Pigeon Lofter

I have just been watching the RU game between Racing Paris and Leicester where the Greatest Show On Earth (aka Nigel Owens, a referee bigger than the game itself and the permanent centre of attention when he has the television cameras present) penalised Leicester for a knock-on when in fact the ball was projected forwards from the players forehead and not his hands. One of the many mistakes the Great Owens made today. It reminded me of a tactic a few years ago in RL when a player would hold the ball high in front of himself and then head it forward where a colleague would hopefully slide through the line of assembled and bemused defenders,gather the ball and maybe score an unorthodox try. I think it was a St Helens tactic to start with. Was reasonably controversial at the time. Anyone remember those actions,and what became of the stunt? I haven't seen it re-enacted for many a year.

It did! Extraordinary..... Yep, and nobody batted an eyelid. Rising from the dead like Lazarus had religious undertones!

Interesting observation from Lennox Lewis on the BT Sport analysis panel after the result was delared: "The fight promoter picks the judges." Professional boxing has never been legitimate. The fight promoters often manipulate who is allowed to win long before an event takes place. Always been like that,and probably always will.

What's the issue....that the stadium is owned by the municipality and they won't finance any redevelopment? If there's no plans to rebuild a sports stadium,will the land be allocated to alternative uses...like housing?

It is. He comes across as a decent bloke who did his best.....

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, many males from Caribbean communities but born in the UK came out in big numbers to support the West Indies cricket teams of the era.....they strongly associated with the lands of their fathers rather than the country they were born in.Those crowds were certainly partisan...pro West Indies and decidedly anti-English.I remember it well! Will it happen again or is RL too much of an unknown quantity that they may not take part as they have no love for or real knowledge of the game? Or could ancestral national identity be enough to bring them out on the terraces? Three years is plenty of time to get the marketing machine in motion!

Is this a global aggregate of current players eligible to play for Jamaica from leagues and associations all over the planet?

You might be on to something!

...also how far back the ball was projected at the play-the-ball...sometimes a metre or two!!

Well, a blazer maybe. I had a 1960 Challenge Cup Final video pop up on a rugby YouTube page and so took a look. In addition to clean play-the-balls and superb handling and running skills what surprised me was that the referee and touch judges were wearing blazers! Hadn't noticed that before. Was it a Wembley final thing or did referees used to dress like this when officiating? Here's the link. Some cracking skills on show.

Yep. His inability to make a tackle directly helped NZ get two of their three tries. He's in the team for his barging runs early in the tackle count.

Unlucky.

Woo-hoo!

He's certainly keeping the game in motion by not rattling his pea. Maybe we've got used to the whistle going for every hold-down at the PTB and at each little outbreak of handbags. TBH,I like the idea of the referee keeping out of it unless absolutely necessary. Adds a bit of animus too which isn't a bad thing in an RL international.

NZ headhunting today......