Shaun Edwards and why he turned his back on England. The same paper carries a story about how Premiership rugby clubs are partnering with local children’s hospices and businesses during the Covid crisis.

As I hit “save” yesterday so the French Government announced that the 6 Nations teams could travel to and from France without quarantine. Hoorah! The tournament can kick off as planned. More on this during the week.

Brexit has happened and as a “remainer” that was a sad day for me. However, looking at how the EU are behaving over vaccines and the pathetic, childish behaviour of von der Leyen, Macron and Merkel it might just turn out to be the best thing we have done. This whole vaccine thing is about Brexit. They are wetting themselves that other member states will now look at the UK with envy and think “we should exit too.”

By the way, even though there has been a slow done in the rate of vaccination the UK is doing very nicely thank you. A number of the Friday Club have been done, old farts as they are and I hear news of plenty of others around the country have had their appointments agreed. Will Mrs Bleater and I be having it.............. of course we will. Yes I could question some aspects of the process and the efficacy but having the jab is definitely the right thing to do.

Ok here it is........

Did you hear about the farmer who fed his pregnant pig Marmite.........

Last week she had 18 twiglets.

Wayne Pivac flies to Baghdad to watch a young Iraqi boy play rugby. He is suitably impressed and arranges for him to come over to Wales and sign for The Dragons with an eye on Welsh selection for the RWC.

Two weeks later The Dragons are 16-0 down against Ospreys with only 20 minutes left. The young Iraqi boy gets the nod and on he goes.

The lad is a sensation scoring 2 tries, setting up 2 more and kicks 4 goals in 20 minutes winning the game for Dragons. The fans and coaches are delighted and the media love the new star.

When the lad comes off the pitch he phones his mum to tell her about his first day in Welsh rugby... “Hello mum, guess what? I played for 20 minutes today. We were 16-0 down but I scored 2 tries, set up 2 tries and kicked 4 goals and we won. Everybody loves me; the fans, the media, they all love me”

“Wonderful: says his mum. “Let me tell you about my day. Your father got shot in the street and robbed, your sister and I were ambushed, beaten up and raped, now your brother has joined a gang of drug dealers, and all while you were having such a great time”

The young lad is very upset. “What can I say mum, but I’m really sorry”

“Sorry!!!!!! Sorry!!!!!” Screams his mum “its all your ffffnnnn fault we came to Newport in the first place”

Friday 29th Jan: 09:00

Busy, busy, busy yesterday hence no blog. There is much to comment on so let’s get on with it.

The Premiership returns tomorrow with a classic: Bristol v Bath. Bristol have been in fine form and will start as favourites. Bath on the other hand will be no pushover. It most certainly will be worth watching as both sides play with ambition as opposed to a defensive mindset. The other game will see Leicester Tigers host Sale. Richard Wigglesworth will be at No.9 for Tigers after the suspension rules were changed to take into consideration the “c” word. I’ll preview Saturday’s games tomorrow that is if I haven’t been excommunicated. It is the Friday Club zoom call tomorrow and we all have to submit a limerick. Mine is ............... wait for it............. Covid based.

Much in the news about The Lions. Gregor Townsend and Alun Wyn have come out saying the tour has to go ahead. We’d love that but I am 99% sure that if it does it will be UK based and that scuppers our plans to tour the wonderful country that is South Africa.

Johnny Sexton is a doubt for Ireland’s 6 Nations opener against Wales but is already looking ahead and is hoping for a final game showdown against England. Alun Wyn has an outside chance of making the 6 Nations contest with Ireland but I think he should take it easy until he his 100%ready. Lots of positive comments about Finn Russell and how he has come back into the squad a changed player. This comment reinforces my view Scotland could be the dark horses of the tournament.

The French could still scupper the whole tournament with their Government playing all sorts of political games especially ones that have the sole intention of screwing Britain because of Brexit. The Guardian have asked whether the tournament should go ahead with cases still running at “high” and deaths still causing concern. Good question. My view is yes we should. The world needs something to lift the mood. International sport even if played behind closed doors can do that.

England as favourites are in the spotlight. Is Marler’s international career over? Despite what King Eddie says I fear the answer is “yes”. The big talking point is how will the linchpins of Daly, Farrell, Itoje and George perform having not played any rugby since the moon landings (that is how it feels!!)

Plenty of transfer talk with Will Rowlands going from Wasps to Dragons at the end of the season. Saracens Ali Crossdale is heading to the Ricoh and Wasps.

In other sport Leicester City came away from Goodison Park with a fine 1-1 draw last night. I’ve been watching the luge on Eurosport. Those guys and gals must be certifiably insane. Close to 75 mph on a tea tray!! Chelsea sack Frank Lampard. That is not news that is an expectation.

Right, that’ll do except to say well done Boris: Wee Jimmie needs to be brought down a peg or three. She doesn’t give a damn about anything but her becoming Jimmie Queen of Scots. The EU stance on the vaccine is for one reason and one reason only: Britain has left the EU and is doing pretty good and right now the EU seeing UK vaccinating lots of people must be painful. One German paper has already said “you can see the benefit of Brexit”.

You might not like my opinion but I hope you can agree when I say it is an absolute disgrace that 99% of the contracts the UK government has given out during Covid have NOT gone out to tender. It is a DISGRACE with a capital “F”!!

I do love a good palindrome, or as they say in Wales,
"Selaw ni yas yeht sa ro, emordnilap doog a evol od I".

I can sympathise with batteries. I'm never included in anything either.

How many Mexicans does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Just Juan.

The current craze for people removing their brake lights shows no sign of stopping.

That dragon from The Hobbit is sick and tired of Scandinavian buffets.
Smaug is bored.

Numbers one to nine of the most common sports injuries concern upper legs, lower legs, knees, ankles, feet, hips, shoulders, necks, and backs.  Ten is elbow.

Wednesday 27th Jan: 08:30

England’s 6 Nations woes continue with the withdrawal of Sam Underhill from the squad. Underhill suffering from a hip injury will be replaced by Jack Willis. There is no guarantee Willis will make the starting XV but he isn’t a bad replacement me thinks. Charlie Ewell and Tom West are the other new arrivals replacing Launchbury and Marler.

