Season 8- Episode 10- For the Restivus (Prem Round 7)

Transcript

Jarrod Dyke: Hey everybody, welcome back. It is the Fancy Rugby Yanks. My name is Jared Dyke.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm Ben Glauser, but slower.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, Ben Stone matches how I feel, so.

Grumpy Old Prop: the

Jarrod Dyke: If you got him, crack him.

Grumpy Old Prop: I tell you, I, yeah, never have I been so happy to have the Steelers for the weekend.

Jarrod Dyke: ha

Grumpy Old Prop: I

Jarrod Dyke: Jesus. don't know if that's good or bad.

Grumpy Old Prop: i mean, I guess that's not exactly true, but damn, I needed a I need a sports break from my sports break from Saturday. Shit.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh yeah, I know. Jesus.

Jarrod Dyke: You ain't kidding. Is it too late to jump ship? I guess so. but

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Make sure that you find us on your favorite podcast app. Download, rate, review, share. Feedback always welcome.

Jarrod Dyke: By good friend George, the fancier of geeky coffee or beer. Busy times, as always, with him busy with URC and this.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: And we'll have Champions Cup when we back in a couple weeks. And Six Nations not far around the corner either. So, yeah, man's busy. Make sure that you support him as but as best you can.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, well, we have two we have like two more weeks of of ah locals, and then we go to the Champions Cup again for two weeks.

Jarrod Dyke: There is no discrimination. What's up?

Jarrod Dyke: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Grumpy Old Prop: Jeez.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep, yep. um There is no discrimination here on this podcast, nor should there be in sports or in life. Well, we're going to sports, so.

Grumpy Old Prop: And life. Speaking of the Steelers, yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: yeah oh Yeah, yes, look little bit of both.

Grumpy Old Prop: speaking the Steelers, um, so first off, this goes, goes out to the fans out there who, now, if you're, uh, if you ever do come to a Free Jacks, uh, home match, you will undoubtedly hear myself and Jared, um, chirping, chirping the opposition, but, right, or we've just not been loud enough and that's our fault.

Jarrod Dyke: If you don't, not'll be disappointed.

Grumpy Old Prop: Um,

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, that happens.

Grumpy Old Prop: Chirping the opposition is cool. Chirping any players cool. Like as long as it's, you know, first off, again, follow the rules, be creative, be as respectful as you can be. Sorry. And sell me, um, we're as respectful as you deserve.

Grumpy Old Prop: Um, but like, we don't criticize them as people.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, he doesn't deserve much, let's be honest.

Grumpy Old Prop: It's really as, you know, for what they do, because they're the ones who are given power that maybe they shouldn't have, or, um, you know maybe like, It's fun to to chirp certain people like Rufus McLean as much as possible.

Grumpy Old Prop: um

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Or just you know call him an asshole and and tell him, that like why isn't he playing in Scotland?

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah,

Grumpy Old Prop: That is fun. um

Jarrod Dyke: yeah. yeah

Grumpy Old Prop: But the line has to be drawn, especially, and look, there's words we say on this show that that mean one thing when we say them. um But when you go to a player who has previously complained about you, first off,

Grumpy Old Prop: Um, the last time he was at your stadium, he, uh, filed a report. So I don't know why this fan was allowed back in the stadium anyway. Um, but the fan dropped, um, two bits of words. One, we we would never use on the pod.

Grumpy Old Prop: Um, and two, uh, being a C word, uh, to talk about DK Metcalf's, uh, mother. And yeah, we don't do that.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, that's dirty.

Grumpy Old Prop: And yeah, there was a little bit of an altercation. I wouldn't say even that bad. Um, Certainly not what the guy deserved. and And that shit's got to go.

Jarrod Dyke: No, um if he was in rugby stadium, he would been punched.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right. And like you can see even in the video, the people that are like, are like you've seen when fans like, you you know, when there's ah some sort of fight between fans and and and players, like there's people around this, some some other spectators who are like, holy, what the hell is happening? Why is this happening? um If you go back and watch the video, the people who are around what happened there are like, yeah, um,

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: okay, so this is happening. It's not like they're surprised.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: It's not like they're saying, they're reacting that, oh, DK Metcalf was out of line. They're like, yeah, that's going to happen. Like, oh, I don't want, this is so uncomfortable to be around.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: um

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: So yeah, just don't, don't. And know, it's unfortunate that DK got suspended too, but at some point the the the league has to protect players, you know,

Jarrod Dyke: Well, that'd be asking lot of the nfl

Grumpy Old Prop: I will. so this is Okay. Fair. um

Jarrod Dyke: NFL.

Grumpy Old Prop: But like, you know, you have.

Jarrod Dyke: From what I know, just saying.

Grumpy Old Prop: but You have all this shit about and, you know end racism and racism and be the change or whatever the or inspire change. This this does not you know, this this is not spark joy.

Jarrod Dyke: And yeah, from them, it's just words.

Grumpy Old Prop: This is not inspiration. Right. It is. It's totally words.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: It's ah sorry.

Jarrod Dyke: From them, it's just words.

Grumpy Old Prop: We sorry. We killed Colin Kaepernick's career words.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you have a guy like Jerry Jones in charge of a team. And he's the tip of the very nasty iceberg.

Jarrod Dyke: So, so you know, there's that.

Grumpy Old Prop: He really is

Grumpy Old Prop: Anywho Yeah so they're not going to boot fans for being racist um They'll suspend players for for responding to it That's kind of fucked up um And like yeah The funny the so But I will say On the plus side I've seen a lot of content on the internet lot of discussion That's basically saying what what what I'm saying

Jarrod Dyke: Unlikely.

Jarrod Dyke: agree.

Grumpy Old Prop: That it's like, even, you know, there's a little bit of, yeah, Metcalf shouldn't have done that, but he was gonna, based on what the fan did.

Jarrod Dyke: Hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: And so there's been a lot more of a, dude, you want to you want to get all drunk and be stupid, then you're going to face consequences.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah,

Grumpy Old Prop: And if, you know, the police if if the authorities aren't going to handle that, then the players will. Like, that's that's how it works.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like, should do we condone what DK did?

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: No, but we understand.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: it's not like But it's it's also like, you know what?

Jarrod Dyke: yeah and

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm at the point where, like especially if the fan said what he said, which I'm sure he did. Yeah, um go ahead.

Jarrod Dyke: sure he did.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Give him a smack.

Jarrod Dyke: No, i like ah a like I said, if he was if you if this was at a rugby match, he would have been fixed by the fans.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm okay with that.

Jarrod Dyke: I'll tell you that much right now.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: I will agree with that.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. So in the meantime, make sure that you grab our Patreon. We have sheets and sheets and more sheets coming out. um so So Ben's got obviously cranking out the prem sheet that should be out later on this week.

Grumpy Old Prop: will be now that's that's all that's humming so um i'm i don't know that i'm gonna do more than just expected points for um uh what was it for for for draft xv but um because you can see you know you know who's like it's a little bit of a different story um

Jarrod Dyke: um But keep... it Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: As far as, like, you know, week to week, you can just grab somebody off the off the scrap heap. So, um it's more, I think that's a better way to judge players.

Grumpy Old Prop: But if if there's an outcry for the the full analytics, and maybe I'll do it later, but we'll do something.

Jarrod Dyke: So as we as we go, we'll build into it as we go.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, we'll do something. i still It just has a little bit of work to go for it, because, yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: That's okay. Yeah. It'll come in time, but instead and but instead you'll still have your expected points if there's an extreme uproar for it because for you know then we can get it done in shorter order.

Jarrod Dyke: But until then, expected points is usually pretty ah and pretty awesome to have.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right. and And also, um I'm going to, whatchamacallit, so even even this latest one, I've said that it's not, um you know, you can buy it individually, so each week I'll be able to let you buy individually. also, like, reduce the rate, so instead of just the full, like, buying a full month, um it's it's a little bit less, so.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, it is a little bit less. But still, you get a lot more per month if you for your but for your dollar per month if you go that route.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: But we certainly understand that some people won't want to commit that much, but maybe one off is still on the cards.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. Anyway, just just buy the Patreon.

Jarrod Dyke: So, fair enough.

Grumpy Old Prop: It's easier that way.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, and sha it's and we will have a ah a much improved Champions Cup sheet

Grumpy Old Prop: Cool.

Jarrod Dyke: to to look at when when we get back to that as well.

Jarrod Dyke: Okay. So, folks, it is time to gather around the silver pole because it is the aluminum pole.

Grumpy Old Prop: The um aluminum pole.

Jarrod Dyke: Excuse me. Oh, silver colored.

Grumpy Old Prop: so it's Tinsel is silver, it's distracting.

Jarrod Dyke: Hmm. It's true. But yes, so it is that wonderful time of year that we all love to love and know as Festivus.

Jarrod Dyke: So. um

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm not looking forward to this year's Festivus, but I kind of am, I just want to get it off my chest.

Jarrod Dyke: and No, I'm not either. I got my I'm going have to freaking don't know. Go find some mouthwash after this one, but we're to there.

Grumpy Old Prop: I feel like this is going to be used as... blackmail against me later George stop stop listening George for like cast forward for like 20 minutes please I don't want to hear this

Jarrod Dyke: ah That's legit. But anyway, im so yeah, go away, George.

Jarrod Dyke: So anyway, um Ben, would you care to do the honors of explaining to those that don't know what Festivus is, what they're in for?

