Good morning from Bridgnorth. Lots to do and very little time to do it in. Hey Ho! As promised however, here is the current snapshot of who could be promoted and who could be relegated.

Let me start in our league. I think with a strong degree of certainty Old Elthamians are promoted. Even though Sevenoaks are in 2nd spot there is very little chance that they will go up. So who is coming down. Old Reigations look doomed but will go into Surrey/Sussex. Dartfordians and Canterbury II are strong possibilities to come down. At the bottom Charlton Park and Cranbrook are set to be relegated. Park House could be dragged into the equation but currently they are safe. Coming up from Kent 2 are TJs II. Thanet Wanderers could be lucky but right now that doesn’t look possible.

I think it is fair to say Hove will be in Surrey/Sussex 1 next season, as will Haywards Heath and Eastbourne. However the latter two could get dragged into the relegation argument. Pulborough hold the aces in terms of promotion from Sussex 2. East Grinstead are in a good place but it all depends on how Surrey 2 pans out. Don’t forget due to the withdrawal of Uckfield Surrey/Sussex 1 is an eleven team league. That could aid EGs chances. Burgess Hill are set to come up from Sussex 3 to replace Crawley in Sussex 2.

In Hampshire 1 Bognor are well placed in 2nd but like Oaks II are very, very unlikely to get promoted. Chi look pretty safe.

What about up above. Currently in Regional 2 Brighton and Horsham are heading towards some form of play-off. The same is true of Tunbridge Wells. Worthing are safe for now but drop down one place and they will be in the relegation play-off places.

Up in the ether TJs are safe in their league. Sevenoaks are in the automatic relegation spot from Nat 2 East currently.

It is all VERY complicated. If you so desire, go onto the interweb thingy and look at the ‘news’ section of RFU London. There you will find the latest permutations. Good Luck!

On Saturday we host Old Elthamians. Kick off 15:00. I’ll see you there.

The Premiership returned last weekend with some interesting results. Quins poor season continues with them losing at home to Gloucester. The Saints go back to the top, just, after their one point win over Newcastle. That was closer than I expected.

The URC returned too. Dragons put up solid resistance against the Stormers but fell short. The Scarlets beat Zebre but Cardiff and Ospreys both lost. Glasgow are top.

Toby Booth is to leave Quins at the end of the season. Scot Mike Blair joins Dave Rennie as part of the revised New Zealand coaching team.

The Welsh soap opera is back after its Six Nations break. There will be a special EGM which is intended to oust the current WRU hierarchy. Mindless idea in my view. The deadline for the buyout of Cardiff Rugby has been extended. More pain on the horizon me thinks.

The Women’s Six Nations is up next. England will win. France will be second. There you have it.

Finally, Brian Moore has said the salary cap for Premiership Rugby should be ripped up. What a plonker. If you want to see clubs go the way of Wasps, London Irish and Worcester faster than Sadiq Khan rips off London’s motorists, and that is pretty quick, then follow Moore’s suggestion. I think Bath’s Brice Craig is right, even with the injection of new money from James Dyson into the club, the salary cap has to remain. If it doesn’t costs will raise significantly faster than revenue and that is a recipe for disaster.

The Middle East situation is seriously troubling, so why are we, the United Kingdom, refusing to help ourselves by drilling for oil and gas that is readily available under the North Sea, and in some parts beneath our very feet. I’ll tell you why, because we have a Government packed with self-serving, lily-livered clowns. You thought the other lot were bad. Under Sir U-Turn we have a Government of quivering wrecks afraid of offending any and every minority and unable to make a single decision of note. Doomed, that is what we are.

Monday 23rd Mar: 07:50

Let me start by saying THANK YOU for your kind messages after yesterday’s blog. I’ll try and get back to you individually later today. They were very much appreciated.

Second up is a VERY well done to all at Steel Cross yesterday. I understand the U9 festival was a rip-roaring success. In addition, our U16s enjoyed a fine win, as did our Colts, who I believe won the league as a result. To put the icing on the cake our Ladies went to Burgess Hill and came home with a 33-5 win. Great stuff. It is not all about the winning however. It is very much about what we do for the game and how we do it, and of course having FUN. Success on and off the field is the outcome.

As it is Monday let me do a league round-up. Our 50-21 win keeps us in 7th just ahead of Beccs in 8th who lost 50-30 to The Greenies. That is quite some result for our good friends over in Cross-in-Hand. They are 4th. Ashford beating Sevenoaks II 26-21 was (sort of) unexpected. Oaks stay 2nd. Park House lost 15-27 to Deal & Betteshanger and Charlton Park lost 5-31 to Dover. Both home sides remain in the relegation zone. As you would expect Cranbrook lost to table topping Old Elthamians 19-52. Cranbrook are very much in the relegation zone. Unless there is a dramatic change in the league structure we are now safe from that fate. I’ll look at the latest permutations tomorrow.

Across in Surrey/Sussex 1 Eastbourne enjoyed the Sussex bragging rights beating Haywards Heath 33-26. Hove lost at home to leaders Cobham 11-40. Hove stay in 4th with Heath in 6th and Eastbourne in 7th. KCS Old Boys look doomed.

Going west one more to Hampshire 1 we see that Chichester lost 35-29 at Bournemouth II. Bognor on the other hand put bottom placed Eastleigh to the sword winning 8-50. Portsmouth remain top, Bognor 2nd and Chi in 8th.

So to Sussex 2. It is really disappointing to see Seaford earning a HWO against Lewes. I have no idea why. Pulborough remain top after their win over Royals. East Grinstead remain on their coat tails after beating bottom placed Crawley 118-14. Brighton and Ditchling were the other winners. In Sussex 3 Burgess Hill remain top after Shoreham II couldn’t get a side out. We lie in 6th after losing to 4th placed Uckfield.