The Guardian, thanks to the excellent Paul Kitson, carry an article on King Eddie’s impression of Alan Sugar and his willingness to “hire and fire” young talent. Jones has included many a young player in his squads with some getting the chance to win that coveted international cap. All too often however players are as quickly discarded if they don’t fit in to Jones’s very rigid model. Bath’s Zac Mercer is a perfect example. Not only spurned by Jones he has decided that England isn’t the place for him much to the delight of Montpellier. Another is Marcus Smith who as a precocious 18 year old was brought into a squad. Much time and effort was spent on developing his skills but is now nowhere to be seen in terms of England selection. He has lit up The Stoop on many occasions and many like me have questioned his absence. Jones won’t tell you why he is missing but I’ll have a guess that like others before him he simply isn’t compliant enough on and off the field. It’s a good article.

The South African influx continues with Jacques de Toit joining Bath. Will there be any players left in South Africa at this rate? Clubs will need to become bilingual with Afrikaans being the second language of the Premiership. With the rand to the pound what it is South Africans are cheap to employ and they tend to be enormous, something top flight rugby is obsessed with. It is a shame for all the plaudits about the academy systems players are simply not given the chance as it is easier to import a South African it seems.

BT Sports might now have Premiership over a barrel with Sky Sports ditching any plans to have a dedicated rugby channel for some time to come. It was Sky’s withdrawal from the race to buy up the TV rights that allowed BT Sports to renew their deal at a much reduced rate. With no-one currently showing any interest in showing Premiership rugby BT will be able to exert even more control on the game in terms of access to clubs, kick off times and potentially the decision to ring-fence or not.

The 6 Nations blazers have said games will not be cancelled due to Covid over the coming weeks. They intend, even at a much later date, plan to complete the tournament, as was the case with the 2020 tournament.

Gordon D’Arcy has written a piece in The Irish Times that home advantage counts for nought in the upcoming 6 Nations. He is right. There will be no screeching mob of Welsh valley girls in the Principality, no hard arsed Scots baying for blood (and independence), no horn blowing garlic munching Frenchmen screaming blue murder at anyone and everyone, and certainly no chisel jawed Paddy ready to leap the barriers and defend the try line with their life. It will all be quite muted and in many senses quite depressing.

Paul Gustard wasted no time in getting back in the saddle. He has signed a three year deal to be Benetton’s defence coach. A slightly odd move in my mind but there you have it.

That’ll do for today except to say Everton v Leicester City tonight.............

..... and of course a comment on the headlines. Don’t get me going about the EU and their pathetic efforts to scupper our progress with vaccinations when theirs is in disarray. If my grandson wasn’t due any minute I’d rip into that arrogant piece of Scottish dung Wee Jimmie Sturgeon. Let them have Independence but proper independence one where they are not propped up by English tax payer handouts and instead of independence they actually become subservient to the EU gravy train loving EU bureaucrats.

Yesterday Britain passed 100,000 deaths in the battle with Covid. Everyone of them sad and the current direction of travel with many younger people suffering with the worst symptoms makes it concerning. PLEASE remember that as bad as a 100,000 is it is a long way from the 500,000 predicted by Professor Lockdown Ferguson. Please also remember that on only three or four occasions did infections hit 50,000 per day a number the Brothers of Doom predicted we would see daily from November. Likewise thankfully we didn’t get close to the 4,000 deaths a day and only once got close to the more recent prediction of 2,000 deaths per day. PLEASE also remember the vast majority of those succumbing were elderly with underlying health issues. PLEASE also note that the vaccine roll out is going well and the physicians are continually finding new and more impactful ways of treating the virus. My final thought is according to the official stats as at last night 3.7m people have had it and 6.9m people have been vaccinated. Add in the 15m or so young people in the population that are at least risk surely things can now only get better and we can get out of this ludicrous house arrest for all and do what should have been done from the start; vehemently protect the most vulnerable with everyone else getting their lives back.

Tuesday 26th Jan: 07:30

Two cowboys are lost in the desert. One sees a tree draped in bacon. He shouts “a bacon tree. We’re saved”. He runs to the tree only to be cut down by a hail of bullets..........

It wasn’t a bacon tree at all.............. It was a ham bush!!!!

The situation at Harlequins is causing some conjecture. I’ve been asked about the possibility that Dean Richards might find a return to The Stoop appealing. I’m not sure he would. Newcastle are on a roll, he has built them up from the bottom and I think he would want to see that job through. I’m also sure he is enjoying the North East lifestyle versus moving back to the rat race which is South West London. I also believe there is much going on at Quins behind the scenes that might make a move for anyone somewhat less appealing. That said the Chisholm brothers have renewed their contracts. Two fine players who always give nothing less than 100% to the Quins cause and great supporters of the grassroots game.

Chris Ashton’s move to Worcester has now been confirmed.

Ireland have announced their 6 Nations squad. Jacob Stockdale and John Cooney are the notable absentees. Stockdale is injured but Cooney isn’t and has been replaced by uncapped Craig Casey. Johnny Sexton will captain the squad with Billy Burns and Ross Byrne being his understudies meaning no place for the elusive Jack Carty. Looking through the squad I think the starting XV will pick itself but those on the fringes are not household names.

As we approach the 6 Nations I’ll pick up on news as it comes in. You have to think England will start as favourites. With two front line props out before today the news that Joe Marler has withdrawn for family reasons might make that statement a little optimistic. It comes as no surprise that Marler has pulled out as he has struggled with the confinements of camp before. The loss of Joe Launchbury to injury will also be a blow to King Eddie, especially as Launchbury has been in fine form for Wasps.

France will be a tough nut to crack and many will see them as favourites. I have Scotland as the dark horses and one or both of Ireland and Wales could fail spectacularly.

Two 90 year old men, Mike and Joe, have been friends all of their lives.
When it's clear that Joe is dying, Mike visits him every day.
One day Mike says, "Joe, we both loved rugby all our lives, and we played rugby on Saturdays together for so many years. Please do me one favour, when you get to Heaven, somehow you must let me know if there's rugby there."
Joe looks up at Mike from his death bed, "Mike, you've been my best friend for many years. If it's at all possible, I'll do this favour for you."
Shortly after that, Joe passes on.
At midnight a couple of nights later, Mike is awakened from a sound sleep by a blinding flash of white light and a voice calling out to him, "Mike -- Mike."
"Who is it?" asks Mike sitting up suddenly. "Who is it?"
"Mike--it's me, Joe."
"You're not Joe. Joe just died."
"I'm telling you, it's me, Joe," insists the voice.
"Joe! Where are you?"
"In heaven," replies Joe. "I have some really good news and a little bad news."
"Tell me the good news first," says Mike.
"The good news," Joe says, "is that there IS rugby in heaven. Better yet, all of our old friends who died before us are here, too. Better even than that, we're all young again. Better still, it's always spring time and it never rains or snows. And, best of all, we can play rugby all we want, and we never get tired."
"That's fantastic," says Mike. "It's beyond my wildest dreams!
So what's the bad news?"
"You're in the team for this Saturday”.