Grumpy Old Prop: so Festivus was created by the wise men um was it Jerry Castanza Um, no, it wasn't Jeff. What's his, what's his name? at Frank Costanza.

Grumpy Old Prop: Thank you. Sorry. Um, no, it wasn't George.

Jarrod Dyke: Or George.

Grumpy Old Prop: it was George's dad, Frank.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, itprint okay, you're right, sorry.

Grumpy Old Prop: Um, and on the show Seinfeld and it's, um, it's a festivus for the rest of us. It's, it's not a, it's not Hanukkah. It's not Christmas. It's not Kwanzaa. It's just something for people to, um, you know, celebrate just the time we have with each other. And, uh,

Grumpy Old Prop: there's There's two elements to it. It's the airing of grievances and and a feat of strength. And so um the first one for us as we celebrate is fairly straightforward. It's um what has been annoying you about, you know, you know preferably rugby. we We want to keep it rugby related to this rugby festivus. So, you know, what what's been annoying you? And then The feat of strength is to say something nice about an entity, a team, a player, ah coach, a ref, God forbid, um that you generally dislike and oppose and root against.

Grumpy Old Prop: fuck it's going to be hard this year.

Jarrod Dyke: Yes. We're at Horn for a treat.

Jarrod Dyke: So yeah, Ben and I usually gather about two major grievances and then we find find ourselves one feet of strength to to go. So if you want to hear you wanna to hear the winch fest, that's coming up first.

Grumpy Old Prop: But yeah, um who who wants to go first?

Jarrod Dyke: Age before beauty.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm still going first either way.

Jarrod Dyke: you You shouldn't have asked.

Grumpy Old Prop: ah

Jarrod Dyke: You put yourself in that position, you shouldn't asked.

Grumpy Old Prop: Anywho.

Jarrod Dyke: yeah

Grumpy Old Prop: Okay, so my my

Grumpy Old Prop: I've got a complaint about coaches in general. Like getting it, but not getting it. Like thinking to get it, but they don't get it um So they're both of these are going to be coaching related.

Grumpy Old Prop: And this is to to, well, no, I'm just going to combine these into one. Players and tactics.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like you play names expecting a performance because it's the name. And it's just not the performance you you're really getting. And it's not the performance you need. So it's like you look at um you know the England set up.

Grumpy Old Prop: And there's players who are extremely good Like, first off, like, how did you let, you look at all the players they've let walk, like Sam Simmons, like, um, the, the fricking Willis's.

Grumpy Old Prop: How do you not have, how is Tom Willis not your six and, and Jack Willis not your eight?

Jarrod Dyke: would say the Willis brothers. scott

Grumpy Old Prop: How?

Jarrod Dyke: Or vice versa.

Grumpy Old Prop: Or vice versa, doesn't fucking matter.

Jarrod Dyke: Doesn't matter, honestly.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. Like, and then, you know, with him and and probably Ben are out there. Like, and there's, but you know what, at that point, It's a competition between Ben Earl and several others.

Grumpy Old Prop: um But just right there, like these are good players who play really well at an international level, um who've scored, but you know, who who've just do everything, right?

Grumpy Old Prop: they're not They're not a defensive specialist. No, they will tackle. They'll make all the those, you know, 20 tackles a game, but they'll also get you 100 meters in running game and a couple line breaks and a couple offloads, like, and probably a try or two.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: whether they're scoring it or setting it up or involved in the play. And that's so much more than you're getting from other players that you see you currently employ. And so it's like this whole, oh, I have a way of doing this. And okay, how's it working for you?

Grumpy Old Prop: Like overall, you might have a freak win here and there, a fluke win here and there, but what are you going to get out of it?

Grumpy Old Prop: and And that frustrates me. And then I'll wait for the second one. when we go to tactics. So I'll throw it over to you. The players basically, you're robb but mostly the the reason that it pisses me off is you're robbing us of good rugby.

Jarrod Dyke: Okay.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: And it isn't just England in this, but that's the clearest case to me. is is It's like coaches shooting the missiles in the foot.

Jarrod Dyke: No.

Grumpy Old Prop: Why? Because you get to play Tom Curry Who, yeah, he'll defend his ass off, but what's he going in attack? Nothing. It's funny. Like, i've gotten it's gotten to the point now where, I mean, you can't even say it.

Jarrod Dyke: Nothing.

Grumpy Old Prop: You don't have time. But it's like, as soon as he gets the ball and in space, it's like, okay, how's he going to fuck this up? And then you watch him do it. And you're like, what the fuck? Like, how?

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: Oh, and also Ethan Roots. No, you're not an international flagger.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, my God. Oh, my God, no.

Grumpy Old Prop: Stop it.

Jarrod Dyke: um

Grumpy Old Prop: Behave.

Jarrod Dyke: So... It's funny that we we ended with those two guys because mine is not dissimilar to what you're saying. but So for me, and it kind it's not just the coaches. The coaches have their role. and yeah It sounds like you and I both have coaches coach things we want to talk about in a little bit anyway. But it's also the rugby fan base in the media that's valuing this shit. the The perception of these players such as a Tom Curry, a James Ryan, Adam Beard, you know is that they're good players. and

Jarrod Dyke: How? How? please Please explain to me how. So we' the value on what's being put out there right now is the things that we need to be valuing are are highball and shithousing.

Grumpy Old Prop: yeah it's like, yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Why?

Grumpy Old Prop: yeah Like, oh, you you listen to the coaches, you know, when they talk about half-time, oh, we have to start winning the physical battles. And it's like, either I really hope that they're just bullshitting, that that it's just clichéing, that that's not really they just don't want to give anything away.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: But the way they coach says the opposite.

Jarrod Dyke: So yeah, many of them, unfortunately, that's the case. I agree. um And we're just, and it's, you look at it and we're We're putting these people on ah pedestal like a curry and to a lesser extent, thank God, an Ethan Roots.

Jarrod Dyke: And it's it's like, why why? Why does this need to be the thing that is valued the most by people? I don't get it You know, we and people will counter with. But what about Richie? Richie was cheeky.

Jarrod Dyke: OK, Richie was cheeky.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: He did a little. he He lived on the edge. Yes, but he wasn't. in He didn't go out there and decide I'm going to be an asshole today. And that's and that's how he played the game.

Grumpy Old Prop: But he's also a threat to run with the ball.

Jarrod Dyke: And.

Grumpy Old Prop: It's not like he was useless ball in hand.

Jarrod Dyke: He was absolutely, he was good in tech. And Richie offered so much more. Obviously, he was good in defense. He was good as a seven. He he offered his ah his leadership, his yeah and yes, his his attack.

Jarrod Dyke: His attack was more valuable than those two guys combined.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: um you know And that's that says a lot more about him than anything. So um what we need to look at here is Are those two things the things that people are going to be changing the channel from the Premier League on?

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: If the answer is no, why are we valuing them?

Grumpy Old Prop: Right.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, I want us to be smash smash. Cool. I got two places for you to go.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: You can go watch the wank ball or you can go watch fucking um combat sports.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right.

Jarrod Dyke: And I don't fucking want you. Go to hell. Like, go. Like, frankly, go fuck yourself. I don't want that, okay? If you're here for that and only that, okay, go away.

Jarrod Dyke: And you know what?

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: There's a reason that the women's game will outlast the men's game.

Grumpy Old Prop: good Because they have fun.

Jarrod Dyke: i see I see a player like the last two – like just just the last two players of the war ah players of the year for for the women's game. I see them as – more valuable to rugby than any of the last five maybe sans dupont okay and that's me saying that about like artie and i love artie okay but that's that's me saying that about the about him so it's a that's it if i were to and here and here's kind of

Grumpy Old Prop: Right.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like, I would pay to watch Artie, but that's because, like, I'm enjoying it on, like, a very high rugby level, too. Like, because he does some smart shit.

Jarrod Dyke: of oh my god

Grumpy Old Prop: When you look at, like, an Ellie Kildun, you don't need to be a ah knowledgeable rugby fan to understand her contribution to the game.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-mm.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like, and honestly, i'm ah i'm ah I feel like I'm a knowledgeable rugby fan. I don't see how Malcolm Marks is the best player in the world for the men. I don't see it.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-mm.

Grumpy Old Prop: I don't see it with with Peter Sefty Toy. I'm not saying they're not good players. I'm saying that when you, and they because they do amazing things in key situations. Absolutely. but when it's When it's big, they show up.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-mm.

Grumpy Old Prop: But, like, they're not lighting it up. It's not like they're they're they're, like, I don't know, a player the year.

Jarrod Dyke: No.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. Like, we need to rethink how we're marketing this.

Jarrod Dyke: Re-evaluate what that means. Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: and that's And it's funny because, like, I think we're talking about coaching a lot because that determines our enjoyment.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like, I don't care, and because that'll come, this'll come to the to my next thing.

Jarrod Dyke: In a lot of ways.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'll wait till you're done, but but that transitions right into it.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Nearly there. Yeah. It's... So here's kind of where um um where my brain is at right now.

Jarrod Dyke: There are two players I would have in mind you know when Lockheed grows up and is able to be more verbal and able to understand the game. If he were to sit there and say he sees a player such as a Tom Curry as a hero, I'd be extremely disappointed with myself, honestly.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm. Mm.

Jarrod Dyke: I would be so disappointed with myself because that's not good rugby. That's not that's not who what I would want any of my players that I coach to value. And contrast that with the skill set and everything that Sophie Deguti can do.

