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Gather 'Round the Silver Pole (Festivus & End of Year Special)
25 Plays5 years ago
IT'S FESTIVUS TIME.
It is our yearly special looking back on the year, getting all the stuff that's on our minds out in the open and practicing being nice to folks is here. Have a laugh with us as we officially say goodbye to 2020 with our grievances, feats of strength, XV's of the year and top 5 (we don't mind if the door hits 2020 either). Enjoy and Happy New Year All!
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Transcript
Introduction to Festivus and Traditions
00:00:08
Speaker
Alright, it's Festivus time! Festivus for the rest of us.
00:00:17
Speaker
Definitely one of my favorite holidays. Stretching back decades now. Ancient family tradition of... Silver pole. Silver pole, no tinsel, it's distracting. It's for anybody who wants to celebrate the winter solstice holidays but doesn't want to conform to
00:00:39
Speaker
um a religion or anything theological uh religions and whatnot um you know i don't and i just see i just see the holidays is get together time with family and friends anyway so right i just i just celebrate what my family celebrates i'm just like that sounds good yeah i'm not picking i'm not i'm not super choosy over here so so in this family we felt we celebrate festivus which which involves um
Festivus and Rugby: Grievances and Strengths
00:01:05
Speaker
to two things, you know, as it relates to rugby, which is the airing of grievances, and the feats of strength. And the way we go about this is we are grievances where we just are grievances with with whatever we feel like you pick up all the big, big things that are on your brain, right, and air them.
00:01:26
Speaker
from the year. And then a feat of strength is we're going to have emotional strength here. We'd like to be emotionally strong here on the pod, on the fantasy rugby yanks. And that's what we're going to do. We're going to say something nice.
00:01:46
Speaker
about something or someone or whatever we don't like. Mine last year was tough. That was not easy because I don't like them at all. Mine this year is going to be fairly easy because I've done it a little bit already. But yeah, I'm going to.
00:02:05
Speaker
I'll get through it. So so first, I'll start us off to give you the idea and all that what we exactly what we're going with.
Airing Grievances: Exeter and Rugby Critique
00:02:17
Speaker
Erring of grievances. So it really pissed me off.
00:02:24
Speaker
I'm sorry, it didn't piss me off. It made me incredibly happy when Exeter said, you know what, we're moving away from our being racist and we're gonna start to be better and we're gonna start moving away from certain things that were not good and we're gonna move towards things that should be good. Last I checked, they're still doing the chant.
00:02:46
Speaker
And even last I checked, they were really irresponsible about COVID and kind of supported other people being irresponsible. You know, like, oh, fuck the mask mandate or blah, blah, blah. We need, you know, like, where's your freedom? It's very American of them. Like, what the fuck, guys? Like, not a great thing. That's not a compliment. That's not a compliment for the record. Like, what the fuck, Exeter? That's bullshit. The chance got to go. You said it would. It's still you're still actively playing it.
00:03:18
Speaker
That's shit. Do better. So that's the airing of my first grievance. One grievance.
00:03:29
Speaker
My first grievance and you and I had and I expressed this a few weeks ago to you and we saw a little bit of relief for it, but I'm still gonna say it because it's just maddening and I see it and just makes me want to tear my hair out. Teams that are doing pick and go on the goal line when you have advantage. Why are you doing this? Like, you have a free shot to do something way more fun than try and just muscle it over like a bunch of idiots.
00:03:54
Speaker
Right. Not every team is an Exeter. Like, you know, as we talk about Exeter, Exeter is very good at that.
00:04:01
Speaker
Excuse me. Even Exeter doesn't need to do it every time now because they have some ability out the back now. So let's just get away from the smash our heads into a brick wall and start moving the damn thing. Like let's make sure that we got, make sure that people want to watch this sport. And I know winning is like the thing and people are just, Eddie Jones is the king of like saying, yeah, we won. It's like, yeah, cool. You look like hell.
00:04:30
Speaker
But yeah, just let's move the ball. Let's show a little bit of panache. Let's get people. Let's get some of these guys with some real wheels and some real entertainment. I mean, I don't know. It's not skill to put Bashard over like that. And even so, if you have advantage, you can go right back to doing that.
00:04:49
Speaker
Yeah, if you really want to do it, go back and tap and go and off you go. And that seems to come back in this style. So go for it. You want to do that? That can be your thing when you come back. You know, but just let your guys that are paid score tries score tries. And I agree.
00:05:08
Speaker
And I will say that now that you mentioned it, the picking go, the amount of tap and goes on the goal line, I didn't include that as a grievance, but that's high up there. Definitely an honorable mention. I hate that shit. Anyway, but similar to that, teams that choose to play
00:05:32
Speaker
bad rug. It seems like choose to play bad rugby. For instance, we saw a bunch and we'll talk about it a little bit more in depth later. Wooster this weekend. It's beautiful until they break the line. And then they get to running and suddenly there's a secondary defender or something coming up and they just shit themselves.
00:05:59
Speaker
And it's like, when you're a coach watching that,
00:06:06
Speaker
You say, okay, what do we do well? What don't we do well? And how Wooster looks at themselves and says, you know what? We do really well right up until the point where we get a line break and then everything falls apart. Or once we get into the 22, everything falls apart. And then it's like, well, think about what you do in the 22 and fix it. And they never do. Like, what do you do right? What do you do wrong? And then start focusing on doing the right things and not doing the wrong things. They're making the same mistakes. Would be beneficial.
Scotland's Rugby Strategy Issues
00:06:35
Speaker
And similarly, uh, Scotland looking up your way to do, you know, don't think I didn't see you up there. Um, they have access to Finn. Hutch and Chris Harris and those, just those three alone, you know, not, don't forget about talking about hog. I'm not talking about their wings. Um, cause they got some, some decent wings too, but they have that 10, 12, 13 right there.
00:07:00
Speaker
if they would only play open rugby. You see each of them go to their respective clubs and play some open rugby and tear it the fuck up. Even Hutch, at a team that's been struggling, when he's on the field for the Saints, he's doing something good, something positive. You're seeing him, you're like, hey, that guy, he should be on the field. I see him a lot. He's carrying the ball and breaking the line and doing things good rugby players do. And yet,
00:07:27
Speaker
Like they don't use the Scotland just that's the, you know, the, the one ups, the, the, you know, first guy, first receiver is the one who just who's crashing it. You know, it doesn't matter what else is there. And it's like, why would you choose to play that way? You know, you have all these ways to choose to play and that's what you go with. Um, and it's, it's kind of the same lip with Worcester. It's you choose to play butt rugby and.
