I don’t think I exaggerate when I say we played some amazing rugby over at Charlton Park on Saturday. There certainly are tougher games that lie ahead of us however. Anyway, what else happened on Saturday? Ashford lost at home 8-31 to Sevenoaks II. Bromley beat Canterbury II 35-29. That is quite some result. Deal & Betteshanger beat Cranbrook 30-10. Dover beat Beccehamian 24-12. Beccs seem to have slipped from their lofty position of last season. Finally, Park House beat The Greenies 25-24. H&WRFC will be happy enough with two bonus points I guess. This is going to be one tough season for everybody based on the results to date. We are 5th just ahead of Dover. The Greenies remain in 2nd behind Canterbury II. Charlton Park are bottom with Ashford just above them. Our next opponents Park House are in 7th just 5 points adrift of us.

In Surrey/Sussex 1 not the best of days for Sussex. East Grinstead lost at KCS Old Boys, Hove lost at London Cornish, Haywards Heath lost at Old Rutlishians, and Eastbourne lost at table topping Trinity. Heath prop up the table, with East Grinstead and Hove just above them. Eastbourne are the best of the Sussex clubs in 7th.

Over in Hampshire 1 Bognor lost at home 33-50 to Eastleigh. Bognor are 9th. Havant II remain perfect at the top with 35 points from 7 games.

In Sussex 2 there were wins for Pulborough over Brighton II, Lewes over Crawley, Seaford beat Ditchling, and Worthing III beat Hove II. In the game of the day Uckfield won at Shoreham 15-32 and remain perfect at the top of the table. Hove II prop up this table.

In Kent 3 we find Hastings & Bexhill losing to Brockleians. It comes as no surprise that TJs 2s top this league.

Up in Regional 2 is where we find Chichester losing 31-7 over at Farnham. Chi are 7th with Tottonians top and Guildford bottom. If I’m right, Guildford seemed to have fallen from grace and therefore languishing at the foot of the table must be difficult for them.

Up one more into Regional 1 and it was a difficult day for Horsham losing at home to CS Stags. Brighton had a difficult day at London Welsh losing 59-19. The Welsh are top however, and Brighton bottom. Tunbridge Wells lost 47-19 over at Maidenhead. TWells slip to 10th. By the way there was a good piece in one of the papers about Will Greenwodd and Maidenhead. It is well worth going onto the interweb thingy and searching for it.

Onwards and upwards into the rarified atmosphere of National 2 East. This is where we find Sevenoaks beating Oxford Harlequins. TJs continue their excellent form beating Westcombe Park 40-5. Sadly Worthing suffered another defeat losing at home to Henley Hawks. Colchester are bottom with Worthing in 13th and Sevenoaks in 12.

It wouldn’t be Monday without me telling you that Bridgnorth won comfortably over at Kenilworth just mere 53 miles away. I also must tell you that Salisbury lost at Dorchester. Salisbury remain mid-table however.

Elsewhere Exeter’s woes continue, this time losing to a patched up Harlequins side. Exeter played well enough going forward but lacked a real cutting edge. It was in defence where things went awry. Some of their defensive work was poor with Quins cutting them apart with impunity. Jarod Evans sent a message to Warren Gatland: why didn’t you pick me? Evans’ man of the match performance also highlights the stupidity of not allowing Gatland to select players with less than 25 caps who play outside Wales.

Henry Slade put in a shift so it will be interesting to see if he is selected by Steve Borthwick for the contest with New Zealand.

Sunday 27th Oct: 09:15

The travelling faithful, and there were plenty of them, were treated to a festival of running rugby yesterday at Charlton Park. At times the play was more akin to the Harlem Globetrotters of old with the ball being passed around with gay abandon.Try after try was met with a sense of wonderment. The speed of thought and deed, the accuracy of the passing, and the support lines were mesmerising. Our hosts, who are clearly in a rebuilding phase, were left floundering at times. You know the boys are up for it when Rosie and Tasker are giving dummies, popping passes and dynamic in support.

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

It wasn’t all ‘Borough and I’m sure the watching coaches will be pleased with the defensive effort too. When Park’s big forwards, and they were big, took the game to us, or their nippy scrum half, or creative #10, tried to play we snuffed out the attacks. All too often they failed to get over the gain line. In fact they found themselves further back than forward when in possession.

Our pack set a solid platform from which to work and at half time a very big score looked likely. It wasn’t to be as we slowed and Park picked up their game. Our defence was being tested more regularly and at times was scrambling to rescue a situation where a score looked on. When the opportunity arose we did however add to the scoreline with more outstanding rugby. I think it is fair to say through missed interception opportunities we left at least two tries out on the field.

As the game came to a close Charlton Park finally got onto the scoreboard with a well deserved try at the death. The final score 5-45.

On the drive home The Bard and I mulled over what we had seen, and what we had seen was a consummate, all round team performance. There was a steely look in the eyes before kick off and joie d’vivre during the game. All 18 players stepped up and made a contribution. We did however note that it won’t be like this for the rest of the season. Park House who beat the high flying Greenies on Saturday will be a seriously different challenge in two weeks time, and we have some really tough away games to negotiate. Resting on laurels is out of the question.

I’ll do a full round up tomorrow but I can tell you it wasn’t the greatest of days for the Sussex clubs.

Got home in time to watch the bulk of Saracens v Leicester. A pretty bruising encounter. Michael Cheika is transforming the Tigers from chumps to potential champs. They did have the advantage of having most of their stars available. Saracens by comparison were missing their England contingent. That’s the price of the new deal with the RFU I guess.

After that I picked up the Connacht v Dragons game. Not for long though as the Dragons were poor and Mrs Bleater demanded something on TV that wasn’t sport.

My good friend Damper will be purring as Bath go top after beating Sale.

Warren Gatland will be relieved as Gareth Anscombe only saw yellow yesterday after a ‘profanity-laden’ attack on the referee in the Gloucester game against Newcastle. The Welsh contingent over the Severn in Gloucester are making quite an impression by all accounts. Lets hope that can be translated into international form.

Don’t mention the Leicester City result, and how can Brighton be 2-0 up with just minutes to play and draw 2-2.

The Mexican F1 is later this evening. If I can keep my eyes open I’ll be watching.

Looking forward with dread we have the Rachel ‘The Hood’ Reeves budget on Wednesday. I fear it will be carnage for everyone who has worked hard, paid their taxes and put a little aside for the future. There will be winners, like those in the big unions, and the work shy, and I fear those who know haw to scam the system. Money will be made available for big projects but this is likely to find its way into the pockets of layer after layer of management e.g, in the NHS. We’ll know soon enough.

Thursday 24th Oct: 09:29

The league season continues on Saturday with our 1st XV travelling to Charlton Park, and our 2s over at Heathfield & Waldron. Our friends in South East London languish at the foot of the table but that is no indicator of form. This has always been a difficult place for us to go where we have sustained a lot more losses than wins. That said our defence last week was very good and in very trying conditions we played some really nice, cohesive rugby. Me and The Bard will be there so will bring you the match reviews on Sunday.

