Car crash TV?

Blimey. The hour approaches. I well remember how I felt at this stage in the last tournament. Nervous, but confident that our team would find a way. Now I feel they could be 20pts up at half time and still lose.
I live in hope but I dont think Paris is due a monsoon this evening, playing into the hands of our big slow pack and 9 man game.
Someone once said that the key to happiness is managing to balance your expectations with the inevitable disappointments in life.
So, in that positive light, I expect England to lose by 20 points, so less will be a bonus.
Oh and this picture cheers me up.

Faz is a girl?!!!

No, I don't believe it either. England's pre-tournament selection comes under the microscope as St Olly also falls to the injury gremlins. Can this tournament get any worse for England fans? Quite possibly as we are compelled to watch it in all its gloomy misery.
So Faz is now the great white hope at stand off. Actually, make that the bloody great big hope. The man is a good size for a back, but for a fly half, positively leviathan.
As to the other changes, bringing in Sackey for Cueto could be good, but will he ever see the ball? Will it get past our centres this time?
In the pack, I can see why Lawrence was dropped, he was anonymous against the USA, but surely this is the tight (we hope) game where you need his experience. But dropping Worzle for Corry. Doomed. Poor old Donkey Cozza just does not have the pace for 6, and Worsley can at least tackle. Once again, Haskell's omission from the original squad stands out. Here's hoping he gets the call in time for the quarters. (See I can be optimistic.)
Still, I am off out to see if a good meal and a few too many large drinks will brighten the gloom before Friday. I can but hope (hic!).

Vickery trips up!

God, does the humiliation get any worse. Not for the rest of the world, they never tire of seeing England shame-faced, which is surely what this furore over Vickery's trip is all about.
Mark you, setting our paranoia aside for a moment, what a complete and utter plank. He now faces a ban of anything from one match to 30 days. The latter would almost certainly rule him out of the tournament as I can't see England getting past the quarters, IF we beat Samoa + Tonga.
But before the whole world jumps on the England bashing bandwagon, let's just examine the crime. Centre runs inside prop, prop trips him up, prop should be yellow or red carded depending upon the position of the game - a penalty try and a yellow card would have been the right medicine here. This is not an unheard of crime in rugby circles and hardly the grotesque foul play some people are making it out to be. Are the IRB over-compensating for weak refereeing?
On a more positive note, I expect our scrum to now be stronger with the addition of Matt Stevens who also likes a rumble with the ball. To be honest, big Phil has not been justifying his place in the side as a player, and we cannot see any evidence of inspirational captaincy either. Not so much of the "Raging Bull", and rather too much like Daisy the Cow for my liking.

P.S. Have just looked at the picture again, and it all comes clear to me now. His tripping leg is wearing a Welsh sock! That explains everything.

Worse shirts than ours?

Can it be true? Do my eyes deceive me, but did anyone else think the Welsh looked worse in their second strip than England did in their red number?
Which marketing pillock thought that grey would be a good choice for a rugby strip? Bound to be a girl or a poof. And how did it get past the endless committees in Cardiff? Poor Charvis looks like something out of Fame in schoolboy grey: "If I score two tries, Coach Jenkins said I could go to ballet classes tomorrow!"
I find it truly unbelievable that the old farts at the SRU, WRU and RFU can allow their hallowed national teams to go out in the shirts they have got. Don't forget these are old men who only ever wear navy blazers, grey trousers, white M+S shirt and egg stained union tie. How can they of all people sanction these multi-coloured monstrosities?
Do the marketing types from Nike and Reebok arrange meetings after an astonishingly good lunch? Are they so bamboozled by the bullshit about the fabric wicking away sweat and allowing the player to breathe (through his armpit?) that they fail to notice the colours at all? Simply baffling.
Worst of all, I saw some England fans wearing the new kit to the game on Saturday, even one or two in the red one! Have these guys no shame. Its tough enough being an England fan these days without making a dick of yourself in these shirts.
By the way, in today's matches the Sweaties won, Wales won well after a scare and Ireland could be the new England - that's how bad they were.

Let down in Lens

Well that was a complete load of cack wasn't it.
On the same day when New Zealand scored 11 tries against Italy and Australia 10 tries in the one half against Japan - our brave lads subbornly refused to join in the try scoring orgy and only got 3 against the USA. So no bonus point there then - brilliant.
Actually, I think they are getting worse. The running in the backs would have disgraced any side from Hampshire League 4. The are too flat, not hitting the ball with pace and clearly have never trained with Olly Barkley before.
How else can you explain their refusal to follow any of his breaks. Olly was the one bright spark in the backs. I don't know which match Stuart Barnes was watching, but again he was praising Lewsey to the skies for his ability to run very fast and very hard into the nearest opposition player. Brilliant, but no tries that way either. Cueto looks confused, and the centres just inept. Catt is clearly too slow to cut it at international level and if he is solely there for his ability to launch the backline, consider him a dud.
We may have a chance next week but it may be found somewhere between slim and no chance.