In Kent 3 Hastings & Bexhill beat Old Gravesendians 47-5. They are 3rd behind Sittingbourne in 1st place with TW II lying 2nd. In Kent 2 TJs II are top and Thanet Wanderers in 2nd. TJs look set to join us in Kent 1.

In Regional 2 Brighton’s hopes for promotion took a hit after losing 26-22 to Sidcup. Sidcup are now 4 points clear. Horsham’s excellent run continues with a fine 28-29 victory at Beckenham. Horsham are a very creditable 3rd. Old Reigatian are adrift at the bottom of this one.

Up one in Regional 1 surprise, surprise Jersey remain well clear at the top with London Scottish a distant 2nd. TWells remain in 3rd after their 33-33 draw at Maidenhead. Worthing beat CS Stags 28-17 and move up to 8th. A bit of breathing space for them, which is good news.

OK nearly there, just a couple of results to go. In National 2 Sevenoaks came home from Old Albanian with a 33-39 win. Great result. They remain in 13th so at risk of relegation unfortunately. Bury St Edmunds lead the way. In Nat 2 TJs came back from Leeds, wow, that is a trip and a half, with 53-48 loss to their name. Two points at least which means they remain 8th. Rotherham top this one.

How did Bridgnorth and Salisbury get on? Bridgnorth won 31-34 at Newport (Salop). Like us, nicely in mid-table. Salisbury enjoyed a 52-19 win over Swindon. 4th spot in their league.

As I said earlier, I’ll have a look at the latest assessment of who is going up and and who is going down tomorrow.

Plenty of action in the Premiership over the weekend. The Bath result was eye-catching. I enjoyed the Leicester v Bristol game, if not the result. Love Leicester City, not a great fan of Leicester Tigers.

OK, the motorway beckons, Yes, Bridgnorth here we come.

Sunday 22nd Mar: 09:30

Apologies for my absence last week. I don’t know how many people read this here drivel but we are definitely one reader less. My dear old mum, after a long period of suffering, departed this earth for a better place last Wednesday morning. She only ever read the controversial stuff anyway. You’ll be missed mum.

Life goes on, and she wouldn’t want it any other way. For me that meant being at the club on Thursday with other loyal Friday Club members preparing mini-pitches for today’s U9 festival, then again back there on Friday to finish the job. Friday night was the club quiz. Extremely well attended and a very good laugh too. Our team, The Wooden Spooners, yes, we were Welsh, finished a very creditable joint 5th, ahead of the English contingent in 7th.

So to yesterday and the visit of Gillingham Anchorians. The pitch looked a picture. It is amazing how it has dried out, in fact, our training pitch has dried so much it is positively hard. It was ‘ladies day’ yesterday with our burgeoning ladies team front and centre. Great lunch as always, with added fun and games led by the wonderful Sharon. I think it is fair to say our two guests at lunch from Gillingham were mightily impressed with what we do, and how we do it.

So to the game. The Bard is back so if you want a blow by blow account it is on the website. We started like greyhounds out of the traps. Within a blink of the eye Will Pitman was going over in the corner after some great handling to free up the space. We were playing some scintillating rugby. Backs and forwards linking beautifully, great support lines and crisp handling. Young Mason Rosier, making his 1st XV debut in the centre, did not look out of place. We played the simple stuff well and before you knew it we were over again, and again, and again. The whippet Pitman bagging three of the tries for himself. Jarrod Hermann’s boot was working well slotting the conversions from the touchline, but also looking at total ease at outside half.

Gillingham Anchorians have had a good run of late and as the game progressed you could see why. Their #10 controlled proceedings well, with their fullback adding spice with powerful runs. They were’t going down without a fight and to their credit had us under pressure. In the main our defence held up well but the ‘As’ did put points on the scoreboard before half time.

The second half was a more even contest. We still held the whip hand with Andy Kidd, Adam King and Will Creasy making bullocking runs into the heart of the visitors defence. This set up a solid attacking platform for the backs allowing us to add yet more tries to our side of the equation. Tommy Dinnis coming on at #9 for Harry Marchesi made quite a statement with an excellent solo try. Moving left, then right, outpacing several defenders he scored under the posts. Not to be outdone Rosier, now playing alongside his dad Mark who came on at the break, latched on to a superb long pass out wide and covered the ground like a gazelle on heat for his try. Probably the loudest cheer of the day.

It wasn’t all one way traffic, Gillingham added a couple of tries to take them to 21 points. I for one give them my fullest praise. The way we were playing at times a lesser side could have capitulated. They didn’t. They stuck at it and I’m sure they will be safe in Kent 1 for another season.

Everyone of the 36 who took to the field played their part in what was a cracking game, and an outstanding performance by our boys. Final score 50-21. We stay in 7th just ahead of Beccehamian. Next week the 1st XV host champions elect Old Elthamians. They are currently perfect for the season, 18 games, 18 wins all with the bonus point. Can we pull off a shock and bring them down to earth. If we play like we did yesterday, YES WE CAN.

Our 2s were over at Uckfield losing 39-17. That is still a solid result. Well done them.

Yesterday was rounded off with live music post match. Me and Mrs Bleater, The Bard and his lovely wife, were frozen so we headed to the welcoming arms of our respective homes, and in our case the comfort of a glass of sherry to warm the cockles.

As mentioned above it is the Sussex U9 festival today at Steel Cross. I’ve done my bit so am keeping well clear today.

The proper news is terrifying. What has that idiot Trump done. I know the Iranian regime is odious but Trump’s actions quickly followed by the Israelis has sent the world into a tailspin which unless we are careful we might not recover from. Heaven help us all.