Some interesting games elsewhere. Park House host The Greenies. Despite the respective league positions this will be no walk in the Park. The newly promoted side have already sprung some surprises this season. I’m keen to see how Bromley fare with Canterbury II the visitors. Ashford host Sevenoaks II, D&B welcome Cranbrook, and Dover host Beccs. This is one tough league.

I’ll be keeping a keen eye on how the other Sussex clubs perform. My pick is Eastbourne travelling to table topping Trinity. Outside that Tunbridge Wells travel to Maidenhead.

In other rugby news Henry Slade is in a race against time to be fit to face the All Blacks on November 2nd. Steve Borthwick has released him from training camp to play for Exeter this weekend against Quins on Sunday.

The Torygraph carries three stories of note…….

Danny Care claims players ‘returning to play when they shouldn’t after head injuries’. This is a pretty damning statement. Quins are one of a handful of clubs using the new smart mouthguard technology and he has suggested it needs to be mandatory at the top of the game.

Referees will be managing a new raft of directives during the upcoming Autumn series. The 20 minute red card, the revised shot clocks, and managing retreating players from kicks. This latter point has been raised as we are seeing more blocking in front of catchers as players retreat. Sadly the paper points out that an increase focus on managing this could result in more box kicking not less.

The Chairman and majority owner of Gloucester has announced a loss of £544k for the season 22-23. This is the ‘best’ of the financial results of the top 10 clubs, which is hugely troubling. Martin St Quinton, fine Gloucestershire name, has stated that the salary cap should be going down and not up. He argues that whatever funding the RFU gives clubs should be the salary cap, which this season is c.£5.3m.

After the successes of the White Hart Lane and Wembley NFL extravaganzas Louis Rees-Zammit has said a game in Cardiff would be quite something. He’s not wrong. NFL under the roof at the Principality would be something.

Jonny Gray has angered Gregor Townsend by turning down the opportunity to play for Scotland in the Autumn Internationals. He has opted to stay in France. Finn Russell has been relieved of the captaincy. That honour goes to Sione Tuipulotu, a very Scottish name indeed!!!!!

Johnny Sexton could make a return to rugby as a coaching consultant working with Ireland’s fledgling outside halves. Money, money, money in a rich man’s world. He’s going to advise them how to be grumpy and berate referees!!

It’ll be a real dilemma tomorrow evening: Leicester City v Nottingham Forest or Bristol Bears v Saints. I’ll probably go with the rugby.

In other news the US elections are approaching. It is a ‘bitching’ contest. No wonder the world is a mess. What right Sir U-turn has to meddle in the election is beyond my understanding.

The Chris Kaba case is prominent in the news. Sadly it highlights how bad the world has become when you have senior politicians virtue signalling by supporting a deadly gangster.

That’ll do before I get ‘cancelled’.

Wednesday 23rd Oct: 08:30

Written by Sharon Green

Back in 2016 Crowborough realised we were not offering anything for any girls after under 11s which is when the players split out from mixed to boys and girls playing separately. At the time we didn’t have many players to lose but it did feel a shame not to be able to offer anything for girls above that age. Also with the sport in general gaining popularity among girls we needed to ensure we could cater for these girls.

There has been a lot of research around teenage girls and boys dropping out of sport and if we can keep them engaged from a younger age studies have shown that they are more likely to continue into adulthood which can only be a benefit for health and social reasons. Team sports especially tend to keep players for longer as there is a greater emphasis on the social side and the bonds that form between players. Obviously all this is just an added bonus that comes from keeping our girls playing.

We started with 4 players and gradually to grew to around 10 training on a Sunday afternoon. Other local clubs around us were doing similar things with very small numbers too so we started joint training sessions to give the girls much more variety and playing options. We also started joining larger teams to boost their numbers for matches.

We held open days and tester sessions and gradually we grew to around 20 players. In 2018 and 2019 we held 7 a side tournaments and invited other local clubs, TW & Heathfield to name a couple. This helped promote our slowly growing squad around the club and local community. Our coaching squad grew and our presence in the club too. The Friday Club were a huge support with our growing numbers – arranging the girls a set changing room and marking up pitches for training. It has been a huge boost to know that the girls have felt so welcome in the club. We held our first Awards evening along with some of the junior boys and again the word spread that girls trained and played rugby at Crowborough RFC.

During the summer months we started girls only summer touch which when COVID hit we adapted to more of a boot camp session and the numbers continued to grow.
At the start of the 21/22 season we took a gamble with slightly low numbers to enter teams into the then U13 & U15 Sussex leagues. We had a sponsor – Marketing Delivery who has been a great supporter of the girls for many years so the girls had their own kit to play in. Once we managed to drag the girls out of the changing rooms for their first matches they never looked back.

In the last 2 seasons the girls have gone from strength to strength and we now have teams in the U14, 16 & 18 leagues (girls are in dual age bands from U14 upwards). The girls asked to start mid-week training as they wanted more and realised playing regular matches on Sundays meant they were losing out on training time. Thursday nights were busy at the club so they started on a Tuesday and Jacqui wonderful as ever offered to cater for the girls offering the pasta that she made for the seniors after training on Tuesdays. Tuesdays soon became a social event with girls, parents and coaches all staying after training and they still do now with around 50 orders a week.

They have attended Sussex trials with a number being selected over the last 2 years which is testament not only to the ability and commitment of the players but also the dedication and experience of the coaching teams in each squad.

Over the last 12 months the focus has been to keep growing these age groups and a big recruitment for our U12 section. This is vital as the girls coming up from the minis will feed into here so we want a great offering for them. We now have over 60 players across the junior age groups and plenty more to help feed this in future years coming up through the minis. Also we are organising a tour for the older girls as everyone knows tours are a great experience and really help to cement the team and friendship, We want them to love their time playing at Crowborough and be a big part of the future of the club.

Looking ahead we want to keep these age groups growing from strength to strength and we are also working on a Ladies 15 a side team to play alongside our Ladies touch team and a team for our U18s to step into.

Tuesday 22nd Oct: 09:20

Sadly I don’t yet have access to the results from the lower leagues in Sussex. That’ll now have to wait. Can I trail a special issue of the blog tomorrow. I have been given an excellent, comprehensive update on where the girls game is at at Steel Cross. It is my intention to publish it in full as a blog then add to the website. Why is this important? Women’s and girls rugby is one of the few growing areas of the game. Participation across the spectrum is growing, as is attendance at top flight women’s matches. With the World Cup in England in 2025 it is important to have a focus on this aspect of the game. We are lucky in that we have great volunteers like Sharon Green driving things forward.

The World Cup kicks off at the Stadium of Light on August 22nd when England play USA. England are in a tough group with Samoa and Australia being the other teams. Don’t forget Brighton hosts a couple of games, one of which will feature England. In fact it will be against Australia on 6th September, kick off 17:00.

