I don't know the French for "self destruct" but surely that was what happened again yesterday in Murrayfield. The mindless action of Mohamed Maouas certainly condemned France to defeat the minute his punch connected with Jamie Richie's head. Obviously losing the influential Romain Ntamack in the opening minutes was another factor in defeat but being down to 14 men was the clincher.

Scotland played well and had played well when it was 15 v 15 and deserved their win. They played with pace and commitment and used the ball wisely. It went wide at the right time, it was kept tight when it needed to be. Adam Hastings is growing into the 10 shirt very nicely and that hopefully will send a message to Finn Russell about his petulance. "Grow up or stay out in the cold".

France showed glimpses of why pre-match they were being tipped for the Grand Slam but they also reverted back to the French of recent years: ill-disciplined, shoulders slumped when things go wrong, and indecisive when it really mattered.

Based on this win would Scotland be providing a raft of players to a Lions team if selection was tomorrow? No! Individually there are much better players to choose from. For Scotland the total is definitely greater than the sum of the individual parts. A good win, a good game to watch and a result that does England a favour........ if England ever get to play Italy in the final round of this year's tournament.

Whilst Haouas will be the centre of much coverage Jamie Ritchie is not blameless. It needs to be noted that his sprinting 20 metres to be involved in what was then a little bit of Strictly Come Dancing caused it to erupt into a full blown melee. Not good.

Unlike King Eddie every other person who has seen the footage and objectively assessed the actions of Tuilagi agrees it was a red card.

With regard to Joe Marler I stick by my personal opinion that it was outrageous and needs to be dealt with severely. I have had several emails on the subject all very supportive. Here is one......

Despite social media's popular opinion of Marler's action being "forward banter", I disagree and am appalled. Xxxxxxxx is just starting his rugby adventure and I would be mortified if he thought that was acceptable behaviour. It is nothing less than assault and should be on the end of a citing"

The email goes on to talk about declining standards and lack of respect for each other in everyday life and quite rightly makes the point these very highly paid sports people need to act as role models.

In another mail the question was asked what would have happened if that was the other way around. Motor Mouth would have been demanding the noose for the perpetrator.

I like many have read Gareth Thomas's apology and we all agree: it was pathetic. I admire him for how he has handled his situation but his comments and subsequent apology were way off the mark.

Finally, for now at least, I was disappointed that the pundits on the BBC yesterday were almost dismissive of Marler's action. It is wrong to say it happened on the rugby filed so it doesn't count. YES IT DOES and as it was in front of the gaze of millions it counts even more.

There were other talking points from the two games but I will keep those for tomorrow.

Eddie Jones is to meet Bill Sweeney to discuss his future. Let us hope Jones' erratic and sometimes unwelcome behaviour (comments) is on the agenda too. We need to be able to speak our minds, we need characters in the game, we need to be true to ourselves but when you earn the eye-watering amounts Jones does you also need to set an example for those who love this game of ours and who truly appreciate the core values we stand by.

Whilst Exeter were putting Bath to the sword they were also embroiled in a PR disaster. Former Flybe employees who had been gifted tickets to the game were turned away at the gate on Saturday. How and why the tickets were cancelled following Flybe's collapse is as yet unknown but when you read how shabbily the ticket holders were treated something has gone wrong. Exeter could let this blow over as surely it will but they could also do the right thing and do something special for those affected. As an aside Flybe were one of Exeter's sponsors. This highlights the fragility of funding in our game.

Very good win for Bristol yesterday against Quins.

There were a number of league games over the weekend but I will comment on those tomorrow.

I want to close with the sad death of former Welsh centre Matthew J Watkins. Not the greatest centre Wales ever had, not the player with the most caps but he was a stalwart of Welsh rugby who had an aura about him that made him popular with fans and teammates alike. For him to be taken at the very tender age of 41 is tragic. May he rest in peace with our thoughts being with his friends and family.

Sunday 8th Mar: 09:15

Much to talk about. Can I indulge myself by having a few moans first.

