Babbling 'brook

I don't think so DL - the IRFU does not allow the Provinces to compete with each other for players. BJ may have had an offer from France that he hoped Ulster would match, but any offer Munster could make would have had to have been the same as what Ulster were offering. apologies for the intemperat...

Botha is now looking like a costly overhead. Was he the gravy train guy? Absolutely not. Botha has been great for Munster. WIth Archer's injury last season he put in 80 min shifts against Toulouse and Toulon with a lot of young, inexperienced props around him. Ulster messed up bigtime when they let...

I was just reading a score.ie article about Ulster, and when I hit the seemingly obligatory line about how Ulster are 'in turmoil' I just had to laugh - it's just so ludicrous. There is absolutely no sense of turmoil about the camp, nor among the supporters. There is a big distinction between the lo...

Blue, it would seem that the Franglais competition is now actually being started up, the statement on the Tigers website is exactly the same as what PRL have said, the clubs have requested a replacement to the Heineken, which they leave at the end of this season. It would seem that McCafferty has b...

http://www.leicestertigers.com/news/17654.php This statement seems to state the position of the PRL and it's association with the clubs, the process has begun to start a new competition, no doubt with a lot of BT sponsership in the UK. The clock is now ticking, has anyone heard anything from Wednes...

I also find myself wondering if a big problem here is simple ineptitude among all parties concerned... The ERC genuinely seems to be just a bunch of guys sitting around a table - do they have legal representation? Do any of them have any experience in commercial negotiations? Are Sky TV (and BT) kee...

Hold on just a second! On the basis of what has happened in the last couple of days, I would say, conservatively, there is a 95% chance of the HEC taking place next year, under the ERC... On the way to the gym on Tuesday, I heard on Five Live that the PRL were meeting with the RFU and were "ver...

In fairness, I suppose I'm assuming that the IRFU et al actually have a clear (and realistic) strategy, and have been engaging constructively and not just been sitting with their fingers in their ears, thinking that things will work out..

It's far more likely to be aimed at the Rabo nations, could the pro 12 sides cope financially without European rugby for a year or 2? I have grave doubts on that score Could the English clubs cope financially without European rugby for a year, even with a stopgap Anglo-French 2nd XV competition? A ...

Honestly, we really do have to stop saying "its not happening, its not happening". I can imagine the same kind of conversation happening at the England and Wales cricket board just before Kerry Packer took all their players to play world series cricket. And as for time, why do we need tha...

Honestly, we really do have to stop saying "its not happening, its not happening". I can imagine the same kind of conversation happening at the England and Wales cricket board just before Kerry Packer took all their players to play world series cricket. And as for time, why do we need tha...

What McCafferty and PRL have been trying to do all along is strengthen a fairly weak hand - in the absence of an ability to raise nearly enough votes in the ERC to carry the day in favour of their proposals, even if they agreed a platform with the French clubs, they ran the risk of the Celts + Itali...

The one note of caution I would add about Overplay is that while it's generally very effective, the one exception can be when you are using hotel wifi networks - sometimes they are set up to filter overplay-like services.. I've been trekking about the world for the last couple of months, and while I...

Their national team too. They win the grand slam, go on a huge losing streak and then win the championship with 4 straight wins. It's like they've learnt to become a good team for 2 1/2 months at a time. At the risk of going off topic, I am a huge sceptic with regards to the Welsh national side - f...

What cash? Looks like they have announced their official pension partner. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but it looks kinda pathetic to me. ''Ospreys Rugby has formed an innovative and groundbreaking strategic partnership with Swansea-based SIP Wealth Management (Chartered Financial Advisers and part ...

Does anyone know any pubs in Brusells that is likely to show the Amlin final?? There's a big Irish pub bang in the centre called O'Reillys, opposite the bourse, I've watched rugby there twice - but I just googled to remind myself of its name and there appears to be another good candidate, the promi...

The thing is, you're talking like Olding was a died in the wool 12 from the word go. From what I've seen of him, he actually played most of his under-age rugby at ten. Also played at bit at 15. So suggesting that he get some game-time at 10 is not the crazy out of the blue positional change you're ...

On the facts first, McKinney is coming back, and NOC is indeed off (I defer to Rooster as ever, I had heard that Narbonne was a possibility, but I'm not certain). Back to Olding and the 10/12 thing - on re-reading I sounded a bit snappy, so sorry :) but I don't understand the obsession on fans messa...

Olding is another one to watch, great footballing 12 in the mould of Paddy Wallace except he is a bit stronger and bigger. Don't discount him as a ten either. Could give Jackson some much needed competition for the spot. I think he should play 10 as much as possible for Ulster. Ireland's need is pe...

The BBC NI pundits reletenlessly went on about how Clancy was tough on them, actual quote - "Frankly, Ulster played against 16 men today, as the ref was determined to do all he could to get a Leinster win. To overcome that as well as the Leinster team was superb". What a load of bull. Asi...