Rugby TTL - Series 2 - Episode 29 - Rugby Banter and Breakdown: Six Nations Special

Ireland Smash England, Wales Collapse vs Scotland & France Roll Italy | Six Nations Breakdown + Fantasy Rugby

The panel recaps a busy Six Nations weekend, starting with Ireland vs England, where Ireland rebound with a dominant win and England’s defensive and breakdown issues are heavily criticized, alongside debate over England’s hooker choices and selection (including Crowley vs Prendergast for Ireland and praise for players like McCloskey and James Ryan). They discuss whether Italy can threaten England after England’s two straight losses and preview upcoming fixtures, generally backing France over Scotland, England to edge Italy, and Ireland to beat Wales. They also review Wales’ late collapse against Scotland, arguing it reflected youth and game-management inexperience, and cover France’s clinical win over Italy and their depth (including Ramos at 10). The episode ends with updates and banter about their fantasy rugby leagues and forfeits.

00:00 Hooker Depth Rant
00:24 Ireland vs England Reaction
02:16 England Mood and Italy Threat
07:22 Why England Lost the Breakdown
11:22 Ireland Standouts Crowley and Ryan
14:32 England Hooker Selection Meltdown
18:58 Borthwick Future and Coaching Options
23:16 Scotland vs Wales Chaos Finish
31:10 Scotland Coaching Succession Talk
37:27 France vs Italy Match Breakdown
45:26 Can France Be Stopped
46:05 Fantasy Panic Picks
46:57 Unchanged League Standings
48:11 Public League Leaderboard
49:34 Team Breakdowns And Shoutouts
53:36 Aerial Contest Ref Debate
01:00:16 England Selection And Back Row
01:01:28 Next Round Predictions
01:07:35 Fantasy Strategy And Forfeits
01:11:27 Banter Haircuts And Signoff

Transcript

Six nations Recap_Video

Carl: [00:00:00] You've got three options at fucking hooker within the Eilish Iris setup that could easily walk into the England team twice over. But we somehow don't ever seem to be able to recycle a hooker. 

Keith: Very great weekend, last weekend. Lots of action to get through. Welcome Carl Kent and Adam to the show this week.

Keith: We're trying to get Polly in. Uh, we'll see if he arrives lads, where would, where else to start? Except from the big match of last weekend, Ireland v England. And did it go exactly how you just thought it was? 'cause I, I was re-listening to the podcast we did in the lead up where Polly in Kent and Kent in particular, you were like, okay, just remember when this podcast comes up that you're saying that.

Keith: Oh, Ireland are gonna win. Well, look, here we are. 

Carl: I, I think the under twenties did really well. Yeah. Um, yeah. 

Keith: Good segue. Don't, don't, they're doing great match. Great match. That was, but we'll keep it to the senior level for this week. I, [00:01:00] grassroots and the buildup, but, uh, you know, special times, we'll, we'll keep it to the, the seniors 

Carl: defensively.

Carl: A num, a number of issues. And then when we did finally break through the line, seemed to have got an extra four legs or something like that, and an extra fucking turbo boost. It was like watching, um, Mario Kart the way he fucking managed to cat catch, um, Marcus Smith up outta nowhere. So it is what it is, mate.

Carl: England. England we're on a high and probably come in a little bit too confident, and Ireland we're at their lowest low. And there's only one way up. So, fair. Fuck you. You've done it.

Keith: Now you say England in a high go going into it like the, the last couple of weeks we, in the like preview of the tournament we were going right, England had a phenomenal autumn internationals like going to puff for, 

Carl: for enum beating or something like that, going into it with me. So, 

Keith: yeah. Uh, and after the, the first match tournament, you're like, right, [00:02:00] okay, they're gonna be up there with the French, but the last two weeks, you know, Scotland came off the back of a hiding out in Italy.

Keith: They were going to be the scorn dog. We knew they were gonna put a performance, but we thought England would still do it. And now two losses on the back. What's the mood in that English camp going to be like heading out to Italy? 

Carl: Got fucking jolly boys out, wouldn't it? Sure's fucking brought knees up, right?

Carl: We're off to Rome. Let's have, let's get on the Shan. 

Adam: I mean, I, I don't think what I, I'm not confident about Italy at all. Now coming into the tournament, I thought the only game we'd lose was against France. Um, and yeah, just amateur hour against Ireland of so many 

Polly: so fucking pessimistic. 

Adam: Can you brace it?

Adam: Jesus 

Polly: Christ. 

Adam: Did you, did you miss the game at the weekend and the one before? 

Polly: No, I didn't. I didn't miss either of 'em. Spoke to English fan. Like you said before the start of the Six Nations. It was like, I can only see us losing to fucking France. Do you know what I mean? It's just your, your optimism [00:03:00] was just only a game away from being pessimistic, you know, being massively pessimistic.

Polly: It was only game away. I called, I but Adam, I called the Scotland game though, didn't I? I 

Keith: did say you, you did. Polly was on it saying he didn't want to put himself out there, but he never has a good feeling when it comes to Scotland Match and Polly, you come in trust at the right time with the exact like attitude.

Keith: I was saying to the lads, what's the mood going to be like after going from being in tournament, you know, up there co favorites with the French, after having a better Autum internationals than the French and then the, these last two weeks, the results just like shocking. Everyone involved. What's it going be like when they go out to Italy?

Polly: Uh, I think, I don't know. I think Italy. Uh, Italy, we discussed this, didn't we? A couple of weeks ago we said that they were brilliant against Scotland. I still think they were brilliant last week as well. I think that they were class, uh, they've been good for the last two weeks and yeah, I think it's, it's, it's, I think it could be the first time those Italians [00:04:00] really get that opportunity for that, you know, they can smell blood in the water.

Polly: Um, you know, 

Carl: just, we still, we still haven't lost to Italy, so Exactly 

Polly: that the, 

Carl: this, this could be the time like everyone else has had that Italy shot. It, it's there for Italy to take, like riding off the back of two defeats that you weren't expecting. Does that, does that become free? Does that become four?

Carl: Does it become that? We're like, it's not like we, the players are any different. It's just, I think potentially the, the foot, the system's been found out a little bit and like it's come at a, just at that time. Like, 

Kent: would that be a shock? Would that be a shock now, after the last two performances of England put in against Scotland, Ireland, and how well Italy playing are, are Italy going into that game potentially now as potentially favorites in form?

Carl: No, 

Polly: you, you've gotta remember, England were favorites going into the island game, but up by eight I think it was, or might have even been 11. [00:05:00] I mean, you, you couldn't find, I think Ireland fans would've walked away very, very happy. Um, in, in the grand scheme of things. 'cause I think the betting before the game, Ireland would've fancied that and definitely would've had Island by, you know, I think, I think the odds for Island by 20, I think it was, would've been.

Polly: Well, 10, 11 to one maybe, if not even off, if not even further out there. 

Keith: Yeah. Well, I can, I can tell you that I absolutely celebrated the bejesus out of all the early scoring because I could not believe after soaking up the pressure and, uh, like gives some part taking that quick tap and getting in and I, I tell you, I was moving like a winger myself for a fellow that's 130 kg, you know, like it's, uh, I was going around that pub like, like I was Robert per on the, on the outside.

Keith: Um, yeah, it was just unbelievable. It, it, it was almost like the, like polar opposite, like Ireland had gone from. [00:06:00] Really, really pour against the French got buy in the next match and then you know, we take out Prendergast and things start going right. It's actually amazing what, like installing a number 10 that gives your back stability of what?

Keith: Knowing that you can trust them that end up a performance with Ireland's best ever win in num. Like it was unbelievable. We talked in the group chat saying about how it was the difference of two breakdowns. I know that you guys might have a bit of wording about what goes on in the breakdown from an Irish perspective, I think it's completely legitimate and uh, just the end up.

Keith: Seeing, I told Jay on a hundred cap, let's give him a shout out. Unbelievable player. Unbelievable servant. Uh, not the way, I don't think anyone would've foreseen that much going last weekend. 

Kent: No, definitely not. I think, uh, to Jay's been a bit of a, obviously since he had not starting, he hasn't [00:07:00] actually completed 80 minutes.

Kent: He's been taken off and you say, but if his a hundred cap all that lot and to be shown up by pretty much his umbridge and Orange Lauren's partner in the second row, it just a bit of a shock for him really in that game. Like, well again, wounded Beast, is he gonna come back next week? But we thought that after the last, after the Scotland game.

Polly: Yeah. So it, my thoughts and, and it goes back to the Scotland game, is that, uh, and I put it in the group text, it is, it's not about winning the breakdown, it's about losing the breakdown. That's what we were doing is that, you know, England themselves, and you watch that against Scotland. It's like, what, three knock ons at the breakdown.

Polly: Uh, in their 22, uh, weren't tidying the ball up. Okay. Uh, good work from the Scottish players to disrupt that good work from the Irish to disrupt that. And it's like we, they still didn't learn when we played Wales, we didn't have to worry about it because whales were not competing at the breakdown. So you can play that fast flow in aggressive style of rugby and, [00:08:00] and quick clear out and the ball gone.

Polly: Um, because they were never gonna try and compete at the breakdown unless it was a hundred percent on whereas the Scottish were throwing a 50 50 chance just trying to get in there. Uh, and unfortunately England didn't commit enough to the breakdown. Uh, and the reason why they didn't commit enough to the breakdown is 'cause too many of 'em want us try and carry the ball.