Joe Marler's grabbing of AJW by the gonads was outrageous. Forget any mitigation about severity it was despicable. At a time when many, including myself, are saying this jewel, the 6 Nations, must stay on terrestrial TV so we can capture the biggest possible audience, seeing this is unacceptable.

ITVs half time comments on it were equally unacceptable. You cannot make light of an act of foul play that has been seen by millions of mums & dads who will be taking their kids to mini and junior rugby this morning.

Serves them right. Who? The prawn sandwich brigade in the East Stand hospitality who were quaffing their champers and munching on their sandwiches when Wales scored one of the best tries to grace Twickenham for a very long time.

The logo on the pitch. Why do we as spectators have to watch players who after a short while look more like miners of a bygone era than rugby players. Black streaks on their kit, their faces, their arms. More on this later.

Eddie Jones. Does he give nothing for player safety and the laws of the game that have been introduced to protect them. Should he not set an example about respect for the referee. Isn't saying the referee was Wales 16th man the same as saying the referee was biased. Jones is an arse.

What a game. England got off to a flyer and in some respects never looked back. Anthony Watson proved his world class credentials with that opening try. As is so often the case when England get an early lead they can be unstoppable. We saw that in the New Zealand semi-final. Their tackling was immense: aggressive in the right way, effective, putting Wales on the back foot. (They did miss more tackles than Wales however). Their work at the breakdown was excellent led by Curry and Lawes and unlike some previous matches Ben Youngs marshalled the troops well. England were worthy of their half time lead but it must be said aided by Wales lack of a cutting edge.

That Welsh try set the 2nd half alight. It was outstanding. England didn't lie down however. They stuck to the task and whilst it was the simplest of run ins for Tuilagi the work that had gone on before was excellent. England did start to falter however as Wales got their running game going and that is something Motor Mouth should be worrying about. Nick Tompkins for Wales was excellent as were Navidi and Tipuric. Youngs was easily man of the match but Courtney Lawes, George Kruis and possibly Henry Slade were right up there.

It was worrying to see Alun Wyn lying motionless on the ground. I think he should have been taken off and am struggling to understand why he wasn't.

Then came the final mad ten minutes or so. Ellis Genge was sent to the bin when Ben O'Keefe's patience ran out with England's persistent infringing. Then came the red card. I have seen it several times now and I can understand to a degree where some of the pundits are saying it was a bit harsh. The players know that any contact with the head is going to result in a sanction. The players know that no arms, leading with the shoulder or the head is going to result in a sanction. The players know regardless of mitigation either of the above with force will elevate the sanction. Sorry but Tuilagi ticked too many boxes for O'Keefe to ignore what happened. It was a red card no matter how harsh you may think that might be. For King Eddie to say anything different is rubbish. If he had come out and said perhaps the law needs to be reviewed again I would be less critical but to berate the referee and say the card was nonsense is not acceptable.

With 13 men in front of them Wales got two late tries to make the final score look much more respectable. Objectively England were better and deserved to win. I will go through the papers later and see what they have to say.

Before that I enjoyed, not the result, England Women v Wales Women. There were some good passages of play in front of a good and enthusiastic crowd, c. 10,000 at The Stoop. The women's game remains more open than the men's but there is a worrying trend where the rolling maul and pick & drive is becoming more prevalent.

England were very lucky not to be down to 14 when an deliberate swinging arm in a backward motion meant the England players elbow struck Wales No.8. Not only was it clear and obvious when the player did it a second time in the same incident I struggled to see how the referee and the TMO and the assistant all failed to see what was as clear as day on TV. Not great!!

Back to logos on the pitch. Yes I watched a load of rugby yesterday. I watched two Super games as well as the internationals. In the Super games there were several logos on the pitches but they were digital. So us the TV viewers had these perfect logos on screen but the players and crowd in the stand could not see them. Why can't the 6 Nations broadcasters do the same? Makes a lot of sense to me.

That'll do for now. Big night with friends last night. A great evening with Mal Bec being a prominent guest. Coffee beckons.

Saturday 7th Mar: 09:40

I have to start with an apology for my incompetence. Sam Underhill is injured which is why he is not playing today. I also at Friday Club yesterday wittered on about the Wales back row. I got that wrong too. Perhaps I am getting like Sir Knowitall and losing sight of the fact before committing anything to text or opening my big mouth I need to do just a little research first.