Wales will face Scotland, Canada and Fiji. Their first game is 23rd August up in Manchester.

Ireland are in a group with Japan, Spain and New Zealand. The New Zealand game is Sunday 7th September at Brighton, k.o. 14:45. That will be a cracker and as its my birthday I might treat myself to tickets!!!

The BBC are all over the Women’s World Cup as I think they are lead broadcaster. Check out all the latest news on BBC Sport website.

I didn’t see that coming. After many in the paper saying Newcastle should be relegated they go and beat Exeter at Kingston Park. It was quite an occasion apparently. My son-in-law kept me abreast of things as he was working in that neck of the woods for a few days so was at the game. It is great that the Falcons have slayed that demon but with just 5000 people watching there must be question marks about the sustainability of the Falcons.

Where do the once invincible Exeter go now. A side packed with stars is playing way below its best. Rob Baxter, oft tipped as a future England Head Coach, must be feeling the heat.

Australia are talking up their chances of a clean sweep on their tour to UK and Ireland. Sorry but there is no chance of that happening. They will beat Wales I expect, and might give Scotland a run for their money. Beating England and then Ireland is a fanciful notion.

Both The Guardian and the Torygraph bring us an update on the state of rugby in schools. Quite frankly it is dire, unless you are at an expensive fee paying school. The governing body are planning to put together a package of measures that makes the game more accessible to schools: different formats including non-contact, better resources, greater support. It is a fine ambition but I fear it will fall flat on its face. Why? Take Beacon Academy for example. They are one of the leading state schools in the South East. A school with a large number of pupils. Are they interested in rugby? No! Why? Their focus is on academic results as that is what parents want. Rugby is a complicated game with inherent risks. They don’t have the desire to manage the complication, nor worry about the the risks. When you build in prioritising expenditure sport comes pretty low on the list. Beacon’s academic results are excellent by the way when you consider it is a non-selective school.

Whilst both papers highlight what an amazing job clubs like ours does in keeping the game alive it is not enough. I wholeheartedly support the initiative to grow the game in schools but as stated it will be a tough ask. Charlie Morgan in the Torygraph has written an excellent piece about why he will be encouraging his kids to play the game. He highlights the ‘values’ the game has at its heart and the physical and social benefits of rugby. He would love to see the game being pushed at his kids school supported by his local club. It is what is required!!

Wales squad for the upcoming internationals has been announced. Still plagued by injury but this isn’t too bad a squad based on who is available. WalesOnline

Don’t forget CRFC girls’ rugby special tomorrow.

Monday 21st Oct: 08:40

I must start with our 2nd XV. They scored a fine home 42-0 win over Hellingly on Saturday. It is great we are getting a 2nd XV out and it was evident in the bar afterwards that they are enjoying themselves. Long may it continue.

Beating Ashford 26-12 and moving up into 5th in the league is a pretty good place to be right now. This is, and always has been, a tough league. Park House winning 37-0 at Cranbrook wasn’t a result I had expected. Park House are the surprise package this year. Beccs losing at home to Bromley was another result that catches the eye. Sevenoaks II beating Dover comfortably is not such a surprise, neither is The Greenies strolling past Charlton Park. By their own admission our friends from South East London are finding things tough at present. We play them next week. Canterbury II beat Deal & Betteshanger 43-7 on Friday evening and stay top. H&W RFC are in 2nd while Charlton Park prop up the table. There is still a long way to go yet.

In Surrey/Sussex 1 Eastbourne lost by a single point to Old Rutlishians. They remain the best placed of the Sussex clubs in 4th however. Haywards Heath beat Old Haileyburians, East Grinstead lost at Twickenham, but Hove secured their second win of the season beating Cobham 39-33. Three Sussex clubs fill the bottom three places with Grinstead the lowliest of them all sadly. Trinity are top.

In Hampshire 1 Bognor lost at Bournemouth II. They are 8th. Unsurprisingly Havant II are perfect at the top.

In Sussex 2 it was a good day for Crawley beating Brighton II, Lewes winning at Ditchling, Shoreham winning at Hove II, Pulborough beating Worthing III and Uckfield beating Seaford. Uckfield are perfect at the top.

In Kent 3 Hastings & Bexhill lost at Sittingbourne. Tunbridge Wells II top this league with TJs II in 2nd. It is madness!!

Up into Regional 2 where we find Chichester beating Andover 50-34. They are now in 9th. Tottonians are 6 from 6 at the top.

In Regional 1 Brighton lost narrowly at home to Wimbledon, Horsham flew back from Jersey having lost 69-17, and Tunbridge Wells lost at home to Cobham 20-48. London Welsh are top with Brighton bottom.

Up in the ether of the National Leagues TJs continue to fly high beating Canterbury to stay perfect at the top. Worthing lost at Bury St Edmunds. Sevenoaks lost to Henley Hawks. Colchester are bottom with Sevenoaks and Worthing just above them.

I’ll try and bring you the results from the lower Sussex leagues tomorrow. In the meantime Salisbury lost to Walcot. Bridgnorth beat neighbours Stourbridge 32-30.

The Leicester v Gloucester game was pretty enjoyable yesterday. Plenty of good action, a bit of controversy and plenty of emotion as the sides battled it out for the Ed Slater cup.

Chris Foy in the Fail has gone off on one about too many overseas players plying their trade in the upper echelons of the game and being given caps on the basis of the questionable residency rules. He makes a good point. Four of the best players in the Leicester v Gloucester game were from overseas; 3 Welsh and a South African. It is something the game has to consider.

The Guardian brings us news that the brain injury lawsuit is ‘stuck in legal limbo’. This is not great news for those who are genuinely suffering. It is not great news for the game. It is now a minefield with players jumping on the bandagon, dodgy data, devious lawyers and misleading hype. All that while players like Alix Popham continue to struggle as their health worsens.

Plenty in the papers too about the impending introduction of the 20 minute red card. I remain in the camp that is opposed to the idea.

OK that’ll do, things to do.

Sunday 20th Oct: 09:35

What a splendid day at Steel Cross. It was good to be back with great people watching our great game at a splendid venue. At 09:00 when my mobile rang it could have been very different. The biblical volume of rain was running like a river down my road and our wonderful DoR, Graysey was suitably concerned, hence the call about pitch conditions.

Thankfully the rain relented and with the now improving weather the pitch survived sufficiently to be more than playable. It was claggy, and for October that is a worry. Prior to kick off however was Past Players Lunch, and what a superb lunch it was too. Jacqui served up a masterpiece in very trying conditions. Louise and team kept the alcohol flowing and the old farts reminisced about how they missed out on Lions selection in a bygone era. It was great to be back in the fold.