That’ll do for now as the grandchildren are arriving shortly. If you’ve watched any news yesterday you will be aware of the issue of the schools being closed. It is a disgrace mired in bullshit and politics. My grandchildren are lucky in that they are getting plenty of support from us, their parents and the schools themselves. The key word is “lucky”. There are millions of kids who are losing out and that cannot be right and I haven’t even mentioned how the kids, even my grandchildren, are missing out on being with their friends.

Monday 25th Jan: 10:10

What a gorgeous morning; the sun shining out of a crystal clear blue sky onto frost laden ground. Just perfect for a long walk around the metropolis of Crowborough. A walk was what we did on Saturday and it was a heartening experience. Firstly more and more people willing to say “hello” to strangers, bumping into a young 9 year old sporting his Leicester City shirt and seeing Saxonbury House rattling through the old and the vulnerable. Yes the system in place at the GPs looked extremely efficient and I know that several of our long serving and loyal Friday Club members have received their Covid vaccination.

I’ll come back to that in a moment. In the meantime Leinster struck late to snatch victory against Munster. It sounds as if it was a hard fought win in a battle of defences.

Connacht were surprised by a late Ospreys onslaught with the Welsh side coming away with a fine win. Although they were down at half time they were deserved winners fielding a strong team including a number of Welsh squad members. It was Rhys Webb who has been left out the 6 Nations squad that caught the eye scoring two tries in the process. The Ospreys have been poor of late so it is hoped this win will be the turning point in their season. With so many key players in the Welsh squad however that might not prove to be the case.

In the other Pro 14 game Edinburgh beat Zebre despite losing George Taylor to a red card late on. This according to the papers was a scrappy affair.

Over in South Africa the Currie Cup final will be played between the Bulls and The Sharks. The sharks managed to hold on against Western Province in a game of attrition with the Bulls getting past Golden Lions in a much more entertaining encounter.

As expected Welsh Rugby has been given a lifeline by the Welsh Government. £13.5m is on its way to the WRU. This is not as much as hoped for but at a time like this beggars can’t be choosers. There is a counter argument in that Welsh rugby has been beset by poor financial management since long before the Covid crisis with player wages spiralling and that issue goes a long way down the league structure. It is possible that clubs might just wake up and smell the coffee and reorganise the way they operate.

Call me cynical but I did laugh at the headline stating “Ollie Lawrence is flattered by Manu Tuilagi comparison”. So Ollie you are a one dimensional dump truck who has a tendency to go off the rails. Flattering indeed. SKY for the story.

Nice article in The Daily Fail about the rise and rise of Max Malins. Here is a player with talent and has the potential to light up the 6 Nations if King Eddie gives him the opportunity. Malins a product of the Saracens academy now on loan at Bristol.

There is talk that Leicester Tigers are trying to woo Freddie Burns back into the fold. Burns is currently out in Japan but with Covid hitting them hard now not much by way of rugby is being played. Chris Ashton looks to be leaving Quins and set to join Worcester for one last hoorah. Ashton would join up with his old mate and sometime mentor Jonathan Thomas. As I have said Ashton won’t be the last to leave The Stoop......... me thinks!

In other sport Leicester City march on into the 5th round of the FA Cup with a fine win over a tenacious Brentford side. They now play Brighton and Hove Actually in the next round. Has Liverpool’s bubble burst? Another defeat this time to Man Utd in the cup.

The Super Bowl will be between Kansas City and Tampa Bay. Tom Brady yet again steered Tampa to victory with a great performance over the Packers. Green Bay losing on home soil was a surprise but never underestimate the Brady factor. When he left New England this was meant to be a final pay day in the sunshine. No-one expected the Bucks to come roaring into the Super Bowl the way they have. Despite home advantage the Chiefs will be clear favourites and if Patrick Mahomes is at is best I can’t seen anything other than that being the outcome.

Joe Root has rediscovered his mojo. Those scores against Sri Lanka are mighty impressive.

Back to the vaccinations before I go. The Government and the NHS and the volunteers are doing an amazing job and the roll out of the vaccine is at last something to be positive and proud off. There are a few issues however when you discover vaccination centres have found ways of giving excess vaccines to friends and family rather than working their way down the priority list. It can’t be rocket science to have people on stand-by if there is excess vaccine available at the end of the day?

The most serious issue even with a huge number of cases and an excellent vaccine roll-out the mood music from the Junta and the Doom mongers is about schools staying shut, travel being banned and lockdown continuing well into the summer. This is utter madness. Schools have to reopen and reopen soon and the country has to be released from this purgatory. People have become power crazed and that power is keeping us under house arrest which is actually doing more harm than it is good. If it not power it is vested interest. Can you imagine the universities/scientists who are having millions of pounds of research money thrown at them saying “of course it is ok to stop the lockdown” and then finding the money dries up. Of course it isn’t. Think about that you who criticise me for my views!!

Back tomorrow with a great bacon joke.

Saturday 23rd Jan: 10:30

Somewhat late this morning so for those who read early on a Saturday and think I haven’t done a blog then welcome to Sunday. Those who dip in and out, this drivel was written on Saturday and I’ll be back tomorrow.

I agree with my good friend and “leader of the pack” Damper that last night’s Scarlets v Cardiff affair was pretty average stuff at best. One huge forward pass saw Matthew Morgan go over for a try and some good work by Lee-Lo and Halahola in the Cardiff centre were pretty much the only things to talk about. It was a live game and with the accompaniment of a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc made it better than the other TV offerings last night.

King Eddie has picked Harry Randall after all. Is this Jones getting him on for 10 minutes at the end so he can’t play for Wales or is this an inspired selection indicating a change of tactical direction. Let me tell you I think this selection along with Paolo Odogwu is one that smacks of nothing more than spite. OK that might be harsh but! Both players have lit up the Premiership this season and are worthy of their selection but cold analysis tells you that neither play in the style that King Eddie wants; that is like a robot simply following the coaches inputs to the letter. The other talking point is the absence of Jonathan Joseph especially as the out of form Johnny May is included. Since his return to Gloucester he has done little but that said Joseph hasn’t exactly set the pitch alight for Bath. I am surprised Jones, much the same way as Pivac has done, is looking backwards and not using these next two seasons as the time to experiment. I use an old motivational saying “skate to fall”. If you don’t fall over you’ll never learn and therefore never improve.

