Yet another storm is heading our way. This one could be quite vicious. All this in the week when Donald Trump put two fingers up to the World’s concerns about climate change. Back to this in a moment.

First the rugby snippets I have picked up from the papers. Is Adam Jones, finally, at last, going to be persuaded to join the Welsh set up. There are murmurings and conjecture amongst those in the know. I’m not one of them by the way. I think it would be a great coup, and in my opinion, long overdue.

Louis Rees-Zammit’s NFL dream hangs in the balance. The Jags have cut him loose but seem to have dangled a carrot in front of him about a return. It’s all very strange. I admire him for giving it a go but in my view it was always the longest of long shots. NFL is a cut throat business and with millions of kids who have played since the age of 6 chasing the dream LR-Z was always going to be up against it. His best bet is to get on a plane back to Blighty and resume his rugby career whilst its not too late.

It seems the doom merchants got it wrong. It looks as if Alex Mitchell will be fit for England’s Six Nations opener.

I need some of whatever Warren Gatland is taking. ‘Write Wales off at your peril’ the BBC headline reads. Actually there is something in that. I don’t think they’ll finish bottom, and I do believe they will produce one shock result. Perhaps I need to lie down!!!!!!

Itoje on the other hand states ‘England can beat everyone in Six Nations’. Yep, that is true, but if recent form is to be believed you could also fail dismally. If the latter came to pass would Steve Borthwick be out on his ear? One of the papers hinted at that being a possibility.

The electric Adam Radwan his heading south to Leicester Tigers, much to the dismay of the followers of Newcastle Falcons. Newcastle are a club who recognise the need to cut their cloth accordingly, especially with the meagre crowds they get. Selling players of quality is the main option in an area where soccer is a religion.

Wales have lined up a warm up fixture against Wales Under 20s ahead of the Six Nations. Be a bit embarrassing if the Under 20s won!

There is strange and there is strange. Craig Hampson, Ealing Trailfinders scrum-half, lined up against Chinnor in the Championship recently. Nothing strange in that you might say. Well, it is when you find out that Hampson is also the backs coach at, yes, you guessed it, Chinnor RFC. Hampson supplements his Ealing earnings coaching up the M40 with the Oxfordshire based outfit. WalesOnline if you want to know more.

Looking ahead, this was meant to be a fallow week, however, the 1s now travel to Dover, and the 2s host Uckfield at Steel Cross. Haven’t 100% decided whether to travel to Dover yet. It is very much weather dependent.

Which allows me to circle back to my opening sentence. Climate change is real but the Big Orange One drove a horse and cart through the plans to slow the effects. I think he said ‘drill baby drill’. He pulled America out of the Paris Accord and trashed any plans to move solely to electric vehicles. Whilst many will be up in arms there is some sense in his actions. The UK is slavishly chasing the targets with no regard for the implications for us the voters, including the implication it is driving costs up. We are producing more wind energy than we can use and using limited government revenue to pay providers to STOP producing. Madness. Heat pumps are a long way from what they have been cracked up to be. They are inefficient, noisy and (certainly in my case would be) expensive to install. Electric cars are proving to be unpopular, and with their limited range and hidden costs things won’t change soon. All that said if everyone globally did a little bit, then a bit more we could make a difference. Walk instead of driving when practical. Cut waste. Recycle whatever is recyclable. Just a thought.

As expected the latest ransom demand is on its way. Having caved into the criminals recently it comes as no surprise that they are back already with new demands and threats to hold the country to ransom. Yes I am talking about ASLEF. Despite them getting a whopping pay rise when this Government came to power, and with NO strings attached, they are back demanding even more. It was always going to happen!

Finally, you know we are up the proverbial creek without a paddle when The Guardian starts to criticise this Labour circus. I’ll leave it there for today. I need a coffee.

Tuesday Jan 21st : 09:50

The question on many people’s lips is: ‘has the “golden” age really arrived’ or should the question be: ‘has the nightmare just begun’?? I guess for many in the USA, and possibly around the world, the answer is ‘yes’ to both. More on this in a moment.

I have to remember this is the club’s RUGBY website so let me get back to our wonderful game. Following my comments about Canterbury II paying a player, if not players, to play at Level 7, it seems not just CRFC are up in arms about this whole debacle. This experiment, not just in Kent but across the country, is having the opposite effect to the one intended. Clubs are crying off games against the 2nd XVs of National league sides. Players are getting injured in the games where they go ahead. It is distorting the quality of the competition in the league structure sending decent clubs into relegation where otherwise they would have survived. The consequences of that are often problematic for the relegated club. It is a sad indictment of how the game is run.

Steve Borthwick has been given a new set of cards to shuffle as the ones he selected last week have been decimated by injury. Out go Jamie George, Alex Mitchell, Jack van Poortvliet, Alex Dombrandt, Alex Coles, all injured. It is not known how bad those injuries are but it will certainly disrupt England’s preparations. Ben Spencer and Raffi Quirke get recalls, and young Henry Pollock gets the call that many predicted would happen initially.

The referee’s will be getting together next week and top of the agenda is speeding up the ruck. Stop players trapping opposition in the ruck, players to move ‘east to west’, clearly lift the ball and not just get your hands on it. They will also be reminded about blockers preventing access to the catcher, which has been a great success. The game is more fluid as a result.

One referee will be absent and that is Chris Busby. He has withdrawn from the tournament for ‘personal reasons’. The abuse he got from Mack Hansen has put the issue of Match Official Abuse (MOA) under the spotlight. I was on an RFU dial-in last night and it is certainly an issue across the game with players, coaches and spectators all guilty. Sanctions are being up-weighted to reflect the growing concerns of the games administrators. By the way, I think Busby’s withdrawal is a consequence of many factors, some from outside the game.

The Challenge Cup, the old Parker Pen, will feature three of the four Welsh regions. The Ospreys have been drawn against Scarlets. That should be quite some contest. Where it is going to be played is the question. Swansea City are at home that weekend and the Brewery Field, Bridgend, is also in use. Cardiff have the very difficult trip to Connaught. Home or away Cardiff have got very little out of their fixtures with the Irish outfit.