What is certain is that Dan Biggar and George North are playing as they have been deemed fit. Not surprisingly a number of people have been in touch questioning this decision. I have to say I too have my doubts about the veracity of their fitness, especially in the case of North who in my opinion has had one too many concussions.

I stick by my forecast for today; an England win but only if they can keep the excellent Welsh back row out of the contest and play a more expansive game. Wales hopes lie with rattling England and getting under the skin of players like Sinckler and Lawes and keeping the ball moving around the park with the intention of tiring the English buffalo.

The game is on at the club.

Sad to see the Scotland v France Women's game is postponed as one of the Scotland women has contracted Covid-19.

Sir Knowitall has said all games should be off. I say to him this remains a series problem but we must continue to put it into context. The number of infected remains a small number, of those not all are suffering the worst symptoms, and of those a very small proportion are dying.

I watched England Under 20s lose to Wales Under 20s last night. Yes I know seven front line England players had been recalled by their clubs but a) those who did play were off the mark and b) Wales were very good indeed. Young Sam Costerlow was excellent. A couple of things jumped out. It was good to see the Welsh scrum half got pinged for "the twitch" before kicking the ball from a ruck. The England full-back was VERY lucky not to see red rather than yellow. That hit whilst his Welsh counterpart was in the air was reckless but VERY dangerous. The game at the highest level is no longer a game for all shapes and sizes; 6' 5" wings, centres and full-backs, front rows pushing 18/19st and 6' tall and second-rows doing 100m in next to no time.

Good game, great win.

Sale go top for a few hours after a convincing win over London Irish. They are on a charge but as has been pointed out you would expect a South African XV to do well in the English leagues.

A gripe. When are the blazers going to stop subs who are warming up in the dead ball area joining in celebrations?

MPs are questioning the potential move of the 6 Nations to pay-per-view. It would be a seriously negative move for the game.

Public Health England have questioned the decision not to select Mako for England yet allowing him to play for Saracens. It is a rugby matter so butt out however I agree. England were short sighted and Sarries have got it right.

Before going Mrs Bleater is off panic buying this morning. She is off to Waitrose for a case of sherry. You can't be without the essentials in a crisis.

I read somewhere the Premier League are considering banning over 70s at games due to the Covid-19 issue. That is outrageous and pathetic.

Finally I have been asked about my view of Priti Patel. I have never met her so it would be wrong to comment ............. but there is something about the permagrin and arrogance that I don't like. With regard to the bullying so what. Perhaps the Home Office needs a shake up. A year ago I wrote to the Home Office about the idea of confiscating the phones of drivers who are caught using them while driving and the idea of charging those who through drink tie up police, ambulance and hospital resources. I got a lilly-livered, politically correct snowflake response. Perhaps a little bullying in the Home Office is a good thing.

Finally well done the Friday Club. Some amazing stuff achieved yesterday with Damps and team flogging themselves outside and Simon D with the Bard and Nigel working like Trojans inside.

Thursday 5th Mar: 17:30

Good evening, or perhaps good morning. Either way the teams are out.

King Eddie has recalled Anthony Watson who replaces Jonathan Joseph. No surprise there. Watson is world class and if fit should play. Mark Wilson comes in at the expense of Sam Underhill. Now this I don't understand. I would if Wilson was coming for Lawes but he isn't. Wilson is a class act and if fit I can see why Jones has picked him. Dropping Underhill, one of England's better performers thus far makes little sense. Jones has also gone for a six two bench with some enormous beef sitting on it. Why he perseveres with Heinz I don't know with Wasps Dan Robson in such fine form.

Wayne Pivac has also made some bold calls. Taulupe Faletau drops to the bench being replaced by Josh Navidi who along side Moriarty and the brilliant Tipuric looks a stronger option than their England opponents. Dan Biggar and George North start. Still can't believe that. Liam Williams comes straight in to replace the injured Josh Adams. Shingler comes onto the bench instead of Will Rowlands. Aaron Wainwright is nowhere to be seen but that is no surprise as his form since Japan has been somewhat off the mark. Big call to drop Gareth Davies altogether with Tomos Williams starting. Rhys Webb is on the bench. Wales have gone for a conventional five three split and with Biggar and North starting that makes a lot of sense.