So to the game. As expected the heavy underfoot conditions took its toll early on. The game was ponderous at best, boring at worst. Lots of trying to play with little effect. We came alive scoring two excellent tries with free flowing passes and good support lines, albeit one or two looked suspiciously forward. Hey ho, the referee was happy so move on. We seemed to fall into a stupor of over-confidence allowing Ashford back into the game. They played some good stuff only to be thwarted by terrific defence from our boys. It was brute force however that did allow the visitors back into the game. Two periods of concerted pressure, and with us a man down, the scores were level.

The second half saw us move up a gear and with what looked superior fitness we mastered the conditions better. This allowed our forwards to drive deep into the visitors half freeing up our backs. Despite the ball being caked in Wealden clay the ball zipped around at will. The pressure finally told with the inspirational skipper Dave Bennett crashing over to take the score to 19-12. With time running out the boys stuck at it with Adam King, my man of the match, putting the result beyond doubt. Five points in the bag and back into 5th place.

Everyone of the boys played their part but special mentions to two returning players; Will Greasy was back home and in his element, and after a few years working up in the People’s Republic of Alba, Gus Weir made some telling breaks and looked sharp on the wing.

A glass of wine with the boys afterwards rounded off a very good day at Steel Cross.

It was back home in time to watch Bath win at Quins. That was quite some game. That was followed up watching the Dragons lose to Benetton. It wasn’t a bad game and when you consider Benetton are pretty much the Italian national side. Losing 31-21 was not a bad result. Leicester v Gloucester this afternoon.

I’ll do a full league round-up tomorrow but you can get the key results from Kent 1 from The Bards blow by blow account of yesterday on this website.

Leicester City winning away at Southampton was a bonus, and the F1 qualifying was fascinating, for me at least. The race should be good later today.

Plenty in the papers about the impending budget and Robber Hood Reeves plans. Even staunch Labour supporters are questioning the direction of travel, and the way the Government have already prostrated themselves at the feet of the unions.

I see that Mick Lynch and his mob are going to bring the Underground to a standstill with increased wage demands and spurious claims of it being too noisy. It was always going to happen. Where is the money going to come from? People who have worked hard all their lives, paid their taxes, and put a little away for a rainy day. The already well off RMT and ASLEF members will be warm and toasty in their homes while pensioners freeze, possibly to death. Yep, that is the sort change people voted for.

I am becoming increasingly appalled at the actions of Israel. The arbitrary slaughter of innocent civilians including many women and children is a disgrace. Retribution against terrorist thugs is one thing but I ask, have things gone too far?

Thursday 17th Oct: 07:35

The SS Ancient Pensioner arrived back safely in Southampton after an epic 31 day tour to the East Coast of North America. It was a brilliant experience with the exception of having to deal with miserable old, bigoted, entitled duffers, and sadly there were plenty of them. The positives thankfully outweigh the negatives by a huge margin. Back to the routine of life in the ‘Borough, which we are grateful for. That includes a more regular submission of drivel from Bleater.

Saturday we host Ashford, and its the Past Players Lunch, always a highlight in the calendar. It could be with our very long injury list some of those players might be called upon!!! Not sure of the kick off time but you’ll find the details on the website.

Over recent weeks there has been plenty in the papers to comment on. The Daily Fail brought us the news, if that paper ever brings us news, that Premiership Rugby is considering having sections for away fans. I can see how that would make the atmosphere more intense, and bring something new to the game. I think the game would lose some of the camaraderie and much of the banter between fans. I also fear increasing the tribalism could send us down the road of football with baying mobs of alcohol fuelled idiots hurling abuse at anyone within earshot. I like it the way it is thank you!

The French have reiterated their opposition to the 20 minute red card. Interestingly, in a random player poll, many players are opposed to the idea. Everyone wants a fair contest but I think there is a risk that it would become a thugs charter.

Wales and Lions centre Jonathan Davies has confirmed his retirement from the game. He was a fine player. Playing every game on the 2013 Lions tour was a pinnacle I’m sure.

It comes as no surprise that the law firm, and the lawyer leading the lawsuit against the RFU and WRU has been mired in controversy. It is alleged they are coercing players to sign up, and within that allegedly getting them to exaggerate their condition. There is also a question-mark over the testing involved. It was revealed one player found that a second independent opinion revealed he had no brain damage. The head injury stuff is real but I have always had doubts about the number of people jumping on the bandwagon.

Steve Borthwick has announced his squad for the Autumn Internationals. Plenty of injury woes, which is a cause for concern across the game. It is early in the season and the number of injuries is in the opinion of many unacceptable. The Fail brings an in-depth analysis of the issue. Talking of which I watched the highlights of last weekend’s rugby. Two horrendous injuries in those games sadly. The Gloucester v Bath game was a cracker.

Plenty also in the papers about Newcastle’s viability and the Championship. Surely the time has come to give someone in the 2nd tier a chance of promotion.

Welsh fans are hoping Louis Rees-Zammit makes a surprise appearance at Wembley for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. I can’t see it happening but it would be great if it did.

OK, so Friday Club tomorrow and the game on Saturday. I’ll be back on Sunday.

Before I go can I throw a question out there…….

In a country of nearly 350m people how is it possible that the best the Americans can come up with for President is Kamala Harris and Donald Trump?

Oh, and isn’t wonderful news that pensioners will lose their £300 pound winter fuel allowance and possibly freeze to death this winter, while train guards who do 3/5ths of bugger all get an extra £300 per week for working 5 days as opposed to 4 days.

Change we wanted, change we got. Madness has been substituted by stupidity.

Thursday 10th Oct: 12:00

Not much in the rugby pages so let me tell you about yesterday on the SS Ancient Pensioner. As we were at the bar helping the global alcohol businesses the captain announced we were changing course due to a medical emergency. The Canadian Coast Guard had dispatched a helicopter and transfer would take place at sea.

It was a very slick operation with the paramedic winched on board followed by two helicopter crew, the stretcher and a cage. Quickly the patient was winched up followed by the crew and what I can only guess was the patient’s partner in the cage. Somewhat ghoulish to be watching it but it was fascinating and highlighted the skill of the people who put their lives at risk to save others. Our thoughts are with the patient and partner.

Sadly there as already been one death on board, and two crew members jumping ship in New York. Quite the adventure.

The weather in the metropolis of Crowborough seems to be ok right now. I hope it holds for the walking rugby duffers, the Friday Club tomorrow, and the matches at Steel Cross over the weekend. We have been blessed again this morning with just a gentle swell and a glorious low sun illuminating the ship. Mrs Bleater is on the balcony sunning herself right now.

Having trawled through the papers I see Argentina are keen to host a Lions tour. It would be a brilliant trip to a brilliant country. At home Los Pumas are quite a force as witnessed in recent months.

The Autumn internationals beckon. Mortgages have been secured in order to obtain tickets. Yes they are eyewateringly expensive.

BBC brings us the news that Wasps have applied for a place in an extended Championship. It seems that both Worcester and London Irish have also taken the opportunity by expressing a serious interest. Is it right that the three clubs that so rapidly collapsed after awful financial mismanagement should be allowed to ‘jump the queue’. I don’t think so. On the other hand would those other clubs aspiring to join the second tier have the financial wherewithal to sustain their place. I don’t think so. My view is the three should resurrect themselves and work from the bottom up as London Welsh have had to do, and pretty successfully too.