Scotland have been dealt a huge blow ahead of the Six Nations with captain and talisman Sione Tuipolotu out of the tournament. He has picked up a pectoral injury which will keep him out for many weeks, possibly putting any Lions hopes in jeopardy.

Following a change in the protocols ALL Wales games in Cardiff will now be under the Principality roof. Previously, during the Six Nations, visitors had the final say, but not any more. The atmosphere in Cardiff is always special but with the roof closed it definitely goes up a notch or two. Wales will still lose most games, and there will still be thousands of morons who spend most of the game either going to the bar, or going to the toilet, or both. The valley girls will be there to bring a splash of make-up by Dulux and language by Potty-Mouth inc.

Which leads me nicely into the news that Eddie Jones will be an ITV pundit during the tournament. That’s me not watching the pre-match, half-time, or post match stuff on ITV. My blood pressure won’t stand it.

It was a historic occasion yesterday with Donald Trump being sworn in at the 60th inauguration ceremony. It was pretty shambolic in my opinion. We could teach the Americans something about pomp and circumstances. He’ll be getting through the pens over the next few days as he signs a raft of ‘Executive Orders’, including pardoning rioters and fascists. Whilst there was much in his post inauguration speech that made me shiver with fear for the globe, there were several things that struck a cord. ‘Drain the swamp’ was one. Get waste, fraud, inefficiency and downright corruption out of the entire governmental machine. The attack on woke and political correctness got a thumbs up. As did his insistence that people get back to the office, and if they don’t like it then get a different job. Yep, we in the UK could use a significant chunk of that thinking!!!!

Oh, can anyone tell me why Jeff Bezos’s ‘squeeze’ turned up like looking like a Chicago brothel keeper?

Monday Jan 20th : 09:10

January 20th 2025. The day when Donald Trump becomes President of the United States of America for a second time. The first to be reelected in non-consecutive terms. What will his tenure bring? I have no idea but I fear it won’t be for the global good. There is one slither of hope and that is others will follow his attacks on woke, and political correctness.

Yes, history will be made today, but it is still a Monday and that means a league round-up. In Kent 1 as you know we moved up into 5th after our excellent win against lowly Ashford. We leapfrogged Dover by virtue of their home defeat at the hands of Sevenoaks II. Losing 26-28 is a good result and perhaps a portend of things to come next week when we travel east. As expected The Greenies won comfortably at troubled Charlton Park and stay 4th. Bromley’s fine season continues with a 37-21 win over Beccehamian. Cranbrook continue to languish at the foot of the table after losing 39-24 at Park House. In the final game Deal & Betteshanger lost 15-54 to table topping Canterbury II.

I digress here because included in the Canterbury squad was Harry Sloane, ex Quins and Agen who according to the Canterbury II website is a semi-professional at the club. It is an absolute disgrace that Canterbury are allowed to include paid players in Level 7 fixtures where payment is NOT allowed.

Bromley are now clear favourites for promotion.

In Surrey/Sussex 1 it was a bad day for all four Sussex clubs with East Grinstead slipping to the bottom of the table after their home defeat to high flying Twickenham. Hove lost heavily at leaders Cobham. Haywards Heath came second at Old Haileyburians and stay in the relegation zone. Eastbourne lost at Old Rutlishians but remain in the safe haven of mid-table. 6th to be exact.

In Hampshire 1 Bognor drew 24-24 with Bournemouth II. Yes, you guessed it, Havant II are still perfect at the top. My old club Trojans slip to 10th and New Milton remain rock bottom by a margin.

In Sussex 2 it was a bad day for Uckfield losing at Seaford 19-18. Our neighbours remain top however, and with games in hand. Brighton II beat Crawley by a lot. Lewes lost at home to Ditchling in a 1 point game. Shoreham beat bottom placed Hove II to stay in the hunt. Worthing III beat Pulborough putting a dent in their promotion hopes.

In Kent 3 Hastings & Bexhill lost at home to Sittingbourne. TJs II are clear at the top, making the league a joke when you consider their 1st XV are top of National 2. Tunbridge Wells II beat New Ash Green by a decent margin. H&B are 6th.

By the way, in Kent 2 it is looking as if Old Elthamians are going to be promoted, with Thanet Wanderers and Gillingham Anchorians in the hunt for second spot.

Up in Regional 2 Chichester beat bottom placed Andover and move up into 9th as a consequence. Farnham top this league.

In Regional 1 it was a tough day for Horsham losing 7-26 to 2nd placed Jersey. Brighton lost at Wimbledon and are looking increasingly likely for the drop. Horsham are just above them. Tunbridge Wells drew 35-35 at Camberley. London Welsh remain unbeaten on maximum points at the top.

Up in the National leagues TJs put Worthing in their place 45-17. Sevenoaks lost, albeit narrowly at Barnes. Worthing are bottom, Oaks are in 11th.

I understand from Bill Salisbury enjoyed an excellent away win at Walcot. They are in 4th but have played more games than those around them. Bridgnorth were well beaten at Stourbridge.

That’ll do for now except to congratulate Ulster, Munster, Leinster, Sarries, Sale, Quins, Leicester and Saints for qualifying for April’s knockout phase of the Champions Cup.

I’m off to catch up on the proper news now, including the story that Angela Three Houses Rayner asked Civil Servants to organise her house move, and how her proposed workers rights plans are causing untold panic across the UK’s business community.

Fingers crossed the ceasefire deal holds across the Middle East.

Sunday Jan 19th: 10:15

At about 11:15 on Friday morning after marking out the pitches at Steel Cross The Bard and I were on the verge of not going to Ashford for this one. Well, aren’t we glad we changed our minds. With our senior managers and financial controllers in tow we had a fine lunch and a bottle of wine before enjoying a splendid performance by the boys from Steel Cross. It must be said though that like the line from that duet with Cerys Matthews and the brilliant Tom Jones it was ‘bloody freezing’.

I think it is fair to say, and I don’t want to do Ashford an injustice, but we were very good on the day, and Ashford were not necessarily at their best. The respective league positions being something of a clue.