Jarrod Dyke: And if he were to say, she's a great player, I want to be, i want to do all the things she does. I would be so ecstatic and jumping through the roof here because that would make, that would make me happy. And that would mean that I've gotten him to understand, like, here's what makes good players. It's not being going on. And that's the other thing about the women's game.

Jarrod Dyke: Name me one women's player that goes out there on the field and decides I'm going to be a total bitch today.

Grumpy Old Prop: ah Thomas Lavagnini? Oh, we no, no. He plays the men. The men again.

Jarrod Dyke: He is a bitch sometimes, yes.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. Mm-hmm. but

Jarrod Dyke: no good no No doubt.

Grumpy Old Prop: ah

Jarrod Dyke: So and the amount of men's players that are like, I'm just going to go out to your go out of here today and be a total fucking asshole.

Grumpy Old Prop: hey

Jarrod Dyke: And there the the list of players is long. Many of them reside currently somewhere in Europe, and that's not good that's not good rugby Just to be an an asshole, just to be an asshole, does not make a good rugby player, is not valuable.

Jarrod Dyke: Plain and simple. And if it continues to be valuable, then yes, the women's game is going to surpass the men's game by a landslide.

Jarrod Dyke: that's That's my first one.

Grumpy Old Prop: There we go. So to that point, this leads Dext into the whole, again, we want enjoyment. So we wanna watch the best players play, but it doesn't matter if you have the best players,

Grumpy Old Prop: if you just play stupid rugby

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm. Yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: and um so there's a there's a thing huge example of that right now um in in and it's sucks as as saracen's saying to say it but looking at mark mccall looking at you bud where you've got so you look at the when when they were winning champions cups when they were doing the double um

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm. Yep. Yep. Staring right at you.

Grumpy Old Prop: winning the Prem regularly, they had great players.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: And they played a style of rugby. Like, they could beat you any single way. They could run on you. they They could kick on you. And I remember Owen Farrell back in the day being the guy who was putting pressure on you with his boot and not just by kicking it, hoofing it down the field aimlessly. It was tactically. It was, I'm going to have this ball bounce. And not just bounce once, but dribbles.

Grumpy Old Prop: like I'm going to put it so far into space that you guys are going to be wondering how the fuck I found this shit. And all of a sudden, not only that, but then when you return it, I'm going to put it into space going the other way.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm, yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm going to make you run back and forth. like did that shit regularly.

Jarrod Dyke: On the strings, yeah, yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: So they can they could do that because they were smart about it. And I feel like they've gotten into this... life they're they're they're A flip switched a couple years ago where it was Well, if you kick the most, if you kick for the most meters, you end up winning.

Grumpy Old Prop: And you don't even think about the what that means.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, man, yeah, that.

Grumpy Old Prop: You just think about, oh, that means we just should just kick all the time. And ever since that, because I think it was after Leicester did that, had their win, had their success, and it was, wow, they kicked a lot.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: Well, they didn't just kick a lot. They did what I was talking about with Farrell, whereas they're kicking and then putting pressure on you.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm. Yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: And what we see with Saracen sometimes is they just kick to kick. like They're not really kicking the retained cover.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: they're They're just putting it up in the air and they're punting and eventually bad things happen. and it's like you' doing like It's not what you're doing, it's how you're doing.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: It's what why is it successful. It's not just because they kicked it. It's because they ran on you and then when they had when they got a little bit behind you, it's simple tactics.

Grumpy Old Prop: you You're it around in and around midfield. If nothing's coming, yeah, put it in the fucking corner. That's how you win Because now, that you know, if you you get it down inside the other team's 20, deep inside their 20, they're kicking, you know, even if it's their lineup, they're kicking that out to touch, and now you have another opportunity to attack reasonably close to midfield.

Grumpy Old Prop: Open field. Go. There's your bears you chance. But if you have that, and but you just keep, you know, aimlessly kicking, whether or not you're winning the kicking battle, so many times, including this weekend, it ends up in your own tri-zone.

Grumpy Old Prop: Because... you kick it to the wrong guy or they just wait till you get the right rotation of guys and then they run it at the guy they want to run it. Cause you, they can be patient as we've seen little things like that.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, if it's but's crap kicking, they don't need to do anything special other than just be patient and wait for their chance, which was taken and has been taken the last two weeks easily, easily the last two weeks.

Grumpy Old Prop: Well, you know, like as you're saying,

Grumpy Old Prop: it

Grumpy Old Prop: yeah, easily. And it's, it's an ongoing thing. And it's like, so to me that it's problematic is now, you know, you want to go back to, Oh, well, they can't win without their salary cap stuff.

Grumpy Old Prop: But the disparity in talent now, or the amount of talent Saris have right now, is not that different from when it what it was back then.

Jarrod Dyke: No. No.

Grumpy Old Prop: So it's not like, oh, you ought to spend a lot of money.

Jarrod Dyke: No, I agree.

Grumpy Old Prop: No. You've got great players.

Jarrod Dyke: Which is...

Grumpy Old Prop: You've got some of the best players in the competition. Sarisons, I would put them, you know, 1 to like 30 or so up there with pretty much any other professional club team.

Grumpy Old Prop: Almost any. And say, you know what? These guys can go toe-to-toe.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Yes.

Grumpy Old Prop: And yeah, there'd be some that are better, but like there weren't not many.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: So it's not a talent disparity. It's all the coaching and what they're doing, what they're how they're being used.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: And that's got it like that's the problem. You can take great players and just put out a shit product if you don't coach well.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. No, I agree. I agree.

Grumpy Old Prop: And so what the fuck happened with Mark McCall that that went from from what it used to be to now?

Jarrod Dyke: it's It's really frustrating. Yep. No, I agree.

Grumpy Old Prop: What what what changed?

Jarrod Dyke: Right. Yeah, it's it's extremely disappointing. And it's, it's um yeah, it's almost like what he he's almost outsmarting himself a little bit.

Jarrod Dyke: Maybe.

Grumpy Old Prop: Or he's just, he thinks he's cleverer than he is. And it's like, no, you're not.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, maybe that too.

Grumpy Old Prop: That's the other thing about being a coach. you're not You're not smarter than the game. So just, like, flow with the game. What it does.

Grumpy Old Prop: And again, it is still a very newly professional sport compared to others.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: NFL's been going for like 100 years.

Jarrod Dyke: ah point

Grumpy Old Prop: Rugby's been professional for like a quarter of that. Not even a third.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, a little little more, but little more, but yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: like Definitely.

Grumpy Old Prop: Fuck, that was third. Shh. Shut up. 90s, never mind. 90s were 30 years ago. Fuck.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: That's my last complaint. I got a bonus to pick with the 1990s being 30 years ago.

Jarrod Dyke: yeah

Jarrod Dyke: ah Get over it.

Grumpy Old Prop: Fuck you guys. Dicks.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, no, I'm i'm with you because I'm on the same same vein with my with my second grievance and it is crap coaching and coaching crap. Like it is, it's not and it's not just, here's where where we're similar but different in this idea.

Jarrod Dyke: I've seen so much, and I'm just perusing my and going down my black hole and yeah my doom scrolling. I've seen so many bad coaching videos on social media that it's like, what are we doing? Like, you know, the the idea that you tackle by hitting up is so stupid to me because plain and simple, whether you're talking about a school, school team, or you're talking about, you know, an international team,

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: Humans get tired. It doesn't matter. And I know some just have absurd engines and I get that. that's that's the That's the exception, not the rule. Humans get tired. So when they're tired, bending over at the waist is a lot harder.

Jarrod Dyke: And if you're hitting up and you're starting at chest level, guess where you're going to end up?

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: You're going end up a chin level and you're going to get sent off. And duh. And then if it, it sucks that if it's down to coaching doing that. And Sam Warburton was having a good go at some of the coaching about a month ago because guys get kept getting hot caught wrong with their head wrong side as well.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: So he's like, yeah, this is all, this is like shit coaching. What the hell? You know? and So I'm in agreement on that. And yes, you know, we're coaching, players to just do the wrong shit.

Jarrod Dyke: And I'm so like, here's, and here's the other thing. Like i was thinking about it the other day as well. And this is, and I'm glad we ended up with this today. What is being valued with it as a coach by higher, by higher levels, what gets hired first, an attack coach for ah a head job or defense coaches for a head job.

Grumpy Old Prop: I mean, it it it is, yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Often it's a, it's a def defense defensive coach. And it's... That almost... It's backwards. Like, why... And I don't think Steve Tandy's going to be a bad coach.

Jarrod Dyke: I think he'll hopefully help to unfuck Wales slowly, unfortunately. um But why is someone like Bortho being valued over someone like Phil Dowson?

Jarrod Dyke: And they were talking about on the broadcast, actually, ah ironically enough, for the Northampton sale game. Like... Yeah, underrated thus far in what he's done. He's gotten them to a a premiership title.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yep.

Jarrod Dyke: He's gotten them to a Champions Cup final, which, you know, show me with a raise of hand if you had that on your bingo board.

Grumpy Old Prop: Up-premise, you know. No.

Jarrod Dyke: At the start of last year, I did not.

Grumpy Old Prop: No.

Jarrod Dyke: I thought they were great. And and they're they're fun to watch.

Grumpy Old Prop: They were good, but it wasn't like Yeah. Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: You know, people, when i when I sit there and gripe about about Saracens in particular, like, what the fuck are we doing? Why are we doing that? And why aren't we freaking having ball in hand? And people say, well, you know, i'll we it's like, really?