Looking at the Championship table Coventry are top. Would this once great club be the one to replace ailing and failing Newcastle at the top table. The surprise package is Chinnor in 2nd BUT it is early days yet.

The WXV continues with Wales taking on Japan. The concept is great as we need to grow the women’s game. The crowds are woeful however.

In other news hurricane Milton has hit Florida with significant damage caused.We hope the loss of life is not significant.

The madness of the Tories continues with the election of a new leader. The madness of our new Government also continues. Crime in London goes unabated. Illegal immigration across the channel also continues unabated.

Ok, that’ll do as the bars are not going to deplete their stock without assistance.

Wednesday 9th Oct: 11:13

Another day at sea. We have been blessed with the weather throughout our trip, and today is no exception. As I type the US TV stations are reporting on the impending arrival of hurricane Milton. Here the sea state is calm for the Atlantic and the sun is pleasantly warm out of the wind.

Rugby returns at our level this weekend. Plenty of interesting matches to ponder. The Greenies travel to Ashford, always a difficult place to go with their passionate and vociferous crowd. Canterbury II travel to Park House. Whilst the hosts have started well I expect an away win. Our friends at Charlton Park host Cranbrook, Deal & Betteshanger host Beccs and Dover host Bromley. We of course travel to Sevenoaks to face their 2s. With our mounting injury crisis it will be a tough challenge.

In Surrey/Sussex 1 the game of the day has to be East Grinstead v Hove. A loss for Hove would be painful as they would then be well adrift at the foot of the table. Eastbourne host KCS Old Boys.

In Sussex 2 my game of the day is Shoreham v Pulborough, both sides are perfect thus far.

Elsewhere I like the look of Horsham v Brighton. Tunbridge Wells travel to so far perfect London Welsh. A tough task for our neighbours.

The big boys have a full schedule with Gloucester v Bath and Exeter v Bristol jumping off the page. In the URC Cardiff v Scarlets has to be the game of the day.

If rugby union wasn’t in enough trouble down under, it has suddenly got a lot worse. The Melbourne Rebels have launched a $30m lawsuit against their governing body after the dissolution of the franchise. The Fail carries the full story.

Plenty of confidence around the England camp that Joe El-Abd’s arrival will finally bring some stability to the backroom staff. The same paper brings us that update

Ok, that’ll do for now rugby wise.

In other news even The Guardian is questioning Sir U-Turns leadership and what Labour has done in the first 100 days of its tenure. In essence the only thing that has changed is the colour of the sleaze bags now running the country from the comfort of the gravy train.

The impending hurricane in Florida is on many people’s minds. One of the entertainment team on the ship is from Sarasota, Florida which is directly in the firing line. Our thoughts are with her, and the tens of thousands who are now at serious risk.

Back tomorrow with more boring, irrelevant drivel. If this trip has taught me one thing, it is the need to keep body and mind active so I don’t mind if no-one is reading.

Tuesday 8th Oct: 11:00 (EST)

Bleater, you are useless and unreliable. Yeah, yeah, tell me something I don’t know. Yes, its true, my fingers haven’t been dancing across the keyboard of late but I have had so many other things to do. We are now back in the Atlantic heading toward Blighty after having invaded North America, and of course when possible giving my opinion on the state of the world.

Obviously no games below level 5 last weekend so little point in trawling through the results. Actually, I did note that TJs beat Guernsey to go top, Worthing lost at Barnes and Sevenoaks lost at Old Albanian by just three points in a game where over a 100 points were scored. I also noted that Damper will be in despair as Bath lost at The Rec to Bristol. Wales Women lost to Italy and I see England Women put New Zealand in their place.

Plenty in the press about Michael Cheika’s ban, and the long term vision for Twickenham. The stadium is certainly in need of a makeover. I read that Kevin Sinfield will stay as part of the England coaching setup. Good news for English fans I think.

Grassroots rugby returns this weekend. We visit Sevenoaks. I’ll do a preview of the games tomorrow. Yes I will. We are now at sea for six solid days chasing hurricane Kirk and keeping ahead of hurricane Milton.

As we have done our sightseeing we have inevitably answered the Siren’s call and visited a couple of bars. Sport is huge in both the USA and Canada, but when you talk about rugby people’s eyes glaze over. We sat in a bar in Boston and watched Texas A&M play Missouri state. There were 60,000+ at the stadium and millions watching on TV. College football for heavens sake. The baseball was on with people glued to that. I came to the conclusion that World Rugby have their heads up their backside if they think rugby can establish itself in North America. Soccer is doing a good job but that is on the back of the huge Hispanic communities across the US.

The trip on the SS Ancient Pensioner is going well. The mobility scooters continue to whizz round, the sticks are ubiquitous, and the old folks feeling entitled is relentless. Rachel ‘The Hood’ Reeves, might just be on to something. Listening to the old codgers spout on about how many cruises they’ve been on, and where they are going next, often in a few weeks time, tells me there are many who have no need for a winter fuel allowance.

Now, I am an opinionated twit. I know that. I’d like to feel however I treat others the way I would like to be treated myself. I appreciate what we have and how hard we’ve worked for it, and how hard others have to work to eke out a living. Let me tell you, some of the people we have had the misfortune to come across are bigoted, ungrateful, old duffers with a sense of entitlement that makes me embarrassed to be British.

Right, that’ll do. Even though its only 10:50 the bar opens soon. Yes, mum, I’m drinking for Britain but eating sensibly and not gorging like some with their feet in the trough. Food is available 24/7 and it seems as if many take advantage 24/7. Two stone overweight but feeling like Kate Moss compared to many!!!

Don’t get me wrong, we are having a magnificent ‘once in a lifetime’ trip.

The state of affairs in the Middle East remains extremely worrying. Both sides of that divide are now at fault. It is impossible to defend the actions of the terror groups, and Israel’s actions are clearly no better.

The US news is full of the impending arrival of Milton. Our thoughts are with those who undoubtedly will be affected. The remnants of Kirk are about to arrive in the UK. Fingers crossed that is not a serious event.

Message for my dear old mum. Say ‘hi’ to Jean and family for me. Sorry I’ve not sent you any pictures….. too busy keeping the bar staff occupied!!

Tuesday 1st Oct: 12:30

Bleater, you are so unreliable!! You said you would give us the league round-up and you failed dismally. I know, I know, and by the way PK we haven’t hit an iceberg……. Yet!

So, yesterday was such a gloriously sunny day, and Halifax Nova Scotia was way more interesting than expected so I, or should I say Mrs Bleater decided doing touristy stuff was way more important.