We came out of the traps like greyhounds on heat and immediately took the game to the hosts. The pack were dominating the set piece and the key contact areas. The ball fizzed around the park with great angles of running and excellent offloading to players in support. Ashford were on the back foot for a lot, if not most, of the first half. The young backs played without fear and their willingness to keep the ball in hand was a joy to watch. The forwards were never far away and bullocking runs into the opposition defensive line and clever offloading kept the ball alive. The try line was crossed at regular intervals and with the unerring boot of Oscar Thatcher adding the conversions the half time score was 0-28. It could have been more except for a toenail in touch, and a strange offside decision. Hey Ho.

It wasn’t all plain sailing in the second half as Ashford were determined to show their home support that they aren’t a spent force. They put us under pressure with strong midfield runs and pace out wide. In the main our defence held up. The scoreline at half time had clearly gone to the Crowborough heads as we started to play as individuals and not as a free-flowing, cohesive unit. As a consequence we gifted Ashford two tries which narrowed the deficit. The home side now enjoyed more territory and possession and showed the form of last season. We endured the pressure with some dogged and resolute tackling across the park.

As the hosts tired the boys went back to playing as a team with the ball being moved seamlessly between backs and forwards and the excellent support lines creating space for players to exploit. We added four more tries in that closing stanza taking the final score to 14-52. With other results going in our favour we move into 5th just above Dover who we play next week. There is now a gap developing below Dover and that augurs well for the rest of the season.

Every Crowborough player who took the field yesterday made a brilliant contribution but I will pick out two players of note. Josh Rhodes in the back-row was outstanding. Young Oscar Thatcher played a simple but effective game in the back line but his boot added the extra points nervelessly and that is something we have missed during key games.

The Bard’s blow by blow account is on the website.

Dover will be a tricky fixture next week with several key players being unavailable but I’m confident we will still be competitive.

A full league round-up tomorrow.

We got home in time to watch Scarlets put RC Vannes in their place. The West Wales outfit were superb in the first half but went off the boil in the second. That was followed by Pau v Ospreys. This was a cracking game with the Ospreys snatching victory in the final moments of the game. Maybe, just maybe, Welsh rugby is not dead after all. Thank heavens for S4C is all I can say.

Damper was distraught as Bath were dumped out of the Champions Cup by Leinster. Saints and Quins progress with fine wins

Don’t mention Leicester City please.

The round ball game for me today as I can’t watch the rugby.

Gird your loins ready for Trumps inauguration tomorrow and his subsequent presidency. Heaven help us all!!!!

Thursday Jan 16th : 08:30

The club beckons this morning so I better crack on. First up confirmation that, weather permitting, the 1s are away at Ashford on Saturday, with the 2s travelling down to Seaford. By the way the Colts are at home on Sunday. Kick off times can be found on the website.

Steve Borthwick has rolled the dice. The squad is pretty much as you would expect with a couple of exceptions. No Ben Spencer is the omission that catches my eye. The absence of Dan Cole would indicate his race his run. Cadan Murley did make it, as did Oscar Beard, both from Harlequins. Henry Pollock will have to wait his turn but that day will come if he continues on the current trajectory. Jamie George is no longer captain, indicating he is far from guaranteed to start. Maro Itoje has taken on that mantle. Bevan Rodd has been recalled following Joe Marler’s retirement. It is a squad full of big beasts. On paper it is a squad that should be competing for the Grand Slam but as we know England are perennial underachievers.

Simon Easterby has named his squad. It is a mix of experience, actually some ageing rock stars, and young guns wanting to establish their place in the team going forward. You have to put Ireland as second favourites to lift the trophy behind France.

If you are interested the Scottish squad has been announced too. High flying Glasgow and in form Edinburgh supply the bulk of the squad. As always the selectors have trawled the globe for anyone vaguely connected to Scotland. Fergus Burke, Saracens New Zealand born outside half has been included thanks to a Scottish grandfather. He was also eligible for England but with Smith, Smith and Ford in the running Scotland is a decent shout.

You can pour over the squads yourself. The BBC seems to have the best detail.

A couple of words about Wales. Taulupe Faletau is struggling to be fit AGAIN!!! The exclusion of Max Llewellyn is causing great angst amongst the supporters of the Welsh Dragon.

In terms of rugby this weekend it is a full grassroots weekend including the Greenies away at Charlton Park. Sorry to my friends in South East London but I would be amazed if that was anything but a comfortable away win.

The European stuff continues, albeit behind the iron curtain known as Premier Sports. At least one of the Welsh games will be on S4C however. Its a real shame for us fans as there are some cracking ties across the weekend. Leinster v Bath, Saints v Munster for example. Hey Ho.

In other sport Leicester City lost again last night. They played well in the first half but couldn’t score, they fell apart in the second with Crystal Palace exposing the weakness of the home defence with two well taken goals.

In the proper news Rachel The Hood Reeves played her get out of jail card yesterday with better than expected inflation figures, however UK economic growth has slowed.

At last some good news from the Middle East. It seems we are very close to a deal that will end the slaughter in Gaza. The Israelis should be ashamed of the destruction they have wrought in the region. Likewise the terrorist groups who ultimately set this horrendous situation in motion should be brought to book.

That’ll do. Back on Sunday.

Tuesday Jan 14th: 09:00

I know very few of you are interested in Welsh rugby but that is where I’m going to start. Warren Gatland announced his Six Nations squad yesterday and there were a number of notable names missing. Of those who are fit and playing well Gareth Anscombe, Max Llewellyn and Taine Plumtree jump off the page as absentees. With Anscombe missing I’m amazed that Jarod Evans hasn’t been included. Where is Rio Dyer and Cam Winnett? Both in form, in my opinion, both missing.

At least seven first choice picks are missing due to injury, and when the gene pool is so small that is an issue. Two uncapped players are included, Dan Edwards, as predicted, and Scarlets Ellis Mee. The other interesting selection is Sam Parry who spectacularly fell out with Gatland over selection issues. He has been in good form for the Ospreys in the continued absence of Dewi Lake so a recall is more than justified. I personally would have included Dillon Lewis and Wyn Jones but to be fair their game time of late has been restricted.