Polly: It's like, you know, it was almost like watching a, a Saturday team, a a local grassroots team where, you know, everyone wants to carry and nobody wants to do the hard work. You know, where the Unforgotten second rows and the that number six, that's constantly hitting every single breakdown. Well, you know, when you've got Genji out in the middle of the park wanting to carry the ball.

Polly: Absolutely superb. Wanna do that. But also, um, when you're out in the middle of the park and you've all seen it, is that one of the Irish tribes came from Genji just throwing his shoulder, didn't even try and make a tackle. Uh, you can't sit there and complain about everybody else when you, you are not doing the work yourself.

Polly: Uh, and Scotland and Ireland both exploited the fact that England's 13 and Winger channel is really, really [00:09:00] poor. You know, it, it, you just look at on first phase ball, they're gaining 30 meters from. A I miss one outside 13. You know Ollie Lawrence, although I had my, I had him in my squad and he got me a try last weekend, which is actually superb.

Polly: I slay him 'cause he's the slowest man in the world. Of course you're gonna target him. The reason why the Scottish target outside 13 is 'cause Tommy Freeman's not a 13. He, Henry AOL's been found out on the wing. He's got some superb pace, but defensively he's really poor. Under the high ball. Really poor England, um, against good teams have struggled against a poor team like Wales.

Polly: They were really dominant and they were really attacking because they were always on the front foot moment. We were on the back foot defensively. We looked a shambles. There you go. That's my first, that's my thoughts. That's my thoughts. And you know, everyone will go, oh, well Polly, what you talking about?

Polly: Go defensively. We missed too many tackles and they got in behind us, and then defensively they couldn't recover. And you put anyone with that much 30 yard front foot, front face ball, front foot ball, they're gonna [00:10:00] score. Especially if you don't capitalize on the opposition's five meter line. Uh, especially when the referee doesn't give you anything on their tri line at all.

Polly: But good depe, good defense by, um, Ireland simply didn't give a penalty away in the first 30 minutes, I think. Uh, so 

Keith: I, I, I couldn't believe that, uh, when you guys were piling pressure on the dry line that, uh, we got out on the two or three occasions in the first half when you were really going for it. And I, I think the.

Keith: Mentally, it must have had an effect on the, the team for them, for them to get that sucker punch by Gibson Park in the corner just set everything. It was like, right, okay. It's against the run of the play, but now they've got to try and pick it back up again. Hit again. And as you say, like Lawrence and Ding Wall, um.

Keith: De decent in their own path, but uh, they ended up getting, uh, out shown on the day by McCluskey on the opposite [00:11:00] side. Like Carl mentioned at the, the intro, like the fa the way that McCluskey wasn't mad possessed going after Smit in the corner. Absolutely no reason why a fella that's a hundred, 112 K cheese gets across and gets that tackle in.

Keith: It was absolutely, the team was just a different beast on the weekend. Uh, Adam Kent, A any words to be said about the, the match? 

Kent: Just say you brought 'em up. McCloskey. I think two players for Ireland who recently have shown up for me is McCloskey. I think it's been a revelation. Absolute. I've had him lucky I've had in my team the last two weeks, but I think James Ryan's changed it for you.

Kent: Yeah. I think you guys lacked a little bit of upfront grunt in the French game. He's coming the last two games and he's been that enforcer for you. England game. Henry Pollock came in with all this bravado, let to do this thing first, five minutes. I think Ryan literally rammed him through, [00:12:00] tried put him through the floor, and then I put a bit of a stamp on the game goes, look, he might be fast yet with nipper, but this is what you're gonna get if you come near me, sort of thing.

Kent: And then I think Ryan really stood out for me in that game with a bit of a difference. 

Keith: I have to agree with you there. You know when, when you look at the team sheet and you saw that Ryan was coming in and that burn was going to be, uh, deputizing on the flank form, uh, you're going right, okay. He better show up and by bejesus does he Now, Ryan has it in him where he's, uh, got that extra aggression that you, you need, but sometimes, sometimes he gets a bit too aggressive and he's capable of putting himself in positions to pick up yellow cards, needlessly where you go, you absolutely idiot.

Keith: But on the weekend, he was phenomenal. And especially when it came to the line out, um, as good as we were with disrupting the English line out, I taught that and I, I said, cow and Dickie, his throwing [00:13:00] on the weekend put you on the back foot. Uh, you looked a bit more stable once he had come off. Um, I, I, I couldn't believe, and we had talked about how.

Keith: Certain English combinations allowed for incorporating Dickie to come in for letting. Uh, like the changing of, I told you, coming in session, coming in, um, just, just the way the English pact did not perform to the level that it did, but the, the whole, the, the forwards and the backs didn't perform to what we thought they would.

Keith: As you say, Paula came in with all this hype about 'em and you, you just, he got absolutely destroyed, uh, picked up that yellow way in the second half as well. But he's got unbelievable amount of talent and people will always hype him up saying that his like, training numbers are ridiculous for our fellow of his size.

Keith: So absolutely no doubt he'll come. Good for you. Is in the near future, Adam, any word on, uh, the English on the weekend? 

Adam: The, well, I was gonna start with the, [00:14:00] the Irish, I suppose it's already been covered, but, um, Crowley, I've been saying it for a while. He needed to be in there, obviously a, a, you know, a blind man on a galloping horse could have seen that Brenda cast needed to be swapped out.

Adam: And I know he is, he's one of your length the men. And he, but, you know, he, he was, he was clearly out of his depth. And, you know, I see Crowley, uh, couple of years ago, I think it was in the URC final against the Stormers, and he was fantastic. Only a young lad, and he was pulling all the strings, doing, doing what he did at the weekend.

Adam: Um, I just wish, uh, Farrow would pushed it back another week. Um, as I said in the group chat, um, England, yeah, I, they each changed the hooker. Um, the most informed hooker, um, in the prem is being overlooked. Luke Ka Dickey, uh, he, he won't have played himself outta the position because Wick will continue to pick him and George, but.

Adam: Again, I may seem biased, but I'd I'd have, um, o Gray in there. He's, he's leading the stats across the board compared to any other hooker in the prem. [00:15:00] And you, you pick your best players, but you forget systems. You can get who they play with, um, on, you know, week on week basis. It's not, it is not worth the last couple of games he is throwing of Christ.

Adam: I, I could've done better than that. No, I probably couldn't, but I, I'd have given it a go. 

Carl: I, I've, I, I think, I think playing hooker is probably the easiest role not to get fucking evicted in rugby. Like, look, look how long we kept hold of Dylan Hartley because we could become captain. We made Jamie George, captain when he was fucking 804, couldn't throw a fucking biscuit, let alone a fucking line out.

Carl: But because he's everyone's friend, he had to be fucking picked. We've now got Luke Cow and Dickie, who's robbed the fucking living and somehow got as a, as a lying caller. I don't fucking get it. The bloke was, was very good at one point, but he is not. We then lo we've lost Theo Dan to the fucking wilderness who was supposed to be the next best thing.

Carl: And then you got, you got play like other teams, like you see Dan Sheen coming through, you've got [00:16:00] Keller, you've got three options at fucking hooker. Within the Eilish Irish setup that could easily walk into the England team twice over. But we somehow don't ever seem to be able to recycle a hooker. 

Polly: Yeah, 

Kent: even England.

Kent: That's the comment Carl said before, isn't it? He recycled a hooker. Nothing to say in England. A player I think has kind of built his bridge a bit is Joe Hayes. He's come into this ation with, obviously he's in there 'cause Will Stewart's been injured? He's probably not a first choice, but potentially 

Carl: now 

Kent: he might be 

Carl: Will Stewart.

Carl: Ain't that he's not fucking great either. Like again, with that whole front row we've got, I ah, I 

Polly: don't, I'm gonna disagree with you though, 

Carl: Carl. Fuck. Fuck off Polly Will Stewart is absolute. Fucking dog. He's had two good seasons. He's two good seasons. No. Well, Stewart was one of 

Polly: the best props on the Irish, British and Irish lion tour 

Carl: I have, mate.

Carl: He was, yeah, he's had two seasons. 

Polly: He don't have to have, it's 

Carl: have it, it's just he's had two seasons. [00:17:00] He's two seasons. The rest of it, he is been fucking dog shit. He, 

Polly: he need, he only as good as your last game though, Carl. Do you remember that? 

Carl: No, I agree. Agree. But like, if that's what we've got, who else is coming through?

Carl: Where's the rest of them? 

Polly: Uh, they're all sitting in the under twenties in the, in the, in that England, a squad. And they're all at Bath and they're all at, uh, you know, and they are there. I mean, don't get me wrong, front row is one of those weird ones where, you know, it's EI can guarantee it's the same in Ireland.

Polly: If you looked at that game before, you know, before Furlong come back, and we had the memes about that. Is that, you know, who are those two Irish props? Do you know what I mean? Where, where have they come from? You know, where's that depth? Where's the ports gone? Where's the tad furlongs gone? Where's the, 

Keith: well, this is exactly why we were saying Polly like, uh.