Jarrod Dyke: What the fuck do you think Northampton did when they won the title and when they went to the final?

Grumpy Old Prop: Right. Also, do you remember what happened that final with with with Bath, what they did? Their tactic was, yeah, just go out and bully them, smash them. And Beno Abano ended up with a red card.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep. Yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: And because as someone said, I feel like I heard it somewhere recently. can't remember when or where.

Jarrod Dyke: Right.

Grumpy Old Prop: You know, you teach people to smash, and they're eventually they're going to get high. Someone's going to get tired. Looking at you, prop.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: It's just the way it is. You know, like, you know, you versus a team that's just like, you know, we'll we'll score points.

Jarrod Dyke: Right.

Grumpy Old Prop: Let's see who who wants to put up some points. Hey, boys, let's have a point scoring contest.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Well, and think about it this way. Last I checked, there's no bonus points awarded in the standings for having having a donut, right? Or for holding a team without a try, right?

Grumpy Old Prop: Right.

Jarrod Dyke: But you get bonus points if you score more tries.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: what Why is that not valued? Why is that not valued? Like, Pat Lamb should have landed a job that next level by now. And how he hasn't, I don't know.

Jarrod Dyke: Maybe he's turned them all down because he loves Bristol that much.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Totally a possibility. No doubt. But if someone like him is not highly valued... Yeah. And, you know, they, the, what's his face for Quinns? He was brought in Evans.

Jarrod Dyke: Um, he was brought in and everything he said that he wanted to do was all shut down, which is why he gave him the bird and said, I'm going back to Quinns. Get the fuck out of here. Like, no, everything he wants to do.

Jarrod Dyke: They were just like, no, we don't want to do that.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: It's like why the fuck am I here?

Grumpy Old Prop: Locking my hair. Right.

Jarrod Dyke: like Jesus.

Grumpy Old Prop: We don't want to play we don't want to play with ball in hand. Well, then why the fuck did you hire an attack coach?

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, like, why am I here then? So he told him to fuck off and went back. Like, you know and whether or not that's the entire truth, I don't care. Like, that's pretty much how it played out.

Grumpy Old Prop: and Right. Right.

Jarrod Dyke: So it's just, yeah, it's just ridiculous.

Grumpy Old Prop: And that's the thing. Like... Because people don't understand what South Africa does. That's really what it comes down to. is that They don't understand how South Africa is winning these games.

Jarrod Dyke: True.

Grumpy Old Prop: And it's all fucking mindshare. This whole focus on the scrum, that's really not what's beaten, what's winning. mean, it helps. Don't get me wrong. It helps.

Jarrod Dyke: oh it's it It helps, but it's one of those many ways to win.

Grumpy Old Prop: But the thing is, these dudes can, yeah, but it's it's just an element of what they do.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: like Ultimately, what it comes down to is, oh, though everybody does their jobs at the highest level possible. Like, Just because you have an ah you know you're elite at scrummaging, elite at mauling, but you can still get around the park and make some tackles and be a shithouse or an ox.

Grumpy Old Prop: um Like, there's... What is it? Bongi? Fuck, I can't remember. Or they...

Jarrod Dyke: Bongi.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, Bongi. um Who can get around the park and and shithouse. And also scrum and run out and all that shit.

Grumpy Old Prop: But, like, you do that, but then when it comes time to attack, fuck, South Africa will carve you up. Like, yeah, they they what they do is they just work to put you in as much pressure as possible. They're a fucking boa constrictor.

Grumpy Old Prop: And it's not ah just about defense. It's not just about physicality. Those are just elements that they use. But everybody sees that and they're like, ooh, physical defense. It's like, no, that's not not how you win.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: that' That's not what's getting getting it over the line, guys.

Grumpy Old Prop: Because if you put, right, because if you actually put South Africa in a tri-sporting contest, which can be done, you just have to really fucking press it. you have a chance to win.

Grumpy Old Prop: But again, you you you you go right into their constriction point and their Wilboa constrict you, I think is the, yeah, the zoological term.

Jarrod Dyke: And they're happy to do it.

Grumpy Old Prop: So yeah, like, yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Fuck's sake.

Jarrod Dyke: No, no, no. Agreed. Won't, won't.

Grumpy Old Prop: All right.

Jarrod Dyke: All right, we have a we have our we have our grievances there, and I'd say... Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: And my other grievance is, is, is against myself from 10 minutes in the future, five minutes in the future, less than that.

Jarrod Dyke: ah

Jarrod Dyke: but yeah yeah

Grumpy Old Prop: So

Grumpy Old Prop: I will preface this by saying that Rob Baxter is a fucking shit rugby coach along the lines of what I've, we've just been talking about for the last four things.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm. Totally.

Grumpy Old Prop: Um,

Grumpy Old Prop: Recently, as in the last two to three years, he has been out coaching mark McCall on a regular basis.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm. That lot of

Grumpy Old Prop: And he did so again this past weekend. this was This was about Rob Baxter, even someone as Rob Baxter as as Rob Baxter can see

Grumpy Old Prop: How you can, like, um because this the same is true still. If you put the ball down and in in Exeter's, you know, just in their end, even if it's around midfield, you stop them for a phase or two. They're going to run forwards at you, and that's it. They're not going to run wide, likely.

Grumpy Old Prop: If you just go, you know, run you make your hits, you keep them a little bit going backwards, they will they will kick it on you. Because they don't have much of much else to do.

Grumpy Old Prop: If you do that and you just keep ball in hand, you can outscore them. You just run them. You can outscore them easily. You just run tries on them.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: We saw it when Saracens actually tried to run the ball on them for like the 20 minutes that they did it in the game. They were killing it. Whether or not they were scoring tries all the time, they weren't, but they were still putting them constantly under pressure. Almost tries. Almost tries.

Grumpy Old Prop: You keep at that. you know You get 15 opportunities. You score four tries. You're good.

Grumpy Old Prop: But the opposite is true, as we've seen with Sarri's, is if you just kick it down there, they'll just kick it right back to you. And at some point, you're going to figure out, if you're a good enough coach, you figure out, as I said, the rotation. you know Somebody kicks it, the other person's chasing. Now someone's got to drop back. Who's dropping back?

Grumpy Old Prop: Who's ready to kick the chase and chase and kick and chase? And when you get to, eventually, you're going to get to the right combination, the combination you want. Then you go. And that's what Exeter did, I would assume.

Grumpy Old Prop: maybe it wasn't the right combination, but it was still waiting. Just be patient. Wait until they'll they'll just keep doing this. They'll do this all fucking day.

Jarrod Dyke: Uh-huh.

Grumpy Old Prop: Just wait until you get the favorable conditions and you run. Or the forwards get tired and just stand still and now they're not ret retreating and now it's it's a penalty.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm. That's probably, yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: Fucking stupidly. So it that's what that's exactly what Baxter did. He's like, we'll just get them doing stupid stuff and then we'll have it on their goal line and fuck. There's a there's a coach that I know who, when it's when it's time to pick and go on the goal line, just has the players, yeah you know, the the call is exited. Because that's what they do so well.

Jarrod Dyke: Facts. Won't deny it.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like, it's not like they're they're doing anything wild. It's just, they're just working themselves into a better position than you. The call. Like, how do you lose to that team?

Jarrod Dyke: Exactly.

Grumpy Old Prop: At all. At all, as a professional coach.

Jarrod Dyke: o

Grumpy Old Prop: It's like, You can do things they can't. Just do those things and win. But no, there's got to be a I want to do it this way. Well, fuck you, dude. You got outcoached. That's easy.

Grumpy Old Prop: Okay, everybody knows you want to do it that way.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Why do you think you're losing so many games you should be winning?

Jarrod Dyke: Yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: Again, as I said before, you are not smarter than the game.

Jarrod Dyke: It's fact.

Grumpy Old Prop: I think McCall thinks he is.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Baxter's trying, but he's actually finding a way to not be sometimes.

Grumpy Old Prop: I don't know how the fuck they're winning all these games. Well, they haven't, like, this was their first impressive win of the season.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, considering what we've seen of other teams, yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like, yeah, they they haven't been beating the other team's best and they haven't been playing great opponents. This was the first one. Well, this is basically Sarri's, you know, this is Sarri's Champions Cup team.

Grumpy Old Prop: This is who they want to play. This is how they want to play.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: Well, that's why they lose.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep, agreed.

Grumpy Old Prop: why they lost down in sa to to a Sharks team that it was basically like, please win this game. And they're like, no.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, no kidding. They're like, never no make us.

Grumpy Old Prop: No. We don't want to.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Fuck you guys, man.

Jarrod Dyke: ah ah yeah All right. All right. Well, someone get Ben a protein drink after that.

Grumpy Old Prop: I hate me right now.

Jarrod Dyke: there's...

Jarrod Dyke: so there's there's There's a player that we that Ben and I don't like at all, um but i mean this this yeah you it'll it'll blow your eyes will widen when you realize who it is.

Grumpy Old Prop: Just one?

Jarrod Dyke: But there's something that I have to say that's i'm ah I'm quite jealous of for him. And that is the beard of which he so he sports on a regular basis. And it seems to be impenetrable. And it is is Luke Cowan Dickey.

Jarrod Dyke: And it just all never seems to just waver. It always seems to be in a perfect square off to a point. And it always seems to just be like it's been from a movie.

Jarrod Dyke: And it's something i cannot grow.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: So, anyway, that's ever seen the one time I tried to grow a beard. It was bad. It was like Wild Wooly. It was very bad. it was not it was not good at all.