How will Wales fair in the Six Nations? A few weeks ago I was confident of a couple of wins, one of which would be a shock. Now I will be shocked if Wales win any games. The game in the Principality is on its knees and until the 25 game selection policy is scrapped the better.

England will announce their squad shortly. Plenty are predicting the inclusion of Max Ojomoh, Henry Pollock and Cadan Murley. Tom Willis is sure to be in the squad. We’ll know soon enough.

England have a new Head of Performance, Phil Morrow. He will leave Saracens at the end of the season and be with the England set up ‘beyond the 2027 World Cup’.

In an interesting move Joe Marler will lead talks with the RFU and clubs over player welfare. He has a new fancy title, Performance Director for Team England. Whilst Marler has been a irascible rogue throughout his playing career don’t underestimate his understanding of the game, or his intelligence. I think he is ideal to liaise with the clubs to ensure England’s elite players are getting the rest and recuperation agreed as part of the new deal. The Torygraph has the full story.

The same paper brings us news Ugo Monye is facing financial ruin. How can a man who is on our TV screens so much be forced into bankruptcy. Perhaps he has being trained in financial management by Rachel Reeves.

What a real shame. What a shambles. Young referee Chris Busby has retired from the game following the abuse he got from Mack Hanse recently. Busby was on the way up the ladder having not so long ago taken charge of a Tier 1 international, Scotland v Australia, and did a fine job too. There is of course more to his departure than Hansen’s behaviour but his decision is a perfect example of why we must treat referee’s with respect. They are not always right. They shouldn’t be put on pedestals. That said there is no game without them and therefore we must look after them.

That’ll do rugby wise for this morning. I thank my good friend The Bard for bringing to my attention Sir U-Turns pontification on AI yesterday. The Times reports that in recent episode of the brilliant children's cartoon; Bluey, a robot was employed to clean the kids bedroom. The robot took the kids and threw them in the bin with the statement; ‘Now playroom will always be tidy’. That is AI for you. The article goes on to say that Starmer’s performance was robotic with him failing to read the autocue, and clearly the charisma and presentation chip were missing. It also suggested that if AI was running the Government Rachel Reeves would be in the bin right now. It is an excellent article.

I finish with an extract about a robot Labour Cabinet Minister. It would speak in benign platitudes, talking with assured fluency without saying anything at all. It would be jovially self-deprecating yet effortlessly superior, all at the same time. It works very hard but no-one knows what it actually does.

Right, no blog tomorrow, busy, busy, busy. Back on Thursday.

Monday Jan 13th: 09:55

Most of the games across the South East this weekend were affected by the cold weather. There were a few games that went ahead and here are the results.

In Kent 1 Canterbury II beat Park House 67-12. Canterbury are top with 10 point advantage over Bromley and 11 points over Sevenoaks II. Oaks do have two games in hand however. Park House are in 8th some 9 points adrift of us in 6th.

In Surrey/Sussex 1 Eastbourne enjoyed a fine 26-52 win at KCS Old Boys in the only game to go ahead. The boys from the South Coast sit 6th in table but most teams around them have two games in hand.

In Hampshire 1 most games went ahead with Bognor winning at bottom place New Milton 20-27. The result moves Bognor into 9th. No surprise Havant II stay top after another comfortable win, this time over Ellingham & Ringwood.

In Sussex 2 just Seaford v Hove II beat the weather with Seaford winning 43-13. The result moves Seaford into 2nd in the table but those around them have games in hand.

Up in Regional 2 Chichester also beat the weather beating Wimborne 28-12. Chi move into 10th but have played more games than Guildford and Andover below them. Farnham are top.

In Regional 1 none of the teams I follow played. Jersey are now within 5 points of London Welsh after beating CS Stags 28-13.

In National 2 most games went the way of the weather, including the clash between Sevenoaks and TJs. Worthing v Canterbury was also off.

Rounding things off Salisbury lost at Sherborne, Bridgnorth didn’t play.

A mixed day for the English clubs in Europe. Bristol beat Benetton and Bath enjoyed a fine win over Clermont Auvergne. Apparently this was a good game with Finn Russell at his best. The game was marred by the sending off Clermont’s Georgian prop Akhaladze on 24 minutes. The atmosphere was also muted being a Sunday evening kick off with very few French supporters present. Bill and Damper were happy!!! Harlequins lost in Toulon.

In the old Parker Pen cup (remember that) Dragons were beaten by Pau.

Brian Moore has ripped into the blazers who run the European games stating it is a complete mess. The piecemeal nature of fixtures, the crazy TV deal that pretty much blacks out the tournament, the complicated pool stages, and so he goes on. He is absolutely right by the way.

Warren Gatland will be centre stage this afternoon as he announces his Six Nations squad. It’ll be another challenging day for Gatland as the injury list grows.

That’s it for rugby news. I enjoyed the football as an alternative yesterday. The FA Cup might have lost some of its gloss over the years but Tamworth v Spurs brought back much of the nostalgia. Arsenal V Manchester United was a full blooded affair. Interestingly there have been many who have criticised VAR. It wasn’t available yesterday but if it had been it would have been very busy indeed. A lively game with controversy aplenty.

There were wins for the Bills, Eagles and Commanders in the NFL wild card play-offs.

In the proper news the alarm bells are ringing louder and louder about the state of the UK economy. The LA wildfires go on unabated. What is the country coming to when an A&E nurse is stabbed because a patient got fed up with waiting. If the patient was fit enough to stab someone what the fc4k was he doing in A&E. Then you have the pathetic reasons why murderers and rapists are not being deported. The judges should be ashamed of themselves.

Have a good day, and stay safe.

Sunday Jan 12th : 10:15

A beautiful morning here in the ‘Borough. Clear blue sky, bright sun, and as long as you dress appropriately wonderful walking weather. Sadly for rugby it is a ‘no go’ day. The snow covered grounds and rock hard ground beneath is way too dangerous for any form of the game. As a consequence the leagues were littered with P-P yesterday. I’ll let you know soonest the revised dates for the postponed games.