00:07:50
Speaker
I think it called it the office of rugby. Yeah, that's a good one. That's right. You did say that. I get it. It's kind of funny, but it's unwatchable. So it's like I can't like I get it. We'll see. You're kind of fun, but you're unwatchable. You've got some fun players. Unwatchable. Stop. Stop choosing to play unwatchable rugby. Yeah, right. I agree. Well, thank you and me have some ESP because I'm right up the same alley here.
00:08:17
Speaker
Oh, Mr. Gregor Townsend. I have agreements with you, sir. The problem with Scottish rugby right now is, is you. It's not anybody else in terms of how they play and how they put how they perform on the field, you know, you don't continue to be, you know, the mini wooden spoon of this of the Six Nations.
00:08:38
Speaker
by accident. This is your fault. You know, they they had a good shot. They had previously have had opportunities to do better. Yes, absolutely. I'm in the way. I'm in your way. You know, this is not Hogg's fault as the captain. This is not Finn's fault because he was the scapegoat a few times. This is not even great. Laidlaw's fault as much as I'd like to paint on him. This is your fault. This is your coaching style. This is what you want your team to do.
00:09:08
Speaker
and it's ugly as shit. Even you have got, they've got some great.
00:09:13
Speaker
in the back row, you know, we see what the Gray brothers do. We see what Sam Skinner can do. The Mish, you know, Jamie Batty, like, there's so much told Jamie Ritchie, like, there's so much to like about... Yeah, Blade Thompson is part of the Scotland, Caprias, Cornell, Caprias, like, you know, you have Ali Price and, you know,
00:09:38
Speaker
And the likes they're like, you know, Scott steals obviously a live wire too. And he's showing it like, you know, you're using Chris Harris completely wrong watch bluster in the way they use him and just let it let it ride that way. Okay, just use him that way. He thrives in that environment.
00:09:54
Speaker
And you have the back three that you have access to. I could name King Horned Hog and Maitland right now. Bingo. I would take that back three all day long. That is a fucking dynamic back three right there. You still have Adam Hastings as your second 10, for God's sake.
00:10:10
Speaker
Like, and I know Duncan Muir's a fucking weirdo and he wasn't that bad, but... No, he wasn't that bad. He was good. Like, you know, yeah. He's a drunker, but it's all right. You know, sometimes a hooker trots out as a tendon. That's how it goes. Yeah, Alfie Barbary. Yeah, I know, right? So it's just...
00:10:27
Speaker
The question is not the players. The question is now the coaching. I think everybody is seeing it more and more. Why Scotland went back to Gregor Townsend as their coach this cycle? I have no fucking idea. But it's not too late. Yeah. I mean, second now, like we talk about guys, it's too early for it's way too late. You get, yeah, Townsend needs to go. If Scotland would have shot at anything in 2023, he's got to go now.
00:10:53
Speaker
Right. Give somebody... Actually, maybe they're waiting till after the Six Nations. Maybe they're given the Six Nations to say, can you fucking pull your head out of your ass? Yeah, maybe you can win the Six Nations. We'll see. Right. Not likely. Can you win two games and then beat Italy because you're going to beat Italy maybe? Yeah. And they find a way to win. The problem is always winning away from Murray Field. The problem is always winning away from Murray Field. They can usually get it done.
00:11:23
Speaker
at Murrayfield. So if you can get Italy in Rome, they can win there. And then you need to win both games at Murrayfield because usually that's how it goes. If you get Italy away, it's kind of not in a way game. So you're so they're like, all right, you only get two home games. That's how it goes. All right. I'm nervous about this feat of strength. So I want to move on to it.
Feats of Strength and Exeter's Achievements
00:11:43
Speaker
Take a deep breath. Yeah, you can do it. It's going to be easy, but now it's coming up and I'm feeling feeling that pressure.
00:11:55
Speaker
You went and you won the double this year. And, you know, it's a lot of people. I'm just saying, I might not be one of them, but there's people out there.
00:12:07
Speaker
and they say things, I hear them. I don't hear them talking about that maybe the Exeter only won because the Saracens kind of fell apart and they got relegated. That is a thing. The only reason that Exeter won was because, you know, it didn't sell kind of. There's all sorts of reasons why Exeter may have won and may have not deserved it. And I'm not saying those things as myself. I'm saying that other people are saying them.
00:12:35
Speaker
Because I don't believe in my exit or exit or a fantastic team and have won recently anyway and but still There's a lot going on there They've come out on a little bit of a warpath. Mm-hmm No pun intended no racist pun intended certainly. Yeah, please no but There's
00:12:59
Speaker
It's impressive to see them front up and say, you know what, we deserve, we want it. It wasn't because someone else fucked up in other ways. It was because we are the best team in Europe.
00:13:09
Speaker
best club in Europe. And now maybe the champions cup round two may have set them back a little bit there. But there's no doubt that they are one of the top three, if not top two teams in Europe right now. So yeah, and they're proving that every time they step on the field, even Gloucester, the rejuvenated and reformed Gloucester who have kind of figured some shit out.
00:13:34
Speaker
went down, but put up a fight, but still go exit or a shot in the door and prove to be a championship team. So it's not always easy yet. Sometimes there's that hangover when you win one, let alone two, and they're fronting up good for them. You can rinse your mouth out now. You got beer, you can use it. Okay.
00:14:01
Speaker
Something nice is a similar theme to tell me something nice this year from last year. Ben Young's. No. No. When Ben Young's is on his game and he's doing the things that make him that made him a very good player and got him
00:14:29
Speaker
probably the first 50 to 70 England caps. He is an excellent A plus scum half. There's no doubt about that.
00:14:39
Speaker
The problem that he continues to no longer do, or at least the games that he plays really well in, and this is why he's really consistent, the games that he plays really well in are when he takes off, when he goes for that gap, when he makes you stand still, and he holds that defense, and then he's fine. He's perfectly fine. He did that really well against New Zealand, and I'm pretty sure he did it pretty well against South Africa, too.
00:15:04
Speaker
in the World Cup. Definitely did well against New Zealand. So when he does that, and he doesn't have a bad offload on him either when time comes, and he does know how to run the good scrum half line. It's when he just, and he and somebody else just have that other issue when defenses step up. But when he is on his game, he's still an excellent scrum half.
00:15:31
Speaker
I just want him to do that more for the sake of his squad. So he doesn't get cap 100 or 104 or whatever he's on now and then just sail off into the sunset as a decent England scrum half. He could still be a very, very good one and go down as one of the best if he continues to do that.