Keith: Lockman has been stellar. This tournament, he wouldn't have gotten an opportunity if it wasn't for the fact that Porter is currently injured. And Clarkson, we, we saw him play in, like, I, I've seen him play a lot for Lanster, but we saw him play out in Portugal port. [00:18:00] Yeah. And at that time, he, he got, I literally the day after he got called into the Lion Squad, just because Farrell knew he could trust them with the system.

Keith: Got shoehorned into that position didn't play well last week. And immediately you could see the difference once Furlong came back in the level of like, just the difference between the, a young open comer talent that Clarkson is and a fellow that has been here for many a year doing it. And far long, like people just go, oh, what an absolute fella.

Keith: And every time we talk about, uh, far long, we always bring up, when the New Zealand fellas were talking about 'em in, uh, interviews, they were calling them like, uh, Taj, you know, like the pronunciation was completely off the, we always get a good giggle outta that. But yet, look, the up and coming players, you could end up deciding, you end up butting heads on who you think is gonna be good, who should be in there.

Keith: But the, the question [00:19:00] that that all brings to the front is do you think that Wick's job could potentially be on the line if performances don't? Improve 

Carl: who, 

Adam: who, who else, who's, who else 

Kent: they gonna get. Who 

Adam: else? They'll, it'll be, it'll be until after the World 

Kent: Cup. 

Keith: And are you, are you happy with that?

Keith: That's the I don't have a choice. I, I know, I, I know someone's name in the fantasy is Wick, like, it's, is he going to take the, this English, this talented English group forward? 

Adam: Yeah, that was, that was mine. I was a bit disgruntled, uh, when he first came in, and I wasn't particularly enamored with, uh, with Borthwick and, um, but yeah, he'll be, he'll be there until after the World Cup for sure.

Adam: They, they've, they, they threw too much money getting Eddie Jones out, didn't they? And then they give him this whopping great contract, was it five years when he came in and 

Polly: they bought out his contract outta Leicester as well. 

Carl: Lads, let's go. Yeah. 

Adam: Yeah, you're right. They did. Yeah. 

Carl: Let's go back three weeks.

Carl: We were gonna win the fucking six nations like we come second. 

Polly: No, we were [00:20:00] gonna win it. None of us. No, none of us. Put England winning. Everyone. We were gonna watch one. 

Carl: We no, we we're gonna win. Keith, Keith put, Keith 

Keith: put No. Well, I, I put money on it because I was like, it'll be the best payout. So yeah.

Carl: Don't do that again. Oh yes. 

Keith: I'll put money on you to win the World Cup two. Don't worry. 

Polly: Pointless putting on money on Island to come into semifinals, isn't it? 

Keith: Well, that is true. Like, uh, I'll take that on the chain. We are cursing the cores. So 

Carl: Rugby's worked on well cup cycles. It's not well worked on titles or anything like that any longer.

Carl: Like they will be given a four, four year cycle to make sure that team turns up to a well cup in the best option to win that well cup anything in the in between of it is collateral. We've now got the Nation's cup thrown in the top. Who knows Barefoot Will Pro might go and win that for England. So there's so many other things that sit alongside it.

Carl: Barefoot's not gonna go anywhere [00:21:00] 'cause Farrell's not gonna become available. Sean Edwards is not RFU material. Ra Ray did see the Razor, couldn't even fucking get, get New Zealand to play properly. So how fuck he gonna get this done? 

Polly: Did you not see the reports meet today about Sarason making a bid for Farrell after the World Cup?

Carl: That's, that's sarason. It's not England though, is it? 

Polly: Exactly, exactly. Do you know what I mean? So Farrell's gonna become, he's been a key, but Far Farrell will be no longer the island coach after the World Cup. I 

Carl: don't think Ireland are worried about that though. 'cause I think that there is, there's options afterwards.

Carl: Like they've got a plan and a conveyor England don't. 

Keith: Well, what, what about, and it's been heavily publicized about Ogar comments about how he would prefer to manage England instead of Ireland because he knows that the setup in the England has a better conveyor belt than what the, the Irish has. So would you guys take 

Polly: Ogar.

Polly: Yeah. [00:22:00] 

Adam: Off. Yeah. I'd love a go. Oh, 

Polly: Carl, Carl, Carl. Carl's well annoyed and I love the fact that I just, sometimes it's like, ah, just like, just baiting him, isn't it? It's just baiting him. But, uh, 

Keith: I, I don't, he's got the La Rochelle, uh, colors on him there with that BAAs shirt I think. Yeah. Oh, GARS your boy car.

Carl: La Elle what? On the fucking 84 game. Losing street where he can't get sacked. He's gonna get touch line bands every three weeks, which is brilliant. It's fucking hilarious. But we're also then inviting an Irishman to try and win us a well cup. It ain't fucking happening. Literally, we're gonna probably be one of the worst teams after four fucking years.

Carl: 'cause it's internal sabotage. What the fuck are we doing? 

Keith: Well, we do, man. 

Adam: So 

Keith: it's going pretty well. Like 

Adam: would you care if he was Irish? If we got our name on that World Cup again, 

Carl: mate? He won't win us the World Cup. He would, he, he will not win as he, he again, he's another one that will, that is a very good club manager when it's on.[00:23:00] 

Carl: He's not, he's not a international manager. We don't have time to sit there and wait four fucking world cup cycles for him to come. Good. It's not, I just, I, I don't think bewick's the answer either. Like, bics not the answer. Anyway. Let's talk 

Polly: about the skull and whale game on. 

Keith: So I was Saturday. I was just, I was just, I was just going to move on to that, uh, Polly.

Keith: Yes. Uh, like after the, uh, amazing Ireland v England match to be followed by such a spectacle in the Welsh and Scotland game was a real treat last weekend because for a good portion of that match. The Welsh were brilliant and then they sabotaged themselves. It was, it was, I couldn't believe what I was watching in the last like 20 minutes.

Keith: Uh, lads, what, what did you think of the match as a whole? What did you just think of, uh, the Welsh and how then the Scottish came [00:24:00] back? 

Carl: I thought it was hilarious, to be honest. So they thought they'd won the fucking six nations again for a minute, but they, uh, it was, it is so we can suffer in our pain, but we can also suffer in theirs.

Carl: But for the first, what, first half they looked, they did look a glimmer of what is gonna probably come in 2, 2, 3 years time. Like they've got such a young squad. It there, there is enough of a hope for Welsh fans to still not jump off the seven bridge. Like, there, there is a future there. Like there is. Is enough.

Carl: It's just that game management, a little bit of experience that they're still lacking in key areas. Like you haven't got one of those experience heads to like where Awin Jones had played for a hundred years. He was able to still step in when they had that younger squad and say, right, let's, let's, let's calm it down.

Carl: Who, who is their experienced head? Potentially Josh Adams. But Josh Adams wants to [00:25:00] fight everyone in the crowd, let alone bring any sort of control on the pitch. He's electric, but he isn't what he used to be and like there is nobody in there that can control such a young squad. That's my opinion. But Scotland looked like Scotland again, from sublime to ridiculous.

Carl: In reverse. And then Darcy Graham comes on scores a Troy, but because he was on the bench, I get half points fucking prick, so.

Keith: Oh, brilliance. Yes. Yeah, you 

Polly: got love that. I wanna, I wanna ask your thoughts on that. I thought that, that, that, try that. You know. Oh, 

Carl: I thought you meant, I thought you meant my half points. I thought more points. I, I 

Keith: tell he was going in on that as well. Jesus, 

Polly: kicking down the weh. The Welsh weren't all back in their own half.

Polly: No. And 

Carl: they don't have to be. 

Polly: Well, well. There's a, there's a, there's a certain level of etcu associated with it though, isn't it? 

Carl: Yeah, but not when you're [00:26:00] losing. 

Polly: Uh, I, I don't know who it was. I, but the other thing is, is it should be the same ball. It's ju it that it comes back to that thing. It's like the ball is in the middle, not 'cause like, it's not like us on a Saturday where we could go and pick it up from buying a post and run it up and then kick it into, you know, it, there's a, there's a slight bit of etiquette and it's not about waiting for the other team to be ready, but they should all be at least be able to get back and, you know, the fact that the ball was there and is that then it's like, okay, they've, they've basically what I would say, they've done a razzy on it really, um, because they've exploited something that really should never have happened in the first place.

Polly: So I think it's poor form and, and, and, and, and bad, uh, for the game of rugby. Um, good in one sense. But I, I think if you, you're gonna do that, you know, then, uh, we go back, it goes back to the, goes back to Scotland. Wales game, kicking the ball, um, straight out or, you know, uh, from a restart and then going from there.

Polly: There's, there's just [00:27:00] other factors that are just associated with it. I think that bending the laws is, is not necessarily the right thing to do. You know, 

Carl: I, I think that goes back to experience though. If they had an experience heading that well side that, would they be wandering around? Not would, would they be back and set like you are, you are coached.

Carl: Everyone's coached, you've scored your try, you get back, you get set, set. Still 

Polly: nil. Yeah. 

Carl: No. If you wanna call it Neil nil, but No, but you get back, you get set in your position, you're there, you're ready. You the only person that needs to be up. The other end of the pitch is the kicker. But you are not going into the fucking river to pick it out of it anymore.

Carl: But you get back, you get yourself, get yourself. The waterman comes on, you do that. This is international rugby. You shouldn't be strolling back after the event. Fuck that. That's down to experience. It's not down to get etiquette. That's down to lack of experience on that wealth side. 