Anyway, the games on Saturday threw up some interesting results. The Greenies beating Sevenoaks II was one of them. Andy from Sevenoaks has been in touch and given an interesting insight into the challenges of National 2 and balancing that with 2nd XV rugby. He agrees that a 2nd XV league at that level would be ideal, although it could prove hard work. Their 2s are made up of home grown youngsters, long term members and few old boys, so unlike others there is little benefit trickling down from their first XV. Andy, also comments on the ludicrous state of affairs with the level of payments to players at some clubs. Everyone knows my view on this. It is unsustainable.

Park House beating Beccs at Beccs was a big surprise. Bromley hammering Deal & Betteshanger was equally surprising.

Elsewhere, picking out a few key games, Hove’s poor start to the season continues losing at home to Trinity. Haywards Heath are realising the differences at this level are big losing heavily to Cobham. Eastbourne lost narrowly at Twickenham. East Grinstead lost at Weybridge Vandals.

In Sussex 2 Uckfield beat Crawley 52-0. That is quite some scoreline. They, along with Pulborough and Shoreham are 2 from 2.

Up in Regional 1 Brighton lost heavily to CS Stags, but there was better news for Horsham and Tunbridge Wells with wins at Hammersmith & Fulham and home against Wimbledon respectively.

In the National leagues Sevenoaks lost at home to Barnes with TJs winning at Worthing. TJs go top.

In other rugby news Ireland enjoyed a shock win over New Zealand in the WXV. Michael Cheika is in trouble already after a spat with a doctor during the Exeter game. French rugby have put forward a proposal for a ’shot-clock’ for scrums and are vehemently opposed to the 20 minute red card trial. They have also suggested a reduction in the number of substitutions. HOORAH to that I say.

OK, that’ll do.

No blog for a few days. New York tomorrow and Thursday, then Newport Rhode Island on Friday, before Boston on Saturday. I’ll be back on Sunday lunchtime UK time.

Sunday 29th Sep: 12:45

It is 12 noon here in Sydney…… wait a minute Bleater……. Sydney, how did you get there so quickly from Quebec? Actually it is Sydney, Nova Scotia, a quaint place packed with history, especially when it comes to the 1939-45 war and the Atlantic Conveys. A vast number of vessels sailed to and from the port here, but sadly many of them didn’t make it. Hitler’s ‘Wolf Packs’ of U-boats took they toll with a tragic loss of many young lives.

The weather has been kind so back on board with time to blog. The Bard’s erudite report will be on the website so the blow by blow account is there for all to see. Based on what I have read, it seems it was a closely contested affair between two very well organised sides. It is early days but I’ll take mid-table all day, every day. Hidden within the report however is the number of injuries suffered already, and the season is only four games in.

The Bard has also made reference to the other games in our league. The Greenies beating Sevenoaks II is a fine result for them. Bromley trouncing Deal & Betteshanger was interesting. Park House winning at Beccs was a surprise for me. Ashford came second at Cranbrook. Then you have Canterbury II and a HWO because our friends at Charlton Park opted out.

This comes as no surprise to me at least. You know my view on the league structure, and when you add in the fact Park, by their own admission, are having a torrid time of it with player availability, crying off makes a deal of sense. Yes, I know it sends a poor message in many respects but the option was to go all that way and get spanked and find players are even more dejected than they are already.

Plenty of action across the game. Wins for New Zealand and South Africa, the latter lifting the trophy. Apparently Bristol v Gloucester on Friday was ‘bonkers’. Sarries are looking ominous with a convincing win over Sale. Quins and Saints are up and running. As I type Bath are winning at Leicester.

Wales Ladies got thumped by Australia in the WXV2.

Elsewhere my hopes were raised when sat in a very nice bar in Charlottetown having a beer I spotted Leicester City holding Arsenal. It wasn’t to be, they lost 4-2.

Tomorrow we are off to Halifax. Yes, the one in Nova Scotia.

Plenty in the news here about the horrors of the Middle East. Plenty also about the horrors awaiting pensioners, and those saving towards a pension. On this subject, based on this trip, there are plenty of pensioners who absolutely do not warrant receiving the winter fuel allowance. That said, in my opinion, Rachel ‘The Hood’ Reeves needs to think carefully as the spending power of the grey pound is substantial.

Whilst not comparing apples with apples, the lesson comes from Brighton. The do-goody Greens pumped up parking charges to fill a budget black hole. That worked well didn’t it. Not only did revenue from parking decline, but businesses across the city suffered from much lower footfall. Be careful what you wish for.

I’ll do a league round-up tomorrow but with the four hour time difference it will be late in the day or Tuesday morning.

Must go, its time for a beer. Getting to the bar can be dangerous so I will be careful. If the mobility scooters don’t get you, the strollers and walking sticks will. Just another day on the SS Ancient Pensioner.

Thursday 26th Sep: 20: 55 (EST)

As my fingers dance across the keyboard, in my dreams, it is just 20:45. It is also what the ship describes as ‘formal night’. Pretentious nonsense! As a consequence whilst everyone else is dressed in the finery heading to the restaurants I headed to the buffet in shorts and Crowborough t-shirt. The food was delicious, my mate Mal Bec made the trip too, so not only did I have Mrs Bleater for company Mal was there by my side in case of drama. What all this means is I’m now back in my cabin with a large Jamesons and time to write some more illiterate nonsense.

So what is happening in the leagues on Saturday? As you know we host Dover. They have had a good start to the season but after our win last week will we start as favourites. The Greenies host Sevenoaks II. On paper this should be an away win, however, our good friends know how to win at home. Canterbury II will beat our other good friends, not that any team is not a friend, Charlton Park. Cranbrook v Ashford is a close one to call but I go a home win. Bromley host Deal & Betteshanger. Mmmm! I always go for Bromley winning at home and I think that is a good bet. Beccs v Park House is a home win. Beccs over previous seasons can be patchy away but at home on that sloping pitch are a force to be reckoned with.

What else is going on? In Surrey/Sussex 1 the local sides will be hoping for wins but they face tough opposition. Heath welcome Cobham, Hove host Trinity, Eastbourne have a very tricky tie at Twickenham, as do Grinstead at Weybridge Vandals.

In Sussex 2 plenty to play for. In my mind the pick is Uckfield v Crawley.

In the other leagues I’m going to pick out Hammersmith & Fulham v Horsham and Tunbridge Wells v Wimbledon. Both tricky games.

Just a couple of other snippets. Eben Etzebeth is set to break the Springboks cap record on Saturday against Los Pumas. Cian Healey will play a record breaking 281st game for Leinster when he trots out against the Dragons this weekend. Tonight’s fixture in the Super Rygbi Cymru Trophy between Aberavon and Newport was abandoned.

It wasn’t so long ago that we were all hoping for change. We had a washed up Prime Minister and a cabinet full of dirty dishrags. Well, change has brought us a dishrag of a Prime Minister and cabinet of washed up freeloaders. Heaven help us.

OK, what’s up next?

The Bard is back so expect a match report on Sunday. I’ll do my best to throw some words together over the coming days but the schedule is hectic at best.