00:15:53
Speaker
what I think a lot of English rugby fans would love him to do. Right. And so I think if he can, if he were to do that, yes, he will be one of the best half backs in the world. And I hope he does that because, you know, that only mean good things for some of our favorite England players that we have out there and just opens things up for him. So you are not a terrible scrim half. You just know how to play terribly sometimes. And I don't understand it. And that's what drives me nuts.
00:16:21
Speaker
Well, that's certainly a nice thing to say about, man. Yeah. Right there. That took a little strength. We got through it. Yeah. Yeah. We got there. You can see how deep we dig. We don't, you know, we're, we're not just players. We're not, we're not picking, we're not picking the easy ones here. We're going for something that, you know, somebody, something or someone we bagged on or, you know, at least the year, if not longer, and just try and be nice for once. Yeah.
00:16:50
Speaker
As DC said, because it's harder. It's harder to do that, I think, than to, you know, squat 450 pounds or so. I don't know, man. I've come pretty close on that one. That was not funny either. No, it's not fun. Okay. Our 15th of the year. This should look forward to this. I had a little bit. I struggled here and there with some things. One, there were some spots I struggled because it was too much. And there were some spots I struggled because I was like,
00:17:20
Speaker
Nothing's coming to my mind. This is not good. There were several positions. And we'll talk about it as we go through. There's just not a lot of good picking. And yeah, as you said, there's some where it's like,
00:17:34
Speaker
Right. I can go any number of places, but ultimately I feel like I've picked a 15 representative of my approach to rugby this
Rugby 15 of the Year Selection Process
00:17:45
Speaker
year. So it's my 15. I think we'll cover most bases between the two of us. Shouldn't be too many left out. I'm interested to see how many we have in common. I think it's probably fewer than you would think. Yeah, there'll be a few, but not as many.
00:18:01
Speaker
All right. The loose head prop, our speciality. Actually, my speciality. You're a tight head. I'm a tight head. I, you know, I went too low.
00:18:15
Speaker
You know, tight head. Is he? Yeah. No, he's loose head today because I couldn't even forget. Okay. That's fair enough. Whatever. I couldn't think of any freaking good loose heads on. Honestly, I couldn't think of too many loose heads that had a really good year. Okay. I'll give you one. Maybe I'll flip my props around too. That's a possibility as well.
00:18:35
Speaker
Anyway, oh, it's possible. Um, I've got Tupou in, um, he's become, he became, he really put his hand up this year for both his club and his country as a guy that wants to carry the ball a lot and be a monster on the pitch, which we've seen it before. He just, yeah, I just sometimes it lacked. And this year he just said, Nope, I'm doing it every time. And he's become a real problem.
00:18:58
Speaker
clubs and countries to face down. So, good luck going against 10 yellow Tupu right now. I agree. He's my number. He's my three. So, he's my tight head. Okay, look at that. So, my loose head actually is related to that. So, I'm glad this happened. I'm very glad this happened because I kind of wanted to talk about Tupu before I talked about my number one.
00:19:19
Speaker
because my loose head prop started the year, his year, young guy, very young guy thrown into the super rugby Australia.
00:19:31
Speaker
and the 20-year-old had to start his first match against Taniel Atupo. And got worked pretty good. And then he ended his year playing an entire half against New Zealand in Australia's victory against New Zealand because the starter at his position wasn't playing well and got pulled for Angus Bell.
00:19:55
Speaker
Yeah, who just had himself. I mean, he got carded that game against you. And as he was leaving the field to give him the encouragement, because it was like, no, you're battling your ass off. I'm just better than you. And he went from that to hard scrumming against New Zealand and the like.
00:20:13
Speaker
not showing any yellow effects. So I guess that was my, my loose head of the year. And really Tupo did, you know, Tupo was served, was best served to give him because he's going to be, he's going to, because he's probably going to have to play with him in that gold shirt as well. Like that's the other thing you got to consider in there.
00:20:32
Speaker
This guy could be playing in the gold shirt if he just does this, that, this, that. And I'm going to be excited about it. So, yeah, you know, that was well served for Tupo to go do that as well. It is. It was. So and that's why they're my one and my three, because, you know, Tupo was just impactful. Yeah.
00:20:49
Speaker
And Bell, if he caught Bell's attention and or about caught his attention and then Bell cut the, you know, Australia's all that stuff. I mean, I'm sure he was in their pipeline. I mean, he can't he obviously came back and had himself a hell of a game. He did. And then a hell of a season. He got so much better as the season went on. So.
00:21:04
Speaker
And that was the fun part about those two competitions as well, just seeing the players come through. It was really cool. So the guy's sitting in the middle, throwing in the ball. I think we got the same guy. I'm looking forward to seeing if we got the same guy. We'll see. I went, Tom done. Yes, so did I. Yeah. Yeah. Just, you know, and I was trying not to go super English on this, and it's fairly English on this one. But...
00:21:31
Speaker
He had a great season for Bath, number one. He did. You know, Bath got to the semi-final. That was kind of some place that they felt they belonged. And he was definitely a big part of it. And then, you know, man's worked his ass off for quite a long time. Finally gets his first England cap and just...
00:21:52
Speaker
You got to put your tears on the phone, holding up the cap and the metal and all that for his family. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Tom Dunn. This is the summer of Tom. Yeah, that was all you, buddy. So that was a huge one. And really, he was the only hooker that stood out to me and my brain for this. Me too. Good on Tommy. Looking forward to see what else Beth does this year.
00:22:23
Speaker
tight head. Um, I have Will Stewart. That's not a bad one at all. Yeah. I, you know, again, I kind of, uh, yeah, he is a tight head. All right. So I have three, two tight heads to go play loose head. Yeah. Oh man. I see. That's how much I was struggling on this one. I was like, that sounds right. Right. Okay. Whatever. Fuck it. I'm just going with it. Um, but yeah, we'll Stuart just, you know, another one that just came out of nowhere real and just,
00:22:50
Speaker
He was like a part time player. What was he? I mean, he was a bit part player for a little while. Yeah, and has been and then gets to bath and suddenly just erupts. Yeah. He was on wasps, right? Yeah, I believe so. Could you imagine if they still had. Yeah, that was that was yeah. That was that was a good one for him. And, you know, obviously it turned out to be a good move because, you know, bath scrum is one that is not to be fucked with anymore. No. And they've certainly helped for that one up. Definitely so.