Polly: So, so we're saying that the Jack Morgan, the lack missing of Jack Morgan is absolutely key to that Welsh team then?

Carl: I think, I think his leadership does help, but again, he's still not that [00:28:00] experienced. Like they, they sometimes you just need an older head. Like you look at the Irish side, like Peter Armani played for so long because it was a another dimension to help control the lads coming through. Like there, there's an ex, there's a wise old head in, in those sort of setups.

Kent: The problem is whales have gone through such a transition moment. They've, they, they, they, they've kept all their players in for so long. There's point now. They've all, they've lost everyone and they're like, fuck, what do we do? Having the likes of, uh, Reese Za being their one marquee player, having the player a fallback because they've got no one else there.

Kent: I think Thomas Williams is probably one of the best Cru offs. He's wasted. He, he's wasted in, in not hobbing Wales. And they said they've got some good talent, but like you say, it's no one's grabbing bus going, look, get your fucking position. Stop being a dick. And yeah, I think Scotland did pull a fast one, and Wales just looked like a team.

Kent: Like they didn't know how to, they they were in the lead. They're like, fuck, we've [00:29:00] no, we haven't been here 

Keith: for, yeah, I was just gonna say that. Yeah, they were completely, uh, 

Carl: rabbit, 

Keith: rabbit in the 

Carl: headlights, 

Keith: rabbit in the headlights with that first half performance, having that scoreline for the, the comfort and then for the Scots to come back in, in that fashion, they, they just didn't know how to handle the occasion.

Keith: Um, it was too much of a. Uh, cushion for them to see that constantly get chipped away at. And then look, we can talk about advocate when it comes to the restart, but they had opportunities to get the ball before it, it went in for a try. I think it was, um, it was either bottom or, uh, Evans was like strolling back as the ball bounced and then stopped and then went again.

Keith: And then you're, you're just going, well, what are you doing? Like, just play the situation as it is. Um, it, they completely capitulated and, uh. Yeah, look, [00:30:00] it was a great spectacle for the neutral to see the game and it was good for the, the Scots themselves after what happened against Argentina for them to then do that to another team to show, right, okay.

Keith: We've got a bit of bite boot and box of ourselves, got a bit of pride, go out there, and they're putting in a very, very, uh, sturdy six nations performance that we didn't think they were going to do. 

Carl: Been a big turnaround from that swimming pool event in, uh, Italy. Like that was eight foot underwater, wasn't it?

Carl: But. 

Keith: Yeah, treacherous conditions and like everyone talked about the conditions as the, the main reason we still say Italy were absolutely phenomenal on the day and didn't allow the Scots to play regardless of the conditions of it. But the, the Scots over the last two weeks have shown, shown themselves to be better than what we expected them to be.

Keith: Uh, and look, they're, they rightfully seconding the table at the minute. We'll [00:31:00] see how the matches play out over the weekend and, uh, where they, they'll finally finishing the table. But, uh, we'll move on to, 

Kent: sorry, 

Keith: before 

Kent: Kate. So Keith, so if we go on, we were talking about obviously Ireland having a, a succession plan for Farrell, England, haven't got a clue what the fuck's going on, what Scotland doing when Greg has, Greg is moving on.

Kent: Have they got someone who's gonna take over their place or are they have to completely change the whole way Scotland playing to change the. Their ethos? 

Keith: Well, I think this, this is a question for, for the whole group, because look, you guys are all in the group chat and we all saw, uh, Buster's reaction to the lineup and basically going, well, Jesus, he must just go, oh, I'm on my way out.

Keith: I'm gonna leave players out. I'm going to chuck people out position. And we all thought he was mad. And it's coming, it's coming up to fruition. Like, so what, what did lads think? What do we think for [00:32:00] the Scotland management team moving forward? 

Polly: I have, I have no idea. Yeah, I don't, I don't know. Uh, I, I'm not gonna profess to say that I know a load about Scottish rugby be when I don't.

Polly: Um, and, uh, I've, I don't know, but they must have a plan. They, you know, Greg had going to, um, red Bull Castle, Newcastle, red Bulls, um, was on the. Cards the moment they'd signed the deal. Do you what? I mean, he was doing some coaching. Why do you think Steve Diamond's no longer there? You know, he, he wasn't gonna be playing second fiddle to Gregor Townsend.

Polly: That's exactly what he, you know, that was discussion, you know, the moment it was announced that he was assisting, he was like, I'm off. See you later. You know? Um, but Red Bull obviously sees something in Gregor and, and, and, and want to take him after the World Cup. I don't know. I personally think I, I still think that, you know.

Polly: Has he been the best man for Scotland over the last eight years? 

Adam: Yeah, probably. 

Polly: Yeah. He's done a fantastic job. [00:33:00] Has he fallen short at the last hurdle? Probably. Um, you know, he's definitely had some of the talent in, you know, the most talented Scottish players for a, a significant amount of time. 

Kent: By Scottish, did you say that 

Adam: was about first?

Polly: Did I say 

Kent: Scotty being South African? Yeah. You said Scotty, you mean like Southern? Uh, Southern. He, uh, how many, how many, uh, staffers have they got on their team? 

Polly: Let, let's, let's, let's be honest though, we can't say anything. Dylan Hartley, one of our most cat players is not Mike Ka. We've got, you know, England have got 'em as well, you know, you know, uh, 

Kent: they've got 15 of them though at one time.

Polly: Rocket Rock, rocket rocket, da, goonie, uh, you know, Vina P vpo. Wait a minute. Uh, where do we start? Do you what I mean, so people in glass houses definitely shouldn't throw stone. So, um, I, I, I. That's how I really don't care. I know, I, I really don't care where they come from. I think, I think you want the best players playing international rugby.

Polly: [00:34:00] So if they squat, if they qualify because they've got a Scottish granddad, uh, and never got an English grand, you know, great-grand, then fucking have it. You know? That's the way I'll go because you can sort of throw the, you can throw that out for the Irish. You can throw it out for the French as well. Do what I mean, uh, you, it.

Polly: So let's just ignore the fact that, um, you know, size wins rugby games as well. Remember, uh, that's why all of those Pacific Islanders somehow managed to find its way over in the Northern Hemisphere or to New Zealand or to Australia, you know? Uh. None of them have made it into that South African side though, for some unknown reason.

Polly: I dunno, maybe 'cause they breed big guys as well, so, um, yeah, I, I don't care. I, in, in that terminology. I don't know where Scotland are gonna go. Uh, I don't know. Um, you know, let's see. They, they, they've got, what, who have they got left to play? They've play, um, France and Ireland. Aren't they 

Keith: the Scouts? Uh, yeah, yeah, 

Polly: [00:35:00] yeah.

Polly: They got France. They got France next weekend. Uh, that's gonna be hell of a game. You know, that's gonna be, I I just, that French team's class, we're gonna talk about 'em in a minute, but, you know, Scotland have got them and then they've got go, uh, is it, it's in, is it in Dublin? It's in 

Keith: Dublin. It's it's in Dublin.

Keith: It's in Dublin, 

Polly: yeah. It's just a fight. It's a fight for second place, you know, so there's a load of stuff on the line that, that's how you're looking for it. Um, you know, so to. Let's see what happens in the next couple of weeks. It's like, you know, we know that Scotland can be unpredictable and when they're, when they're good, they're absolutely superb.

Polly: But when they're bad, they're really bad. You know, it is just that they're really good always against England. So, um, we just have to take it on a chin and just crack on. But like we said, leading into it that French Irish, uh, that French, that French Italy game on Sunday was an absolutely superb game to watch.

Polly: I absolutely loved it. It was, um, 

Carl: so quick, quickly before we get onto the France, France game, um, I'll just add a [00:36:00] quick look. Scotland, I just appointed Bob McKillop as their Scotland 15 coach, so the Scotland Day, uh, coach. So there's a chance that he will be looked at for the next, for the next role. They, they seem to like promoting within.

Carl: Um, obviously Gregor is Go, has gone to the Red Bulls, as they reckon it's gonna be the third Scottish franchise. So they reckon that's gonna be the third option for, uh, Scottish Development. That's why they'd already earmarked Gregor. So the Newcastle Red Bulls is gonna be the, the Brem side for Scottish Development.

Carl: So the, like, there's, there's, it wouldn't surprise me if the likes of Finn Russell, other players that want to be paid a little bit more become available, um, for the, for the Red Bulls over there. So, 

Adam: yeah, I suppose that kind of makes, it makes sense. If you look at the West country with Wales and the amount of, you know, academy and development players come through the West, you know, in terms of [00:37:00] proximity it does make sense.

Carl: Exactly. So obviously there's not, they're not gonna add another side to the URC 'cause there's not enough space for three Scottish sides. But the closest you're gonna get is Newcastle and having them available in potentially European con competition. Once they actually sort the shit out and did the prem, you're gonna have a lot of, a lot of good players available.

Carl: Top level, so. 

Keith: Yeah. So on, on that note, I, I think we'll, uh, move it on to the, the France, Italy game and look, on paper we were thinking, right, okay. This Italian team has shown like, what, uh, what quality it has this six nations, and we were kind of all hoping that they might have pulled a, a rabbit outta the hat and pulled, pulled out results.