Who will win. If England can bully Wales off the ball and keep the Welsh back row on the back foot then I think it is England all the way. If Wales can get the ball and keep the English buffalo on the move by moving it wide then they might have a (slim) chance.

Italy v England is postponed due to Covid-19. Playing behind closed doors was never an option, especially for a small union like the Italian Federation. When will it be played? Now that is a difficult question, especially as I think the Premiership clubs might have something to say about it.

Talking of the virus the situation with Mako Vunipola is bizarre. Can't play for England but will play for Saracens. Not sure what to make of that from either perspective.

Chris Ashton is off to Quins. Despite bro being at Sale I have no inside info so here is my best guess. Ashton got too big for his boots and saw the lack of playing time as thwarting his ambition to get back into the England set-up and his goal of scoring 100 Premiership tries.

Exeter's Devoto gets a four week break for his dangerous tackle on Quins Marcus Smith. It seems he got some discount hence four weeks instead of six.

Good piece on BBC.com about how Fabien Galthie is shaking up France.

What a shambles: Flybe. Need I say more.

Thank you to my good friend and CRFC stalwart Peter K for sending me an excellent video highlighting the scale of Covid-19 versus the scale of many other life threatening issues we face. There is no comparison. The video questions the hype surrounding the news coverage. It also raises the question: what are we not being told? Hearing the words "state of emergency" would indicate the Government knows something that they are too scared to tell us. I remain in the camp the hype is out of control and whilst the cases have jumped to 115 in the UK this is still a tiny proportion of the UK. The Government are also not telling us how many of those who have contracted the virus have recovered. Lets move on.

Not quite. We always shop on a Thursday. I could not believe how people are panic buying toilet rolls, pasta, beans and other tinned goods. Bizarre.

Finally Damper Sayer, Drew Pratt and Judith Donald made the very tough decision two weeks ago to cancel this weekends mini festival at Steel Cross. Based on the rain we've had in the last 36 hours it was absolutely the right decision. Well done team.

Back on Saturday.

Thursday 5th Mar: 09:30

A just a few words this morning as I intend to write a fuller blog later today after the teams for Saturday are announced.

I will also touch on the Ashton situation, Vunipola in isolation, not in isolation, Flybe, the coronavirus and anything else that comes up.

It is World Book Day today when all the kids go to school dressed as their favourite character. I've seen the photos of the grandchildren already. They look great.

When asked what I should dress up as today for World Book Day the universal response was

Mr Happy

The Grinch

Back later today once Noah & Sons have delivered the ark.

Wednesday 4th Mar: 08:30

As promised I am going to start in France and the Pro Deux, the equivalent of our Championship. Richard Hill former Bristol, Bath and England scrum half now successfully coaching at French D2 side Rouen has gone on record saying the RFU could learn a lot from the French set up.

The nub of his argument is the D2 is growing, is successful and is contributing to the revival of the French national side and this all due to increasing investment, not cutting it. That is all fine and dandy until you get to the bit about who is funding. Based on the article the bulk of the money comes from very wealthy benefactors, a sizeable chunk comes from the local town/city councils and the regional "Department", and another sizeable chunk comes from TV rights and the rest from sponsorship.

Benefactors are in our game and in the Championship. Ealing Trailfinders success has come solely from the money invested by Mr Trailfinder. The risk is if he walks what happens and I think you know the answer to that, or at least Yorkshire Carnegie do.

Councils investing that sort of money into the game in the UK is a non-starter. Cash strapped councils with the exception of the inept Northamptonshire County Council who couldn't run a piss up in a brewery are not going to be able to do that. By the way in France many of the sporting facilities, even the big ones are owned and controlled by the councils unlike the UK.

TV money. That happens here but it is a pittance. Why? The TV companies have bigger targets such as the Premiership Rugby, top flight soccer, cricket, tennis, rugby league. Second tier rugby union is a very long way down the pecking order here in the UK. Why watch Jersey v Ampthill when you can watch a myriad of other sporting contests on TV.