00:23:20
Speaker
Tyed McGee Stewart, Will Stewart. God, he's got to fix that hairdo though. And he got to, he propelled himself to England. That was the other thing. That's no small feat. Yeah, I tried to have international involvement for most of mine, most of them, one of them. There's a little bit here and there.
00:23:41
Speaker
There's a little bit here and there. I did too though. Number four. The number four and my locks aren't necessarily well equipped to be fours and fives. I chose a four out of five. The guy who plays four and normally plays five.
00:24:00
Speaker
The man, the myth and a man that's going to go down as an absolute legend, the most test, test capped player of all time, AWJ, Alan, when Jones, you know, say, say what you will about his play currently. And maybe it's not next level, but
00:24:17
Speaker
just to get there and just to, you know, at least give himself a chance every time to get a cap. And, you know, he's not on that team necessarily. But he's impactful, too. It's not just that he's
Impact Players of the Year
00:24:30
Speaker
like so you look at a guy like Joe Launchbury, who who could play a whole match. And if you're watching as a spectator, you're like, I didn't fucking see him at all. You know, but he kicks ass. He does a lot of stuff, just stuff that's not visible. It's not the carrier. He's the guy who's hitting the rock that just needed to be one. Yeah.
00:24:47
Speaker
Alan, when Jones is the guy who's doing that, but he's also carrying and then stealing line outs. And yeah, that's the thing. Like line all around the park. You talk about guys that are loud specialists. Like he is definitely one of them. And you know, when, when he's on his game, Wells loud, it cannot be stopped. Yeah. You know, and you're going to lose a lot of outs against him too. So yeah. Almond Jones, you know, hitting that mark this year had to be him for me. So,
00:25:13
Speaker
That's a good one. My number four was on the other side of the planet, Patrick Tuipolatu. That's a good one. Who just really came into his own this year. Not that he hasn't been before, but now he came a lot from potential to, no, he's a star. He's now officially, he does it. It's one of those like, yeah, he does it a little bit. We need to see more now. It's no pull out Tuipolatu. He's quite good.
00:25:40
Speaker
We're there. We know he's good now. If it wasn't for the fact that there were like three, you know, first off, two locks in front of him who have played, who have won a world player player of the year. Like what happened? You can't call that fair in that case. Like you have to give him a break.
00:25:57
Speaker
And then there's a Barrett in the mix, too. So there's a lot going on there. Between Polatu has become a rotational starter for the Kiwis. So that says a lot. So good for him.
00:26:11
Speaker
Yeah, and actually two below two is my five. Okay. I had to put the man in there. The Blues did very well this year. Yeah. And he was a big part of the way they started even before the shutdown. And we had to go away from regular Super Rugby. And then obviously just to get himself in that black jersey more often than not. He was on the plane to Japan, but wasn't really a part of that team in so many ways.
00:26:41
Speaker
in Australia and the two games they played in New Zealand, he had a role and that's no small feat. As you mentioned, there's a lot of bodies that play second row in New Zealand that most people would kill for.
00:26:58
Speaker
for him to make himself a part of that group and to put himself in that black shirt more often than not this year, obviously be a big part of what the Blues did this year. Obviously, he was a captain, but just, you know, you can do so much more even if you're a captain, and he certainly did. So yeah, I gave Twiplo to the five jersey for me.
00:27:17
Speaker
My number five is Johnny Hill, and I think that needs absolutely no backing up. Nope, it doesn't. And I was debating. I was like, fuck, how do I keep him out of this? I mean, it's to keep him out of it somehow. I'm going to move along to my number six then.
00:27:34
Speaker
And in this way, I had to cheat because I don't think Benny Six has had a great year. I know I have some of my some favorites of mine, but a lot of them got hurt and were inconsistent otherwise. So my number six is someone who started the year as a number six on the international scene and then made the whole shitload of plays at eight later before getting unfortunately hurt. But so my number six for the year is Jake Poledri.
00:28:02
Speaker
Oh, yes. Italy's Player of the Year, as they've announced. And well-earned on his part. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that guy is a monster. My goodness. Italy need to bubble wrap him every time. Talking about guys coming into their own. He came in like, he's been doing that intermittently. And we've been, you know, if you've listened to the pod from the beginning, those of you who've recently downloaded all of our episodes. Yeah.
00:28:27
Speaker
you'll have heard us talking about Paul Edrie years ago as a player who should be getting more time. One of those guys like Don Armand and MacCavecic players around the pram who should be who perform all they do is perform. Paul Edrie got his chance to do it both
00:28:49
Speaker
for club and country and has shown really well. So yeah, he needed to be on a list somewhere. So he's on my list here. Yep. Well, my number six is a youngster. He's on the other side of the planet. Really, really
00:29:08
Speaker
Just came out, almost came out of nowhere, but in super rugby, AU was a blessing to this guy in so many ways. Posh your place for Aotearoa. Nope. He played eight a lot, but got slide into six a few times. My number six is Harry Wilson from... Oh, that's a good one.
00:29:27
Speaker
I yeah, if I'd realized he played six, he did. He did slot into six. And I just wanted a back row that was done. It was dynamite anyway. Do you mind if I say some things about about this young man? Yeah, go for it. His first match of the year. So we talked about that, that Agnes Bell incident. Same week, same match. Yeah, he comes in.
00:29:52
Speaker
and gets right in Michael Hooper's face. He did not back down. And Harry Wilson says, you're going to see this inside this awesome scrum cap. Get used to this because you're going to see this for the next 80 minutes. Yeah. Because it was the first minute. It was right off the kickoff. He got in Hooper's face about it. Didn't he light Bodhi up? Yeah.
00:30:15
Speaker
I was pretty sure it was that was I him that lit Bowdoin up? Yeah, I think so. That was these guys. Yeah, he was not he was fearless. He was absolutely fearless. And really, it is his presence with authority and maintain that. So yeah, Harry Wilson's a good excellent pick. Yeah, I love that. Yeah, he's a he's gonna be a unit for years to look out. Speaking of years to come. That's where I get to my number seven. This will be interesting. We might have the same person. We might have two different ones. Either one. It's probably not bad.
00:30:42
Speaker
Because I'm adding some French flair to this shit. Oh, oh, yes. This is another one. This is a position that was fucking so hard to pick. It was so hard to pick. So my seven of the year is Charles Olivo. I had that in my head, too. I was like, how the fuck do I sort this out? And I couldn't. And then again, no, no explanation needed. Dude is a hoose. He's a hoose and he and, you know,
00:31:07
Speaker
For all intents and purposes, France should have won Six Nations, but they bottled that match up in Scotland. But other than that, they were fine. Yeah. Yeah, they're super French, too. But that's how it goes. But Ali Vaun is... Ali Vaun is the right guy to carry them forward, too. This is a young... This is a fairly young team. He's not super old, but he's also very experienced. He plays for a top club in too long. Like, he's their captain as well. So, you know, he plays with guys like Parisa over there, too. So, it could be worse. Right. My seven is...
