According to the media the Olympics don’t officially start until Friday. Tell that to the near capacity crowd at the Stade de France that enjoyed some sparkling 7s rugby yesterday. France stuttered a little but thanks to the magic of Antoine Dupont they will advance to the knockout stages. Fiji on the other hand were at their best. These two go head to head this afternoon with the winner going on to face either New Zealand or Ireland

In Pool A Ireland were the surprise package beating both South Africa and Japan. They face New Zealand today who played some scintillating 7s during their two wins. The men in black look ominously good.

In Pool B it was Argentina and Australia who impressed with wins over Samoa and Kenya. I expect the clash between the top two will be a cracker. It all kicks off at 13:00 with the first of the knockout games starting at 20:00.

Staying with rugby for a moment. There is an interesting piece about the potential value of rugby in the USA. The Torygraph highlight how even a 1% take of the US sports industry could result in billions for the game. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’ve heard it all before, and despite the massive investment in MRL and the US national team we’ve seen nothing yet.

I see Andre Esterhuizen has been given a 4 match ban for his red card against Portugal. That’s his Rugby Championship participation out the window.

The football also got underway with chaos ensuing during the Argentina v Morocco clash. Following the abuse by Argentinian footballers towards the French after the Copa America final the Argentinians were roundly booed throughout. Then came a pitch invasion which caused the game to be halted for nearly two hours while the mayhem was brought under control and the ground cleared. The match was finally completed with Morocco winning 2-1. Not a great advert for the game of football, nor the French organisation, nor the security implications going forward.

This concern is heightened when reading about a failed FSB (former KGB) plot to cause unparalleled disruption to the games. French security forces raided the home of the ringleader to find comprehensive plans for an as yet unspecified ‘event’.

If that wasn’t enough the homeless of Paris have begun a series of protests about their dire position, workers at French airports have announced strike action for tomorrow, and aircrew are threatening to strike at Orly airport over a reduction of flights. Vive la revolution!!!

As an aside, if the rumours swirling around the media are to be believed, the new Government is about to do a deal with ASLEF which will increase wages without any strings attached. Don’t think for one minute other union leaders are going to stand idly by and let that happen without them getting a cut of the action. This view is compounded with talk of teachers and NHS staff getting higher than inflation rises. Not sure where all the money is coming from but you can bet it won’t be from cuts made to the massively inflated work from home civil service.

Back to sport. There is a growing belief that Louis Rees-Zammit will make the starting roster for the coming NFL season. There is plenty of video of him working with the front line special teams outfit.

Plenty of depressing news in the papers including the Government’s exaggeration of the state of the UK economy. The unacceptable scenes at Manchester Airport and the violent assault by a police officer on a suspect. The horrors in the Middle East and Nentanyahu’s mealy mouthed justification for what looks very much like the slaughter of innocent civilians.

To bring this weeks blogging to a conclusion you have the mother of one of the jailed Just Stop Oil nutjobs protesting because her precious daughter will miss her brother’s wedding. What about the people who missed crucial cancer treatment, the ambulances held up, the nurses who couldn’t get to work, and the many other hardworking, taxpaying citizens disrupted by your precious one’s misguided and ILLEGAL and DANGEROUS actions.

Oh, and the Covid paranoia is creeping back. It is a cold, nothing more, nothing less…… and of course a skivers charter for a few days off when the sun comes out.

Wednesday 24th July: 08:50

I’m going to start at Heather View, the local care home operated by CareUK. Why? It was their Olympic themed Open Day yesterday and several of the boys from walking rugby, which at CRFC is sponsored by CareUK, turned up to help. I think both the staff and residents enjoyed their participation. It was something different for everyone. Care in the UK is a hot topic and it is certainly not cheap, but for those who can afford it the facilities at Heather View were mighty impressive.

There was no obligation on the guys to give up their time to support the event, they simply wanted to do so. Another perfect example of what a great club we are. (A piece will appear on the website soon)

The release of the Premiership fixtures is the main, in fact the only story on rugby this morning. It all kicks off with Bath v Northampton on Sept 20th at 19:45. TNT Sports will be showing every game live during the season. BBC Website if you are vaguely interested.

The Olympics kick off today with Rugby 7s and football. Sadly there is no GB interest but the 7s is always a big draw. 14:30 is when it gets underway.

After Uruguay v Scotland on Saturday we’ll have to wait until Aug 10th for the kick off to the Rugby Championship. Hey Ho! Reruns of Death in Paradise and plenty of time on FlightRadar24 in the meantime.

On that point the skies above the ‘Borough should be quieter today as right now the aircraft are landing in an easterly direction over Horsham.