The Walking Rugby boys did brave the elements on Friday evening over at Horsham on their AGP. There’s a nice piece on this here website.

After yesterday’ brisk walk it was with some annoyance I settled in to watch the round ball game and a feature length Poirot. With the European stuff only available via Premier Sports that was the only option. Later in the evening I did watch the Ospreys put an understrength Newcastle in their place, followed by a rerun of Perpignan and Cardiff. Both pretty good games with a number of players putting themselves forward for Six Nations selection. The talk is Dan Edwards, Ospreys #10, could leapfrog himself into pole position for a start with Gareth Anscombe and Sam Costelow being injury concerns.

Looking at the results I’m not sure how seriously the teams are taking the Challenge Cup. It seems the Premiership, Top 14 and URC are way more important. In the Champions Cup Leicester are through to the knockout stages after beating Ulster. Despite losing at Stade Francais, Northampton Saints are through. Exeter are out after being given a lesson in Bordeaux yesterday. Apparently there was a bizarre try in that game where a very obscure rule with regard to a player being in touch but able to kick the ball was enforced. The Torygraph describes it best.

Bath v Claremont Auvergne and Toulon v Harlequins are today’s picks. I’ll have to satisfy myself with Arsenal v Manchester United followed by Denver Broncos v Buffalo Bills. Hey ho.

With regard to Quins, young Marcus Smith has stated quite clearly outside half is his position and that is where he wants to play. That’s where I would pick him.

In the round ball game Leicester City progress in the FA Cup after a 6-2 win over QPR. Can this jump start their league season. In the NFL the Texans and Ravens progress.

In other news the LA wildfires continue to dominate much of the media. Sadly more people have lost their lives and the devastation is horrendous. It still rankles when some of the reporting focusses on the ‘Woe-is-me’ celebrities, when thousands of hard working average Joes have lost their homes and don’t have the resources to simple rebuild. It seriously hacks me off when some of these self-important morons are reportedly still watering their lawns when LA is running out of water. Finally it is worth ranting about how the pathetic focus on woke policies by the city Mayor has meant those running the utilities such as power and water have been allowed to rip the city off whilst providing a pathetic service to their customers.

While I’m on a roll, where is Rachel The Hood Reeves? In China, cosying up to an odious regime who keep much of their population in destitution as they following the communist dream. The UK economy is teetering on the brink. Debt is out of control. Jobs are being lost, and so I could go on. She needs to be here sorting out the shambles she has created in just a few months. Don’t blame the previous bunch of clowns. This current mess is of her own making. The everyday working man and woman are going to be the worst affected which seems to go against everything Labours is supposed to stand for. The beneficiaries are the bloated Civil Service, and the unions. There is talk disability benefits are going to be raided. Woah there! Why not cut the SIGNIFICANT amount of fat in the Civil Service first. Get the shirkers back into the office for a start. Then there is waste across all areas of Government. The gravy trains have got to stop running and the trains for you and I have to be more reliable.

That’ll do. Back tomorrow with more blood pressure updates!!!!!

Thursday Jan 9th : 08:15

It’s a winter wonderland. Not really. We’ve had a bit of snow but nothing like what was originally feared. The Friday Club are looking ahead and therefore meeting this morning to see if anything can be done in terms of pitch preparation ahead of Saturday’s fixtures, and you thought the Friday Club was full of sensible old farts. Think again McDuff. As soon as the pitch status is known it will be on the website.

In terms of other rugby news it seems the new England club partnership is a complete shambles. Feyi-Wabaso is stuck in limbo with the RFU, namely Steve Borthwick, delaying the surgery required to completely fix his dislocated shoulder. Exeter would have had him under the knife already. England have delayed that process, which in my mind goes completely against the principle of the new deal protecting players. The delay quite clearly is to have him available for the Six Nations then screw Exeter over when he isn’t fit for for the rest of the season. My opinion!

A bit of a todo at Kingsholm. It seems that Kirill Gotovtsev’s shirt has upset a number of people down Gloucester way. The Cherry & Whites are one of several clubs who include a players national flag on their shirt if they have played for that country. Well, the big Russian has so his flag was on his shirt. With the appalling antics of Mr Putin, and the global sporting sanctions against the country, this it seems goes against the grain. The flag will be removed. No other player will be affected so the Welsh Dragon remains prominent for all to see!!!!!!

I was hoping the Gloucester v Scarlets game would be on S4C. No such luck. It’s going to be the round ball game for me tomorrow evening, or maybe some reruns of Poirot.

I did smile glancing through Wales Online and spotted a piece about pre-match antics prior to Pontypool and Ebbw Vale at Pontypool Park. I played there for the county as a schoolboy by the way. Anyway, as Ebbw Vale were warming up so the boys from Gwent Police turned up and arrested a 23 year, as yet unnamed Ebbw Vale player. Unsurprisingly Ebbw Vale have declined to comment.

Following the revelation that Camille Chat turned up to training drunk and has been sacked my good friend Colin reminded me of the bygone days when not only did players turn up to training drunk, it wasn’t unheard of to have to hoik players out of the Boars Head on match days. Oh those were the days.

In other news the war rages on in Ukraine, and the atrocities continue in the Middle East. That seems to be being overlooked as the papers focus on the wildfires in LA. There has been loss of life which is sad but nothing by comparison to the ongoing slaughter elsewhere. The UK economy is on the verge of implosion thanks to Rachel The Hood Reeves budget yet the papers are worrying about the mansions of the stars that have gone up in flames. Harsh Bleater. Yes, that maybe so but I fear the attention span of people now is that of a goldfish, and in my opinion the atrocities in Ukraine and the Middle East will be ignored if we don’t keep it front and centre. A few self-aggrandising muliti-multi-millionaires can afford to build a new home. You cannot bring back the dead. When it comes to the economy it is the very people who labour were supposed to help, and no that isn’t the anarchists in the unions, will suffer most if the economy tanks. That is unacceptable.

Right that’ll do. I need to check my blood pressure. Back on Sunday but do check the blog page and news feed on the website for updates on the games at Steel Cross.