00:31:36
Speaker
is another youngster. And I'm so happy this guy, he had a nasty injury that kind of looked to just have derailed his whole career, let alone international career. And he is the fetcher. Jack Willis. That's fair. You know, and it was the bait between Ali von him and Earl. And I was like,
00:31:56
Speaker
How do I pick one of these guys for the year? But, you know, Jack Willis has obviously come on huge for Watts and a big reason they got into the final was he and his brother. But, you know, so it was really hard to not pick him.
00:32:11
Speaker
And he gets in an England shirt and starts to score. Starts scoring there too. This is what I do. No problem. Yeah. He had more turnovers than most clubs did. The guy's amazing. So years to come, he's going to be awesome. So I'm looking forward to that.
00:32:29
Speaker
Who's your eight? God, bad. Same guy's mine. Sam Simmons, Sam Simmons, European player of the year. Yeah. The, the Eddie's curse. You know, he, as, as very little as he's played for England, he could be still on the plane to South Africa this summer. He should be. I, I, how do you keep him off of that? I don't know. Like,
00:32:51
Speaker
Yeah, he's one of the only forwards that ever ends up near the top, top of the score charts, along with the two guys together, like pretty much could combine to outscore most teams in terms of tries. Yeah. So yeah, he's a brick shit house too. So that helps. And yeah, probably.
00:33:11
Speaker
about a good quarter of the reason that Exeter got the double. Oh, yes. Oh, yeah. I realize Joe Simmons is their captain and leader and all that. But let me tell you that that attack goes through Sam Simmons, like when when they need from football, guess who they give it to. Right. When when Joe needs someone to run a line, who's who's he call on? He calls on his brother. Yeah. And because they have that little, you know, telepathy telepathy that goes between brothers. And you've seen it with like Mackinac and Billy and they just know they're going to be there. So yeah, kind of helps.
00:33:41
Speaker
Yeah, so that's a big one. Who's your nine?
00:33:46
Speaker
This is where my French flair comes in. It's Mr. Antoine Dupont. As is my own, how could you not? Has to be the best nine in the world right now. Has to be. I don't think there's any question about that. You see him and you hold your breath when he, if he doesn't immediately pass off the base of the rock or the base of the scram, you hold your breath because you know something special could happen. And he doesn't disappoint most times. I don't hold my breath. I just start pre-giggling.
00:34:18
Speaker
You don't know what's about to happen. But it's gonna be awesome. Yeah, he's he's just so exciting to watch. And you know, he's, he's part of that group that came through of those you 20s. And yeah, just yep, it's really hard to say say otherwise. So Antoine Dupont is my scum half for the year for sure. So
00:34:40
Speaker
10, I had trouble with 10. Until I realized, so really, I was looking around the 10s. And as you know, we don't limit ourselves to just one gender here. We are very open about how we choose our teams. My 10 is possibly the best 10 in the world. But,
00:35:09
Speaker
And the only reason that this 10 is not playing in the prem and for, well, for Freddie Jones is that she's playing for the women's national team. Or I'd rather she used to, she has retired. Yeah, she hung them up. And it's time to celebrate the career of Katie Daley McLean. She's my 10 of the year. Yeah, totally worth the 10 jersey here.
00:35:35
Speaker
absolutely worth the money for sure. Just a magician with the ball, whether she's passing or kicking. The you know, Emily Scarrett's a hell of a player, don't get me wrong, and deservedly gets the credit that she gets. But a lot of that is through the talents of Katie Daly McLean to get her the ball, among other people.
00:35:54
Speaker
the excellent distributor, getting, getting people to ball so that they can make plays. Um, is that's, that's what she does every time she, she puts on the Jersey, puts on the boots. So, um, deserves, deserves her for sure. Yeah. She had the best, the best, best year of a 10 that I, yeah. Well, you know, and I went, I went and I went for a guy and he really, it's for one match that I picked them.
00:36:23
Speaker
Yeah, it was the match that he scored every fucking point of his own teams to beat the all blacks. And that wasn't just kicks. He did score a beautiful try. It wasn't just a shitty try. It was a beautiful try on top of that. My 10 is Nick Sanchez. That's and that's fair. Like there's a reason that I mean, Mattara is not my six because for obvious reasons, but.
00:36:45
Speaker
And, you know, Sanchez wasn't my 10 because I wanted it a year, not just a moment. Right. Although... That moment right there, just kind of followed those like... So, I was like... He backed it up too. I mean, he's had good... Oh, he kept scoring too. So, it wasn't a new thing for him either. So, yeah, I had... I mean, of all the 10s, I know there's a lot I could have picked that had probably better years, but that moment right there for him and his
Women's Rugby Highlights
00:37:13
Speaker
country,
00:37:13
Speaker
and to propel his country over the line. You know, I think there were only what, three or six points that weren't scored by Nick Sanchez in that tri-nations championship this year. Like something give them give them enterprise for sure. So do we go to the center? So do we go 11 to 15? Let's go 11 to 15 as this tradition. My 11 Caleb Clark.
00:37:44
Speaker
Bingo. I thought about this for five seconds until Caleb Clark's name popped into my head. I said, well, I'm done thinking. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, we talk about guys that have just propelled themselves onto the national team and made an impact. I mean, look at the match at Eden Park that Caleb Clark played in.
00:38:08
Speaker
That one match right there, his home crowd is on his home patch and the ovation that guy got because he just stood out in that. And the dude, he's gonna be a nightmare for years to come. Good luck. There's fans that will cheer for players because they find them entertaining.
00:38:28
Speaker
And you're not going to see that in New Zealand. It's not just because you're fun to watch. It doesn't work that way. You have to have performed and done your job as a rugby player, which means tackling and kicking and receiving all the things you do. Kevin Clark definitely deserved that ovation because he ticks all the boxes, does all the things.