Jarrod Dyke: ah So, it was like Wild Wooly and someone had like beard. a tremor and was like, whoops. And it shook up a little bit. That's what it looked like when I grew up here. So I, I am rather jealous and I admire the way that that stuff just seems to never move. It's always seems to be perfectly shaped.

Jarrod Dyke: And even when he puts his face into the dirt, like a knucklehead, it just seems to just go back to where it was. So I have to say that is something I admire and I wish I could do.

Jarrod Dyke: Let's tell you, you can go

Grumpy Old Prop: Hey, let's talk about the opposite, though.

Jarrod Dyke: fuck yourself.

Grumpy Old Prop: ah You remember the time I shaved my beard?

Jarrod Dyke: Oh my God.

Grumpy Old Prop: ha ha

Jarrod Dyke: ah Yes, I do. because i i i told high school boys about it and they were like, what did look like?

Jarrod Dyke: i was like, it didn't look good.

Grumpy Old Prop: ha ha. Ha ha ha ha.

Jarrod Dyke: was like, you need to grow that thing back pronto.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, I got a lot of that.

Jarrod Dyke: Thankfully, you're... So but Ben walks onto the field and i was like, who's the new guy? And I realized it was him because I started to ah like i started to like analyze what his kit was he was wearing at practice.

Jarrod Dyke: was like, holy shit, that's Ben.

Jarrod Dyke: ah And you had hair on top too.

Grumpy Old Prop: I did at the time, yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: So yeah, totally threw me off.

Grumpy Old Prop: Fuck, I can only imagine what I'd look like now.

Jarrod Dyke: I was like, oh boy. So for the best, for the best, uh, Ben has kept his beard since then for all our sakes.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mmm. Okay.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh man.

Grumpy Old Prop: That was a good palate cleanser.

Jarrod Dyke: All right.

Grumpy Old Prop: Thank you for setting that up for me.

Jarrod Dyke: Um, all right, let's, uh, let's run through this stuff as best we can. Cause there was only, there's only one real game and we've talked about it already a lot.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Um, The rest were kind of a nice try, but yeah you're still dog shit type of games.

Grumpy Old Prop: the

Jarrod Dyke: um

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. Ugh. Especially Gloucester, since we're starting. I guess we'll start there.

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, man. Yeah, yeah. We'll definitely start with that.

Grumpy Old Prop: I mean... oh I want... I know Skivs did a good job saving his job last year, but... Like, again, he's these he's now at that...

Jarrod Dyke: It's going very poorly this year.

Grumpy Old Prop: What Pat Lamb was, where it's like, dude, now it's it's... You know, you had your one chance when when your team showed us something at the end of last year.

Grumpy Old Prop: What are you doing now?

Jarrod Dyke: Right.

Grumpy Old Prop: And... oh

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. You know, and whether it's from his decision or the higher ups, it's almost irrelevant.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah,

Jarrod Dyke: um Sadly, as much as I want. There are a lot of guys that walked from this team from last year.

Grumpy Old Prop: yeah there are.

Jarrod Dyke: And, you know, some of it's his fault. Some it's not. So, you know, it's not entirely on him. But there yeah, there's problems that are going on.

Jarrod Dyke: And i don't think n Singles is hurt, and I don't think he's the the the missing key here by any means whatsoever.

Grumpy Old Prop: No.

Jarrod Dyke: I would say i'd say you at this point, the miss the biggest thing that we can look at, well, the back the back row is the problem.

Grumpy Old Prop: The lack of a back row. There's just no back row.

Jarrod Dyke: yeah Yeah, the back row is definitely a problem.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like your locks are, yourre you' that's a good front row.

Jarrod Dyke: I think some i think there'll be one guy that comes through. Yeah, I think there'll be one guy that eventually comes through with that back row that really stands up.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: not low though Don't worry about that. um

Grumpy Old Prop: No.

Jarrod Dyke: I think really look you can look at the decision to sign Ross Byrne.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: I think that's... And sorry for Ross Byrne. That's where the problem's going. I'm not saying Ross Byrne's a bad person. I'm saying he's a dog-shit fly half. And that's all it is.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, he hasn't been good.

Jarrod Dyke: um

Grumpy Old Prop: um He had a couple good moments in this game, but, like, yeah, for the most part.

Jarrod Dyke: And you have... And you had Charlie Atkinson, too. Like, you you could have, and you've been sporting him at 15 because you've had back three problems, okay.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: But you could have just said, oh, we have, when when Gareth Anscombe and Santi both said bye-bye, you could have said, oh, we have Charlie.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm. Yeah, just go with that.

Jarrod Dyke: Let's play Charlie at 10. And you have a very good nine inside him with Thomas Williams that could easily help guide him.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right.

Jarrod Dyke: to improving as a player, which we've seen the talent level he has. The game he played a few weeks ago was freaking awesome.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right.

Jarrod Dyke: So it's not like he's, you know, there's nothing there. There's plenty there. They just decided that this money was better spent with Russ Byrne than maybe somewhere else and then and let Charlie Atkinson, you know, take the reins of 10 and then you start developing another guy behind him.

Grumpy Old Prop: this is also This is also a point in favor of, hey, you've got nothing to play for. Play the young kid. Like last year, when when it was clear that Gloucester weren't going anywhere.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm. Again.

Grumpy Old Prop: Play Atkinson. And, you know, maybe Santi and Anskam will leave. Or even after they they signed to leave. As soon as they signed to leave, it's like, okay, well, we've got this kid.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like, we'll take our fucking, we're going to take our lumps either way.

Jarrod Dyke: They were trying to chase down a a semifinal place. They weren't that far off, but...

Grumpy Old Prop: That's fair. That's true. That's true. I was thinking two years ago.

Jarrod Dyke: Two years ago, definitely.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: No, I totally agree. Two years ago, they should just you know put put it put it away and been like, you know what? We won't finish worse than Newcastle.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: Let's go let's go see how what happens. you know

Grumpy Old Prop: and Yeah. But now it's like, you're going to burn. like you should have You should have had the kid ready so that you didn't have to do something like that to to have a kind of a boring fly half who who doesn't really do much more than paid by numbers. Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: You know, look look at the other side, you know.

Jarrod Dyke: No, and...

Grumpy Old Prop: Lester, um

Grumpy Old Prop: looking kind of smooth. It's like they, it's, no.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, but they don't need James O'Connor right now if they don't if they don't have to.

Grumpy Old Prop: Cyril, you know, and um Bailey didn't do so bad so bad when he came on the GOAT.

Jarrod Dyke: Says a lot.

Grumpy Old Prop: um So they've got, yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Right.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, it's... Yeah, it's... I mean, and I like... We've talked about him already. I like Morrow a lot. I really do. um The Thompson can didn't look bad.

Jarrod Dyke: Glossier definitely made him look good.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, they did.

Jarrod Dyke: Let's put it that way.

Grumpy Old Prop: They definitely did.

Jarrod Dyke: um

Grumpy Old Prop: mean, not to say he didn't play well.

Jarrod Dyke: And they still have...

Grumpy Old Prop: He played well, but they he was given lots of opportunities.

Jarrod Dyke: no. no Yeah, that's robbing him a little bit.

Grumpy Old Prop: Good for him. Not so good for the

Jarrod Dyke: Yep. um And they have... they have a good second row stock between Henderson Wells and Chessom.

Grumpy Old Prop: roster.

Jarrod Dyke: Um, there's, there's a lot to like. There really is. You know, Blumeyer has brought, uh, an element they didn't necessarily have.

Grumpy Old Prop: There it

Jarrod Dyke: Um, well, I guess that's probably robbing Montoya of a little bit, but he's given them that safety net of, okay, we don't need to worry about Montoya leaving. We have Blumeyer.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: So they're not leaning on a Charlie Claire because that's obviously problematic.

Grumpy Old Prop: Because also Montoya's

Jarrod Dyke: um

Grumpy Old Prop: also gone a little bit downhill in the last couple of years, unfortunately.

Jarrod Dyke: he's gone his His age has just hit hit that wall, you know.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. Right. It's nothing against. Yeah, exactly. It is what it is.

Jarrod Dyke: And um I mean, let's look at... Here's where everything comes on to Skibs for me. The Kata try. What defense was that?

Jarrod Dyke: Like, you're telling me that was the defense you were setting up? on i hope not. And the players totally cocked it.

Grumpy Old Prop: no the players like every every player on the every player on the field made a career decision and that's not acceptable everybody's like god no not this I'm good no

Jarrod Dyke: But again, this is this is your this is your defense.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, so it's just, yeah, like, I know the back of the line out is an exposed area and a lot of people try to attack it, but shouldn't you know that as a defense coach?

Grumpy Old Prop: right And that's that's the thing.

Jarrod Dyke: Or as a coach in general?

Grumpy Old Prop: like that's That's the whole point of being a gunner that back there. It's okay. Yeah, you're if if they try to go inside, you're the guy who's smashing. You're in that position because that's that's what you do.

Jarrod Dyke: You got to chop him.

Grumpy Old Prop: You chop. you're the you It should be go to the best you know ah blitz and chopper on the team.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

Grumpy Old Prop: And yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Totally in agreement on that one. So yeah, let's gives you got trouble, man. Um, we don't need to so spend much more time on stone X. We kind went over it.