Wednesday Jan 8th : 09:40

I’ll be getting in a short walk soonest, as it looks as if sleet/snow will arrive around 2pm. In the meantime I have my Spanish lesson to do and this drivel to complete. I did smile yesterday as my Spanish was all about the weather, snow and rain stopping you go out and do stuff. Nieve y lluvia, no puedo hacer nada.

It seems there is plenty going on at Racing 92. Owen Farrell has been deemed the worst overseas import for some time. Not only has been injured for a long period, but when he has played his form has been underwhelming. His replacement has been head coach Stuart Lancaster’s son. This has raised eyebrows in some quarters, and serious discontent in others. Then there were the (misguided?) rumours that Lancaster senior was on his way out. On top of that, today it has been revealed that former French hooker Camille Chat has left the club after turning up for training post their Christmas party drunk. Racing are 9th in the table which isn’t helping their cause after the high level of investment. Racing travel to inform Glasgow on Friday in the Champions Cup.

Wales and Dragons hooker Leon Brown has been forced into premature retirement due to persistent neck injury. Three surgeries across three seasons has failed to resolve the problem so Brown, at the tender age of 28, is hanging up his boots.

There is a piece on the BBC Sport website about how rugby should embrace its stars. One of the biggest entertainment agents in the US who now has several of the very best Springboks on his books states ‘star power’ is what sells the game. He uses the arrival of Lionel Messi in the MLS as the seminal moment for men’s soccer in the country. Yep, it makes sense BUT with the ever increasing Latino population in America soccer was always going to grow. It is fair to say rugby is very understated when it comes to the stars of the game. In my opinion rugby breaking into the US is a pipe-dream regardless of ‘star power’.

Well, well, well. Gerard Meagher writing in The Guardian headlines his most recent piece with ‘Ollie Lawrence should be applauded for streetwise play - rugby must ditch holier than-thou image’. Whilst my immediate reaction was to scream ‘Nnooo!!’ Now I’ve read it Meagher, as he always does, makes some good points. In essence rugby has always had its ‘dark arts’ with plenty of players and teams looking to push the boundaries at every opportunity. This is no different. With plenty of desperately needed prize money at stake winning is important. Lawrence put Bath in a position to win that game. The Guardian can be accessed for free so can I suggest you have a look at this article.

Plenty more in the papers about the Immanuel Feyi-Waboso injury. In some respects this epitomises why England perennially fail to achieve what they should be achieving. One man doesn’t make a team but the constant negativity around that one man can be contagious. The best sports teams have global stars but if they drop out they still find a way to win and laud whoever comes into replace them.

Looking ahead to Saturday it will be a busy day at Steel Cross. The 1s take on high flying Sevenoaks II. The 2s are also at home and they host Holbrook. Both games kick off at 14:00 and needless to say are subject to the weather. Keep an eye on the website news feed for updates. It is also the Minis, Girls and Juniors per-match lunch. It’ll be good to see the place packed out.

In other news I read with dismay that another young person, just 14, has been stabbed to death in a mindless act of violence on a London bus. What is Sir Khan doing about violence on London’s streets. As far as I can tell 2/5ths of bugger all.

I see Los Angeles is being ravaged by wildfires as other parts of the US are being hit by devastating winter storms. Don’t tell me that Global Warming isn’t real. Covering the UK with solar panels and forcing electric cars on us isn’t the answer however.

Then the bizarre story of the day. The Umpalumpa-in-chief Donald Trump has turned into an Imperialist with his threats to invade Panama and Greenland. What with Putin, Netanyahu, and Li, the asylums must be quiet. The lunatics are out trying to take over the world.

Tuesday Jan 7th : 09:45

Some years ago there were suggestions that Global Warming would make Crowborough more like Bordeaux. That was crap. Right now with the persistent rain of recent weeks, today’s snow and the forecast for the days ahead it feels like we are in a meteorological nightmare. It is so depressing.

I have trawled the papers for rugby news and found very little of note. Actually there are couple of snippets. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso is out of the Six Nations, and with George Furbank’s absence Steve Borthwick has a dilemma in terms of his back three. There are still plenty of options, but let me throw this out there, with both the Smith boys, Marcus and Fin, in fine form do you play Marcus at #15 and Fin at #10? I’m not sure I would but it is certainly an option.

Borthwick will be unveiling his squad in the coming weeks. I don’t expect too many surprises but it would be good to see the inclusion of Bristol’s Harry Thacker. Chandler Cunningham-South is out of favour at Harlequins at the moment, and with Saracen’s Tom Willis pulling up trees in every game CC-S might find himself missing out.

Ben Coles in The Torygraph has raised the same concern I had yesterday; did Ollie Lawrence dive. Coles cites a range of cases where players seem to have exploited head contact to milk a penalty, or worse to get players removed from the field. It is against the values of the game and the officials must take some responsibility for allowing it to go on. Actually that is not fair, referees are not trained medical professionals so making decisions about the seriousness of head contact is outside their sphere of influence. I do maintain however that it seems incongruous that players like Lawrence who seemingly have been whacked in the head don’t have to go off for a HIA. If you have access to the Torygraph it is a good piece.

The Irish Times brings the headline ‘amateur referees don’t give up their time to be insulted and abused’. Sadly it is a growing problem across the game from Under 6 all the way to the top of the game. Ireland’s Mack Hansen is in front of a panel tomorrow following his outburst toward a referee. He accused him of bias. Recently Sussex RFU sent a message to all clubs that the standard of behaviour off and on the field must improve. Referees give up their time freely for the good of the game. They deserve our support and respect.

The European stuff returns this coming weekend. In the secondary competition on Friday Gloucester v Scarlets will be quite a game. Plenty of other good contests but with Premier Sports having the contract to broadcast many people like me will be unable to see them. Munster v Sarries and Bath v Clermont Auvergne are games that stand out.

Is the dream over for Louis Rees-Zammit, or is it about to come to life. Having been snapped up by the Jacksonville Jaguars during pre-season he didn’t feature in any of the regular season games. Having spent millions on players and coaching staff the Jags failed to make the play-offs again and with a dismal 4 and 13 record it was inevitable the coach Doug Pedersen would be sacked. It was him who brought Rees-Zammit in, and with the axe about fall across the squad with LR-Z be a casualty? Of course he could be a winner and get promoted to the full squad. Indications are that his swift early progress has slowed. We’ll know soon enough.