Thursday 26th Sep: 10:44 (EST)

I will make no apologies for a lack of a blog. I’m on holiday having a great time eating and drinking way too much with little time to dribble, let alone write drivel.

A few snippets ahead of the weekend.

The RFU will appoint Joe El-Abd as defence coach following the resignation of Felix Jones. He will join at the end of the season when Jones will be released from his contract. Which, by the way is a crazy way to operate, especially as the Torygraph reports that he will ‘work from home’. I think the RFU have just redefined the definition of madness.

If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it a thousand times: rugby at the top level is a busted flush. Seven of the ten clubs are ‘balance sheet insolvent’. Ten clubs collectively lost £30.5m in 22/23 reports The Guardian. The paper reports that the game is on a financial precipice. Whilst the on-field offering has improved of late, the finances haven’t. With the upcoming reduction in TV exposure (unless you pay through the nose) things will only get worse. It is a sobering piece, and it is not just those at the top who are finding it hard. I have no idea how some of the clubs can afford to pay players at pretty much all levels below the Championship.

Matters are made worse when the RFU decide it makes sense for a club like Macclesfield, who have fought hard to gain promotion to the National Leagues, to be placed in National 2 West. The Times (thanks The Bard and Liberty for bringing this to my attention) tells how the club now has to travel to places like Exeter and Camborne. The costs are horrendous and the pressures on players, and their families is immense. It works the other way too with clubs having to travel to Macclesfield. Surely the blazers could have found a better solution. As The Bard says: be careful what you wish for. Look on your map of choice and work it out. We think playing Dover is tough

Ellis Genge is staying at Bristol for the long term. Jack Nowell is staying in France so his England career is over. Apparently Sale v Quinn’s was one of the worst games of rugby ever.

The Guardian brings us news that the Pro D2 is in great shape and should serve as a model for the RFU. Yes and no. French rugby is set up very differently with few clubs owning their own grounds and TV coverage of the 2nd tier being big business. Despite what people might think plenty of French clubs only survive because of the largesse of benefactors. The article is well worth a read.

Plenty of rugby coming up including Crowborough hosting Dover. Bristol v Gloucester should be good on Friday but the Rugby Championship is where the eye is drawn. Two huge games lie in wait. The Women’s WXV2 gets underway, Australia face Wales.

I’ll bring you a quick round up of the other local games tomorrow morning. (I’ll write that this afternoon my time).

In the proper news the horrific carnage in the Middle East continues. You cannot condone the actions of either side. Hezbollah are a terrorist organisation. Israel are acting like a terrorist organisation with indiscriminate attacks on supposedly ‘military targets. A ceasefire has to come about before the situation truly gets out of hand.

Even The Guardian are sniping at the new Labour Government. You have Angela ‘Ladymuck’ Rayner spending tens of thousands of taxpayers money on her personal image while the elderly and frail will go cold this winter. You have Sir U-Turn with his hands in the trough like a hungry pig. Then there is Rachel ‘The Hood’ Reeves making it up as she goes along. There was a piece likening this lot to the Orwellian Animal Farm. ‘Comrades we are all equal and in this together but it is my way or no way’. Then you have the unions licking their lips with glee as they know they have the country over a barrel. What hypocrisy, what cowardice. Switch the vote on the winter fuel payment until after Sir U-Turn has left the conference.

That’ll do as I need to do some exercise. These shorts feel a little tight!!!

Sunday 22nd Sep: 15:30 (EST)

Ok, as the sun dips towards the arisen I’ve decided to forgo another cocktail on the SS Ancient Pensioner to fill in the gaps of Saturday’s results.

You have all the winners and losers of Kent 1 so let me start with Surrey/Sussex 1. In the first of the Sussex local derbies East Grinstead beat Haywards Heath. In the second Eastbourne beat Hove making ‘Bourne the best of the Sussex clubs. Sadly Hove remain pointless. Twickenham are the early pacesetters.

In Hampshire 1 it comes as no surprise Havant II won at Bognor. In Kent 3 it won’t surprise you that TJs II beat Hastings & Bexhill by a decent amount. This league also highlights the stupid state of affairs with 2nd XVs of ‘high flying’ teams being allowed to play in lower leagues. Tunbridge Wells enjoyed a HWO over Brockleians

In Sussex 2 the season got underway with a very comfortable win for Crawley over Hove II, Pulborough won comfortably enough at Lewes, Uckfield won at Ditchling, Seaford beat Worthing III and Shoreham endured a AWO over Brighton II. That one I can’t understand.

Moving on up into Regional 1 Horsham lost to Tunbridge Wells 27-41, Brighton lost over in Jersey. Both Sussex clubs are at the foot of the table. One league down in Regional 2 it wasn’t a great day for Chichester with them losing to newly promoted Petersfield.

Onwards and upwards into the ether of the National Leagues. Canterbury beat Worthing, TJs beat Sevenoaks. Neither game appeared to be close but final scores can be deceptive. Sadly Sevenoaks remain pointless but TJs are riding high with a perfect 15 just behind you know who.

Rounding things off Salisbury, like us, got their season up and running with a 33-22 win over Frome. Bridgnorth up in Midland 1 lost at Banbury.

It’s a bit difficult at the moment so I’ll start bringing you the results from the Sussex lower leagues when I get back to the ‘Borough.

I see that Sale just pipped Harlequins at the post in what looks a tight game.

Following my comments on Sir U-Turns government of yesterday I see that things are likely to get worse. I keep saying: ‘I was keen for the country to have change’. What we have done is replaced one lot of incompetents with another. Heaven help us.

There isn’t likely to be any drivel for a few days but please do keep checking back.

Sunday 22nd Sep: 07:50 (EST)

When I saw the result from yesterday, Crowborough RFC 36 Heathfield & Waldron 31, two things sprang to mind. First up was delight, and secondly was ‘wow, that must have been some game’. This is a sentiment echoed by my good friend and H&W scribe, Liberty, in his report. Eleven tries on a very good pitch, a game that ebbed and flowed, with a certain amount of controversy (at least from a Greenies perspective).

I understand a yellow card late on tilted the balance in our favour, and I have seen another question ‘was it a forward pass?’ I don’t know what the latter refers to but the bottom line is for now we hold the local bragging rights with a 5 point win.

The Bard is still topping up his tan so can I refer you to the H&W RFC website for their report. I’ve had the benefit of an early preview, thanks to Liberty, and it highlights how we got on the scoreboard early and deservedly so, how The Greenies came roaring back. At 24-24 it seems as if everything was in the balance but then came the yellow card for an ‘alleged’ deliberate knock on. Our visitors narrowed the cap at the death but it wasn’t enough. I understand the set-piece was pretty even with line out errors equally shared. Two very good, well run clubs going head to head, playing the game how it should be.

