Yes I did get to watch the highlights show and yes there were a plethora of tries to enjoy. Wasps really are the form team at the moment although it was an inexperienced second string Bristol side. Some of Wasps play was sublime, some pretty turgid. Bristol never let their heads dropped and scored some cracking tries themselves. As Stuart Barnes said in yesterday’s Times; why are Bristol prioritising the nonentity which is the Challenge Cup?

Northampton Saints are dire at the moment. They have gone from being heroes to zeroes and their injury crisis is such they only have one fit loose head prop ahead of their Cup clash with Exeter. Leicester are not much better but they did win.

Bath, like Wasps have come alive post Covid and are playing some good rugby. They were the better side against Sale but the win was aided by Sale’s inability to compete at the lineout, inability to keep 15 men on the field for 80 minutes, and the generosity of silly mistakes gifting Bath tries. Ben Spencer has got to be first choice England scrum half surely?

If Sunday’s Saracens side is what is heading to the Championship then those Fez Heads heading to the bookies to bet that their side will win every game with a try bonus point are not losing their marbles. It was mighty impressive stuff. Yes this was Exeter’s version of the Crows but nevertheless........

Gloucester v Harlequins last night. Gloucester except for Jake Polledri were rubbish. Quins were like patient anglers waiting for that bite and when it came they landed the big fish with ease. The men in that fluorescent green weren’t much better but that win secures them Champions Cup rugby. Danny Cipriani was awful and why he didn’t get the shepherds crook I don’t know. The amount of time wasted by reset scrums and the slow march to the lineouts and the merry whistleblowers pontification made it a hard watch. We did switch over to University Challenge during the game. I was pretty awful but Mrs Bleater scored more than Wolfsen did.

Overall there were some cracking tries from imaginative open rugby but boy weren’t there a lot of tries from one metre out after the enthusiasm sapping pick & drive. The Champions Cup places are sorted but still much to play for in terms of the unnecessary play-offs.

The 1,000 Gloucester fans present last night made me realise how much we are missing fans in the grounds. It is not the same. Fans are the icing on the cake, the people that brings the game alive.

Luther Burrell wants to return to Union from Rugby League. Northampton Saints should snap him up.

It’s amazing what can be done when an election looms. Jucinda Ardern, Kiwi PM, has stepped in to to help ease the tensions between her country and Australia by relaxing the quarantine restrictions for those involved in the Rugby Championship. I’ll try and do a piece on this fiasco tomorrow.

Have caught sight of a piece that suggests a club who pays players in our area is being forced to cut its playing budget from £30k to £10k. There is some positive news coming out of this crisis after all.

Granddaughter is on her way so one headline that caught the eye......

“How tragic that Coronaphobia is turning our land of liberty into a Stasi like state!”

Today’s Covid challenge........

Can someone explain the science behind the “rule of six”?
Why does the “rule of six” NOT apply to the stuck up ruling elite grouse shooting silver spooned landed gentry?
Why have the doom-mongers stopped talking about deaths?
Why has the track & trace system collapsed so soon after Dodo Harding took charge? Is it because everything she touches turns to rat excrement?

Monday 14th Sep: 09:45

What is the point of writing a blog on the rugby club's website if you don't watch any rugby? Good point. Yes, I managed not to watch any rugby yesterday, a day when it seems to have rained tries and the table was, as Elvis would say "all shook up".

I saw Leicester City kick off against West Bromwich Albion before flicking over to watch the start of the F1. With the almighty crash on the first lap, then the horrendous pile up on the restart and the subsequent third restart we stuck it until to the end. As Leicester were 2-0 up by then my mate was keen to keep watching the F1. Once that was over there was food to be eaten and the cricket to watch. What a cracking finish that was. The rugby was all done and dusted by then.

Even though I didn't see the games I can at least comment on the results. Wasps getting over 50 points again is some achievement. They really are on fire now and up into second place. Bristol on the other hand go in the opposite direction and now sit outside the play-off spot. That will be a huge disappointment to Pat Lam.

Finally Leicester Tigers get a "W" on the board with a win over Saints. Looking at the tries scored versus penalties conceded it seems Saints discipline was a serious factor in Tigers win.

London Irish losing to Worcester was somewhat of a surprise. That said their youngsters, despite being on the end of several defeats have shown heart and commitment. This is a morale boosting win for them.