Real shame Munster v Leinster is not available on other than Premier Sports. I read that both sides are “fully loaded” and raring to go.

Saracens have forfeited the game against Doncaster due to Covid. This is madness and it is an ominous omen for the Championship season ahead.

The scrapping of relegation from the Premiership this season has been according to the Daily Fail given the green light by The RFU. BT Sport have immediately stated they are unhappy with that scenario. Right now the TV money is the only thing keeping the clubs from going under. Whilst I stick by my opinion that over time ring-fencing could be the way forward and could be better for the game I have to add that hacking off the people who are keeping you fed is a foolish strategy.

Thinking about the 6 Nations I am still bemused by the absence of young Botham from the Welsh squad and the inclusion of Dan Lydiate. Botham was man of the match last night and certainly did more than enough in the recent autumn games to justify selection. Likewise I am surprised Ioan Lloyd of Bristol has missed out. Hey ho, what do I know.

The Lions. We might have an answer next week but in the meantime here are PKs reasons why a “home” tournament makes sense.......

Plenty of SA fans live in the UK

The window is available. Unions have agreed the dates and availability of players, home unions don’t clash with an international calendar

The venues are available

SAR has already stated they would look at “option Z” if it got the series played, so they are in

It would be a great marketing exercise to fans that had not done the tour, to prime them for Oz in 4 years’ time.

I also suspect the media companies have already made interim payments to the Lions business , sponsors have already booked the production slots for merchandise and other marketing material, so if it doesn’t go ahead, it could bankrupt the Lions or make significant dent in their viability.

If they do it gives a great opportunity for the hosts to have all kinds of games; fly in the SA teams to act as warms ups for the Boks, Saracens playing them, regional teams, Barbarians, the list goes on and the cash registers will sing

And finally, the chairman of The Lions is “Fun Bus”, Jason Leonard….. can’t see him allowing the Lions brand to fade!!!!!

Debate!

Finally Project Fear IV - Danger, Danger. When this virus hit it was all about the science. Now it is all about propaganda, subjugation & power, and bullshit. How can a Prime Minister tell us the people that we will be kept under house arrest for many months to come with our freedoms and civil liberties reduced even further on the basis of “mights” and “coulds”. This is complete bullshit and the politics of lunatics. As always you make your own minds up but this is absolute madness and as for the suggestion we pay everyone £500 to get a Covid test!!! When Matt Hancock suggests something as crazy as this you know the man is not the right man for the job. In fact in my book not the man for any job. If anyone has become a slave to power it is him. He is the new Blowfeld or Dr No or Dr Strangelove.

That’ll do. Back on Monday but not before saying well to the Crowborough GP surgeries. The vaccinations are underway and according to The Times are doing a splendid job.

Friday 22nd Jan: 08:35

Not a great deal new since yesterday but enough for me to crack open the keyboard.

Covid: what a mess. For some time I have bleated on about false positives. I have been criticised from many quarters for not being brainwashed into slavishly following the narrative served up on an hourly basis by the Government and its propaganda unit the BBC. Well, the people who are currently running the Premierships testing scheme, Randox, have had to offer up a huge apology after a cock-up meaning a number of false positives were entered into the system. It seems Bath have been the ones to suffer the most. It will be interesting to see what happens next. By the way the school testing scheme has already been put on hold because of the unreliability of testing and risk of false positives.

Don’t forget Cardiff Blues v Scarlets on S4C tonight. 134 on SKY. The reverse fixture was pretty good except for Liam Williams being a brain dead clown.

Leinster v Munster should be a cracker but sadly you’ll struggle to find it on TV.

Paul Rees of The Guardian has written an excellent piece about the dilemma facing top flight rugby and the ongoing ring-fencing debate. He makes some excellent points in favour of relegation and I am sure I am a lonely voice in suggesting ring-fencing is a good idea. Rees draws your attention to the French system where both the top flight and the Pro Deux (Championship) are fully funded unlike our system where the Championship is the poor relation. One solution is to throw more money at the Championship but that in turn would take money from the already cash-strapped grassroots game. A lot of the money would go on player wages and wage inflation which has been the issue in the Premiership. The article is certainly well worth reading though.

Rob Baxter has picked up the rugby writers “club personality of the year”. Well done to him.

Wales are about to offer Welsh rugby legend Gethin Jenkins the role of defence coach. I think he is an excellent choice.

England have agreed with the Premiership clubs that England squad members can say in camp for the entire 6 Nations. As mentioned yesterday this is a double edged sword with the risk of players becoming stir crazy. Wales on the other hand have to face the risk of their current Covid free squad being put at risk because the Premiership clubs are demanding players are released back to the clubs during the fallow weeks. Negotiations are under way but I doubt the clubs will move.

I had to go to Tunbridge Wells yesterday. It was depressing to see all the shops closed, many of them never to open again. Likewise driving past the many pubs and our very own club lying dormant during this period of lockdown. It is madness. I then had time to reflect on the real issue my grandchildren are having as the schools are closed. Likewise the issue my kids are facing on a daily basis balancing the needs of their kids and the expectations of their employers. What made my depression worse was reading how the jab is not a ticket to freedom, how the lockdown is likely to run right on into the summer, and how the scientists and politicians continue to play the doom card to keep us all subjugated. At some point people have to wake up to the notion there has to be a better way and unless we learn to live with the virus potentially there will be nothing to live for.

I went to my GP because of a terrible throbbing pain in my foot. 'I'm worried its grout Doc'.
'You mean gout ?' he said.
'Well, all I know is it's worse after a night on the tiles'.

Walking down the road last night, I passed an apple pie, an ice cream sundae, and a lemon cheesecake, but saw no people.
I thought "the streets are strangely desserted tonight".

I don't believe it, I’ve just failed my driving test on the highway code.
The fella said to me " if you are driving down a country road, what signs are you likely to see?" ..
I said..."Eggs for sale ..pick your own strawberries, and free manure."