Sponsors are putting their money into the Championship, look at Greene King for example but I refer to my point above; unless you are a local sponsor the big boys have bigger targets on their mind. You need a great number of sponsors to generate serious cash below the Premiership.

I think the French model works because it is France. Yes, I agree that if the money was there then a huge investment over time would result in a better product BUT the money simply isn't there and the risk is some of the money that is, is potentially not sustainable.

Where the Pro Deux could set an example is a) the French Federation have set a very strict limit on overseas players and an insistence on sides having 16 "jiffs" who are French qualified academy players in their match day squads and b) twice a year every club is thoroughly audited to ensure they comply with all the financial regulations including the salary constraints.

Where next for the Championship? My friend Paddy O'Fez has sent me a piece highlighting how London Scottish are already moving to a part-time model from a full time professional squad. This is the way forward whilst noting London Scottish are in serious danger of being relegated so might have to cut their cloth accordingly anyway.

I remain convinced a ring-fenced Premiership who have an obligation to partner a Championship side as their development team is the way forward.

Before moving on where are Rotherham in the league structure now? Languishing near the foot of National 1. Rotherham, a side who aspired to Premiership greatness. Down, down, deeper and down!! I rest my case m'lud.

Further to yesterday's drivel it is a serious concern when you read about 16 year olds in our game taking banned substances to improve their performance. Top flight rugby is very lucrative which why many players aspire to it, and as a consequence will do anything to get there. This is not just a South African problem it is much broader than that. Wales has been plagued by such stories for some time. Sadly where there is money, there is ambition, where there is ambition there is risk. In this case the risk (chance) of success is enhanced by cheating. The risk of failure is being caught. World Rugby is aware but needs to be all over this. BBC for the full story.

The word on the street is Dan Biggar will be fit for Saturday. You sure? Sam Davies of the Dragons has been brought into the squad after the news that Hallam Amos's season is over due to injury.

Mako Vunipola is out of the England squad after flying home from Tonga via Covid-19 riddled Hong Kong.

Chris Ashton left Sale due to a disagreement with Steve Diamond. Only one winner there. He could end up at Quins.

Must go. I'm off to panic buy toilet paper, and sanitiser beer and wine. If I am going to be in quarantine then better to have all the home comforts at hand me thinks.

Tuesday 3rd March: 08:05

As a number of you have sent me Michael Aylwin's article in The Guardian entitled "Rugby needs to wake up to the slow strangling of the grassroots game" let me start there.

Up front I will say some of it smacks of someone trying to sell a book on the subject but it touches on some very interesting and pertinent and worrying points.

He is right in saying from a rugby perspective there are two events where the starting point for the decline might have had its origins: professionalism and the introduction of leagues. Professionalism came in by stealth and in some respects was a result of stopping the bullshit about amateurism as the players at the top of the game were already being paid in various ways. What professionalism did was make the game an attractive career choice for the most talented of players. This with the newly defined league structure allowed those players who could find an ambitious club a route to stardom. The door was now open for a club to make it to the top table where before it had been old boys club.

In the early days it was possible to go all the way. Exeter is the most commonly used example. The problem is times have changed in that gaps between leagues have got bigger and the gap to the Premiership and everyone else below that is enormous. London Welsh found that out to their cost. Here is the nub of the problem: there are clubs who still harbour ambition to make it to the top and with the backing of a sugar daddy can get close: Ealing Trailfinders for example. The problem is in order to do that they suck in the best players from elsewhere with promises of cash and glory but at the cost of those around them and even then the gap remains huge. As you go down the leagues this problem is exacerbated when one or two clubs in a region start to pay it is because of ambition and to meet ambition they inevitably will poach players from elsewhere and cause an imbalance in the leagues. Great for them as they win big each week, bad for the others who find themselves on the back of hammerings. Aylwyn makes this point very well.

What is the solution? Stop clubs paying players below level 3 is the answer but that is far easier said than done as we'll end up back at 1980 with brown envelopes in boots etc.