Sale losing to Bath was no real surprise. Sale still have the smallest squad in the league and Bath are definitely on a roll, and that was pretty much a full strength Bath side. Bath move into 3rd on the back of the result with Sale dropping to 4th. It sounds as if Sale's inability to keep 15 men on the filed for the full 80 minutes was a contributing factor in their loss.

Last up was Saracens v Exeter. I did suggest Saracens might want to make a statement by beating table topping Exeter and they seem to have done that in some style. Yes it was an inexperienced Exeter side but nevertheless Saracens stuck it to them. I know one Fez Head who will be overjoyed by the result as his views on Tony Rowe, Exeter's owner, are unprintable here. If my maths are right the win would put Sarries into 2nd spot all things being equal.

The highlights show is on at 5pm tonight just before the Gloucester v Quins game so I'll make additional observations tomorrow. I believe fans will still be present tonight despite the (pathetic and totally random) rule of six now being in place.

It seems the spat between Australia and New Zealand continues. Even though the Rugby Championship is now being held in Oz the Australians are threatening to boycott the opening test because of the scheduling. On top of that the South Africans are threatening to pull out altogether as they fear they will be undercooked versus the fired up Kiwis and Wallabies who have had eight weeks of intense rugby.

Two interesting snippets, both from the Daily Fail. Freddie Burns has joined the debate about player welfare by stating he has "played with players who can't even cut their dinner anymore". As the headline says it is a grim warning about the games physical toll.

The other claims Amazon have opened talks with Sale over a behind-the-scenes documentary. The reason I mention this is because it supports the notion that Amazon see rugby as big opportunity for them, and at a time when the clubs are haemorrhaging cash they could be pushing at an open door. Whilst Tony Rowe is not everyone's cup of tea he features strongly in the article. It is well worth reading.

Today's bullshit statistic also comes from the Daily Fail. It talks about a record spike in Covid cases numbering 307,000 worldwide. That is only 0.022% of India's population and as India contributed just 94,000 to this total I hope you suddenly realise how WHO and the media are twisting numbers to scare the living daylights out of us all. Surely the headline should read "India amazes the world by organising testing on a mass scale and finding just 94,000 cases in a day. As a proportion of their population this is a remarkable result".

Bye for now as I need to keep moving around. As we now live in an Orwellian nightmare some new jumped up state sponsored Stasi marshal might be reading this drivel.

Sorry, one more thing, thanks Gordon for bring that comment about JC to my attention. It's prompted me to give him a ring later.

Sunday 13th Sep: 10:00

Not long now. WBA v Leicester City. It kicks off at 2pm.

Woah there! This is a rugby website.

Yeah but it is The Foxes............

Moving swiftly on I see Leinster beat Ulster 27-5. I might watch it tonight on S4C but I might not. This sadly is how it is going to be in the Autumn. You’ll get some of the internationals on Channel 4 but others you’ll need to be an Amazon Prime subscriber at whatever cost that is.

If you have SKY then you might have watched Reds v Rebels from the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Pretty good stuff indeed. Lots of skill, lots of spills and just a hint of cheating. What cheating? The guy who went off for an HIA after smashing his knee.

Five fixtures today to get you teeth into. First up Wasps v Bristol. Two sides who have shown they can mix and match their game plan. Both with plenty to play for. This could be a cracker.

Leicester v Northampton is the biggest of the East Midlands derbies. As both sides are rubbish at the moment this might actually be a good game. Nothing to play for bar pride.

London Irish host Worcester. That’s it; Irish v Warriors.

Next up the big one, in my opinion; Sale v Bath. Bath have looked the real deal of late and need to win this one to stay in contention for the totally unnecessary play-offs. Sale need to win to keep their hopes of a home play-off spot. This could end up being turgid stuff but on the other hand this could be one of the games of the season.

Saracens v Exeter Brings the curtain down on the days games. If I was Mark McCall my focus would be on the European clash with Leinster. Rob Baxter will have half an eye on their European clash with Northampton. Winning the Premiership title is higher on Exeter’s agenda so this should be an Exeter win. That said if Saracens want to make a statement before they leave for the Championship this is the game they would want to win.

Bottom line is there is much to play for some, only pride for others so there should be some good rugby this afternoon. I’ll be watching the soccer with my mate who is a huge WBA fan.

In other news England players have accepted the 25% pay cut proposed by the RFU. As I have said before please don’t shed any tears for them as they will still enjoy £17k for their endeavours..