00:38:54
Speaker
Certainly was not a, uh, uh, you know, try to pump up a guy. It was no dude. It was, it was, it was an appreciation for his efforts. Yeah. No, he was a, he was a big, he was a big boy and he's a, he's a dude that's going to be wearing that black jersey for a little while. So I'm interested. I really want to see how we did with 12 because 12 I struggled with until I came to one. Well, you know, I,
00:39:14
Speaker
I had one and then I crossed it off because I decided, you know what? This is about more than what's on the field for this one for me. Okay. She usually plays 13. Well, okay. And she's the captain of her club. She's doing amazing things off the pitch. And that is the thing that's got me naming her to this team right now. Fair enough. My 12 is Rachel Burfing.
00:39:41
Speaker
Yes, and she has done some really cool stuff with this thing called the the Girls Rugby Club. And she is there's something you know, I do what I do as for a living and it brings me great joy to see
00:39:59
Speaker
those that are that are women, identify as women, find confidence and strength in training and lifting some heavy shit. And she is doing a lot of the same things by empowering young girls to want to play rugby, right? And, you know, it's not
00:40:20
Speaker
And, you know, she does very well for Quinn's. Don't get me wrong. This is not just about this. She's very good. Quinn's fly high, right? Our flying high right now. And she is a big part of it. So don't even dismiss that. Yeah. Don't even dismiss that. But because she's doing so much more besides the game between the lines,
00:40:40
Speaker
I couldn't ignore her. I couldn't ignore her. I was like, all right, Rachel Burford, you get to be in the centers. You usually play 13, we're pushing into 12, deal with it. Fair enough. I prove. My 12 is someone who similarly has an effect that whether the sum is greater than his parts, I don't know how that would help. You know what I'm saying. He contributes more than
00:41:06
Speaker
you could think to look at him. This guy wasn't the reason.
00:41:14
Speaker
that his team went from middling to making a final in their own league. But just a huge reason why it happened, both from his boot and from his calming influence on the player playing inside of him, and really guiding a young, very young, but incredibly talented team to heights greater than they're ready for.
00:41:39
Speaker
Yeah, that's true. And it had a lot to do with him and him alone in a lot of ways because they're losing leadership in other places, but he's providing that rock. So Jared knows who I'm talking about. It's Jimmy Gopper. Jimmy G. Yeah. That's what Jimmy G. I like. Yeah, helped get his team to the prem final when they had no right to be. They had no disrespect to them.
00:42:06
Speaker
just they played above their heads, um, in a lot of ways and played with, with, uh, maturity that they don't, they, they don't deserve to have at such a young age, but that's all Jimmy. That to me, I'm, uh, that seems like it's Jimmy Gopert's influence right there. Yeah. Yep. Especially among the backs. Calm head amongst the, amongst the crazy, crazy little kids out there. That's for sure. Obviously there's a few other older heads that were out there as well, but he was definitely the one, uh, steering the ship with Jacob Bumaga and inside them there and showing them how it's done. Right.
00:42:36
Speaker
Even without a consistent 13 outside of him to help. I know. It was just like Fickitoa, Lebrosjola, De Jong, like to keep going through. Yeah, Wheel of Meh. And yet he kept the wings in play. Like a lot of times that kills...
00:42:54
Speaker
You know, that used to be Worcester not getting the ball out wide because their centers were shipped. Now their centers are better and suddenly their back free is really good as far as, you know, it's little things like that. You need a distributor at center and got brothers that certainly. Absolutely. So do we have the same 13? We might have the same 13.
00:43:16
Speaker
kick the winner for England in a big match. And she's all class. Emily Scarritt. Yes, no question about it. All class. I don't think you ever need to justify putting Emily Scarritt into a 50. No, no, no. You never do. I'm pretty sure you don't. She's quite good.
00:43:39
Speaker
Yeah, and similar to that on that. Similar to that on the other on my end, it's semi rod roger. Because it's a guy who you have to account for. I had to scratch my head. I was like, how do I pass on this, but I also couldn't pass on it. But yeah, I figured I was like, I think one of us is going to cover this. So yeah, exactly. I'll get semi for us. He just
00:44:01
Speaker
you know, miss him when he's not there. It's clear. And it's a different story when he's in there. Yeah, it just changes a game him him being in a match. It's like,
00:44:13
Speaker
you know, the pickup games you had when you were a kid and like, maybe there was a kid who suddenly he showed up and he was, you know, everyone's age, but he was a lot taller or whatever. And you're like, Oh, cool. That kid, let's let's have him on our team. It's like, did you want to wait for him to show up? Yeah. You kind of hope he shows up at the park every day. Yeah. Um, but that, that's Roger. Roger. You know, you want it. You want to watch him on the field and every time it's box office, which
00:44:39
Speaker
flowing into my 14, since we're talking about every time it's box office,
Exciting Rugby Players Spotlight
00:44:44
Speaker
as the mirror, kind of literally and figuratively, to my 11 of Caleb Clark, my 14 is Sevarese. Ooh, there we go. Because, fuck it, all he did was touch the ball and put it down over the timeline. Yeah, I mean, it seemed like every time he touched it for the Crusaders, especially, like, it was try time. Yeah. You know, he was really hard to...
00:45:06
Speaker
It's really hard to say that you were going to do anything other than watch him score. Right. He was just that good. Yep. And then like there were times, you know, you'd have fans. Well, because over there, there was fans like, you know, cheering for him to get the ball. It's like, you know, give it to Reese. Like he's got it. He's like, yeah, something's happening.
00:45:24
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, just the roar, the roar of anticipation that came up when he got it, like people knew something special might happen. So yeah, talk about guys that'll just make you hold your breath. Mine's another guy that's going to make you make you hold your breath every time he touches the ball. And you just got to watch for that inside step. And that's, oh man, how electric is this guy? Like just continues to do it. The deepest Saffa accent I've ever heard in my life too. I was like, I have not heard this guy talk clearly because this dude's got a suit.
00:45:53
Speaker
super deep Safa accent. I've not heard that. I've not heard it for Collins accent that deep for a while. Like he's definitely from the, from the, from deep in there. But yeah, the dude is just absolutely electric every time he gets the ball, especially when he gets the ball with space. Good luck. Good luck. And you know, you better pray that he doesn't find DuPont because that's probably the other person. You know,
00:46:17
Speaker
So it's just it's incredible. The guy is just amazing. And I am so we are we are so lucky to have so many talented guys and girls like this that just make you just hold your breath every time they touch the ball. That's right. 1515 who's back who's making the last tackle back there. Well, I know what it is.
00:46:41
Speaker
had to get a Saracen on here somehow. Bolted himself to the England team made a huge impact clearly with this team from, uh, on loan at Bristol. And the guy is just, if he stays at Bristol, I don't blame him. Honestly, it's like he's got a spot there. He's welcomed back with a black shirt when he's done. Right. Max Malins has just been, had himself a year impactful.
