The Rugby Thread

[dtaai-maai]

Rugby's rich list: The world's highest-paid players in 2020

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/rugbys-r ... rs-in-2020

Of course virtually everybody on this Forum would be very happy to have such incomes, but when you compare it with what the top footballers get paid, it pales into insignificance!!

Which is an indication of the obscene amounts top footballers are paid rather than the impoverishment of rugby union. Of course, rugby has only been professional for a comparatively short time.

[Dannie Boy]

Rugby's rich list: The world's highest-paid players in 2020

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/rugbys-r ... rs-in-2020

Of course virtually everybody on this Forum would be very happy to have such incomes, but when you compare it with what the top footballers get paid, it pales into insignificance!!

Which is an indication of the obscene amounts top footballers are paid rather than the impoverishment of rugby union. Of course, rugby has only been professional for a comparatively short time.

Absolutely, footballers supposedly at the top of their game receive obscene salaries and yet lower down the ranks, many struggle to make a healthy living in the game - see the below,

In League One, where 15 of the 24 clubs responded, the average highest earner is on 247,188 pounds a year and in League Two, where 14 responded, it is 114,020 pounds. However, one player is paid 13,000 pounds for a year in the Championship, and two in Leagues One and Two received just 7,800 pounds.Apr 28, 2020

[pharvey]

Not going to go into prima-donna's salaries.....

On to rugby

Six Nations Round 5 - Final Round - All Times UK/GMT

Saturday October 31st KO 14:15, Parc y Scarlets - Televised BBC1/S4C (UK)

Wales vs Scotland

Saturday October 31st KO 16:45, Stadio Olimpico - Televised ITV (UK)

Italy vs England

Saturday October 31st KO 20:10, Stade de France - Televised BBC (UK)

France vs Ireland

[pharvey]

A wonderful talent . The game played in Heaven has another star - RIP JJ

"John James Williams, the former Wales and British and Irish Lions wing, affectionately known around the world as JJ, has died at the age of 72.

Willilams scored 12 tries in 30 tests in the red of Wales, guiding them to four Five Nations titles, including two Grand Slams, during the golden age of the 70s.

The former sprinter, who also represented his country at a Commonwealth Games, also shone in the red of the British and Irish Lions, scoring five tries in seven Tests across two tours, including the unbeaten tour of South Africa in 1974.

Williams hung up his boots as one of the game's undisputed greats and, following his retirement, became a pundit for the BBC.

His death has already seen a number of tributes pour in from all corners of the game, with the influence of 'The Welsh Whippet' stretching far beyond just Wales."

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/rug ... e-19185624

[pharvey]

Also kicking off this weekend is the Rugby Championship/Tri Nations (after SA's withdrawal).

Australia vs New Zealand KO 08:45 (UK/GMT) - Televised Sky Sports (UK) - Available on www.buffstreams.tv

Have not set up a prediction league this year with SA not involved, but will be setting up a Forum League for the upcoming Autumn Nations Tournament.

[PeteC]

122801480_10157709718146915_3055185110961001022_o.jpg (245.43 KiB) Viewed 516 times

[dtaai-maai]

Just watching the start of the rugby in Cardiff when I noticed the saucepans on top of the goalposts. I've never seen these before and was about to ask pharvey what the significance is, when it occurred to me that the Welsh anthem is called something Sospan fach. Surely that magnificent and stirring song, always sung with such passion, can't be about saucepans, thought I, so I looked it up. And here it is...

Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi brifo, Mary-Ann has hurt her finger,
A Dafydd y gwas ddim yn iach. And David the servant is not well.
Mae'r baban yn y crud yn crio, The baby in the cradle is crying,
A'r gath wedi sgrapo Joni bach. And the cat has scratched little Johnny.
Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân, A little saucepan is boiling on the fire,
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr, A big saucepan is boiling on the floor,
A'r gath wedi sgrapo Joni bach. And the cat has scratched little Johnny.

And that's just the first verse! I don't think I'll ever be able to watch it again without chuckling!

[pharvey]

Now, now sir - that's a slight slur on the Welsh......

"Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" rather "Sosban Fach" is the Welsh National Anthem - "The Land of My Fathers".

Sosban Fach is an oldie folk song about the hardships of a housewife.....

The match is actually from Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli and the song is heavily linked to the team and the town's history - tin plating (saucepans and the like). Your half-time "Llanelli history 101"

[dtaai-maai]

"Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" rather "Sosban Fach" is the Welsh National Anthem - "The Land of My Fathers".

Of course it is! Silly me...
I'm pretty sure I've heard the saucepan song sung at matches though.

Llanelli, one of those Welsh names you can't say without spitting everywhere!

[dtaai-maai]

Wales 10-11 Scotland

Not much of a game. Both teams ponderous with the ball in hand. Scotland probably deserved to edge it on the basis of a dominant first 30 mins, but to be honest, by the end I didn't really care...

[pharvey]

I'm pretty sure I've heard the saucepan song sung at matches though.

Indeed you will have - "Sosban Fach" is a very well known and loved song in Wales. The general response to it at rugby matches is "And you can have your bloody saucepan back!!"....

Llanelli, one of those Welsh names you can't say without spitting everywhere!

Just suck in......

[pharvey]

Wales 10-11 Scotland

Not much of a game. Both teams ponderous with the ball in hand. Scotland probably deserved to edge it on the basis of a dominant first 30 mins, but to be honest, by the end I didn't really care...

Dire game which the conditions didn't help.

Still struggling to understand what tactics Pivac & Co. are trying to implement - he's had enough time to put his mark on the team and we seem to be going backwards at a rapid pace. Grand Slam Champions and World Cup semi-finalists under Gatland & Co. last year - one win from six (Italy) under Pivac & Co. Enough already!

On a positive, huge congrats to Alun Wyn for his record international caps total - 149 Not Out!

[dtaai-maai]

Well, England beat Italy with a bonus point, but it wasn't as big a win as I'd hoped after a poor first half. Realistically, we need France to beat Ireland or Ireland to win by less than 7 points... Fingers crossed!

[pharvey]

Fingers crossed!

Nah.....

[dtaai-maai]

Fingers crossed!

Nah.....

Yeah....

Best game of the day by far, and the perfect result!