That’ll do for now other than to ask why is our Government throwing our young people under a bus during this Covid crisis. These are the very people who will have to suffer the pain for many years to come. Whereas those who are being protected are the ones who are taking out of the system.

Saturday 12th Sep: 10:00

Dad’s Army aka The Friday Club did yet more brilliant stuff at the club yesterday. The grounds really are looking great, the place has been readied for the winter and the amazing repair shop of work to furniture continues apace. Well done you old farts.

Litter. Wow! I walked the entirety of our grounds yesterday and even after an extremely busy week found only three bits of litter that weren’t in a bin. Oh how heartwarming that was. I then went out on to the road to do our community bit and collected well over half a bag of rubbish strewn along the roadside. “Scumbags R Us” obviously drive and walk past the club and use the two bus stops at Steel Cross.

I’ll do the preview of tomorrow’s games tomorrow. Just a couple of things. The way forward for the game is obviously for the unions to line their pockets whilst screwing the loyal fan base. Those who work tirelessly at clubs week in week out with their only chance of experiencing an international being on TV. Not everyone has SKY so that option was already limited but now you have to have Amazon Prime if you want to watch the Autumn games. Yeah that is a great idea. The rugby family who work so hard for the game and have been starved of action are now in the main excluded from watching the long awaited tournament. Worse, the big internationals are a way into the psyche of non rugby people so why don’t we close of that avenue as well in order to line the pockets of a man whose wealth is greater than the GDP of most countries. Madness!!

The match schedule is out if you are interested and some of the games will be shown on Channel 4 or is it 5.

Australia will host the delayed Rugby Championship not New Zealand. The Kiwi Government are still kicking the virus down the road. More on this nearer the time, the tournament not the virus situation.

Before I go because I have domestic duties to attend to a point of clarification and an apology. On Thursday I questioned why the cities where the Super Rugby had been held hadn’t seen spikes with Covid. Stupid, stupid me!! Of course it is because New Zealand have kicked the virus down the road therefore you wouldn’t expect to see a spike. The principle of my point remains valid in that we are not seeing spikes in the UK where we would expect to see them: places where big events have been held with loads of people in close contact for long periods e.g. Bristol. By the way when I use the phrase “kick down the road” I mean delaying the inevitable.

Finally I apologise about using the phrase “clinically depressed”. I am genuinely depressed by this whole situation, by the ostriches and naysayers, those who can’t be bothered other than to buy into “herd mentality” and the continued drip of fear by Government and media alike. However clinical depression is a terrible issue for many with some sufferers taking the ultimate and terrifying road of suicide. I am nowhere near that so my statement was ill-judged. Sorry!

Thursday 10th Sep: 09:00

Yes I did get to watch two games of rugby last night and it was a mixed bag of entertainment. First up Sale v Saracens. Both sides were without their front line stars, in part due to one eye on the future and the other ensuring compliance with the guidelines on player welfare. Sale started brightly and for a while it looked as if for the first time in a very long time Saracens might be embarrassed. Sale played some expansive stuff, some of which came off, some of it failed dismally. The second half saw a different Saracens who played with heart and determination. Whilst Saracens can be as popular as athletes foot at times you can never accuse them of giving up, whoever is selected. This was certainly the case yesterday. They deserved the losing bonus point without question, especially as Steve Diamond was forced into bringing on some of his big guns.

A couple of talking points. Why can't Sale put sides to the sword? Why do they fade away allowing their opposition to get back into games, and like yesterday almost snatch the win? Why was the blatant obstruction of Faf de Klerk late on totally ignored by the officials? The Saracens player knew exactly what he was doing.

I then watched Bath v Worcester. At times Bath looked the real deal. They seem to have depth and quality in their squad and when they play their expansive game they look great. Yes this was against a young, inexperienced Worcester side but nevertheless it was an impressive performance. Worcester are clearly focussing on the future and using this restart to expose as many players to the rigours of the Premiership whilst they can. Even though they were hit by several injuries through the game no-one let their head drop. In fact they could have scored a couple of late tries when they too played an open, expansive game.

In the other games Leicester are in serious trouble. There cannot be any excuse for the once all-conquering Tigers going down to Wasps 54-7. From what I have read this was one way traffic with Leicester capitulating late on. Steve Borthwick et al have their hands full if Tigers are to remain a Premiership outfit at the end of next season. Wasps seem determined to secure that play-off spot.