If the weather wasn’t bad enough you only have to read the proper news to be dragged even further into the depths of despair. Actually it is a long way from that but like the modern day press good news doesn’t get readers. Elon Musk is an interfering ass. I don’t disagree with some of his comments about Starmer weaselling his way out of his responsibilities but that said it is none of Musk’s business.

I see Polly Toynbee in The Guardian believes we should be patient with Rachel The Hood Reeves as it will get better. Right now, reading from a spectrum of papers, I don’t see many agreeing with that nonsense.

Monday Jan 6th : 09:40

The weather played havoc with Kent 1 on Saturday. Only one game went ahead, Deal & Betteshanger losing to Bromley 17 - 28. Bromley move up into 2nd as a consequence with D&B staying in 9th on 24 points. There was one other result, a HWO for Canterbury II against Charlton Park. Note, the CP website would indicate they had a side to travel so don’t immediately assume they pulled out totally. Actually, CP make a fair point about the absurdity of the fixture list immediately post New Year and the travel distances the RFU deemed sensible for clubs to be making. Dover v Crowborough a perfect example!!!!

In Surrey / Sussex 1 Hove’s game at Trinity went the way of the weather. Eastbourne did play earning a 38 - 38 draw at home against Twickenham. Haywards Heath lost 53-3 at Cobham. East Grinstead lost a tight affair at home to Weybridge Vandals 14-20. Heath and Grinstead remain perilously close to the drop in 10th and 11th. Eastbourne are in 6th with Hove in 8th. Cobham now lead the way.

In Hampshire 1 Bognor enjoyed a fine win over Guernsey II 22-11. The result moves them into 10th. No change at the top with Havant II perfect on 13 from 13, all with a bonus point.

No games in Sussex 2 but there were games in Kent 3. Don’t know if the H&B game was not played due to the weather but there is no result. The stupidity of the league structure is there for all to see with Old Dunstonians giving TJs II a HWO. Tunbridge Wells II beat Gravesend II to stay in the chase for promotion.

In Regional 2 Chichester lost at Tottonians 15-3. Chi remain in 11th. Farnham are top with a game in hand.

In Regional 1 it was another bad day for the two Sussex clubs with Brighton losing 33-20 at CS Stags and Horsham losing at home 20-24 to Hammersmith & Fulham. Tunbridge Wells had a better day winning 15-24 at Wimbledon. No surprise that London Welsh are still perfect at the top. Brighton, Horsham and TWells fill the bottom three spots. Brighton are somewhat adrift but for the other two a couple of good results and they could easily move to mid-table.

No National League games so that just leaves Salisbury enjoying their 7th win in a row beating Chippenham II 37-6, and Bridgnorth who lost over at Syston.

For those who were able to watch it I defy anybody to say they didn’t enjoy Saints v Bath yesterday afternoon. What a cracking contest. Nine tries, loads of action, and a hint of controversy. Plenty of players making a statement in terms of international selection. Alex Mitchell is on his way back to his best but Ben Spencer continues to impress. Fin Smith showed he is a definite contender for that starting No.10 shirt in a few weeks time. I want to draw your attention to the incident late on involving Mitchell and Ollie Lawrence. It was head contact but firstly was it worthy of a yellow card or was it a ‘rugby incident’? I’m comfortable either way. Then, did Lawrence know what he was doing when he went to ground in a very kickable position? That one I can’t answer but it looked very strange, and his smug grin immediately afterwards was something of a giveaway. Saints deserved the win at the death, but only just.

The Liverpool v Manchester United game was quite something too. Thoroughly enjoyed that.

Plenty in the papers to get the blood boiling but that’ll do for now.

Sunday Jan 5th : 10:45

As there was little incentive to get up early today I have had a very rare lie-in. Not one to normally wallow under the duvet, this morning was different. One look out of the window at 7pm and decision made…. Another couple of hours of kip was the order of the day.

The weather put pay to Crowborough’s games yesterday. Dover called off the fixture at their place early. We left it later in the hope the 2s home game against Uckfield could have gone ahead. Sadly it wasn’t to be. The grounds on Friday were frozen and with the heavy frost covering much of the estate virtually no preparation work was done. There was much tutting and murmurings of ‘plonker’ however as a delivery driver decided it would be good to take his 18 ton truck onto our Upper Training area. He managed to find the only soft bit of ground and was subsequently marooned like a beached whale. The old farts did their best but to no avail. It was time for the cavalry to come riding over the hill. In this case the cavalry was Ian Russell and his trusty old tractor. After his moment of eye rolling, and adding extra descriptions of the driver to proceedings, the chains were attached and the truck removed. Hoorah for Mr Russell. It didn’t help by the way that the trucks tyres were slicker than an F1 on race day!!!!

Before moving on I must also add that Ian has been at the club for more years than I can remember and was a decent 1st XV player in his day. Well, recently he donned his boots again and had a run out for the 2nd XV with his son Alf. To play a senior game with your lad is quite something special. I was lucky to do it twice so know how proud he must feel. Well done sir.

So with both our games off, and me struggling a bit with this blasted cold and chesty cough that is going around the TV was the order of the day. I was that under the weather I even gave my mate Al Cohol a day off. Gloucester v Sale up first. Mrs Bleater and I enjoyed this one, especially as the five Welsh players all made a significant contribution to proceedings. Tomos Williams must be nailed on to start in the Six Nations and without doubt pushing for a Lions place. Gareth Anscombe limping off at half-time wasn’t what you wanted to see but that was compensated by the contribution of Max Llewellyn to proceedings. He’s got to be in with a shout for Six Nations consideration. Sale were not where they were when they put Bristol in their place but played some decent rugby, especially in the second half.