00:47:06
Speaker
just an incredible year. And we saw it a little bit with the Saracens before lockdown. And then when he got to go, when he went on loan to Bristol and got healthy and got his chance, he took it with both hands and grasped it. And really, as shite as England were in that last automation's game, he was very good. Yeah. Iman is a sub. Yeah. So that tells you how good his potential is as well. So yeah, my 15 is the one and only Maxi, Max Maylands.
00:47:35
Speaker
So I'm staying with my outside back theme. As far as players who when they get the ball, you have to just watch because you're like, Oh, here it comes. There it is. And sometimes
00:47:50
Speaker
He already has the ball and is doing something awesome before you even recognize that he's done it. Uh-huh. You don't even get the anticipation. You're like, holy shit, that just happened. Oh, wait, wait. Who's got the ball? Oh, it's Will Jordan running down the field, scoring a trial. Yeah. I had him in my head and I'm like, oh man, this guy was fucking amazing too. I was like, you know what? I'm going to give it to Max because
00:48:09
Speaker
You know, they both made a splash on the international team scene, too. So it's really hard to say otherwise for either. Oh, no, it's yeah. It's again, this is our 15. So I'm I'm picking Will Jordan and you can pick whoever the fuck you want. I'm thinking that dude was quite, quite good. Quite amazing. So yeah, I know he was in the he was in the right place at the right time. So many fucking times. That's not a mistake. That's no. That's knowing that's knowing the situation. So, you know, you can say that's luck.
00:48:39
Speaker
No, that's beating somebody with their head. That's what that means. Like you said, you're not guessing. You're saying, oh, yeah, you're going to do this. I know exactly what you're going to do, and I'm going to just take you to the who's. Who's coaching your 15? My 15 is going to be coached by real men cry around here.
00:49:02
Speaker
And I love, I love a man that can, that can cry in pure joy and pure happiness. And he, he coached his team quite well this year. Um, they lost one game in the tri-nations, um, Marilyn. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But you know, it, you know, yeah, he didn't, he didn't win them all, but he got the win against the all blacks and he didn't, you know,
00:49:24
Speaker
to go toe-to-toe with Australia the way some of the Australians were playing this year. Australia beat the All Blacks, too. So it's not like, you know, they're no slouches. No. Yeah, Ledesma just, you know, and for all the team went through as well. Like, you've got to consider that. Right. That team was probably one of the most ill-prepared teams to ever play the All Blacks as their first match. Yeah.
00:49:49
Speaker
They weren't because they smashed him. And Ledesma was a big part of that. Huge part of that. Yeah, so the coach for me this year is Myra Ledesma.
00:50:01
Speaker
Excellent. Yeah, I can't disagree with that. I'll just have a different head coach. Mine is somebody who was actually, if you'll, this should be no surprise if you listen to the Thanksgiving episode a few weeks ago. The coach of my team will be Pat Lamb.
00:50:20
Speaker
get these people together who... Apparently if you don't play the style of rugby he likes, which is kind of a lot like the style of celebrity I like, he yells at you in halftime and we'll get to that later. Yeah, that was... If you didn't hear that comment, you will talk about it in a little bit, but yeah, that was great. No, he will insist on playing open rugby, whether you like it or not. And that's what every team needs. Absolutely. And this group of...
00:50:50
Speaker
Fucking ballers will be coached by Pat Lamb and coach. Well, yeah. I don't doubt that for a second. Yeah. Um, so yeah.
Top Rugby Moments of the Year
00:50:59
Speaker
Okay. Um, top five moments of the year.
00:51:04
Speaker
Want to go with number five there? Yeah, I mean, it got it got to be a struggle later in the five so like down at this at this area. But for me, it really wasn't hard because it's my moments of the year was Bristol winning the Challenge Cup. Mm hmm.
00:51:20
Speaker
Very good. And, and, and Jojo is scoring a try that maybe the ref didn't allow, but fuck the ref. They stole it from him. That was really cool.
00:51:36
Speaker
And it was and the celebration afterward, like just the meaning for the club. That's really what it's about, too. It's not just the Black Crow song. Yeah, it was really cool. Yeah. Yeah, that was a lot of fun. So for me, I'm going to go a little bit offshoot here. Number five was the so anybody that didn't see all the money in the world on Twitter out there, the guy that would pay all the money in the world or anyway.
00:52:05
Speaker
There was a gentleman that said he would pay all the money in the world to someone that would prove that they would pay for a ticket for a women's game. And they got the amount of dudes that step forward, the amount of male players that step forward and put the middle finger to this guy's face. Right. Was just amazing. You know, Aaron Smith was one of the big ones that stepped forward. Dude, I got season tickets. He's like, so where are you sending me all my money? Right. So the amount of
00:52:32
Speaker
The men that step forward, bravo to all of you. Especially the men rugby players, the international players. Sean O'Brien was one of them. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you so much. That did more favors than you will ever know. And, you know, we need to do that. Yeah. And that's the one thing that, like, I don't think certain people like that asshole don't understand is that, like,
00:52:53
Speaker
true rugby players love the game. It doesn't matter who's playing it, right? And women's game and it's not, you know, it's it's a long time from the 90s when when people were making fun of, you know, women's basketball, because it wasn't as good as men and this and that. And it's like, well, yeah, they've been training for like five years, really, like, like, there hasn't been development programs and this and that. But there are now there are for women's rugby players even. And it's,
00:53:19
Speaker
like we can there's a lot of respect out there and i mean i tell our club you know the women that i've coached are fitter than them and they've been prepared to play high level rugby than they are all day um and so it's like you know they then there's a lot of respect there so it's that's good and yeah that's what we need more we do need to drum out the people who don't have that respect because that's not no women's rugby players fucking kick ass man yeah i mean that
00:53:44
Speaker
The, the was pretty sure it was the lost Saracens the other week that went right down to the wire and it was crazy. That was a match. I wish I could have contributed some money too, because that was worth it. That's for sure. So on the number four, four.
00:54:00
Speaker
Um, you, you go first. Yeah. It's, it's exit awaiting the double. Yeah. It's, um, man, it's really hard to ignore it. You can't ignore it. You can't ignore it. It's really hard to ignore it. Um,
00:54:17
Speaker
No, it's really hard to ignore it. And, you know, the guys that are on that, the guys that are on that squad that you just really feel for, you're just like, yeah, okay. And you really like it, so. Yeah, I like, that's the players. I love the players. There's not really any player that I'm like on exit, except for maybe Witten. Fuck that guy. He's just useless. It's not his fault.