I saw a lizard on his hind legs telling some great gags at the jungle night club, he had the animal audience in stitches.
I turned to the giraffe next to me and said
'this lizard’s really funny’ the giraffe said ‘thats not a lizard,
it’s a stand up chameleon’.

Thursday 21st Jan: 08:00

I doubt absence makes the heart grow fonder when it comes to Bleater being away from the keyboard. Probably a blessed relief for some who persevere with this drivel. There are however those who have sent a note this week saying: “keep on ranting”. Anyway, less of this waffle as there is plenty to get through.

The Oompa Loompa in Chief has left the building. Joe the Saviour has entered stage left. Let us now hope for some sanity from “over the pond”.

King Eddie has been forced into isolation, not before time some might say, as he has been in contact with forwards coach Matt Proudfoot who has tested positive for you know what. Jones will now miss the start of the 6 Nations campaign. This is a blow as assistant coach Jason Ryles had already absented himself due to travel fears. A relatively unknown, Ed Robinson, son of Bath great and former England and Scotland coach Andy has been drafted in. Ed is part of the coaching set up at Jersey Reds. BBC carries the full story on all these points.

King Eddie will be restricted to 28 players but despite what I suggested there maybe a surprise on the cards. There is much chatter about Paolo Odogwu, the Wasps speedster getting a call up. This could be a tactical move with Odogwu also being eligible for Italy through his father. Whatever happens there is also much being said about the length of time players will have to be away from their families. “Cabin fever” might be an issue Jones has to deal with.

As I type it has been announced that Harlequins have terminated Paul Gustard’s contract with immediate effect. General Manager Barry Millard will take overall charge with day to day coaching being done by Jerry Flannery, Nick Evans and the wonderful Adam Jones. This has been on the cards for some time I think, especially as rumours abound about a player exodus at the end of the season, especially as not all those leaving will be “of their own accord”.

Bath are in the headlines for a range of reasons. Firstly Covid has hit the camp with the training facilities being closed down and their game with Bristol already in doubt. Secondly it looks increasingly likely that Rhys Priestland is on his way back over the Severn Bridge as Bath announce the arrival of (another) South African Tian Schoeman from the Cheetahs. Bath’s Cameron Redpath has earned a Scotland call up thanks to his fine form to date.

Gregor Townsend has included three other uncapped players in his squad: David Cherry, Ewan Ashman and Alex Craig. Finn Russell returns after injury. More on this tomorrow ......... perhaps!

Wayne Pivac has also announced his extended squad with the recall of Dan Lydiate being the headline. He has been in good form but this feels a retrograde step as far as I am concerned. Rhys Webb is a notable absentee with Gareth Davies, Kieran Hardy and Tomas Williams getting the nod. Definitely more on this tomorrow.

Rassie Erasmus has gone on record that the Bokke don’t want to miss out on playing the Lions in the summer. It seems him and his squad are willing to play in the UK which in the minds of many makes that pretty much the only course of action open to the Lions right now. My mate PK has made the case for it to go ahead in the UK most eloquently. I will summarise his views tomorrow or on the weekend.

The final Irish trial takes place this weekend when Leinster and Munster go head to head. On Friday you can watch on S4C Cardiff Blues, now under the guidance of Dai Young host the Scarlets. Andy Farrell and Pivac will have their fingers crossed there are no injuries and players can avoid the pathetic indiscretion of the likes of Liam Williams.

Finally Ugo Monye has joined the debate about ring-fencing. He is clearly in the camp of “it musn’t happen”. I tend to disagree and use the NFL as an example. There is only the glory of the Super Bowl to play for and no fear of relegation. Very rarely do you see an uncompetitive game.

That’ll do for now except to thank my brother for the Covid update from Wales. I think it is fair to say Make Drakeford has not endeared himself to the populace of the Principality with his draconian rules. There is some concern that the age of those suffering is getting younger with some succumbing with no known co-morbidities. There are also some who come through it but not unscathed. Along with the death rate these are troubling developments but I continue to stick with my assertion that there has to be a better way.

Also the Government’s vaccine roll out is coming under pressure already and most worrying is the mood music indicating that there is no end in sight to the house arrest we are all under. FYI my mum gets the jab on Saturday.

By the way I find it absolutely appalling that an outsourcing company ultimately owned by Lord Ashcroft, a major Tory party donor has been given a £350m contract as part of the vaccination roll-out. When you have retired doctors, dentists, highly qualified professionals all offering their services for free this type of cronyism is a disgrace!!! Www.opendemocracy.net for the full story!

Monday 18th Jan: 09:25

It is so depressing when you see photos of Steel Cross looking pristine in the early morning sunshine and no-one can play on it. For me it is another example of the madness: young, fit, healthy men, women, boys and girls being denied their right to exercise and play sport by draconian and unnecessary lockdown rules.

Ealing Trailfinders and Saracens weren’t denied that pleasure on Saturday when they went head to head in a pre-season tri-club tournament. Sadly it wasn’t on TV but I understand that Ealing ran out worthy winners in a high scoring game. My Saracens correspondent is sure to tell me except for Billy Vunipola this was an academy side, or a 3rd XV against the strongest possible Ealing XV and I am sure there is something in that as outside Big Billy all the other internationals were absent.

I understand that Big Billy’s performance was underwhelming and Ealing more than justified their claims that if the Premiership is ring-fenced albeit temporarily then they deserve a chance to be included. Rumours again swirl around the top flight that in order to mitigate against loss due to Covid ring-fencing is the only way forward. If that were to happen Saracens would have to be included as they are a shareholder. Having 13 teams makes little sense so opening the door for Ealing to buy their way into the “club” would make some sense. As it stands there are number of proposals in the mix with ring-fencing only being in place for two years. My best guess would be once it is in place it would be hard to remove unless you made it even harder for those in the Championship to make the step up.

Saracens seem to be the centre of attention at the moment with rumours that the Wray family are looking for investment from outside to prop up the club. American investment is being talked about in conjunction with the redevelopment of one of the stands at their Hendon base, but more importantly one of the investment groups, MSD Capital, are talking about buying a sizeable stake, possibly up to 50%. Time will tell.

The Guardian’s Paul Rees has written an excellent piece about the state of rugby thanks to Covid, the impending litigation and the infighting. It is well worth reading as it captures the state of play across the globe with the new Japanese league openers being delayed, the battle of wits over The Lions tour, the possibility that the current Premiership hiatus being extended beyond the current two weeks, the impending litigation and of course the lack of any rugby below the elite level. It is well worth a read.