Keith: Um, that would've opened up the tournament to those at the top of the table. But within three minutes, the, the French score try, and you're going, [00:38:00] right, okay. Is this going to be an absolute whitewash? The, the halftime score line, it looked very ominous. Uh, the Italian scored, um. About, what was it, about 10 minutes before halftime.

Keith: Kind of brought them back into it, kind of a bit of hope, 19 eight, but they didn't score again once after the halftime and the, the, the French just ran out convincing winners. I think that's kind of where Italy are at the moment. They have a good, good quality that we've rightly praised over the last number of weeks.

Keith: But when it comes to then that next step, when you're coming up against the elite, uh, a teams of the, the French, that they kind of just whi away, the stamina isn't there like it would be for the level that the French at and it just shows across. But at the same time, really good show. And, uh, Polly was very, um, very positive about their performance last [00:39:00] weekend.

Keith: Uh, Carl, what, what did you think of the match? 

Carl: I. I think Italy only got on the scoreboard because of how lucky they were to have somebody like Kasu around at that breakdown. That was a mistake by the French that gave them the option. There was, there was no other way that they were getting on the Scoreline.

Carl: France just were clinical, but were also their own worst enemy. At Saint, they were being perfect French, uh, on Sunday, but at the right time because there was times that against other sides, they might have potentially been caught out. But that was probably the worst Italian performance we've seen for a little while.

Carl: They, they were, they were found out by a top level French side that, that was, that they were, they just got lucky. Kawa. Watsu was in the right place, right time. It got spilled out 'cause it bounced off a French leg out of a breakdown, like five meters out. Job done. It was [00:40:00] easy. Otherwise I don't. I I wouldn't, I, I wouldn't have seen 'em getting on there.

Carl: They just couldn't get the connection. They couldn't get the, they couldn't get the forward ball. But France would just in open play with phenomenal. After three minutes, Fu obviously went just full physical. Ramos obviously ran the outside option. It's, they've got, they've got it for days. For days. But yeah, that was probably the worst.

Carl: It Italy performance I've seen for a while. 

Polly: On, on that. Carl, you took, you mentioned Ramos, he moved from 15 and played 10. Uh, 

Carl: yeah, but it's easy to play 10 against an Italian side. That's not going forward like, nor that he, he should have been ta that everyone knows you go through, you go through the 10 channel against France when Ramos is 10 'cause he is a turnstile, but when he receives the ball and can do a 50 22 on the turn for fucking looking out of his back pocket.

Carl: There's no, you can't play against that. Like when he's, he's, but [00:41:00] not, his boot is different gravy. Like he what it literally pop out from, from DuPont and he's literally hit a 50, 22 out of nothing. Literally hardly even tried. He's just literally wrapped it round down. We're off in the corner. Whereas Italy didn't focus on that channel.

Carl: Like you, you wanna, if you, you gotta try and target the weakest tackler like everyone did against PR gust. You, ta you are, you target that channel. They didn't do it like this is the difference between Italy being at that top table having a conversation and not being at the top table and they're, they're not gonna get through that ceiling unless they start using these tactical analysis when the doors are open.

Carl: When you put Ramos at tent, 

Kent: oh, you mentioned brother e. He, um, hasn't he just broken a record? He's an eight. He scored an eight consecutive six Nations games on the trot now. That, that boy is just an absolute try scoring machine. Um, but like you say, with the talent, France have got, [00:42:00] uh, Italy, were on a hunt.

Kent: Nothing that's, as Carl said, lucky break, mistake, pound, storm cap, I think again is just world class team playing. 

Carl: He's playing in the top 14. He's playing in French rugby. Yeah, he's playing week in, week out for to lose. He's playing at the top, top table, like they've got players that are developing at the top table.

Carl: But you've gotta be able to do that consistently and like throughout the team sheet. And that's, that's the difference between Italy and where France are Italy. Weren't anywhere near the level. And that was that simple. 

Polly: They missed Brex as well, and he was a massive key, a key player. We've discussed him and we've talked about that, those two Irish, uh, those two Italian centers.

Polly: Yeah. You know, throughout the whole of the, the, the, the whole of this Six nations again. And, you know, I think those two together make a massive difference. But then at the same time, they came up against a French team with DuPont playing some of the best rugby. I've seen him play for a long time. He's back into the swing of things.

Polly: [00:43:00] He's, he's been a little bit of a magician. He can do, you know, he can pretty much do what he want to with rugby ball when he wants to do it. So, um, but I will say one thing is that Italian Scrum was solid. Uh, yeah, they, the Ferrari Cru quality, the, the scrummaging. But that's, 

Carl: that's become 

Polly: normal for 'em now dealt That's, yeah.

Polly: And they've, and that's what they've fixed and you know, yeah. If you can fix three things at the same time, then that's perfect. But it seems like they get one thing right in every game. You know, one out of three Right. In every game. Uh, if they can get all free, which is what happened when they played Scotland, you get a result.

Polly: Uh, you know, I also see them beating Wales, by the way. 

Carl: Oh, agreed. But I, I, that ma that Marion that they had playing it inside center normally plays nine, if I remember correctly. It is normally their nine, so it's like, but you add, um, the lads, is it or dog, the lad that used to be at wasps. 

Adam: Yeah. 

Polly: Yeah, dog.

Polly: Yeah, he, 

Carl: yeah, he's a, at Benetton, he sat on a bench. 

Polly: He looked brilliant when he came on, though, the amount, the amount of [00:44:00] carrying he did in that second half. Yeah. You know, in that last 25 minutes, he was, I think he was the most used player. It was like, ah, oh, he, you know, he would've been a great super sub to have on sat there.

Polly: 'cause I think he, he carried for like a nearly a hundred meters. Um, 

Carl: so that's the thing. They've got exceptional individual and when it comes together, it's such joy to watch Italian rugby. I just don't think that was the, that was probably their wor they'll probably come away from that saying that was probably their worst performance as well.

Carl: But how good is that at, at a sobee, um, for France at fallback, like, and they're, there are two other centers now you've got the option, you gaton and then obviously, uh, brow bere as well. Like, it just, but it's just terrifying. Like they 

Polly: got that and. We were concerned. He drop Pete, um, uh, Pinot, it was just like pinot and um, is it 

Keith: re 

as 

Keith: well, wouldn't it?

Keith: I keep, I keep thinking back to that like initial shock reaction, just going, [00:45:00] oh, he must be absolutely crazy. What's he doing? And then for the, for the way that they're just interchanging the, the back three, it's just like, right, okay. He obviously knows what he is doing and we go back to it and goes, this is why he's an international manager and we're on the podcast chatting shit and like, putting it out there.

Keith: Uh, it's, as you say, it's frightening the depth of quality that is in that French team at the minute. And is there any, is there any way that they don't win the Six Nations at this point? You know, like the two matches left. Is there a shock in the cards in the 

Kent: last two 

Keith: matches? 

Polly: Scotland. Scotland. Scotland.

Polly: Turn up. 

Kent: Or food poisoning. We lose the whole of the French team sub 

Polly: E. Even if they lose to Scotland, you gotta think about 

Carl: they gotta 

Adam: play England. Points difference. Yeah, I mean 

Carl: I think that, I think France has got two other teams. Kent, it doesn't matter if this one gets fucking food poisoning. I mean they've got two, I mean they've got at least one [00:46:00] backup side that would still beat this fucking six nations.

Carl: Simple as that. 

Kent: And so take me back to the whole take back to the actual fantasy Lee thing. I have to say I nearly fucked up because I didn't check I had, um, is it J no? Yeah, J Bears player. Uh, fly half. And I was like, fuck, he's not there. So I had to put in Garbe. 'cause Did you only fly half left to pick?

Carl: Not in your own unchained side, no. Was that in your unchained 

Kent: side? 

Carl: No, 

Kent: no, no. Yeah. Keith, 

Carl: you, you ain't done a Keith? No, 

Kent: no, no. I haven't changed that at all. And how good were the, all these early fucking subs? Literally, I think it was a Scotland game. About two or three players have pulled at half time.

Kent: England think five players have pulled before half time more injuries being us, being shit. Um, but you, you are just hoping one of those players was your super sub. You've been laughing. 

Adam: We could have done what did, I didn't even change mine. I fucking forgot to do my super sub. I changed their, the rest of the team and left Pollock on as my super sub.

Polly: Christie, where do we stand in the unchanged team [00:47:00] now anyway? Do we stand in that league? Anyone got it? Can 

share. 

Keith: Ken's the man with the instructions for that. Hold on. Hold on. Right. I'll, Ken Drew, run the show with all the buttons last week. Everyone, everyone in the comments were saying it was so helpful, the tutorial you gave to show where, uh, the players and their points were.

Kent: Is that I gonna do it. 

Carl: I'll, I'll do it. I don't trust you. 

Kent: Yeah, 

Carl: it's my pod. 

Polly: I'll do it. I'm in charge. 

Carl: Right. So some of these have got in from our previous one, so we'd redone it. Keith's obviously been disqualified because of his cheating, so he's 

Polly: cheated. 

Carl: Right? So Adam's, Adam's bottom. Polly's second from bottom Buster's.

