Futtocks

Various tracks by Diunna Greenleaf. She's a big lady, but has a classic soul/r'n'b/gospel belter of a voice. There are some of her live performances available on YouTube - I recommend you check her out.

The thread was about players who never produced for their national team. Newlove had plenty of mediocre test performances, but he also had some very good ones, too.

Some kind soul has uploaded a Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings gig to both the Dime a Dozen and eTree sites.

This is, may I remind you, the very same rag that reported the RWC thus: "Well done to New Zealand for becoming the champions. Shame it was the wrong Rugby World Cup." Which does rather give you the idea of where they stand. The magazine has slipped downhill since a quite promising launch. This week's pig-ignorant editorial by Simon Caney, about the Commonwealth Games is a case in point. To be fair, once in a while they put out an issue with some readable stuff in it... just not very often.

Like the Challenge Cup Final, this could go absolutely any way, from a narrow victory to a complete rout to either side. The only thing I'm sure of is that I can't wait!

Warrington weren't a major force at the time. Wigan was just for one season (IIRC) - I don't know why he left. I remember him best as Oldham's 'super-sub', when he used to change games, coming off the bench.

I've read very good reviews of that album.

He had a hell of a boot on him. I remember a televised Challenge Cup match against Warrington, when he took a drop out under the posts. It landed closer to the opposition's tryline than some of the kickoffs in that match!

Absolutely.

I think it was just a buildup of injuries.

Martin Crompton - if he'd signed for a top club, I think he'd have gone on to much bigger things than his already admirable career. Scott Quinnell - I thought that, at the point where he went back to Rugby Union, he was just beginning to play to his potential.

An Amazon list of authors with unfortunate names.

He is a very entertaining broadcaster.

Duplicate post

Bootsy Collins - Zillatron: Lord of the Harvest. A blend of funk, death metal, cartoon whimsy and free jazz. Sick!

Always a dangerous player (sometimes in the wrong way, inadvertently or not), but he more than earned his pay at each club he played for. The Aussies didn't like playing him either, which is always a good sign. But the way a life unravels like this is just awful.

Isn't it?

Not forgetting: "Dear me, why do they carry the ball in one hand. I really do not know, tut tut..." And, of course, mentioning a try-scorer's father and the amateur club he played for.

Japanese Mah-Jongg - addictive.

Foie gras is very rich. But delicious. See if you can find monkfish liver - often available tinned. It is another rich delicacy, sometimes called the foie gras of the sea.

The current rules made for some fantastic matches, but I remember at the time watching Michael Jennings tear up the pitch for Tonga and wondering how long it would be before Australia tapped him on the shoulder, hinting at a chance to play in Origin. A solution that benefits the game as a whole will be a long time coming, I fear.

Lobster's great, whether just simply steamed or boiled, or in a classic dish like Lobster Newburg. And dressed crab is one of life's great pleasures. Crayfish, on the other hand, rarely lives up to expectations.

At this late stage, man-management and inspiration will be pretty much all Stanley could (and probably will) deliver. Hopefully, he will have assistants around him that can fill in the technical coaching bits.

News just in: Tony Williams has been removed from the Kiwi train-on squad. Apparently Stephen Kearney didn't like the fact that he was touting himself about for Tonga and Australia.

And there lies the problem. If you enforce a rule that you can only play for one nation (which would be ideal for the code's credibility), too many players would put their hand up for Aus or NZ, as the more likely teams to win trophies and glory. The Pacific Islands would be weakened - left with a loyal core, plus players who don't see themselves ever making the Kangaroo or Kiwi squad. Somehow, there needs to be a 'critical mass' of players willing to represent - for example - Tonga, so they can become a genuine force in the game, with a chance of competing with the Big Two of the Southern hemisphere. That team's example could get players on board for other nations in the same situation. Hard to see how it can be done, though.