Eddie Jones will stick to the tried and tested when he announces his 6 Nations squad. There will be no place for experimentation or the luxury of exposing young talent to the England set-up. This down to the tighter restrictions being placed on the squad thanks to Covid. He can only have 28 players in his squad so rest assured they will be the 28 we have become use to.

Wales have had a boost with the WRU getting a Welsh Government cash injection of between £20 and £30m. This will help to offset the £50m losses they are currently enduring.

Elsewhere Alex Sanderson has been named as Sale’s new Head Coach. He is will replace Steve Diamond. Sanderson having played at Sale and worked under the excellent Mark McCall at Saracens for a number of years is an interesting choice. I think he will do well.

Glasgow beat Edinburgh in a very closely fought Pro14 encounter on Saturday. This has been described as a thriller but sadly you’ll have to accept my word for that unless of course you subscribe to Premier Sports.

Elsewhere a mixed bag of results for Bleater: Leicester City beating Southampton - Hoorah! Saints losing to the Buccaneers - Woe is me. On top of that Cardiff City lost and Newport County could only manage a draw.

My good friend Chichester Geoff, also now know as Nostradamus, has sent me a list of possible news headlines we might read in the papers during 2021. Enjoy! I’ll be back briefly tomorrow.

Chris Grayling becomes Health Minister to huge popular acclaim with slogan "Things can only get not much worse".
Mary Berry appointed School Dinner Tsaress - says "Let them eat cake".
Queen pardons Matt Hancock.
Alabama declares UDI from USA.
Donald Trump goes on buddhist retreat with Dalai Lama.
Government funds BBC over-75's Licence Fee as thank you for help in COVID propaganda campaign.
Matt Handcock becomes Prime Minister. Promises World Class status for UK by next Wednesday.
Tony Blair starts new Political Party after Labour implosion. To be called "Same Old New Labour".
Rail strikes resume. RMT spokesman says "It's a good time to do this now that we have more returning passengers to exploit". 
Levelling-up starts with tunnel under Stonehenge at cost of £1.6 billion.
Scotland declares UDI from UK - Shetland Isles declare UDI from Scotland - Muckle Roe declares UDI from Shetlands.
Mexico to build wall to stop refugees from civil war in USA.

Friday 15th Jan: 08:14

With no rugby planned for the weekend I am having difficulty finding stuff to write about that isn’t Covid or Trump related. As a consequence it is unlikely I will blog everyday for the next two weeks. I don’t want to be too specific as there might be some good non rugby stories worthy of comment and debate. In the mean time a couple of things to consider.

It has been decided how to complete the European Cups. For the record I fear that the governments of the countries involved are likely to knock elite sport on the head if this virus doesn’t slow down. Basically more unnecessary knee jerk reactions. The EPCR have opted for scrapping the lost games and going into a last 16 “shoot out”. The top eight teams in each conference as they stand now go into the knock out stage and it is a simple road to the final: win and you progress, lose and you go home. I agree with them as many of the games in the two cancelled rounds were dead rubbers anyway so “let’s just crack on”.

“British & Irish Lions playing at home betrays the team’s most cherished values” is the headline. I agree. The Lions are all about the tour. In today’s environment there is a case for expanding the franchise to include say Japan or the US or South America but fundamentally for the players and especially for the fans it is about “being there”. We have only done one and that was to Australia in 2013 but it was an amazing experience. Going to South Africa would be / will be great too. Going to Dublin I could pretty well do any time so it doesn’t hold anywhere near the same allure. My mate PK makes some very good arguments about a home tour allowing those not as fortunate as us (time & money) to see The Lions in the flesh. It would rekindle the notion of touring sides not just playing internationals. I can remember watching Newport play South Africa at Rodney Parade. Right now the home unions are on their uppers in terms of cash so such a tour would be a great cash generator. It is difficult to argue these well thought through points but I am not convinced. Only time will tell.

Liam Williams has been banned for his moment of stupidity when playing for Scarlets against Cardiff Blues. He will miss the opening 6 Nations contest against Ireland.

So to Covid. Today a number of papers have carried the story that once you have had Covid you carry a better immunity than having the jab. Bearing in mind that to date 3.2m people have been diagnosed with the virus (sadly 84,767 didn’t make it) and 2.9m people have been vaccinated. Those who follow the facts know that a significant number of people have not been recorded as having it because they have been asymptomatic which, I think, makes my argument about herd immunity and a rapid and focussed vaccination program eminently sensible?

I DO NOT underestimate the pressure on the NHS, especially the staff and I DO NOT belittle the virus but it is important we keep our feet on the ground.........
At this point I originally included plenty of stats that substantiated my claims but decided you have to make your own minds up. Be aware that unless you look beyond the BBC et al you won’t get any of the VERY well researched counter-arguments on lockdowns and masks for example. Please also remember that Hancock, Drakeford, Wee Jimmie, Sadiq Kahn are all politicians and they will all have VERY personal agendas which are not necessarily in our best interest.

Having seen the impact this is having on my grandchildren and their parents, and common sense tells me what the impact on the economy and the longer term health of this nation will be I stick to my ongoing argument that there has to be a better way.

As it happens one of those issues that people are now waking up to is mental health. I know from my own frustration how the virus can affect your ability to think straight and I am in a very privileged position with regard to finances etc. There was an excellent piece in the Daily Torygraph about Battersea Ironsides and how rugby is not immune from the problems. Many players, supporters, members, young and old rely on the rugby club for their social and physical well being. That has effectively been removed.

As Rod Liddell wrote in The Sunday Times potentially of even more concern is the limitations on our freedoms. You can’t tell me that the next time we have a flu epidemic or the NHS gets busy or the Government doesn’t like the direction of travel of the people’s views that we won’t be put under house arrest again, and again? You can bet your bottom dollar we will.

Here is a very controversial comment. Donald Trump has been one of the biggest risks to mankind for a very long time. He is an egotistical megalomaniac without the brains to carry it off. I despise what he stands for and what he has done and I say hoorah for the impeachment. However, I think him being censored from Twitter etc is the thin end of the wedge. Where does that argument start and therefore stop. Answers to ..............

Hope you like the new Friday Club masks?

Thursday 14th Jan: 08:00

Morning all,

As expected Kyle Sinckler got a couple of weeks off in addition to the next two weeks for his outburst towards Karl Dickson during the Exeter v Bristol match. He will now miss the opening 6 Nations match......... if that goes ahead.