Carl: Uh, fifth. Keith's. Keith's, Keith's second. Yeah. March. And Nate must be one of the others from the old group. Same with his Giza. Um, and Alicia. So, [00:48:00] Adam's bottom. Bo Buster, me, Kent. And then Keith Disqualified. 

Polly: Yeah. So Keith loses. Yeah. 

Carl: Yeah. 

Polly: Keith. Keith. Keith, what about, what about the weekly changing one? That the public one that we got?

Carl: Oh, I, I wondered why you'd be asking about that one, Paul. 

Polly: Yeah, there you go. Yeah, I've somehow, I've managed to do all right, but uh, I still am not the greatest. 

Carl: So big. Shout out to Saladin Rudies their top with 14 points clear at the minute. Polly's dropped off the top 'cause he's shit. Um, 

Polly: yeah. 

Carl: So. And mean.

Polly: I'll tell that Keith, that's a compliment from Keith Carl. Yeah. Turo. 

Keith: You know what I mean? Yeah. 

Carl: And then, and then Keith's jumped seven places, probably cheating as well. So he's 

Keith: se seven super subs. You gotta love the tactics 

Adam: man. Between uh, me, Keith and Polly, 

Carl: and then St. Old Steve's. Steve's in fourth Meg's.

Carl: Muller's [00:49:00] in fifth game. Day Bites is up into sixth. Kent's dropped the seventh. Corey the wel sheep. There we go. He's in eighth. The leprechaun in ninth Me doing Amazing. Up three in 10th, uh, Buster 11th Rugby Tots. 12th March at Navy. 13th No scrum. Half measures in 30 joint 13th. Oh, that's fair Play. And then Gen Let Die 15th and Asline in 16th.

Carl: So 

Polly: yeah, 

Carl: go out 

Keith: and buy everybody. 

Carl: Let's have a look at Leader has got Ramos. 

Polly: That a great week. 

Carl: That's a great week. Berry. Hugh Oak. Not, not a great week. The, the the Arc Royal there. 

Polly: Yes. Love it. Such a great reference. 

Carl: Kinghorn Ja. He catches Alla bear in there though still, and zero points 

Polly: and he still managed to score at 502 points.

Polly: Is 

Carl: [00:50:00] outrageous. Still spoke to everyone. Fuck me. 57 points for his, uh, super sub fair play. 

Keith: Oh my God, 

Carl: that's a great team. Fair play to, to whoever that is. Yeah, 

Keith: that's, uh, unbelievable. Sean 

Carl: second, their second week they had bilbo, they went Gaton as well. Yeah, that's, that's solid that it was their super club that week.

Carl: Consistency. Nick. Tony. Yeah. Nice. Um, yeah. Fair play. Right? See how Polly's done in this one? Should we. Polly obviously went aal like everyone did. I, I captained him I think that week. Oof. So I think I, I can't remember if I captained him or re but it might, it might have been a Harle thinking. Ah, sure.

Carl: That's that's right. He got actually in the I last week. 

Polly: Yeah. 

Carl: Yeah. It must be easy points here. So, uh, there Ramos melon, cello, Benno. Yeah. Not bad, Paul. 

Polly: Yeah, I had, I had a good week two. Week two was solid. Uh, and then week [00:51:00] three I, it dropped off a little bit 'cause I think I, um Oh, 

Carl: shocking it. He 

Polly: went with the 

Carl: art, art royal as well.

Polly: I did. Yeah. Well, I slagged, I, I said to more of a word about, about him and when I say horrible words about him, he has a really good game. So, um, but, uh, thingy carry got me 30 points at a prop. It's not bad. I think, I think it's a, it's not a bad way to go. Um, and Pollock being on was just awful. So. 

Kent: We have to give a shout out to Buster 'cause Buster put Reese carry in his unchanged saying he's been playing really well and he's actually come to the, for the last couple of weeks.

Kent: Actually, I think Reese carry as a f Union myself 

Carl: by the, by the sounds of it, it might be the only way that Buster's actually getting points in the unchanged the way he is, uh, so far down. But, um, this is, this is Keith's side Ramos Captain Ball. Ding. Did you like 

Polly: that little video Keith? 

Keith: Oh, what the, the tune that they've made up for 'em.

Polly: Yeah, 

Keith: we've [00:52:00] got that Lacoon outside. Brilliant. Absolutely phenomenal. The fact they did, they, the fact that they did one prior to the match as well and then they were able to change it afterwards. I honestly, it's been in my head all week. It's brilliant. 

Polly: I bet it's everywhere as well, isn't it? You walk into a pub and it's just that little tune that's on in the background or something.

Keith: Yeah, that's 

Carl: Adam. Adam. I've only seen it once. 

Polly: Four. Try 

Carl: four try scorers in the back line there, Adam. Fair? Yeah. Henry Pollock on your, on the bench there, mate. Nice. Good luck. Yeah, 

Adam: blinder. 

Carl: And 

Kent: that's one the worst fuck up you've ever, ever made in the fancy rugby league. Is it? 

Adam: It's definitely not the worst one.

Adam: I can tell you that. Yeah, there'll 

Carl: be 

Adam: plenty more to come. 

Carl: That's what I went for. I went Hugh Jones thinking he was gonna actually smash the Welsh apart so. That didn't work out well. Dodge got good points though. 

Adam: Mm. 

Keith: He 

Carl: got huge points 

Keith: this week 

Carl: and I went Tony, who's my super sub [00:53:00] 

Keith: Geez, betting against yourself.

Keith: That's mad. 

Carl: Yeah. But yeah, I, I only had one 

Polly: Irishman in my team. 

Carl: I had, I had, I had a feeling I had it in Rewar. 

Keith: Pretty good accident. Art Archie, 

Carl: there we go. Hugh Jones fought two two against England is gonna put at least six on fucking Wales. Yeah, that works out well. Oh no I didn't, I didn't, I didn't catch an Aaron all the week before.

Carl: I just still picked him. Um, yeah. So 

Polly: yeah, still wasn't red card. 

Carl: I didn't, I didn't have a super sub that week 'cause I'd plunked all my money elsewhere, so. 

Polly: Oh, that's what I wanted to ask you about the, um, the game at the weekend where the, you know, arand all got sent off for not jumping right? 

Carl: Yeah. It got overturned and.

Polly: Uh, yeah, but he, he got his second car. It was a yellow car fence, not jumping.

Polly: Uh, the jump into the player [00:54:00] with no disregard and a penalty went to the defending team. Did you That was the in, it was the Irish game, wasn't it? Yeah, the England Island game. Yeah. It's 

Carl: typical island mate. 

Keith: Are are you talking Ryan? Are you talking And now I'm gonna bite. Are you talking there when the ball?

Keith: I'm not to get to 

Polly: bite. 

Keith: Yeah, I know. I'm only, I'm only joking. I'm only joking. Yeah. When it was a fair contest and then the ball bounced so favorably for Gibson Park that he ran in and then it was brought back for, uh, impeding the player in the air. 

Polly: But I, but I wanted to talk about it. 'cause that's the whole point.

Polly: It was one of those things is from the week previously where Aaron will get, doesn't go, doesn't leave the ground, and he jumps, he doesn't jump, and he takes the man outta the air. Um, known full well, at no point was he gonna get the ball. The Irish player jumped known full well that he was never gonna get the ball.

Polly: 'cause he, he was just jumping forward. It's not a jump up. It's a, it's a forward jump really. With a ball coming over his head, he's turned into a position there, there's no control in the air. [00:55:00] But that's, but that's, that's the thing is, is that how can one week it be given one way and then the next week it begin a different way?

Polly: Uh, because the referees decided to sort of look at it in that sense. Now, my personal opinion is that, um, I, I don't, I think it was a penalty for England, but I also think it was a penalty for Scotland. But I don't think it was a yellow card offense. I think the problem is, is that we're, so we, we've put the world rugby have put so much on defending, you know, keep, keep looking after the player, um, you know, in the air.

Polly: But who has to look after who, who decides it's a 50 50 competition? If the first person who jumps. Is then that anybody else who jumps second, uh, is then responsible for that first person. You just get up in the air and then that makes no want. 'cause that's what he did. He just jumped. There was no way he was catching that ball.

Polly: It, at no chance it was zero chance of catching that ball, but he jumped. I just, I don't agree with that. He took [00:56:00] with his knee up and took it guy out in the face. 

Carl: Paul, the, the, the Irish response was. It's a rugby incident. Same as Ja, Ja, James, Ryan, and everyone using their face to tackle 

Keith: it. It, it was furlong.

Keith: That was definitely the rugby incident. And by the way, I was in the pub, opened up the inscribe, saw this, I said, here's a perfect opportunity. Point some people up and about 400 like Slater and fucking so many people going, I've played, what do you mean? Oh, here, I tell you, that was a great bit of fish over that comment, 

by 

Keith: the way.

Polly: I I thought that was a rugby incident. 

Keith: Yeah, of course it was. That's exactly what I said. It was a rugby incident. It was, 

Polly: but what I also don't understand is how Henry Pollock got sent ice off. 

Keith: Oh great. The ball up on try like thank Christ fucks a bad 

Kent: time. Two, two things there. Two things there. I think on that the Ty along the bit, I think A to J was quite clever when he is talked to referees was like, [00:57:00] did he get hit in the head, sir?