I have a long list of things on the agenda today, including the grandchildren so I’ll be off. Before I go, I read with interest that Sir U-Turn’s honeymoon period is well and truly over. The Guardian reports that seven Labour rebels have had the whip suspended for going against the Supreme Leaders edict on the two-child benefit cap.

How the mighty have fallen. Charlotte Dujardin has had to withdraw from the Olympics due a historic case of horse abuse. With social media and the all seeing mobile phone nothing stays secret for any length of time.

Tuesday 23rd July: 09:15

Another miserable start to the day. Are we ever going to get an extended period of fine weather when we can sit outside for breakfast, lunch and our evening meal? Global warming is a reality and we cannot ignore it. Stopping oil is not the answer by the way. It would seem however that the glorious United Kingdom is currently not so glorious when it comes to the weather. The weather across Europe is not so glorious either with unbearably hot temperatures causing wild fires and devastation, or horrific storms causing flash flooding. Anyway, you are not here for my pontifications on meteorology.

Life is a roller coaster and we must make the most of it. I read with interest that England’s most capped player, former scrum-half Ben Youngs, just 34, had to have emergency heart surgery after collapsing at a training session. He is expected to make a full recovery and be ready for the start of the season. It does reinforce the need for us to take care of ourselves but also to make the most of opportunities as they present themselves. ‘I wish I had gone to …… when I had that chance’ is not a phrase you should be using. Life is for the living.

Surprise, surprise!! Well, actually it is no surprise at all. Yes, Eddie Jones is under fire again as Japan fall to another defeat, their third in a row. It is not just the losses but the scale of them that is causing consternation. As the Daily Fail says: ‘Eddie Jones stock falls to an all-time low’. Anyone who has read this guff for any length of time will know my views on Jones so I’ll move on.

Is World Rugby about to be mired in a power struggle. Sir Bill Beaumont is stepping down. Currently John Jeffrey, former Scotland flanker and talisman is set to be anointed as his successor. The boys in the Southern Hemisphere are somewhat concerned about yet another Six Nations stalwart taking the reins when in both Australia and New Zealand rugby union is under massive pressure financially, from league, the ARL, and general apathy towards rugby union. The Sanzaar unions are keen for former Australian flanker Brett Robinson to throw his hat into the ring.

It seems there are two issues which are causing some angst across the board. The biggest is the allocation of the World Cup to the USA. It will be a very costly tournament with the huge distances to be covered by teams and supporters, with the fundamental question being will it be attractive enough to Americans to make it financially viable. I for one, am not convinced. The other issue, which in the scheme of things is small, is the 20 minute red card. It is not so much that Southern Hemisphere love it and the North don’t, it has taken nearly 5 years to get a proper global trial in place. The South argues during this period many games have been ruined as a consequence of red cards, but more importantly whilst the blazers pontificate the game stagnates. The Torygraph carry this as an exclusive.

The Paris Olympics kicks off in just a few days. The rugby 7s is always a big draw for the fans. Will Antoine Dupont weave his magic and take France to gold medal glory. I love the variety of the Olympics but I fear this one will be mired in non-sport headlines. French workers holding the organisers to ransom, the threat of terror attacks, especially in the wake of the conflicts around the world, and France’s significant race relations issues at home. The images of barriers being erected across one of the most beautiful cities in the world is troubling. What sort of experience are the fans, who will have spent a lot of money to be there, going to get.

If there wasn’t enough depressing news around our game Sbu Nkosi, 2019 World Cup winner with South Africa is likely to get a lengthy ban for failing a drugs test. Melvyn Jaminet will hear his fate today after his racist social media posts whilst with France in Argentina. Don’t expect anything other than a harsh outcome. The two young French players accused of sexual assault on the same tour have been placed under house arrest.

Bristol have announced their fixture against Bath will be moved to the Principality Stadium on May 10th ‘25. Something for Damper to look forward to. A trip to the wonders of Wales and its glorious capital Cardiff.

The Hungarian F1 was certainly eventful, but for the wrong reasons. A competitor told to slow down and concede defeat to a teammate. Madness! The World Champion acting like a petulant kid because he wasn’t doing very well.

In other news I read with dismay that another youngster has been murdered in London following a targeted gang related shooting. What is Sadiq Kahn doing about it? Spending £2.5m of tax payers money on woke and politically correct bullshit. If this direction of travel is followed by our new Government then we are doomed.

We are already seeing fissures develop with Sir U-Turn about to do a volte-face with regard to the two child benefit cap, and their tough stance on illegal migration is to throw down the welcome mat by giving an amnesty to tens of thousands who are in this country illegally.