I chose Bath v Worcester over Irish v Quins. Except for the final quarter this sounds as if it was an arm wrestle with Quins being "not very good" again but finally getting their act together to secure the win: "the final scoreline flattered Harlequins" (BBC Sport)

The Exeter juggernaut rolls on with a fine win over Gloucester. The result confirms their play-off spot but also what we already knew: this is a very good Exeter squad who must be out and out favourites to top the table and win the (unnecessary) play-offs. This sounds as if it was a good contest with Gloucester refusing to lie down. For Exeter Stuart Hogg impressed but limped off with a leg injury. From what I have read this morning Rob Baxter is being very coy about the seriousness of the injury.

Without question there were lots of tries in this round of matches but how many came from the dreaded pick & drive from a metre out versus tries from open play? In the two games I watched the scrum was again a complete time-wasting shambles, and allowing sides to opt for a scrum at a penalty or free kick has to be amended. What is it with the lineout, now taking as long to set as the scrum. Watching a team form up like the Red Arrows before joining the lineout is hopeless. Get the sides lined up and get the ball in. Stop this other nonsense now. As for the offside line, well you know my on-going gripe about that.

Another round of games on Sunday and Monday. Allegedly there will be fans at the Gloucester game but following the PATHETIC new rules introduced by Boris yesterday I expect that to be overturned. I will preview the games on Saturday.

It appears the Rugby Championship down under is in serious doubt as New Zealand continue to kick the virus down the road. By the way can someone tell me why we haven't read about major spikes in cases in Hamilton, Wellington, Dunedin, nor in Auckland, especially as only a few weeks ago stadiums were packed to the gunnels with people standing cheek by jowl, oh and without masks?

The RFU are "cautiously optimistic" of having 20,000 fans in Twickenham for the clash with the Barbarians. After yesterday's announcement that seems to be blind faith rather than optimism.

There was some good news yesterday, keeping up with the Kardashians is being taken off air.

The papers are full of the latest draconian laws that have been introduced thanks to Covid. I need your help please as I am seriously confused. Cases might be going up and going up a lot but hospital admissions and deaths are going down and incidents of infection amongst the elderly is also going down. Why these new rules? Is it a way of stopping mass protests? Is it because the Government want us all to be vaccinated, or is it something else, because it certainly isn't about saving the NHS, which in part lies dormant.

The big question..... Boris has gone on TV and said that 30 new deaths in a day was cause for concern. As a consequence Boris is again terrifying the country into submission. According to NHS England since August 31st to Sept 8th the highest number of deaths recorded in hospital was 9 on Sept 2nd. So where did all the other deaths occur to cause such a panicked knee jerk reaction. By the way with one exception, coincidentally Sept 2nd all the deaths were people over 60. There are bigger brains than mine out there. Please help me understand what is going on? I think I am becoming clinically depressed, and no I am not joking!

Wednesday 9th Sep: 08:30

What a game last night...... but more on that in a moment.

First let's discuss the Owen Farrell ban. Ten weeks reduced to five. The panel deemed the high tackle warranted a "top end" sanction and that starts at ten weeks. It is difficult to argue against that judgement, especially as he has a track record of reckless and poorly executed tackles, plus as England captain there is a responsibility to be a role model but that shouldn't be a factor in sentencing. Nothing was added on and he earned the full 50% reduction which in my opinion was spot on. Five weeks (meaningful games) means he misses the rest of this Premiership season and Saracens season defining European Cup games. He will be available for the Autumn series. He has plenty of time left on his career so perhaps he should spend some of his enforced time off reviewing and adjusting his suspect tackle technique because if he doesn't then the consequences could be significantly worse next time.

Bristol Bears put Northampton Saints to the sword last night. Plenty of puns flying around about the Saints being mauled by the Bears, and for long periods that was pretty much what we saw. Bristol in the first half played with pace and some of the off-loading and support play was sublime. Oh how brilliant it was to see the ball flying back and forth across the pristine Ashton Gate pitch. If only Harry Thacker had given that inside pass instead of being a show pony stumbling at the last fence. When that Semi Radradra becomes a Detached Radradra he is going to be something!!!!!