The blazers seem pretty sure the tournament will go ahead but I’m not so sure. The Women and the Under 20s will have to wait until late spring or even into the summer.

Duncan Weir is on his way back to Glasgow at the end of the season. Shame for Worcester as I like him as a player.

A word of thanks to my mate Colin. The Rod Liddell article in The Sunday Times reinforces my view we are sleeping walking into a permanent restriction on our freedoms, whether it be speech or civil liberties or human rights. Our, in fact many governments have used the Covid situation to the gag and restrain us. More on this tomorrow.

That’ll do as we have a busy day today for a wide range of reasons.

Wednesday 13th Jan: 08:15

With potentially no rugby for the next two weeks it might be difficult to fill the blog with anything but Covid updates. That is not good for you and certainly not good for me. More on the plan for the next few weeks tomorrow or Friday.

BT Sports are allegedly looking at the possibility of showing Saracens planned warm-up games starting with Ealing Trailfinders this weekend. According to the Daily Fail it would be a “watered down” version of their normal coverage but coverage nonetheless.

With the European games being postponed, possibly cancelled, the Top 14 have pulled forward their fixtures to fill the void. The Premiership have steadfastly refused to do this despite the desire from coaches and players that they should do so. I get the distinct impression that in some respects for the French clubs the Covid thing is a smokescreen and they are very happy with the French Government’s decision.

The 6 Nations remains very much in doubt with the French demanding reassurances from both England and Ireland about the safety of their players, coaches etc before they agree to allowing the tournament to go ahead. Bizarrely they have agreed the game in Italy in a few weeks time can go ahead. This is political bullshit as there is no mention of the French having a problem with the incoming sides.

Going back to the European Cups a couple of the papers are reporting that the final two rounds have been cancelled and not postponed so the tournaments will become 16 team “shoot outs” in April and May. Just knock the whole thing on its head might be the best solution as tragic and defeatist as that sounds.

There is much talk about The Lions tour in the papers. As predicted by my good friend PK the groundswell of opinion is the only way the matches can go ahead is if they are played over here in the UK and Ireland. A petition has been started to try and get the Unions and others to allow the tour to be postponed by a year until 2022. I would buy into that as we want to go to South Africa and the Lions is the icing on the cake but I can’t see any of the four Unions agreeing to that plan as a) it disrupts their 2023 World Cup planning, b) disrupts their own tour plans and c) reduces revenue. The Lions is about playing overseas not here in the UK. If it is played here we won’t be going to any of the games. The fundamental flaw in all of this of course is there is no guarantee that the ruling Junta in any of the four countries where games could be played will allow crowds back into stadiums. Yes the vaccination program is under way but as we are already reading having the vaccine does not mean there will no longer be restrictions. I for one can see the tour being scrapped. Would that sound the death knell for The Lions in totality?

Thomas Francis is set to leave Exeter for the Ospreys at the end of the season. Good move for him, great move for the Ospreys and Wales.

No news on Kyle Sinckler yet. If his actions are proven I would be surprised if he walked away with just a slap on the wrists.

That’ll do for now as the grandson is due any minute and we have to help with his school stuff. I will leave however and say whilst the politicians bicker and try and score points that suit their own self-serving agenda we should applaud the fact our vaccination program is up and running. Yes there are issues and yes the bureaucracy that plagues the NHS is getting in the way and yes there are logistical difficulties and availability problems but were are doing ok. However, and yes I do have to whinge, I find it increasingly frustrating when those who have been trumpeting lockdown and protecting the NHS and the most vulnerable are now saying “me, me, me”. Teachers, bus drivers, shop workers and even a manager in the Premier League have all suggested they should be first in the queue. Each puts forward a plausible case BUT we have a plan that makes sense so let us get on with it. As I said yesterday prioritise those genuinely on the front line first and foremast, then the most vulnerable and work down what seems a sensible list of priorities. Vaccinating young, fit, healthy under 40/50s makes no sense. My notion of herd immunity working alongside the vaccine program has more legs than vaccinating pampered footballers.

Finally to the care home owner who managed to get the vaccine for his care home but didn’t give it to his staff or residents but to his family I suggest that a flogging and serious jail time would be too good for you.

I went into the library yesterday and asked the bloke at the desk if they had any books on paranoia- he whispered ‘They’re behind you!’

I’ve just paid £25 for the 3 mile taxi ride to the launderette. Can’t help feeling I’ve been taken to the cleaners.

Tuesday 12th Jan: 08:00

As expected the blazers managing the European competitions were left with no choice but to postpone the final two rounds of games. The minute the French Government got their size tens out and stuck the boot in, much to the delight of the French clubs, the decision became inevitable. The EPCR are confident they can still make the tournament work with the resumption due in April and May. The tournaments were already complicated so in my humble opinion I think that will be pretty tough indeed.

Several Premiership clubs have suggested that their league games could be brought forward to fill the void and ease fixture congestion later in the season. This has been turned down so we now face a two week rugby void. I would hazard a guess that BT Sport are talking with their lawyers about how to recoup some of their investment.

The 6 Nations must now be in doubt as a consequence on the French Government’s directive. There has been some good news for the Unions as CVC has done a deal to plough £365m into the tournament over the next five years. The RFU will pick up about £70 million of that. CVC get 14.5% of the commercial rights in return. This could be the death of 6 Nations rugby on terrestrial TV which would be a severe blow for the already beleaguered grassroots game.

Kyle Sinckler’s petulant outburst towards Karl Dickson has caught the attention of the citing officer. He will be in front of the bench shortly.

The central heating saga. So, during the course of the early hours of Sunday morning we discovered the pump for our CH had given up the ghost. No central heating on the coldest night/day for some time. Having a contract with British Gas I go on line and look for an emergency appointment. The earliest is next Friday Jan 15th. Why? You guessed it, because of Covid. That is bullshit I thought as they must be “key” workers. Then I find out the real reason. The gas engineers are on strike. Normally I would throw toys out of the pram at this moment but discovered the engineers are being shafted with the disgraceful trick of them all being made redundant then being told to reapply for their jobs which will then be at much reduced terms & conditions. Quite rightly the union has said “enough” and voted with their feet. So, also hidden away on the British Gas website was a note saying if you couldn’t get a repair within four days make your own arrangements and send them the bill, which is exactly what I did. We are lucky to have an ex British Gas engineer who now runs his own business living next door. Four hours later a new pump and new thermostat was installed and heating back on.