Even where payment of players doesn't happen the leagues can be divisive. There are many who love the league system as all fixtures are organised and are generally fixtures of an equal standard. Certainly in our league the difference between top and bottom (ex Maidstone) is small. Leagues however throw up other challenges. Travel is a big one. Crowborough v Thanet Wanderers in essence is an all day event. Clubs, once they have achieved a level and are comfortable with it often fear promotion and dread relegation. The advent of leagues has been a factor in the number of teams playing. When you have leagues below first team the problems of disparity becomes greater leaving players disillusioned.

Is scrapping leagues a solution? No and yes. I think leagues for 2nd and 3rd XV have little place in the structure.

From where I sit I think the biggest issues the game faces, with the exception of the increasing fear of injury, are out of the control of most clubs. Young peoples lives are very different now. It is more of a narcissistic, individualistic, 24/7 society where structured past-times such as rugby, soccer and cricket are less appealing. This is compounded as work and family pressures are more intense than they have ever been. Leaving work early for training is a dream as is leaving home at 10am for a day out with the boys while the other half is left at home with the kids is frowned upon. There are things that can be done and we at CRFC are doing some of them to mitigate this.

The key is to make the club a place players of all ages and genders want to be because they can be with their mates and families in a friendly and welcoming surrounding. You don't want them to be there because they are being paid (at our level) because that is a recipe for serious division and a speeding up of the decline. I hope my friends don't mind but the East Grinstead is a good case study in how things can go horribly wrong.

Thankfully mini and junior sections continue to be robust and growing a women's section is important but both must feel part of the broader club.

I know the above is a rehash of the article but for me the key things that needs to be changed is dare I say it: ring-fence the Premiership, make the Championship semi-professional, make levels 3 to 5 genuine expenses only, and make it has hard as possible for clubs to pay players below level 5.

The league structure is more of a challenge. For an example a recent Sussex Club Forum voted unequivocally to keep the league structure, warts and all. I would certainly keep leagues only for 1st XVs.

Finally clubs need to wake up and smell the coffee and as far as possible embrace the change in peoples lifestyle. "It wasn't like this in my day" is an oft heard comment and needs to be banned from club thinking.

That'll do for now as my granddaughter is here. Tomorrow I will comment specifically the Championship v Frances D2 and from this I can comment more on what ambition could look like.

Monday 2nd March: 09:45

Its Monday, its league round-up day.

In London 2 South East we are now 5th after our 28-3 defeat at Charlton Park. They sit in 4th behind Old Alleynians who beat Dover 43-7. Our friends over at Kidbrooke do have a game in hand. Above them are Old Colfeians who came home from Hove with a 14-30 win in their pocket. This keeps them top ahead of Haywards Heath whose game at Maidstone fell to the weather. Heath do have three games in hand, one of which is against Crowborough. Beccehamian, normally so dominant at home, went down 0-27 to Thanet Wanderers. Thanet are now 6 points behind Beccs and have a game in hand. Deal & Betteshanger v Gravesend also fell to the weather. Gravesend could leap frog a number of teams as they now have two games in hand on some of those above them in the league, us for example.

In London 3 South East Ashford are looking more and more like champions elect after beating Aylesford Bulls 17-0. Heathfield & Waldron came home from Bromley with a losing bonus point in what was a low scoring affair. Uckfield keep some space between them and Park House after beating Old Willies. This was an important win as Park House beat Pulborough. In the other games Vigo lost at home to Folkestone and Old Dunstonians beat Gillingham. Like Maidstone in our league Old Willies are all but relegated.

In Sussex 1 it was either a free weekend or all the games succumbed to the weather.

Above us in London 1 South not the best of days for Horsham losing at home 27-48 to Westcombe Park. Chichester also had a bad day going down to a 22-19 defeat at Dartfordians who are just one place above the foot of the table. Our friends at Medway beat bottom placed Beckenham. Havant stay top despite losing at Belsize Park.

In the London & SE Premier Tunbridge Wells v Tring was postponed. Sevenoaks lost at London Irish Wild Geese. Guernesy go top after their win over Bedford Athletic leaving Bedford only one spot from bottom. Brighton v Wimbledon was also postponed.