In the first half Saints weren't allowed to play, in the second they came out fighting but were so very predictable with their pick & drive that they were never going to score. The one occasion when they did let loose they scored a lovely try which ironically came after they had gone down to 14 men. Yet again we witnessed a top flight encounter reduced to uncontested scrums as two Saints props went off injured with no other "capable" replacement available. I found it interesting when TMO Wayne Barnes was heard to ask what the injury was with more than a hint of cynicism in his tone. This especially as the Saints scrum was going back nearly as fast as a Ferrari into the pit garage. In the end if Saints were trying it on, and you have to think with such an intense schedule they weren't, but if they were it backfired spectacularly as Bristol started to play like the Harlem Globetrotters pinging the ball around the court at will. Thank you Bristol, it restored some faith in our game, especially as Mrs Bleater would have preferred the 3rd T20 encounter.

You will need to choose wisely tonight grasshopper with five more games all available via BT. For obvious reasons I will try and watch the Sale v Saracens game which sadly clashes with Exeter v Gloucester which could be the game of the round. A full five point Exeter win all but secures a home game in the (unnecessary) play-offs. Wasps v Tigers is also an early kick off and this might be worth watching. Wasps have much to play for, Leicester are playing for pride. I go Wasps. In the later games Bath will surely overcome Worcester Warriors but if I decide to watch back to back games then I will be watching London Irish v Quins. Harlequins cannot be as bad as they were against Bath, or can they? Sale v Saracens will all depend on who is selected. With the massive game v Leinster now on the horizon and relegation to the Championship long decided will Mark McCall do what most others would do and say "sod the league, we still have chance of European glory" and pick a weaker side. Only time will tell. I go Sale but not by many.

Not much else in the rugby news but I'd like to touch on soccer briefly. Belgium are ranked number one in the world right now and little old Wales (so far) are punching way above their weight on the global soccer stage. This at the same time as England are lacklustre and struggling to beat even the lowliest of opposition. Could it be that as the Premier League is packed with overseas stars including those from Belgium and Wales that England suffer and others benefit. I mention this because you cannot but notice how, even when second string sides are selected the Premiership is packed with overseas players. You need only to look at Sale and Bristol to get my point. Yes England have a veritable cornucopia of back row at the moment but what about the other positions? I'll leave that with you to ponder.

You can also ponder this, especially as "Project Fear - The Return" is being launched across the media near you, and as I have bothered to do a little research rather than be an ostrich with my head in the sand believing every word our Government tells me............

Up until 4pm on 2nd September there had been 29,585 Covid deaths in English hospitals, of which 28,193 were patients WITH pre-existing conditions and of those 25,964 were over 60 (15,297 were over 80) *. So today's question is why are we destroying the economy and the health of the country by preventing young people from going about their daily lives? Think Sweden!!!!

* source : england.nhs.uk

Tuesday 8th Sep: 08:30

As expected the feedback from Sunday at Steel Cross was incredibly positive. It is easy for people involved to send you mails to say how great it was, it is something else when people stop you in the street and say “I’ve got to tell you how brilliant Sunday was, my 6 year old loved it and my eldest wants to go back too. Everything was so wonderfully well organised”. Need I say more. Once again WELL DONE all involved.

The discipline panel had their rehearsal for the main event last night. Andrew Kitchener and Siale Piutau were on the naughty step for their unsightly scrap at the end of the Worcester v Bristol game. Both were given a three match suspension. I haven’t seen the full judgement but it seems as if Piutau’s role was upgraded from yellow to red on the evidence of the TV coverage. Fair enough.

Farrell has his day in court later today.

I watched the Channel 5 highlights show last night. Obviously you have 480 minutes of rugby crammed into one hour minus ad breaks and the musings of Flatman and Durden-Smith (who are pretty good actually) so you only see the very best but some of the tries were excellent. With four games to go there is much to play for so I hope sides don’t go into “we can’t afford to lose” mode rather than want to win and win well.

Bristol host Northampton tonight and if they can repeat their second half perform each against Worcester there will be only one winner. Worcester were woeful in that second half however. Pat Lam is doing a splendid job at Ashton Gate and with the untold riches at his disposal will see this season as the stepping stone to really challenging for top spot next.

Pat Lam was surprised that Worcester’s Melani Nanai escaped any form of sanction for a high hit on Semi Radrada. I searched the highlights reels for it but couldn’t find anything but would suggest Lam, unlike others, is not one to court publicity without good cause. Nanai has previous so if what is being suggested is true he would have found himself deep in the brown sticky stuff.

Even with the briefest of highlights across the board the flagrant offside at ruck and maul and being in front of the kicker remained clear and obvious.