Kent: Did he get hit in the head? The referee was like. Rugby, it's gone upstairs sort of thing. He couldn't ask the question 'cause there was shoulder, elbow, elbow, well arms to the face of the player. I know he was going down. It was all whole situation. And second with Paul saying that Aaron do, that's when he got it off.

Kent: There was no chance he hit the ball. He watched Aaron do, didn't take his eyes off the ball, the whole toran. He almost got underneath the ball to jump. But the r the, uh, scotch player had jumped and come across underneath him, like you say, 

Carl: but you can't, it's a odd just, you can't just run looking at the ball and fucking just expect that nobody else is.

Carl: It's rugby. You can't, it's, it was just, again, he's just, he's been found out. It's just bollocks. That was, it is just simple as that. Like, and then on top of what was already a, a questionable yellow, you go and go and do that. You are, you know, you're gonna end up in the bin. It's stupidity. And that's the difference between him being top level and not being top level.

Carl: As I replied in the group first 

Kent: check [00:58:00] card, 

Carl: if he wants to go back to France. See you later. Like if he, if he don't get called up for England when he do things like that, it, it's not all about pa like Christian, Wade didn't get called up to England for so long because he, it's more than just defensive obviously.

Carl: Um, Brad won called up for England 'cause he is exceptionally quick, but not called back because he, he's defensively terrible. So it, it's, it's, there's so many more bits you've gotta add to the game and Aaronel can't do it just on one. And if he goes back to France, learns his trade at the top level, basically at the minute, at a cup level, then come back and add more fair play.

Carl: He didn't need to come back now to try and get to a World Cup. He's got so much time on his side. He could have stayed in France, become GF qualified, add his, opened up all his opportunities, but now he's come back, he shot himself in the foot there and also nailed himself. Made himself questionable international level.

Polly: Theo osu, the, the first choice [00:59:00] anyway. And apart from his injury before the start, there were, uh, start of six nations. But you're right there, car, it's, it's a case of, but how do you expose those players? It now is the perfect opportunity to start exposing them. That's what France had done. They got rid of, uh, Pinot and, and brought, um, a a, is it a sang, I dunno how to pronounce it.

Polly: A sang a Ong. What's the, 

Keith: A sbe. 

Polly: A sbe. So, yeah, sorry. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, and look, it's done the right thing. You know, bearing in mind, if you'd gone back the week before this performance against Wales, nobody was saying that Aaron all was poor, you know? No, but it's against Wales. Yeah, I know. And then, but then, but you are right.

Polly: The key thing is the defensive frailties is that, you know, Scotland spotted it, that gap between 13 and 14. Ireland definitely spotted it. The gap between 13 and 14. Um, because the fourteens really gotta understand what they're doing. But you know, England, Scott, uh, barefoot, loves to play. [01:00:00] Unfortunately, that little bit of a drift defense with a 13 playing quite in quite narrow.

Polly: And then hopefully he's got enough pace to come out on, round the outside and make the tackle. Lawrence hasn't got that pace. Three minutes. 

Kent: I know all XI know all X rugby players. No, fuck all. Hence, why doing the pod, not coaching, but if Jack would've came back, wasn't available, would, would you have him in the Ling team 

Carl: where obviously he'd have to be picked, but where would he fit in now?

Polly: Uh, anywhere in the back row. Don't care 

Kent: anyway. Just gave in the fucking team. 

Carl: Who'd you drop? Did you drop Burnell? What room? 

Polly: I I dropped Henry Pollock. I dropped 

Carl: Pollock. Yeah. Pollock. Pollock. Pollock's. Pollock's. Not a star. Look, Pollock's a.

Polly: I, I'd, I'd have Tom Curry, Jack Willis and Ben Earl in my back row. I think Tom Curry had a poor game last weekend, but I think that's the haircut from coming off the bench. But you know, I definitely would have Tom Curry, Ben, um, Earl still [01:01:00] at eight. Um, uh, and 'cause Ben Earl wasn't Ben, Earl was still playing eight on Saturday.

Polly: He was scrubbing down on our ball at, he just on their ball. He was, he had six on. So, you know, they still defended Pollock in a little roundabout way. What did he bring to the game? I just, I don't, I don't know what he, what did he do on Saturday? He, 

Adam: yeah, 

Keith: he got the L cards. Yeah. Yeah, that's the story. James Ryan also like, made him look like a kid on the ground.

Keith: But look, we could, we could keep going back over the, the England sightings and the selection, but talking about Curry, we have a tasty selection of games coming up next week where it's Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France, Italy, and. England. Now I'm looking at that. I'm going, Irish Win France. Win England win. Do we see any possibility of differences there?

Carl: As so why? Why I was win then. 

Keith: Right. Okay. Okay. Someone, someone kicked this guy who let him in this week. Right. Uh, going [01:02:00] after my unchanged squad. Now this slander, uh, Saturday we have Scotland versus France, say the 

Polly: unchanged squad. 'cause that's, 

Kent: that's not Yeah, that's 

Keith: exactly 

Carl: what I was, 

Keith: yeah. 

Kent: Un checking.

Keith: Yeah, 

Kent: just checking. You know how Americans have different words for meanings, like, uh, pants in America, trousers in Ireland is unchangeable one that gets changed a lot. 

Keith: No, the un unchanged. Uh, my super sub was the same anyway. Looking at Saturdays matches Scotland versus France kicking off same day.

Polly: Fucking like an absolute true professional mo mo motor on 

Keith: Moving on. 

Polly: Yeah. 

Keith: Any chance that Scotland perform versus the French and throw something in? 

Carl: They, they, they will for 20, 30 minutes. I think they will give France more of a te It depends how they come out the gates. If they go three or four tries down after 20, 30 minutes, like everyone else, it's even harder.

Carl: But I [01:03:00] think if Scotland turn up for the first 20, 30 minutes and make it a tight game and make France actually have to push. I think there's a chance, but I, I, I still think France is too good 

Kent: also depends which France tends to be like, man, city of football, you just in a France team, it's fucking horrible.

Kent: You just don't know who, who to pick. 'cause they can pick one of three players in each position. You should fucking last minute choices each time. But yeah, depending which France comes out. And 

Carl: are they about to get a 90 point deduction as well for Miss, miss Fi, 

Kent: miss 

Carl: Financials? 

Kent: They're still, they're still with the Six Nation that they Ty point deduction.

Polly: I, I'm, I'm, I'm for, for once. But you know, begrudgingly I agree with Carl. I think, uh, I think, I think France are just too good and I think Scotland will, I, you know, they'll show some gusto and, and, and play well. Um, but I think France will beat 'em and I think it'll be 15 points. 

Keith: Okay, interesting. [01:04:00] And then obviously we were ta talking about it earlier on, England traveled to Italy.

Keith: E everyone would expect, uh, England to win as the sc the dog, but the Italians playing at home. Could they, you know, obviously they didn't put in a performance that we all kind of hoped for last against the French, but look, I, I'm hoping that they turn up and show the Italian team that we've seen for the prior weeks of that and give us as a neutral, myself and the Irish boys a good watch Saturday afternoon.

Keith: But you guys thank right England all come out absolutely boshed them. 

Carl: I, I, I think, I think it Italy controlled the game for 50 minutes. And then England managed to still go through the gears and get it done. I've been in Rome, we, we literally looked like we were gonna lose to Italy and then England where able to switch it on.

Carl: I think it'll be a similar situation. Henry Aall probably five tries now after we've absolutely abused him. Yeah. So, 

Kent: yeah. But still [01:05:00] score trick. 

Polly: Jesus, 

Kent: both Henry's Hatrick, Henry Pollock and Henry A are gonna score Hatrick in the last 10 minutes each. So yeah, that's a, a whitewash with Keith. 

Carl: Keith with his, uh, three super subs will probably have both of them as well as they come off the bench.

Carl: I just, 

Polly: I, I thi I think England will dominate the first 15 minutes of the game though. 

Carl: Nah. 

Polly: Yeah. I think if England, the thing is though, if England turn up and play the way they did in the first 10 minutes against Ireland, but get a try then not, that's a whole different game. 

Carl: Oh. So if that happens then yeah, but I think Italy will come out and they will control the game at home.

Carl: Knowing that England or a little bit of a wounded soldier, I, I, I think Italy, Italy will have the upper hand. Eventually. England should see it out. That's my opinion. Been there, done it enough times. 

Keith: Can't Adam 

Kent: Money works on 

Keith: that. 

Kent: I think, like Carl said, I think the first, the f first 20 minutes, half an hour gonna be cagey.

Kent: 'cause like you [01:06:00] say, Italy gonna be scared of England gonna come back on the off a backlash and England are gonna be wary of the Italians 'cause of how badly we played the last two games. But I'm thinking hopefully the talent we have in debt and bit of gain management from um, Ford might actually get us over line and hopefully we put a few spiral bombs up.

Kent: The big weapon we talk about using, we didn't use at all against the Irish. Think they did it last more than we did to them. 

Carl: Do you think Ford stays at 10? 

Adam: Yeah, 

Kent: he will. But yeah. Yeah, he will. I say at the moment, I, I think it'd be a good chance to change him, but who else would you have in there? Which Smith would you have in there?

Kent: Or does Owen? I've heard 

Carl: Owen. 