In National League 2 South TJs are back on top after their trip to Westcliff, Taunton are hot on their heels and they have a game in hand. Worthing's game at Esher was postponed.

In National 1 Canterbury lost at table topping Richmond. They are 15th but Hull Ionians in 16th have two games in hand. Both are well adrift of Rotherham in 14th.

For the record Twickenham lost to Winchester, Bridgnorth didn't play and Salisbury went down to Wimborne. By the way my grandson is now playing mini rugby at Salisbury.

In the big boys leagues Bristol beat Bath. Didn't see any of it as we had my mate round for Sunday Lunch. Rhys Webb made his Bath debut alongside his pal Rhys Priestland. The change of coach at Wasps seems to be working after their win over London Irish.

Dan Biggar is a serious injury doubt for Wales after limping off after 20 minutes in the game against Sarries. Young Nick Tompkins scored for Sarries in that one. Chris Ashton leaves Sale. I wonder if complying with the salary cap has anything to do with that?

The Daily Torygraph highlights that the 6 Nations could be lost to pay-per-view TV. If the CVC deal goes through it certainly will move.

Tomorrow I will comment on the French D2 structure and the Championship and the excellent piece in The Guardian about the impending "slow death" of grassroots rugby.

Sunday 1st March: 08:45

A very good St David's Day to you all.

Apparently at 10:30 yesterday morning the game at Charlton Park was very much in the balance due to the deluge of rain that had fallen in the previous 24 hours. They made the bold decision to go ahead and were more than justified because by kick off the wind and the sunshine had done what it needed to.

Let me say up front that Park deserved to win as they were the better side on the day but the 28-3 scoreline is a little harsh on the 'Borough who battled manfully for long periods, especially in the second half.

It became clear early on that Charlton Park were well organised and well disciplined. Their forwards had the edge over us and serviced their large pacey backs with good ball. An early try scoring opportunity was thwarted only when Gus Weir intercepted the final Park pass.

Crowborough gradually got into the game putting some decent passages of play together. After 20 minutes it was 0-0 but we aimlessly kicked away good ball putting ourselves back under pressure. Thankfully Charlton Park's backs on far too many occasions tried the miracle pass and in the strengthening wind the inevitable happened, the ball sailed past the man.

Park opened the scoring on the back of poor decision making by us. After an excellent long range attack the ball should have gone wide to Weir wide out but it didn't. It got spilled and the home side quickly pounced on the loose ball. Three sharp interpasses and the ball was in the hands of their lightening quick full-back for the score under the posts.

Oli Clinch made up for his earlier misjudgement by slotting a penalty, our only score of the day. It wasn't long before Park were back on scoreboard after another wayward kick straight into the hands of the waiting defenders. Amazing offloads, three missed tackles and another try was the outcome.

Crowborough weren't out of it and had played well enough but basic mistakes and poor decision making kept us scoreless. After another well taken try by Park early in the second half 'Borough had long periods where they dominated possession and territory. Yet again they couldn't convert it into points. The home defence was excellent especially at the ruck where their ability to turn the ball over was spot on. The final nail came at the death when the tiring, very cold and very wet 'Borough side gave up another simple try for the hosts taking the score to 28-3.

As I drove home, also very cold and very wet I thought about where we went wrong on the day. Too much aimless, and needless kicking and when a kick was required it was sometimes poorly executed. Our decision making was suspect. If you have men in the open outside you, use them. Vary the patterns, mix the pick & drive with a more open game plan. Missed tackles kill you.

That said no-one individually played badly. Tom Kent was excellent, Ali Main tried hard, Rob Lester and Clinch in the centre did their bit and on and on I could go. Collectively the though the opposition was better.

For the record I thought the referee, despite looking 12, was excellent from start to finish. Consistent, accurate and fit.

I'll do a full league round-up tomorrow.

Whilst we were losing at 1st XV level our Under 16s, who had flown out to Guernsey that morning, won 41 - 5 in the curtain raiser to Guernsey's match against Bedford Athletic which Guernsey won 43-3 to go top. That is a fantastic result for the boys and the hardworking coaching team.