Sale sign Cobus Wiese and England’s Rob Webber rejoins on a short term deal. Does Wiese’s arrival mean Sale is no longer part of Greater Manchester but a significant suburb of Jo’Burg.

I’ll preview the other five games tomorrow.

In other sport England play Denmark tonight minus two players who broke the Covid curfew. Whilst I think the curfew/lockdown is nonsense these are very, very privileged and highly paid young men who deserved to be punished.

FYI the 2023 World Cup draw has been pushed back to December because of you know what. Heaven help us.

More deaths as a result of knife crime, from gangland activity and a shooting in Suffolk would you believe. Whilst all this is going on we continue to be driven towards an economic depression worse than anything we have seen ever before as a result of the reign of terror by our own Government and self-serving scientists.

Today’s point for you to consider comes from the Centres for Disease Control in the USA. They have finally admitted that just 9,210 people have died FROM Covid in the USA with all other deaths being WITH Covid, and of those the vast majority of people had two or more SEVERE co-morbidities. This important argument has been blatantly ignored in the UK but the CDC suggests it is true across the globe. (FYI from the outset Germany’s low death rates were believed to be as a result that they discounted Covid when co-morbidities were present). The full article can be found in the Principia Scientifica.

Finally you might want to look at the attached graphs (3 & 4) and draw your own conclusions about the madness that persists. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/

Monday 7th Sep: 09:00

No feedback about Sunday yet but I did have a phone call from my 8 year old grandson after his morning back at Salisbury RFC: he LOVED it. I am certain the kids at Steel Cross and all other clubs who flung their doors open yesterday will be getting the same positive feedback.

Not much in the rugby pages today other than a review of Saturday's games, most of which is very positive about Exeter; their ability to rotate their squad and still win. Several headline with Owen Farrell's appointment with David Barnes, Head of Discipline at the RFU. It seems the hacks are in agreement that the punishment needs to be harsh. Chris Foy of the Fail didn't pull his punches: "..... was an appalling, wild, reckless, act of aggression.. he must pay the FULL price...". Others are talking of him getting 10 weeks as they feel it was so severe. I think it is fair to say it was a dangerous tackle which comes under 9.13 and the top end for that is 10+ weeks. I for one am not sure whether this is top end. Undoubtedly it is reckless and dangerous and highlights his continued poor tackle technique. Mid range is 6 weeks and depending on his disciplinary record that could easily be reduced to 3 weeks. We will know on Wednesday.

Lots of positive comments about the North v South clash. It was a fantastic game to watch, sealed by a late try by South's Will Jordan. He has been the standout man in Super Rugby Aotearoa and more than deserves his All Black call up. Many of the old guard are included and the notable omissions are either due to injury or retirement. Caleb Clarke is another whose inclusion for the first time was a no-brainer. What a player he has been over the last eight weeks. The big question is will they have anyone to play against, and if so where, and with a crowd? All that is very much up in the air.

I am not sure whether this is hypocrisy or not? King Eddie pontificating that the England set up will have to make cuts when on the same day it is announced he is to take up a consultancy role with San Diego Legion in the MLR. This in addition to his work with Suntory and Umbro.

Even though Edinburgh lost to a late Ulster fight back Richard Cockerill's stock has gone up again. Talk of him being the next Scotland coach sits nicely alongside talk of a move back into the English Premiership.

Another busy week of Premiership action with a game tomorrow: Bristol v Saints and five more on Wednesday the pick of which is Exeter v Gloucester. More on these tomorrow.

In other sport Brentford FC's new ground looks great. I only mention this because London Irish will play there when season 2020/21 kicks off.

The F1 was more interesting of late. Plenty of action, a surprise result and unbridled arrogance from Hamilton: marching to the stewards to suggest ignoring two red lights to the pit lane doesn't apply to him. Is Ferrari the Reliant Robin of F1?

Talking of action the school run is back with a vengeance. Mum's in their enormous 4x4s starved of action certainly were making up for it on Friday morning. Clearly a mum in a 4x4 on the school run seems to have different rules to other road users.

What about the T20. A second England win and a thoroughly enjoyable contest, except for the lack of a crowd. For those with Sky Q isn't that split screen option for Sky Sport brilliant.

Wales 1 Bulgaria 0. A goal in the 94th minute. Brilliant stuff.

I know people are fed up with me pontificating about Covid but I am fed up with the unbridled hypocrisy of the Sussexes. They leave the UK for peace and quiet but seem to be in the papers everyday with their single aim of making money and being in the limelight.