By the miracle of modern science, and despite being across the Atlantic in Canada I was able to pick up all the results. I see Canterbury II are now top after beating Ashford on Friday night. Sevenoaks II beat Cranbrook, Park House lost to Bromley, Dover beat Deal & Betteshanger, and our good friends Charlton Park lost to Beccehamian by a distance. It is still VERY early days but Canterbury are top and Charlton Park are bottom. We move up into 8th.

It’s a busy day tomorrow as we arrive in Saquenay, Newfoundland so a full Monday round-up might be difficult. That said as we are at sea all day to day I might sacrifice some of my drinking time to write a missive this afternoon……, but can’t promise.

The big boys were back on parade this weekend with some interesting results. Before that though I see Los Pumas beat South Africa which I hadn’t expected. Nor had I expected Australia to run the All Blacks so close.

In the URC the Dragons beat Ospreys at Rodney Parade. Hoorah!!!!!

Bath have got off to a flying start. Damper must be like a dog with two tails. Michael Cheika’s Leicester Tigers put the noisy Chiefs in their place. Saracens beat Gloucester in what looks a good game.

That’ll do for now as the F1 beckons. Yes, even as we do a Rod Stewart, go sailing, the F1 is on TV.

Leicester City scrape a draw with Everton. I’ll take that.

Talking of taking, has a Government so quickly slid from hero to freebie taking, sleaze and cronyism obsessed jokers ever before. No, I don’t think so. ‘Change’ was the mantra. What we have got is self-centred, hypocritical devious clowns just like the previous lot. Same suit just a different colour.

Thursday 19th Sep: 12:00 (Mid Atlantic Time)

By that miracle of modern technology here are a few thoughts for today. I still can’t get my head around being able to connect to the internet, including FaceTime, from the middle of the Atlantic. It is however a bit like the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner - water, water everywhere etc. It also seems we are on the SS Ancient Pensioner. We have our OAP bus passes but compared to most we are mere children, and we can get about without the aid of a stick, a walker, wheelchair or invalid scooter. No wonder Rachel ‘The Hood’ Reeves is targeting pensioners!!!!!!

So to rugby. Crowborough v Heathfield & Waldron is the game of the weekend. I have been in touch with my good friend Liberty and told him The Greenies will start as overwhelming favourites looking at the first two games of the season.

The other games in our league are Ashford v Canterbury II, Charlton Park v Beccehamian, Dover v D&B, Park House v Bromley, Sevenoaks II v Cranbrook.

As mentioned yesterday the Premiership kicks off on Friday. Fingers crossed it goes to the wire like last season. I hope for the sake of the competition Newcastle Falcons can be somewhat more competitive than last time out. Watch out for Leicester Tigers with Michael Cheika in charge. How will the new deal with England Rugby play out, that is a key question.

The Rugby Championship returns with the Bledisloe Cup and Los Pumas v Springboks. Both should be tremendous games. Alarm bells will ring however if the Aussies get another whipping. James Slipper will become the most capped Aussie of all time. Great achievement

Simon Easterby will take charge of Ireland while Andy Farrell is seconded to The Lions.

John Jeffery has thrown his toys out of the pram after the Scottish RFU failed to endorse the Scottish great for the top job at World Rugby. There has been bad blood between the blazers at the SRFU and Jeffery for some time apparently. The Torygraph if you are interested.

The same paper carries a good explanation of the WXV which kicks off shortly

Mark Itoje has had a snipe at Eddie Jones after Jones stated Itoje wasn’t suited to the England captaincy.

Ok, that’s about it for now rugby-wise. Back on Sunday but later in the afternoon due to the time difference.

The news sections of the media are full of doom and gloom which quite frankly I can do without.

I will leave you with news that Mrs Bleater completed this morning’s ‘speedy’ sudoku faster than Bleater did, and yes Bleater hasn’t heard the end of it!!

Wednesday 18th Sep: 11:00 (Mid Atlantic Time)

By the miracle of modern science this blog comes to you from the middle of the Atlantic. Unbelievable but true. There is also a time difference hence the lateness (UK time) of posting.

The boys will be eagerly anticipating the clash with our very good friends Heathfield & Waldron on Saturday. They are riding high, we have got off to a sluggish start. Places at the pre-match lunch are still available.

The Premiership gets going on Friday evening. I know my good friend Damper will be counting the hours before the Bath v Northampton kick-off. His Bath eye-patch has been dusted off ready. Bath’s coach Johann Van Graan has expressed his concern about the new deal with England Rugby. He expects conflict over the workload of his England players. You can’t have it both ways. You’ve taken the money, you have to live with the consequences.

Talking of money the Championship clubs are questioning their own viability in the wake of the funding cuts they have endured. Cambridge & Chinnor are the worst off as they have also been frozen out of the Premiership Cup. A strong second tier is what the game wants. Sadly, based on the current circumstances where the ‘Big’ ten are getting all the money it is not going to happen. The BBC Sport website has the full details.

Union and League to merger. I was going to give you my considered view on Chris Foy’s article. As it is a subscription only piece that isn’t going to happen. However, it is fair to say I can’t see it happening, and there is no logic to it happening……. Or is there?

There are some aspects of the different codes that could be crossed over, the use of putting players ‘on report’ for example. It is VERY likely World Rugby will mandate the 20 minute red card for the entire game in the not so distant future. Some top flight coaches have been arguing for this for some time. Some have also said the game has got to find a way of differentiating the deliberate with the reckless more effectively. This is where the ‘player on report’ might get around that. I know the yellow card and the bunker system does that to a degree but could it go a little further thus keeping 15 v 15 on the field more often. The Guardian carries this one.

The Torygraph has done a nice piece on why chasing the dream of growing the game in the US is a ‘fools errand’.

That’ll do for now as I must catch up on all the MPs, and their partners (Mrs Starmer), who have their noses in the trough as the gravy train speeds on regardless.

You couldn’t make it up but it is true. The Israeli attack on Hezbollah via booby-trapped pagers is something out of fiction dreamt up by Ian Fleming. The issue of course is how many innocent bystanders have also be injured, or worst killed?

Don’t forget to book your place at the league lunch.

Oh, and just back from the quiz. A very poor 11/20 today.

Tuesday 17th Sep: 10:30

So, after a minor technical hitch yesterday we are properly up and running. I’ve covered off Kent and Surrey/Sussex so let me look at what happened across the rest of the leagues relevant to us. In Hampshire 1 one of my old clubs, Trojans, beat Bognor relatively easily 48-12. Surprise, surprise, Havant II are top. Portsmouth are bottom.

No games in Sussex 2 yet but in Kent 3 Hastings & Bexhill won at New Ash Green. It doesn’t make much sense to me but TJs II are in this league and they hammered Beckenham II, and Tunbridge Wells II won at Old Dunstonians.

Upwards and into Regional 1 where we find Brighton losing at home to Bracknell, Horsham losing away at Old Alleynians, and Tunbridge Wells being well beaten at home by CS Stags. 6-50 the score in that one. The boys from St Marks currently prop up the table. London Welsh are