Whilst the weather wasn’t as nice as Sunday it was good enough for a decent walk yesterday. I called in at the club where our head groundsman was hard at work. I also bumped into a neighbour who told me about her daughter working at St Thomas’s on the front line of the battle with Covid. She has been working 7 day shifts with 16 hour days. As I walked I had time to ponder this and a recent report on the toll on nurses and doctors as they deal with the bereaved. It must be horrendous and I for one cannot imagine what it must be like. I also had time to ponder a recent article highlighting how millions and millions of pounds has been squandered on deals with the private health care sector. Money was wasted as red tape and NHS bureaucracy and inefficiency meant the beds freed up went unused. Those beds and the staff that goes with them are still available. I also wondered how these draconian lockdowns are affecting the situation. Based on all the data I have read they are not making a great deal of difference. The virus is rampant so locking up young people and closing schools is too late. My view is you put all your resources behind the most vulnerable and those working on the front line. You get as much of life back to normal and you get the vaccine into the most at risk and those working with the most at risk. If the virus is as rampant amongst the population as the scientists and the BBC are stating then despite protestations to the contrary herd immunity must come into play in the near future. You get the benefit of the vaccine and herd immunity....... but what do I know.

If the ruling Junta introduce even more draconian rules I believe it will have the opposite effect. I am sensing not just a weariness but a sense of anger. A revolt is bubbling away beneath the surface.

The Jokes du Jour

Doctor, doctor, I’ve accidentally swallowed a load of scrabble tiles.
I’m sure you’ll be ok.
It just feels like my next trip to the loo could spell disaster....

I had a really happy childhood. My dad used to to put me in tyres and roll me downhill. Those were Goodyear’s....

Finally did you hear the rumbling of a plane going overhead Crowborough last night around 10pm. That was the deep throated sound of a RAF four engined Airbus A400m returning to Brive Norton.

Monday 11th Jan: 10:15

Not such a nice start to the morning but we do have central heating. Hoorah! A story worth telling but later.

The Quins v London Irish game was better than I hoped for. There were some great passages of play, a little bit of controversy and a tense finish. Paddy Jackson slotted the conversion to draw the sides level followed by a few minutes of madness but neither side could seal the win. Marcus Smith is like a kangaroo on speed bouncing around and is definitely the lynch pin of all that is good about Quins. Yet again the question from the commentary team was: “will he stay or will he go?” Despite King Eddie having had people like JC mentor him over a number of years before he shot to prominence Smith seems destined to be the almost man behind Ford and Farrell for the England jersey. In my mind that is because he can go off script during games. His deliberate offside late on should have seen yellow and with a Quin already in the bin the home side could have been in serious trouble. London Irish are going to be no pushover and I can see then causing more than the occasional upset. The boy Parton at full back lit things up yesterday. Definitely another to keep an eye on.

I thank my good friend Damper for his summation of Friday’s game: “this Bath supporter of over 40 years thought the game on Friday night was superb. Win or lose it was great.” Spot on. He also went on to suggest that with the Quins v Irish game throwing up some serious entertainment maybe there has been a secret agreement between DoRs about making the game more open.

I believe today is the day when the French clubs in conjunction with their Government decide whether the European tournaments can go ahead. I fear the worst, mainly because a number of the clubs are eager for them not to go ahead. Typically French..... moi, moi, moi!

The views on the 6 Nations is mixed and depends on what paper you read. The Irish Times indicates that the tournament will almost certainly be postponed. The Daily Fail is more optimistic hinting the French will exclude the national team from any new travel restrictions. As they say, only time will tell. For the record I can see the women’s equivalent going the same way and I can’t see the Under 20 version going ahead at all.

Nice piece in the Daily Fail about Dean Richards, the man and his club. He certainly has put the bloodgate scandal well and truly behind him with Falcons certainly shaking the tree of the establishment. Just to name drop, I have been lucky enough to meet “Deano” on several occasions in the past and he is a genuinely top bloke.

The Championship is planned to restart in March but for one I am not holding my breath. Saracens are hoping that it will and have organised a three team tournament as warm up. Ealing and Doncaster being the opposition.

In other sport Drew Brees and the Saints go into the Divisional games after their win over the bears. It wasn’t a walk in the park but they go through to face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. By the way the Buccs are owned by the Glazers who own Manchester Utd. They make their money by being one of the biggest beer, wines and spirits distributors in the US.

Sadly the County didn’t make it but it was a good game. The latest of equalisers and a penalty shoot out. The pitch looked more like Bournemouth beach than Rodney Parade.

In other news I can confirm we are now living in a dystopian police state where law abiding citizens who happen to stop for a breather on a beach side bench are now being handcuffed and arrested. Four burly police officers to arrest one middle age women for doing exactly that. (The Photo). I do not want to live in a country that has become more like the North Korea and China, countries that our pathetic politicians are so quick to criticise. It is time to stand up and be counted.

Thank you Geoff for your mail about the press, especially the BBC for their constant drip of propaganda intended to terrify us into submission. They have become adept at selecting the most gruesome of stories whilst clearly ignoring the stories that offer a balanced view or even challenge the Government’s stance.

That stance is taking an even darker road as Boris has snuck through an extension to lockdown. End of March being the earliest release date now. There is talk of curfews and “even stricter” measures and if you fancy a trip to the pub then it looks like end of May at the earliest. When did we become a satellite state of PRNK?

Don’t think it ends there. After Talk Radio was removed from YouTube two Daily Fail reporters have had their accounts closed and come under increasing pressure to toe the party line despite their reports being more factual and accurate than anything the Doom Brothers produce on a regular basis.

Finally jabs are seen as the saviour but what a shambles. My dear 88 year old mum can inject herself with insulin on a daily basis but a retired doctor or a serving dentist for example have to go through an almost impossible 20 point checklist before they get anywhere near being able to support the drive to vaccinate us all. By the way be concerned when Matt Hancock, Chief Clown, slips into the conversation that we will all “have to be” vaccinated every year against Covid. I wonder how many Big Pharma shares he’s got?

Back tomorrow with more Dad jokes and the full central heating story. Bet you can’t wait?

Sunday 10th Jan: 08:40

A beautiful start to this Sunday morning; blue sky, sharp frost and.......... no central heating. Yep, being the positive cheerful person I am I won’t let something like a central heating breakdown on the coldest day for a long ti