Jarrod Dyke: Um, I will say there's one player that I have concerns over if I were a Australia fan and a Tuber. And, you know, for i was I had so many glowing remarks for him coming off the back of the international season for the Wallabies and and for the Brumbies.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: In those two kits, had me convinced that he's going to be an outstanding back rower. Since he's joined this fucking Exeter team, Things have kind of gone sideways, and he's been mostly just a shithouser, which shouldn't shock me considering where he is.

Grumpy Old Prop: yeah Right.

Jarrod Dyke: But still, it's disappointing. And, know, right now, if there's an international back row in that team, it is Fissilow.

Grumpy Old Prop: It is.

Jarrod Dyke: And he played great. He played absolutely outstanding.

Grumpy Old Prop: He did play great. He did.

Jarrod Dyke: There's no denying it.

Jarrod Dyke: But, yeah. And, yeah, no, Saracens are the the one through, as you alluded to, you know the one through players.

Jarrod Dyke: is high quality and people were, you know, the first couple of games of the season, people were gushing about it. And you look at the, look at the back row locker alone and it's eye popping.

Jarrod Dyke: And it's like, wow, that's really good.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right.

Jarrod Dyke: Where the fuck are they all the way down there in the standings?

Grumpy Old Prop: like we talked You talked about Fizzleau being the one real like international on on Exeter.

Jarrod Dyke: You know?

Grumpy Old Prop: I would take just of all the players that were in you know just on on the Saris, Gonzo, Earl, Willis, and then the reserve Onyama Christy.

Grumpy Old Prop: I would take all four of them, any four of them, over Fisilow. And Fisilow's not bad. These guys are just, good they're not just international players, they're quality international players.

Jarrod Dyke: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: Or quality players at the international level.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep. Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, how do you how is your team this bad?

Jarrod Dyke: Yep.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, and Fergus Burke and Charlie Bracken should have had a ton more time in this game, especially when things No, not not if Burke's not on there.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, I'm sorry. like Like, there's no point in having Owen Farrell and Nick Tompkins on the field at the same time. They're the same player.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right. Well, no, if I,

Jarrod Dyke: i can live with twelve I can live with the two of them at 12 and 13. It was working well for the most part.

Grumpy Old Prop: yeah, I guess, but it's, I'd still rather have, I still want a more attacking threat somewhere in the centers.

Jarrod Dyke: I can live with that. If Burks can.

Grumpy Old Prop: And those guys, again, they are more at this point, certainly faz.

Jarrod Dyke: Hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: Tomo has always been more of it like a defense, but he's much more of a 12 to me. but If he's at 13, I'm not, I'm not loving it. It's not a statement of we're going to run the ball because he's not much of a distributor.

Jarrod Dyke: No. No, I won't.

Grumpy Old Prop: He's not much of a runner. He's a ah hitter.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, I think Cindy dropping late hurt us.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, that's it.

Jarrod Dyke: don't think there's any way around that.

Grumpy Old Prop: Is that right? That would have been helpful. But but either way, you've got like you've got options.

Jarrod Dyke: Extremely, because he's been so dynamic.

Grumpy Old Prop: And I don't think they they chose them well. um

Jarrod Dyke: No.

Grumpy Old Prop: And yeah, this is... Seriously. Why did... He's not...

Jarrod Dyke: Sale, do you want Elliot Daly right now? you You can have him.

Grumpy Old Prop: seriously

Jarrod Dyke: ah I don't want him.

Grumpy Old Prop: why did that

Jarrod Dyke: I don't want him right now.

Grumpy Old Prop: he's he's not

Jarrod Dyke: He's been... He's been 90% trash since he's been and the in the team.

Grumpy Old Prop: And that 10%, I think, was all one game. way

Jarrod Dyke: Yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: like the human Was it the last game?

Jarrod Dyke: I believe.

Grumpy Old Prop: I can't remember. Was it the Sharks game, or was Claremont, okay.

Jarrod Dyke: Claremont, I believe.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, he had a a real good game.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: And that was, it's like, okay, well, look, if this is what Ellie Daly looks like when he plays 15, apparently not always.

Jarrod Dyke: No, definitely not. um go Let's go to the gardens.

Grumpy Old Prop: So need Sale. i

Jarrod Dyke: um

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, I think the answer is yes.

Jarrod Dyke: Yes.

Grumpy Old Prop: From Sale.

Jarrod Dyke: ah Yeah, I know, right? um So, who's the best back rower in this game?

Grumpy Old Prop: um it wasn't any no one from sale the top back row was in some order the 678 from Northampton

Jarrod Dyke: No. No. This...

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: maybe

Jarrod Dyke: The... Yeah, the entire back row of Northampton played outplayed what is apparently a world-class, all-select back rower in Tom Curry.

Grumpy Old Prop: Ernst Van Ryn oh yeah it's on fire

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. yeah and i So here's the thing, and sometimes it is just shit luck, and and there's no way around it.

Jarrod Dyke: People are you know pointing at sales injury lists. That's been a common theme for them, if I recall correctly. So is it bad luck or is it their playing style that's doing them in?

Jarrod Dyke: going go the latter because it happens more often than not.

Grumpy Old Prop: But also, who are they who are they missing? I mean, yeah, they're... Carpenter...

Jarrod Dyke: Roebuck and Carpenter, who sounds like Roebuck's out for a while.

Grumpy Old Prop: and Robo, yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Carpenter, yes. And then, you know, you could have ah you could have lists of other guys in there too. And people, you know, they just got Didi.

Grumpy Old Prop: Oh, yeah, I guess... Shit, who's the the center? Masi White.

Jarrod Dyke: Mozzie White's out. Yeah. So there's there are guys that they, if they wanted to, you know, actually attack. Like, we we have seen them do it, by the way.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. But yeah, there's there's still something to be said about you constantly have a long injury list, and it's probably down to the your style of play.

Grumpy Old Prop: I mean, look.

Grumpy Old Prop: Mm-hmm.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. I mean, Wills, Reed, and O'Flaherty all had some flashes. I mean, O'Flaherty put two? What the fuck? but I mean, that, you know, garbage time is what it is.

Jarrod Dyke: Well, read George Hendy like a book.

Grumpy Old Prop: But yeah. ah um

Jarrod Dyke: that was That was a bad decision by Andy.

Grumpy Old Prop: ah Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: That was a really bad decision by him.

Grumpy Old Prop: Fair enough, too. um But like, even when you and if if Tom O'Flaherty is making plays, then you're doing something, you're doing you you have the capability to do something right. Because he's, you're giving, you know, in I guess in a fully advantaged situation.

Grumpy Old Prop: um

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, even even O'Flaherty can evade tackling.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, no kidding.

Grumpy Old Prop: With his reduced speed at this point of his his life.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: but yeah i agreed um

Jarrod Dyke: yeah just oh oh it was great it's fucking great and yeah this is the saints team where we remember from know two years ago when they were

Grumpy Old Prop: But how good was that Kemeny try?

Jarrod Dyke: looking at a Prem title and you know last year in Champions Cup.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: and i Listen, i right now, if you're telling me i have a chance to go to a Saints game or to a Saracens game, I want to go to a Northampton game.

Jarrod Dyke: Thank you very much.

Grumpy Old Prop: yeah

Jarrod Dyke: And that might be blasphemy. I honestly don't give a fuck.

Grumpy Old Prop: That's just a better, I but want to see the better product.

Jarrod Dyke: thank you

Grumpy Old Prop: And it's like a shot of Saris.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep, agreed.

Grumpy Old Prop: Are they going to play something fun are they just going not play rugby for 80 minutes?

Jarrod Dyke: Be idiots. Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: p

Jarrod Dyke: Yep. Agreed. Agreed.

Grumpy Old Prop: And also, Finn Smith looked every bit the International 10.

Jarrod Dyke: ah

Grumpy Old Prop: What the fuck, Bortho? What the fuck?

Jarrod Dyke: I'm, I, England won't win as long as Barthol is in charge. That's all I know.

Grumpy Old Prop: No, because he's just doing the same thing over and over again.

Jarrod Dyke: If he's in charge and yeah, if he's in charge in 2017, he went, they ain't winning. Same as plain simple. Um, let's go to, let's go to HQ. Okay.

Jarrod Dyke: Big one for... Quinns gets stood up in their big game a little bit. Oof. Oof.

Grumpy Old Prop: That was harsh.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: That was...

Jarrod Dyke: I mean, Bristow came out with her hair on fire and never looked back.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, pretty much. i mean... Oh.

Jarrod Dyke: Started with the the Genji. I actually have it on right now. The Genji no look that Batley was able to break the line on and things just never really changed from there.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: But it's ah it's that's a, I mean, so first of all, number one, let's just point this out because i was thinking about front rows and how much I wish we had a guy that could scrum a little bit and could play a little loose, which makes Genj the best loose head in the world for me.

Jarrod Dyke: And I don't care if you're Ox fan or whatever. He scrums and he does damage in the loose. and he's And yes, he's a great defender too. he can get you he can get in those dirty areas to get a ball back.

Jarrod Dyke: He does it all and from a loose head position. he's the but He's the best loose head in the world.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, but I mean, you just don't see him run, go for long runs ever, ever. Oh, wait.

Jarrod Dyke: Ever. yeah

Grumpy Old Prop: Right. Oh, wait, you don't see it because they're showing you the replay of the kick that just got missed, and then they kick the touch, and then the quick throw in.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: They just missed the quick throw in because whoever was directing was not paying attention.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, right. what's

Grumpy Old Prop: Get your shit together.