Kent: Or Owen. I've 

Carl: heard Owen. Owen I've heard Owen's on the way there. And he is, he's already, he's set up camp outside Penny Hill. He's, uh, he's, he's camping in the bushes outside, just in case he gets a call up. So 

Kent: he, he's bought, he's bought an Airbnb over in Italy. Really? Just to be over there just in case.

Kent: Yeah. 

Carl: He's gonna a accidentally be sat in VIP [01:07:00] just in case it brought his boots and his kit. So 

Kent: which kit bag like that? Yeah. Full kit in the stand just in case. 

Polly: And then, and then Ireland by 20? Yeah, 

Keith: I by 20. Yeah. I, I wouldn't go a miss with saying that now on Friday night, underneath the, the lights and the Aviva.

Keith: I just think that, um, look after the hire last week, they, they, they've gotta come out at home and put that wel team to the sword and just get them under pressure from the first minute. Uh, don't change a thing from what they did last week and they should absolutely walk that match. Right guys? Well, we finish up on, uh, just going through the, the end of the fantasy.

Keith: We've already gone through the, the standings and everything like that. Uh. For the rest of the tournament. Are you just going to make any little changes here or there to, to your teams with this, uh, fixture this coming? 

Kent: Not the unchangeable 

Carl: one. I'm not our unchanged teams. Yeah. 

Keith: Wait, hold on. That, that, that league doesn't matter.

Keith: That [01:08:00] league's done there, in my opinion. Uh, lost calls. Yeah. So talk about that. Anyway. What, 

Kent: what forfeit are we gonna think of Keith for do anyway, for cheating and that, and, and forfeit for losing it? 'cause technically disqualification is a loss, isn't it? 

Keith: I don't know. Uh, you know, there was a, a cyclist that got the, you know, got, got a load of good press even though he was disqualified and they took all his shit off of.

Keith: But sure luck. Uh, ly is good publicity in my opinion. 

Carl: They never actually took it off. They never took it off him. They never actually come and collected it off him. 

Keith: So if, if you guys could start selling some, like, live strong key style wristbands. Yeah. Wristbands. Like, we get this merch going on. Yeah. And uh, just say like, offside or unchangeable or something on it.

Keith: You know, we, we get the, give the people what they want. 

Kent: The un with the un plus count. 

Keith: We'll to the sevens. 

Carl: We, we'll go, we'll go for in interchangeable. [01:09:00] They would go that way. 

Keith: Yeah. Yeah. 

Carl: That's what, that's what Keith 

Keith: first unchangeable equals interchangeable, you know? That's what the mix up was. Yeah. So, 

Adam: Keith, Keith, to um, answer your question, uh, no, I'm not gonna give any tips on, 

Keith: okay.

Keith: Okay. Keep me close to your chest. Alright. 

Adam: It's just because I'm No, it's, I'm shit at it. Don't, I don't wanna give, give anyone else any bad habits. 

Keith: I a masterclass in comment. Yeah. 

Kent: Well, I'm gonna go for Gus in the center. Uh, JPR fallback, uh, del at eight. Wil 

Carl: Wilco. Wilco's been called back in at 10. So 

Keith: Jesus looking boys, Tanya.

Keith: I did, I didn't 

Polly: gets his 

Kent: opportunities. Does he? 

Keith: Yeah. Jesus. We'll have to do a retro fantasy league next year. Like that'll be, 

Polly: oh boy, you just doing a world 15, your favorite 15 players of all time. 

Keith: All time. Uh, you know where, where I'll be standing on that. Right? Okay. You aren't giving anything away, so since you [01:10:00] brought it up, you may as well say what would the forfeit be?

Keith: What potential ideas could the forfeit be? 

Polly: I, I, we, we didn't cut of any, 

Adam: not, 

Keith: we were talking about an English jersey and I was like, 

Adam: yeah, we, we like a, like a poem, like an ode to Sam Prendergast as well. But yeah, I think the England one might be Yeah. I'll, I'll 

Keith: do both. I'll do both. I'm a good 

Adam: sport man.

Adam: Talk your, talk us through your, uh, forfeit. You did last time. Um, yeah, I, I, I got the feeling everyone else for any forfeit going forward is gonna get off way lighter than I did. 

Polly: Yeah. I'm pretty confident you can't do that anymore, though. I'm, you know, I, I think it was bad. It wanna be, I don't wanna be labeled a domestic terrorist.

Carl: It, it was bad. It, it was banned when he did it as well, so It is fine. Yeah. Like it wa it would 

Adam: already been banned. It was, it was worse at that time. 'cause it was all you [01:11:00] heard in the press. I mean, it, you like dressing one of us up now as Prince Andrew. 

Carl: It was, it was where it was when we made him sit. It is when we made him sit, when we made him sit in the middle of the road junction.

Carl: That that was the bit that people started panicking. Oh gee. 

Adam: It was funny though 'cause all the coppers were good as going, weren't they? But it was, that one jumped up steward in Wickham who gimme our time. I, I think this is in very bad taste. I like, but I didn't want do, I don't, I didn't wanna do it. Don't look at me.

Carl: Then. He 

Polly: had put a one shout out. I'll shout out something though. Um, I just wanna shout this out, and it might not have come across, but I, I was watching, uh, the news earlier and they were down in, um, uh, down in Cornwall and, uh, one of the teams down in Cornwall Campbell University, uh, they do a charity varsity match every year.

Polly: And they, uh, they all have to have the head shaved in different fashions and stuff. So I recommend that you go down there and have a look at that. So some of them have got, like, one of them's got like full on half bold this side and then full on floppy hair that side one's got a full on monk, you know, cut in and uh, [01:12:00] you know, and I was just looking at it tonight and while, while I was watching the news, I just sat there and went.

Polly: You know, the art of rugby and the a Art of Rugby banter is still alive in some certain places. And, you know, you can't remove it from every facet of the game. Uh, and understand that if, if the lads want to do it, then that it's fair play and, you know, it's no harm or hurt or foul to anyone else. Um, I think some people's, you know.

Polly: Other people look at it and they just assume that they are the center of the world. So their opinions and their feelings really matter. I'm not saying they don't, but, um, how's your, how's your hair, 

Carl: Keith? How's the back of your hair looking like, is it, is it got any length, length 

Keith: to it? The, the, the, the back of my hair?

Keith: Look, it's, it's, it's not a more, but it's a short back and sides. But like, if you're talking about a sniper stream, you got that, that spot at the back, I tell you. 

Carl: Oh, may, may, may. I reckon you'd suit a Sam Regas haircut, I reckon with, uh 

Keith: oh, 

Polly: oh, oh. 

Keith: Well, with like the [01:13:00] little shitty mullet thing that he's got.

Keith: Off Fox, like 

Polly: Yeah, we that just a full on, just full on square mullet. Just here like that? Yeah. 

Keith: I, I'll actually tell you, like I did go through a phase where I had a mullet when I was like 16, right? And it all been there when all there, but it was all the time when all, all, all the, all the lads, um, were like putting coloring, like tips in your hair.

Keith: And I had like. Put on hair dye at the back of my head and it turned out in a big yellow square instead of coming out as tips. So I had to grow it out. So then my bullet was all like yellow from like the end of it. I'll tell you, I was proper motley crew looking. 

Adam: I'll tell you what, Keith, we'll have a picture of that for the socials 

Keith: if you got one.

Keith: Yeah. Oh, a hundred percent here. I had that haircut at my sister's wedding when I walked her down the Ironman. Like it's uh, she was [01:14:00] probably. She had her best day going, what the fuck is this fella G's hair like on my wedding day? Like it's, um, that's, that's 

Adam: an idea. Everyone sends in their shit haircuts to share, to share on the stories.

Keith: Well, I'll you 

Adam: all your, your fine. 

Keith: Look, I I've got them man. I've got that. And the one that people always remind me of is that, uh, when the mullet ran its course, instead of just shaving it off, I know we're going off course here, but uh, instead of shaving it off, I got, um, it braided so Oh yes. Like, like cornrows.

Keith: So like fin, like Finley beard. So I had lot 

Polly: Finley Beam. 

Keith: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, uh, I had to wear like a durag in school and uh, I was proper listening to. My rap music and 

Polly: misappropriation. 

Keith: Is that 

Polly: what you're trying to say? 

Keith: Look, I was just supporting the boys, and [01:15:00] I'll tell you, getting that done, I'll say it to this day, getting that done, because they tie your hair like so, like tight to your scalp.

Keith: It's worse than getting any tattoo that is just like mad. 

Carl: I think on that note, it's probably perfect time to end. Really? 

Keith: Yeah. 

Kent: Not gonna 

Keith: top, not gonna top that one. Well, I, I thought Kent was gonna go through his favorite styles now. 

Carl: Yeah, the upside down look 

Kent: is the one, the two, 

Keith: the three 

Kent: and eraser. I, I have to say though, with your, uh, frosted tips thing, I, I've done exactly the same.

Kent: My beer, just trying to keep it, uh, mixed up every now and again. 

Keith: Anyway, much better nowadays. Right, lads, thank you. On that note, thank you very much for joining us this evening. Make sure to give rugby through the Leagues a follow subscription like on all socials shared around with our friends. It's been absolutely brilliant.

Keith: We're halfway through the Six Nations. Looking forward to the last couple of games, and make sure to tune [01:16:00] in to hear all the updates.