Next up was Saracens v Bristol. Sarries certainly bounced back after their mauling at Bath. They played with precision and determination. Tom Willis was head and shoulders (I didn’t know he had dandruff) above anyone else on the pitch. Plenty are saying he is a ‘must-pick’ for England. From a Welsh perspective Nick Tompkins had a solid game and thinking logically he and Llewellyn would make a decent centre partnership come late January. Bristol were nothing like the team that stunned Quins pre-Christmas, and the loss last week to Sale seems to have taken the wind out of their sails. Harry Thacker came on late for the Bears and made an instant impression. This contrasted with Jamie George’s tetchy contribution. At one point Matt Carley was on the verge of sending him off for his constant bickering, verging on abuse. With Cowan-Dickie being off colour for Sale yesterday I would take a punt on Thacker for England.

Rewinding the clock back to Friday evening the Newcastle v Quins game was a curates egg of a game. Player of the Match was Sara Cox. In that pretty average first half it was she who kept the game moving with excellent refereeing. The game came alive in the second half thank goodness with Harlequins finally getting out of third gear into fourth. Jarod Evans, yes this might be Welsh bias, coming on early for Isgro was a turning point. Whilst Evans lacks the pizzazz of Marcus Smith he controlled the game well. That pass to Smith was a thing of beauty. If you’ve not seen it then go onto the interweb thingy to find it. Wyn Jones and Dillon Lewis brought stability to the pack reinforcing my opinion that both must be in the Welsh squad for the Six Nations. The warm fuzziness surrounding Fin Baxter is on the wane. He again struggled in my view.

With the rain relentless the TV is the order of the day again today. Northampton v Bath, if it is on, is scheduled for 15:00. If it is not postponed Liverpool v Manchester United with the NFL as a dessert. I am so blessed Mrs Bleater likes sport.

In other news have you ever heard such mealy-mouthed claptrap? Yes, I’m referring to the Government’s plan to stop the migrant boats. It is the most pathetic, unworkable nonsense ever put forward. Stopping the smugglers using social media. Wow, that will bring a halt to their antics.

There were games played at grassroots level yesterday so I’ll do a league round-up tomorrow.

Thursday Jan 2nd : 10:00

A very Happy New Year to you all. I trust your Christmas festivities went well and you are ready for whatever 2025 throws at you. A pretty quiet affair for us leaving plenty of time for watching rugby. Its been quite a few weeks.

Who saw Sale keeping Bristol to nil at Ashton Gate. I didn’t. Sale suffocated the Bristol attack with an extraordinary defensive performance. They also seized their opportunities scoring four well deserved tries. Then we had Bath embarrassing Saracens, albeit an under strength Sarries side. The question of course is did the red card spoil the game? You could argue ‘yes’, but it was a dangerous, misjudged hit direct to the head. Off he had to go. Saints then enjoyed a training run against a woeful Newcastle side before the Twickenham spectacular.

Fair play to Harlequins they put on a tremendous pre-match show enjoyed by two coach loads of supporters from Crowborough. It was quite some game with Dan Cole snatching a draw at the death. Quins ‘got a way with one’ as the Cadan Murley’s try was so far forward I thought Patrick Mahomes had passed it to him. Marcus Smith showed moments of brilliance, and Luke Northmore did his chances of being there, or there about, come Six Nations time no harm at all.

Exeter finally got a win under their belt in another enjoyable game. Gloucester were below par making basic errors but lets not take anything away from the Chiefs, they deserved the win.

A couple of general points from these games. It was brilliant to see the grounds packed. Perhaps rugby union is not dead just yet. Secondly across the games the contribution of the Welsh was noticeable. In no order, Tommy Reffell and Nicky Smith for Leicester, Dafydd Jenkins for Exeter, Tomos Williams and Gareth Anscombe for Gloucester, and Liam Williams for Saracens all making positive contributions. There were at least five other Welshmen across the weekend all sending a clear message to Warren Gatland: ‘don’t forget us’.

In Wales we had the Boxing Day extravaganza, Dragons v Cardiff. Plenty of action in this one with several players coming back from long term injury proving their fitness. Faletau and Adams standing out. The Dragons could have/should have won this one.

Yesterday at the Scarlets was a different story altogether. The Dragons were awful in the opening stanza and were never able to claw themselves back into the contest. Plenty of Welsh talent on show, the Wainwright injury a blow however. 14 man Ospreys managed to grab a draw against Cardiff in the early kick off. After a splendid lunch and a couple of bottles with my mate Mal Bec I dozed through the second half of this one. The red card was spot on. That ‘croc-roll’ could have resulted in serious injury.

Congratulations to the now Sir Gerald Davies. A well deserved knighthood for a thoroughly nice bloke.

Not a great deal of other rugby news in the papers. Good piece in the Torygraph comparing the woes of union with the careful financial management of the league game. The crazy level of players salaries is the issue, but we all know that.

It was sad to read about the young 15 year old from Lincolnshire who passed away suddenly after a minor skin abrasion picked up while playing rugby turned into something more serious. The way this was reported would imply it was rugby’s fault. This could have happened anywhere so trying to link the death directly to rugby is poor reporting. It doesn’t take away the fact however that a young boy has been taken from family and friends way too early and our thoughts have to be with them.

In other news a knighthood for Sadiq Khan got my blood boiling. Gongs for failure seems to be the order of the day. I should be a ‘Sir’ by now with oak leaves and cluster because I am useless a lot of the time. What a waste of money, the New Year fireworks. The money that went up in flames could have provided shelter for the homeless, care for the needy, bonuses for the NHS staff having to patch up the pi55ed over the holidays. To read it was brought to you ‘by the Mayor of London’ was another joke. It was brought to you thanks to the taxes and fines paid by hard-pressed Londoners and drivers fleeced at every turn.

The horrendous events in New Orleans have caught my attention. I have family in the ‘Big Easy’, I’ll be checking on them later today. How do you stop such atrocities? You can’t. Sadly this will be another reason for Trump to go on a bigoted, fascist rant. What a way to start the year!!!!!

Got this far? Good! Crowborough travel to Dover on Saturday. Well done the blazers for allowing that to happen. The 2nd XV are due to play Uckfield 2s at Steel Cross on Saturday. For a range of reasons that is where I hope to be. Dover is a motorway journey too far right now.