Jarrod Dyke: Damn it, director. um

Grumpy Old Prop: It's... No. Oh, um...

Jarrod Dyke: Get it together. I mean, and is is there a better name in rugby than Lovejoy Chawatama?

Grumpy Old Prop: it's it's

Grumpy Old Prop: no oh um

Grumpy Old Prop: no I'll just go with no for now because I can't think of one off but I'll get one.

Jarrod Dyke: There's some good ones out there probably, but that's that's right there on the top top of the list.

Grumpy Old Prop: But it's great.

Grumpy Old Prop: It is.

Jarrod Dyke: But yeah, so these...

Grumpy Old Prop: I am preferable to...

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, the Bears just embarrassed them.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm favorable to Asherah Poku for Jorah because it's fun to say.

Jarrod Dyke: That's a good one too.

Grumpy Old Prop: It is fun to say.

Jarrod Dyke: That's a good two. Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: But Lovejoytawatama is fun for a different... It's like... Okay, no. There's no better name. there There are names that are as good.

Jarrod Dyke: There go. that's a good That's a good way to phrase it. Yep. That's a good way to phrase it. Yeah, and this this is ah this is a great performance Patland's team. They're back on the hunt, obviously. Yeah,

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, just fucking stop. That was a... oh That was a statement.

Jarrod Dyke: this is... this Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: That wasn't that wasn't just a... It was like a hit from the water point. There's a lot of lot of pain in those eyes. Like, you pain and shame in those eyes.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like...

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. so And sadly... For Quinns, they played their final basically when they beat Saracens at home. That's what kind of feels like right now. And I hate to say that.

Jarrod Dyke: But it's just what it feels like right now. Because they have not... i don't even count the Newcastle game. They've not really gotten up for any other game.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: And they need to find a way to pull their head from betwixt their cheeks. like and i and And I know they lost their coach early. like real Well, not early, but way too close to the season than they would want to. But it's still, you you gotta play you're out here. You've got to play, man.

Jarrod Dyke: no there is no There is no option B. So you've got to have to, as one may say, players only meeting.

Grumpy Old Prop: yeah

Jarrod Dyke: You've got to call each other together.

Grumpy Old Prop: Because they've got the players.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: it's not They're not bad. Like, that... Like, are is it their... Is it who they want out there for every game? No.

Grumpy Old Prop: But Treadwell's been playing in lights out the past couple weeks.

Jarrod Dyke: He's playing very well. Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: You still have... and those you can You can carry Zach Carr, especially for 40 minutes until Will can come on.

Jarrod Dyke: Agreed.

Grumpy Old Prop: But, like, Kenningham and Chandler Cunningham South are good players. You look at that backline the you're only missing Tyrone Green?

Grumpy Old Prop: And Cleves is no, you know he's no slouch.

Jarrod Dyke: been He's been playing pretty well.

Grumpy Old Prop: And you still have his, he had his girl on the bench. Like that's, that's, you know, Waghorn's been, look, he's shown flashes of of being really good.

Jarrod Dyke: He's looking good.

Grumpy Old Prop: You're really, like, you look at his team and it's basically like, what, the props that you're not really happy with?

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Probably, yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Because like Walker and Riley, they they were good.

Jarrod Dyke: and front and And the hooker position, let's be honest.

Grumpy Old Prop: They've been, They were playing for, for Quins when they were winning the, the Prem. These aren't new guys.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, but they they were not winning it because of them, I can tell you that much.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right. But they weren't, you know, and right now they're not losing it because those guys are playing. It's like,

Grumpy Old Prop: I, I don't know what's, what's, what's going wrong there.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Problems.

Grumpy Old Prop: But.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, not sure they do at this point either.

Jarrod Dyke: And then.

Grumpy Old Prop: It's just they've lost they've lost their edge of like that that attacking, like, we're going to carve you the fuck up.

Jarrod Dyke: aqui Oh, for sure. 100%.

Grumpy Old Prop: They they don't have that swagger anymore.

Jarrod Dyke: No, no, they need to be like I said, they all need to have a chat with each other.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. Marcus Smith tried to bring... know it was garbage time, but still, it's like, okay, now just do that. like the part of Part of what made Marcus Marcus was he would say, you know what? Fuck this shit.

Grumpy Old Prop: Fuck the game plan. I'm just going to read and react and put put tries over. So i think that's, you know, at some point just let it, like, just cut it loose.

Grumpy Old Prop: I think the coaches are restraining them a little too much.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, there's that might be true

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, let's let's jump up to Newcastle real quick we don't need to spend a ton time on it League leaders do what league leaders do

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, and really for me, I'm gonna spend just a little bit of time on on Newcastle. I thought Conant played ah a real good game. which is shocking say, but i've I've been kind of, you know, I've been up on him for a little bit.

Jarrod Dyke: What

Grumpy Old Prop: um

Grumpy Old Prop: I will say tom Christie, like also bringing the shithouse to the prem from, from Southern hemisphere.

Jarrod Dyke: was of the front rowers?

Grumpy Old Prop: That, that was not him on crusaders doing shit like that. So I don't, I didn't like that. What was you to get mixed up with? Was it a,

Jarrod Dyke: was it one in front rowers

Grumpy Old Prop: It may have been. might have been Griffin. No. I can't remember who it was. But it was just like, what are you doing?

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, was it...

Jarrod Dyke: You can do it. I believe in you. um Was it me? Yeah. Oh, was it one of the the young Academy kids, maybe?

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, it was a young kid.

Jarrod Dyke: So maybe Richards.

Grumpy Old Prop: Might have been, yeah. Yeah. Richards or Staten.

Jarrod Dyke: Okay. Yeah, one of those two. Possibly. Yeah. I mean, there there was some fun stuff that they that Bath put in.

Grumpy Old Prop: But like...

Jarrod Dyke: I thought the Spencer try was a lot of fun.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yes, it was.

Jarrod Dyke: And then the run that Underhill busted was... They looked at the pass. I was like, just play, please.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: That ah that might be forward at best. and i don't

Grumpy Old Prop: yeah

Jarrod Dyke: i'm not I'm not calling that that back for a might.

Jarrod Dyke: So... Please and thank you. Goodbye. and they And they did it with... They did it... And so many teams will make this mistake by making too many changes when they go to ne Newcastle.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right.

Jarrod Dyke: I think they do... I mean, they have some nice reserves with... um we'll call Will Bottom today, and and Chris Harris in the midfield. They called him one you know not typical winger with Hennessy, who still obviously has a shitload talent.

Jarrod Dyke: um Richard Stad and Griffin were kind of not usuals. and then they But then they had big firepower on the bench still, too. So, yeah, they they did okay in terms of that.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, I can't argue with the result. um

Jarrod Dyke: Nope.

Grumpy Old Prop: It's also good to know that you can f throw Santee at 10. Like these are things you find out about your team, right? What happens if Finn Russell's injured?

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: God fucking forbid. Sport can't have that. These are messy. um But

Grumpy Old Prop: for you know if you need to play Carreras, can you can and he operate it at this level? and I don't care that it was against Newcastle. I care that he really ran that team well and and put them in a great position.

Jarrod Dyke: Right. there' There's a lot to be said about, well, I don't love Senti as tennis preferred position. i

Grumpy Old Prop: Right.

Jarrod Dyke: I obviously think he's a much better fullback. There's a lot to be said about a guy playing that position from non-English speaking country that has to adapt well to that. Yes, he's played in England for a few years now, so he has probably learned the language quite well.

Jarrod Dyke: But number one, that says a lot about him as a person who's willing to do the extra work so we can be a good teammate. But two, like just you know it's hard on your brain when you're trying to think of so something you want to say very quickly. And the first thing that comes out is not a language that's going to be understood by everyone else on the field.

Jarrod Dyke: And you're going to go, oh, shit, I got to change that in my head.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: And just be able to to do that instinctively says a lot about him. So I give him credit. you know i'm not Again, I'm not... I don't think he's a world beater at 10, but I give him lot of credit to play that position, be able to boss the team around, in it again, in a language that he doesn't speak offhand very quickly. I can imagine trying to fucking speak French just you know in a conversation, let alone when I've got adrenaline pumping through my veins and I'm trying to get shit done in a fairly timely manner and I need to think of the words and it isn't coming to me naturally. So, yeah, good on him.

Jarrod Dyke: Uh, let's just jump into the, to the most important superlatives. Cause there were some great performances and there were some shit ones too. i think we all, I think we all agree on that.

Jarrod Dyke: Um, but so how about a young player for the week?

Grumpy Old Prop: Shoot. Where was it?

Grumpy Old Prop: No, it wasn't that. Sorry. I'm going to punt to you for a second while sort mine out. This one I didn't do.

Jarrod Dyke: i'll I mean, I'll throw, there's a couple guys out there that probably could be worse worthy of it. One one of them did get binned, tame, but Hobson, the the loose head that had the spot start for Harlan Quinns.

Grumpy Old Prop: Oh.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, that's right.

Jarrod Dyke: Had a pretty good game.

Grumpy Old Prop: I mean, Hathaway had a try.

Jarrod Dyke: Had pretty good game.

Grumpy Old Prop: it he's He's still coming on. I know he's that's kind of lame because he was a he came on last year trying to show some sort of love.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: to Gloucester.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: I mean, and you know, since he's still around this year as as a new newbie, Kalori, with the ah the sweet pick off of Slade, just that that can't be your only attack, Saris.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: You can't just rely on a fluke play here or there to to score a try.