Quins beating Exeter. I didn't see that one coming. Watched some of the Dragons v Cheetahs game on a pitch that was awful. Good win for the Dragons though. Watched some of the Norwich v Liverpool game on a bowling green of a pitch.

The coronavirus. Thank you to those who responded and I am now much clearer. The consistent comment was "fear", fear of the unknown is causing the hype. Our captain Matt who is very obviously a clever guy put it best. The coronovirus is like FedEx, it is a very efficient distribution system delivering parcels quickly worldwide. Right now the parcel being delivered is a poor quality knock-off of the real thing. The fear is if the coronavirus, the very efficient distributer mutates and starts to deliver the "real" thing, basically something more deadly then we are right to be fearful. On this basis the hype is not as misplaced as I thought.

That'll do for now. Well done to our friends at Charlton Park; a well deserved win. Well done to our boys for sticking at it. Back tomorrow.

Saturday 29th Feb: 08:30

ADDENDUM the game at Charlton Park is ON!

See you there.

It's a LEAP YEAR!

It is too early for any information about today's game at Charlton Park. All the indications from our friends thus far is it will be ON. That of course is in contrast to Steel Cross. Sadly all games at home this weekend are OFF. The grounds are unusable, in places dangerous. There is an upside of course, the drought is over and there won't be a hose pipe ban this summer. If anything changes regarding CP I will post something promptly.

Many of you will be saddened by the passing of Alan Rosier. His funeral will be Friday March 13th at 2:45pm at the United Reform Church (opposite M&S) then at the club for 4pm. Close family only will travel to the crematorium. Club members my want to wear club blazers & ties as their mark of respect.

Gloucester's poor form continues. Losing at home to Sale would normally raise eyebrows but with the cherry & whites current form and Sale's resurgence the win for the away side came as no surprise. Sale played well and are looking like genuine play-off contenders. Marlon Yarde has rediscovered his va va voom and in my view wouldn't look out of place in the white of England. There were a couple of howlers: Hamersley's pass to a Gloucester fan in The Shed ignoring to Yarde with the simplest of runs to the line was a true comedy moment. Danny Cipriani losing the ball and gifting Yarde a try was embarrassing for him. Good game me thinks and I am sure bro No.2 will be happy with his win bonus..... if he gets one!

Not sure of the "Be Kind" message on the Gloucester shirts. I fully understand the reasons for this as Cipriani has been on the end of some totally unacceptable abuse on social media but where does it stop. Not sure this kind of messaging is right for the game.

Good wins for Leinster and Edinburgh over Glasgow and Cardiff respectively. Saints v Sarries today and can Quins overcome freewheeling Exeter?

Halom Amos having been brought back into the Welsh squad immediately gets injured. Do we read anything into the absence of Rees-Zammit for Gloucester last night?

I have been sent an interesting piece comparing the French second tier with The Championship suggesting the French way is the right way. Good article and I will dissect it next week. I will say up front over I think it is comparing potatoes with courgettes. Both are vegetables but that is about it.

Two excellent articles in The Guardian about grassroots rugby. I intend to read these in full and comment on them later in the week. I for one have been concerned about the grassroots game for a long time now and the decline in the number of sides playing is a concern compounded by the bloody awful weather we have had which is reducing the number of games being played further.

Wales believe that Liam Williams will be fit for the England game if it is allowed to go ahead due to the madness surrounding the coronavirus. What surprised me is the camp have also said George North will be available. With his history of concussion I cannot see how that can be right.

Sir Knowitall has said the recent World Cup would have been different if he had been in charge. Of course it would which is why he is known as Sir Knowitall.

Before I go a genuine and heartfelt plea for help. On Thursday I gave my view on the reaction to the coronavirus. I stick by my opinion that it is being blown out of all proportion and the press hype and the news coverage is disproportionate to the risks and the numbers don't add up when compared to say seasonal flu. Here is the question.... what am I missing? I must be looking at this all wrong and I genuinely don't understand why my view is so far removed from the panic that seems to be permeating life.

bleater@crowboroughrugby.com