Amazing isn't it that a handful of Extinction Rebellion activists can blockade the print works of a substantial part of the British press with little reaction from the police or the media despite this being an attack on the freedom of speech. Likewise Black Lives Matter who have the avowed aim of smashing capitalism, closing prisons and dismantling the police can march through our streets in what looks like a paramilitary uniform and no-one bats an eyelid, especially our pathetic media. Yet we have mainstream commentators like the odious Piers Morgan calling all 10,000+ who attended the recent rally in London about Covid conspiracy theory lunatics and Covid deniers. There was zero balance in his report. It was either his way, basically the party line, or no way. That is disgraceful.

I have been called a Covid denier which quite frankly I think is totally insulting but am willing to brush it aside. Coronavirus exists. Close to 42,000 people have died and everyone of those is tragic but the reaction to it with lockdown and project fear and paranoia and face masks and the devastation of the economy has been totally out of proportion. The way the statistics are used to justify the argument is positively laughable and the media have been a disgrace. The time has come for the Government, and the media and many other institutions to stop pandering to the political correctness brigade, the noisy minorities and start using good old common sense and get the country back to work and back to normal.

By the way it is my birthday today so feel I am allowed to sound off today of all days.

Sunday 6th Sep: 10:00

A big day for many clubs up and down the country today as minis & juniors return. Having been at the club on Friday and again for a few beers yesterday lunchtime CRFC is ready. I must congratulate all who have been involved in the planning and preparation. They know who they are so on behalf of all club members I thank them. Great job and good luck today. Obviously best wishes goes to all clubs. The sooner we get back to normal the better.

Busy weekend of rugby and unusually I didn't get to see much of it. The New Zealand North v South encounter was brilliant. If you haven't seen it and you have Sky try "catch up". It is well worth watching. The Reds v Brumbies was also worth watching. In terms of Friday I didn't get to see either game but I understand a strong Bristol side were made to work hard for their win, a game marred by a late sending off. Northampton Saints made a second string Exeter work hard for their win but the Chiefs simply won't go away.

The big talking point from yesterday was the sending off of Owen Farrell. The referee had no choice as it was very dangerous, positively reckless. Farrell has a track record of poor tackles and there was always going to be a day when it would come back to bite him. That, Saracens high penalty count and Jimmy Gopperth's ageing boot were the difference.

Quins v Bath was worth watching even though some of Quins skills were appalling. Even when Bath were down to 12 men the hosts were wayward and lacklustre. Bath looked very good, especially when they played with fluidity. Even though it was just 2,700 people it was great to see fans in the ground.

Sale eventually got past a dogged Leicester side. For Sale this was the "curate's egg" of a performance; they were very good in parts. Tuilagi scoring against his old mates was good but failing to kill off the Tigers when they looked down and out was poor. The late score deprived Leicester of a losing bonus point. There are positive signs at Welford Road but they have to have a better game plan than what seemed to be "give the ball to Ford and he will boot it as far down field as possible".

Finally I quite enjoyed Gloucester and London Irish. There were glimpses of brilliance from both sides and Irish certainly weren't there to make up the numbers. In Ollie Thorely (correctly spelt this week) and Louis Rees-Zammit Gloucester certainly have gas on the wings. Both must be in line for caps in November for England and Wales respectively.

Actually now I have written this I did get to see quite a bit.

It will be Leinster v Ulster in the Pro14 final. Should be good but you won't be able to see it live sadly. It could be that Amazon Prime will snap up the rights to the upcoming Eight Nations tournament. Whilst all nations involved are desperate for cash and this would be a shrewd move from that point of view it would be a VERY short sighted approach that in my mind would not be in the best interests of the game. Right now fans of the game are being starved of action. They can't get into grounds, they can't watch on TV unless they have BT and they can't watch anything at their local clubs. Many are drifting away from the game possibly never to return as they find other ways to spend their free time. Putting what could be a brilliant showcase event in the hands of an avaricious company like Amazon whose only objective is to increase their profit would be foolish. Yes money IS important but engaging with supporters of the game is crucial. Getting new fans from home shoppers seems a big leap of faith in my mind.

Sale being able to snap up Tuilagi makes more sense when you read that he (and others) are in a legal battle with Leicester Tigers about being "sacked" when they refused to take a pay cut. Sale are paying him much less than he was earning at Leicester but that shortfall will be more than made up if and when he wins the legal case.