Jarrod Dyke: No.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. But if you're a Wiley veteran like Slade, you can't get beat by a kid like that.

Grumpy Old Prop: Also that. he would He just picked him clean.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Read like a book. um Any reps to stand out?

Grumpy Old Prop: Only that even even if you take um Tempo away from the booth and you put him on the sidelines as an AR, he's still going to find a way to to disallow tries.

Jarrod Dyke: yeah Yep.

Grumpy Old Prop: Because he's a fucking dick like that.

Jarrod Dyke: Facts. no Dick.

Grumpy Old Prop: I don't think that this was all quite good. Just let it play, dude.

Jarrod Dyke: Go away.

Grumpy Old Prop: You don't need to get involved.

Jarrod Dyke: Go away. Nobody likes you anyway.

Grumpy Old Prop: You really don't. Like, stop trying to find... Like, I swear, he enjoys the hell out of trying to find ways to disallow tries.

Grumpy Old Prop: Like, I want to not let that happen. Fucking at all. Fuck you, dude.

Jarrod Dyke: That was way too much fun out there. We can't possibly have that out on our field.

Grumpy Old Prop: Right. Yeah, we can't... No, don't no, no, no, no.

Jarrod Dyke: Okay.

Grumpy Old Prop: Fun was had. Stop the clock.

Jarrod Dyke: Okay.

Grumpy Old Prop: Hold on. Check, check.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, wait, wait, wait, wait. We need a check check here. That was way too much fun. um

Grumpy Old Prop: I saw a child smiling over there. Must...

Grumpy Old Prop: and

Jarrod Dyke: and Taking that candy away. but He would.

Grumpy Old Prop: Must break him.

Jarrod Dyke: oh God. um Coaches.

Grumpy Old Prop: i did that already. I'm done.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, I'll throw Dowson out there.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm not saying that name again.

Jarrod Dyke: I'll i'll throw Dowson out there, too.

Grumpy Old Prop: There you go.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. act on him All right. And Parling. like I said I liked what Parling was doing. I still like what he's doing over there.

Grumpy Old Prop: Oh.

Jarrod Dyke: All right. Try the week.

Grumpy Old Prop: Alice Genge.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: Always the prop running 45 meters. And yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep, yep, yep. Good stuff. um I thought Kemeny was good.

Grumpy Old Prop: Tom Curry could never.

Jarrod Dyke: we No, no. No, no, no. And yeah, speaking of back rows, Kemeny was really good.

Grumpy Old Prop: It was also quite good.

Jarrod Dyke: Made a lot of people look silly.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: um

Grumpy Old Prop: Tom Curry could never.

Jarrod Dyke: Definitely not. But with all that, if you haven't seen Kildun's try from the game before, Genge, go watch it.

Grumpy Old Prop: Oh, shit.

Jarrod Dyke: Go watch it. Something to Behold.

Grumpy Old Prop: I still don't know how how that bounced. Like, okay. I get it that what she... So here's the thing. that you gotta realize about a rugby ball and how people chase it. 99, not probably more than that, 999 players out of a thousand, because it's just human instinct, will run towards that ball where it's going.

Grumpy Old Prop: It takes the one to say, you know what? Looking at where that ball is likely to go, there's like, look at how it's being chased, right? There's one defender that's in this channel. There's one defender that's in this channel.

Grumpy Old Prop: there's only one other place for it to go, this third channel, you know left, right, center. I'm going to just occupy the channel that's unoccupied. And that's what just happened that that's where the ball bounced.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep. Yep. Yep. Yeah, it was great.

Grumpy Old Prop: But it's like you do that and either way, if the ball bounces you either of the other two ways, you're still in position to make a tackle.

Jarrod Dyke: yep

Grumpy Old Prop: That's perfect. It's just the the knowledge to say, oh, I'm going to step out and into the space. And for the audacity of that rugby ball, The nerve to bounce it that way.

Jarrod Dyke: mean

Grumpy Old Prop: Oh, gorgeous.

Jarrod Dyke: yeah was great And that and that and that is that right there is it's how you kick. It's not just kicking. Because it came from our kick. So, yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: It's not just kicking. It's how you kick. And kicking with some sense and purpose to it.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, right. Right.

Jarrod Dyke: Player of the Week.

Grumpy Old Prop: ah To me

Grumpy Old Prop: I would go with one second. Sorry. I had it up and I put it down. Because I'm silly.

Grumpy Old Prop: um Tom Jordan. Even with the yellow.

Jarrod Dyke: Okay. Even with the

Grumpy Old Prop: He bet... It's just stunning to me how well the Bristol attack has kept up without like several key players. And I mean, it's nice to see Harry Randall coming back, but the way Marmion has guided this team has been amazing.

Grumpy Old Prop: um Jordan and Worsley have guided this team has been amazing because they're not, then they're not going to have AJ.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: So it's like, this is it. um And they're, they're putting people in the right place and they're putting the ball where it needs to go.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, AJ's going to be alone for a bit.

Grumpy Old Prop: And, So this week was was Jordan as the 10, so he gets to me the credit.

Jarrod Dyke: Nice. Yeah. Love it. Love it. Good stuff. Honorable mention to Henry Pollock, who had a fucking storm every game for...

Grumpy Old Prop: Oh, yeah, and Joe Badley. So I'm still from that same year.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Oh, yeah. I know. Love seeing giraffe get loose over and over again.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah, it wasn't just the once. Like, the yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: couple times.

Grumpy Old Prop: a yeah Once would have been enough to to give him an honorable mention, but you know, it's...

Jarrod Dyke: Oh, yeah. Definitely. Love it. Well done, Joe. um Dick of the Week.

Grumpy Old Prop: with tempo as always. But also, um Fuck, who was it?

Grumpy Old Prop: Besides Mark McCall.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, McCall definitely deserves some mention in there.

Grumpy Old Prop: Who got... Was there a red card? Or was there a should-have-been-a-red card? That I don't know how... Um...

Jarrod Dyke: Claire got a red. Hearing the shit of that.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah. It wasn't that bad.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Grumpy Old Prop: It wasn't, like, dick of the week-ish. Um...

Jarrod Dyke: Nope.

Grumpy Old Prop: Anyone from Sale? No. Oh. No. Was it Vermeulen? Or by thinking of a previous game? nope for No, Vermeulen did not get carded.

Jarrod Dyke: Possibly. No.

Grumpy Old Prop: No.

Jarrod Dyke: don't know.

Grumpy Old Prop: Alright. I'm sticking with my decks, the coach and the TMO. Or the...

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, I'm with you on that one.

Grumpy Old Prop: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Cool. All right, let's do some pick-up then we can get on with it. All right.

Grumpy Old Prop: Get on with it.

Jarrod Dyke: Wake up, damn you. um So Friday, Boxing Day. It's an early kickoff for those that haven't noticed yet. um It's going to a 1230 kickoff here in the States, so I assume that's going to be what?

Jarrod Dyke: Late afternoon over there.

Grumpy Old Prop: Something like that. Yeah, even like dinner time, 5.30ish, supper time.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, late afternoon or early evening. Yep, yep. So keep your keep your alarm bells high there.

Grumpy Old Prop: Maybe sometime between the teens.

Jarrod Dyke: Sail and Quinns.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm going to go with sale because it's at home.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, that's the only thing that's making me nudge that way. ah Bristol, Newcastle.

Grumpy Old Prop: me Bristol by a lot.

Jarrod Dyke: Not a question. Yeah. I'm kind of worried about this. Gloucester Saracens.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm going to tentatively say Saracens because no matter what, they're still playing better than Gloucester. just playing right now

Jarrod Dyke: Which is terrifying because Gloucester are not playing very well. um For the most part, at least. Bath, Northampton. This will be fun.

Grumpy Old Prop: right now. I think we all win this one by getting to watch it.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah, I mean, assuming good things happen, yeah, I agree.

Grumpy Old Prop: I'm gonna go with the hippy-dippy answer here.

Jarrod Dyke: You're not you not going to...

Grumpy Old Prop: No, I have to pick one. um I'm gonna go with the hosts, because they're the hosts.

Jarrod Dyke: Same. Yeah, that's the nudge right there.

Jarrod Dyke: this will be This one's going to be interesting, too. Exeter and Leicester.

Grumpy Old Prop: I got Leicester.

Jarrod Dyke: Same.

Grumpy Old Prop: And I think it's because Exeter just won their Super Bowl, essentially.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah.

Jarrod Dyke: Yeah. Yeah, that's kind of where I'm at, too.

Grumpy Old Prop: and And it's not that, I'm not saying that they're not ah a top four team. They may be a top four team just based on the way the Prem is going right now. um But, like, they're still, i think that was, that they're they're just going to be so high on themselves.

Grumpy Old Prop: And there's going to be a little bit of ah a coasting and a hangover for this one. And Leicester aren't a bad team. They'll they'll get in the muck. And I think they can pull it out.

Grumpy Old Prop: Crazy.

Jarrod Dyke: Yep. Freezing boom. Okay. Well, that'll be that. um We're going to do a very brief fantasy corner in a little bit here.

Jarrod Dyke: If you're going to join us there, we'll see you there. If not, we appreciate you guys listening to us and hanging around for Festivus and with the rest of us. And we'll catch you guys next week. Enjoy the enjoy the holiday if for those of you that are celebrating. And now we'll catch you guys next week. Enjoy everyone.

Grumpy Old Prop: Later.

Jarrod Dyke: Cheers.