00:54:42
Speaker
Yeah, but fuck no, he's just trying to think of someone. But no, they're, they're, they're all quality players are all quality athletes. And you just like, yeah, good for them. It's not their fault. Their organization is shit. Yeah. Yeah, it's not their fault. But the higher ups are dicks. I'm number four.
00:55:04
Speaker
I'm wearing the kit. Free Jack's home first win in MLR over our arch rivals, Rigby, New York. Hooray. Yeah. That was, that was the best. That was perfect. That's true. Yeah. Oh yeah. You know, and Bodine waka waka just doing everything possible. And obviously our,
00:55:22
Speaker
I do tie in. Yeah, just wait to see them back on the fact. I can't wait to do it. We are. We are looking forward very much to that, for sure. My hoodie and I are very much looking forward to the same hoodie with the beer cozy beer coasters. I'm dying. Here we go. Trey, number three. And can we just have.
00:55:49
Speaker
a moment here to recognize that this is my number three moment of the year is Australia beating New Zealand. And that's a number three. Yeah. All right. Yeah.
00:56:01
Speaker
that but Australia fronting up and especially the young folks that we've been talking about the Wilsons and Dave Rennie. Yeah, so getting, you know, people want to expect big things out of Dave Rennie. So for him to get that to notch that is huge. And to beat New Zealand who is coming off a loss. Like there's not that's that's not a yeah.
00:56:23
Speaker
Yeah, it's a rarity that they went, that it was two in a row. So, thanks. Yeah, that was an angry team too. Number three, number three for me.
00:56:34
Speaker
was the Tiki Tiki Tonga. Saracen's winning in Dublin in the quarterfinal when nobody backed them in that. Let's be real. Everybody was talking about how it was going to be probably Lenster or Rossing and Exeter in the final. And Saracen's came in and just crashed the party. And Alex good at 10.
00:56:53
Speaker
right and you know he for somebody put away the shoes down I swear to god wear smaller shoes alex next time but just yeah that team was you know wiggy was on his on on his team that day obviously the
00:57:08
Speaker
the big forwards that we need to step up as a club, step forward in that match, guys like Mauro and Billy. It was just amazing. It was just so much fun to watch that win. Obviously the next week wasn't as good, but it was still kind of fun. But yeah, just nobody was counting on us. I was like, that was fun. Can we do it again? Not to me, but just the same. It was still a really fun victory to celebrate. So yeah, Saracens won in Leinster.
00:57:36
Speaker
in Dublin over Leinster for the quarter final is really awesome. All right. Onto number two. Dose. You want to go. I'm going to go with.
00:57:47
Speaker
The red roses come back against France. Oh, that's a good one. Just, you know, France, you know, France, number one, they talked France in the first match. Yeah. And for all the money, people were just like, I'm going to walk over and France showed up and France gave everybody a huge surprise, a bigger ship burger to eat.
00:58:09
Speaker
on that one. It's not it's not so much of a surprise. Well, I can't say I was surprised other than the fact that they had the lead late because France being in the match didn't it doesn't surprise me based on the players that they've had and the problems that they've had recently. And again, same thing with the men going to a more structured approach is really going to help with those athletes that they have are fantastic. But they're not all on the same page. No. The fuck good is it?
00:58:38
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, by I was playing good, was playing quite well. And just yeah, but then the England women just came storming back with as they do with Scavs nail on the final nail, putting the nail on the coffin. And that was a that was a big one for them. And, you know, obviously, that hats off to France for that one. But man, to have put in that type of shift and obviously they put in that huge line change where they're just like, everybody off.
00:59:02
Speaker
But yeah, it speaks a lot about England's character and what those girls have within themselves to say, all right, we're in a really shitty situation, but we can dig ourselves out. So let's do it. So that was really good for them. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. My number two really only takes three words. Pablo Batera face. And you know the moment. I will eat this chicken.
00:59:34
Speaker
Well, actually, you don't. There's two moments that it could be. One was I could eat. Yes. I'm ready to eat the eat the haka. Oh, yeah. I'm thinking more of him holding the ball. Yeah. Right. After after the penalty when having won against New Zealand. Yeah. More or less during the game. Right. That that's a guy who that whole game
00:59:56
Speaker
Uh, he put in the shift, um, you're in deserve the moment. Yeah. He got a moment. All right. Even to, you know, tell him the referee like play for my country. This is not respect. Oh man. That was, he's got it right. Um, there anyway. Yup. Um, but my number one,
01:00:17
Speaker
moment, still gives me goosebumps when I think about it, which isn't often because it makes me mad before we are as a country. But the restart or the start of Super Rugby, Aotearoa, and the speech that was given by the Minister of Sport or whatever his title was,
01:00:42
Speaker
and the reaction from the crowd of their back, their fully open, free and clear and able to resume life and
01:00:54
Speaker
the country overcoming to the point where they can have live sports again safely, unlike certain other countries.
Rugby's Return and Future Excitement
01:01:01
Speaker
That was a hell of a moment that I think a lot of us needed a little bit of home. Yeah, listen, mine's the same thing. June 13, 2020, just, you know, Forsyth Bar Arena down in Dunedin, and just Super Rugby Autaroll kicking off and
01:01:23
Speaker
having a live sport to enjoy with fans. And there's some weird guilt that I have about watching certain sports right now. And it's not just the padded sissy mittens. Even watching a little bit of the Premier League and the Premiership in Europe.
01:01:50
Speaker
knowing what I know. It's not being handled well. Yeah, it's it's a little bit of a guilty thing. So watching this competition and just knowing that I'm watching something that that belongs there and that, you know, they've earned the right to be there and they've done everything right. And for them to get to celebrate that in the only way that Kiwis know how by playing fucking rugby. Right.
01:02:15
Speaker
It's just what we do. Let's go play some rugby. It was a fantastic match on top of that. So, you know, it was absolutely amazing. So, yeah, it was really hard to not pick out that. So, yeah, super rugby. Picking up the rugby spirits of the world on June 13th and that weekend, the whole weekend as well. So, yeah. Thank you, Kiwis. We love you. Yeah, very much.
01:02:45
Speaker
Wow, what a year. Yeah, it is. What are we looking forward to in 2021? There's a couple of things we could look forward to. Lions? Same. Same. Cannot wait. Cannot wait. I know this talk with it being off, it's not gonna get going for late. I'm gonna do that. Yeah, no, don't quit flipping out. Happy new year all and happy festivals.