That'll do for today back tomorrow with more rugby news, including a look at who has made into the All Black Squad. Before that mull this over if you will......

Is it just me or is the world going mad........
A hair salon had their ad for a "happy stylist" removed by a jobcentre because it was unfair to unhappy people
Bristol University has banned fitness instructors from telling students to lose weight as it is "fatphobic" and being thin is a privilege
MPs have paid £7000 (of YOUR money) to a consultancy to design a "unconscious bias" course on woke-friendly language and history...... and it is taught by a giant blue puppet.

Thursday 3rd Sep: 09:00

I took one look out of the window this morning and nearly climbed back into bed. As I type it is grey, damp, cold and therefore miserable. One glorious ray of sunshine was all it required to get me up and at it however, and no it wasn't Mrs Bleater.

It is the news that mini and junior training starts again on Sunday Sept 6th. It is a small step for the game as a whole but a great big one for beleaguered clubs up and down the land. I can tell you with absolute certainty that Steel Cross is ready. The grounds look as good as I have seen them, the beer garden has been spruced up, the furniture repaired, the marquee is being erected as I type, Emma is ready with the beer (for the adults only of course) and Jacqui with the food, the coaches are ready and best of all and most important of all the kids are ready. I have seen the lengths the club has gone to to ensure all the RFU and Government guidelines will be met in full. It should be, no it will be, a great day for all involved.

Chairman Mao in his little red book (which I have original versions of in English and Chinese) stated every journey starts with a single step. The minis and juniors getting back to some sort of normality is, as I have said a big one for our game. The sooner adult rugby can get back to normal the better. Soccer is ahead of us (thank you Gordon) as grassroots soccer kicked off this week. Not exactly the start local clubs wanted however with Crowborough Athletic losing in the preliminary to the preliminary round of the FA Cup.

More rays of sunshine/hope in that 4000 fans will be at The Stoop on Saturday to watch Quins host Bath and there are rumours swirling around in the press (so it must be rubbish) that 20,000 fans might be allowed in to watch England take on the Barbarians. Not such wonderful news as that should read "20,000 corporate, prawn sandwich eating, champagne swilling hangers on could be inside Twickers darling, when England rugger takes on those Baa-baas". Yes that is a bit cynical because the RFU need the money and yes it is a step in the right direction.

The other news is the Champions Cup will be redesigned for 2020/21. It will feature more teams but fewer games. I am trying to get my head around it but in essence 24 teams will take part split into two groups. Eight teams from each of France, England and Pro14. There will be four pool games as clubs from the same league won't play each other. I assume there will be a seeding system to see who plays at home in the pool games. The clubs from France and Pro14 have already been decided with the top eight from England still to be resolved. It is somewhat complicated to say the least.

Following this announcement Rob Baxter is first out of the blocks stating that clubs will have to prioritise competitions. The European stuff comes straight after the international window which is straight after this intense period of Premiership rugby. Baxter says "it's tough to see it as an absolute frontline competition for English Premiership clubs". He goes on to explain about rest periods for the top players after the internationals especially as the domestic season will have started again after this currenr restart. As with all of these things, only time will tell.

By the way can I say all this would have been avoided if the PRL had like the French simply abandoned last season and started the whole thing afresh....... or would it?

What's coming up? Worcester v Bristol on Friday. I suggest you simply watch all the Bristol tries on the highlights show. Saints v Chiefs might be worth watching, in the absence of anything else. Saints simply can't continue with their terrible form ..... can they? Also on Friday is the Pro14 semi final between Leinster and Munster. Now this would be worth watching but it is on some obscure pay TV channel so no chance. French rugby is back. Is it on TV? No idea. What is on is Melbourne Rebels v Western Force tomorrow morning. I'll be at Friday Club though.

On Saturday Quins v Bath will be worth watching if only to see what impact fans have. Sarries v Wasps is my game of the weekend followed by Tigers v Sale. Sale really must put the Welford road lot to the sword me thinks. Gloucester v London Irish complete the English stuff. Edinburgh v Ulster is the other Pro14 semi final. I might start the day with a coffee and croissant and Reds v Brumbies before popping to the club for a beer.

Finally Lions tour packages are now on sale. We have bitten the bullet and are going. The kids inheritance will be gone after this one. Sorry kids. By the way we chose Venatour based on our absolutely amazing Japanese experience with them.

Back on Saturday perhaps. Back on Sunday definitely.