Former England wing Denny Solomona gunning for Super Rugby call-up Former England wing Denny Solomona gunning for Super Rugby call-up

Former England international Denny Solomona has returned home to New Zealand and has his sights locked on playing Super Rugby this season.

Kinda exdous but not from us. Solomona looking for a Super team.

Great news for Eastern Australia.

R number is now under 1 for NSW and Vic.

Omicron has peaked and case numbers now dropping. Hospitalisations have plateaued. Below the Hospitalisation amber alert level of 15% of beds being used

Explained here at the 10 minute mark of the vid to 15 minute mark

@rancid-schnitzel said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@kiwiwomble said in Star Wars VII ****contains spoilers****:

@rancid-schnitzel just looked it up and RotJ is 4ABY and mando is 9ABY so there is 5 years between him going into the pit and mando fighting fennec

So maybe he was with the Tuscan’s for years, might explain the change in character

Yeah it makes sense in terms of his change. Problem is that I didn't want to see that character. I wanted the bad ass "no disintegration" guy. No issue if he later has a character arc where he becomes a nice dude, but can I please see him rip shit up first.

He was pretty ruthless gunning down those bikers which I enjoyed

@taniwharugby said in Movie review thread...:

@kruse said in Movie review thread...:

Right - on a request from a dirty stinking TSF lurker...
I watched a little thing called...
The Velocipastor
It's your classic "catholic pastor becomes a sort of were-dinosaur"
Trailer:

I'd watched that trailer, and assumed I knew what I was in for.
I was in for a surprise, or several.

So....

Tit-watch: zero. There's a sex scene, which never reveals anything more than a bra. And a montage. A fucking weird montage set to the director's mate's band playing shit music. And at no point does the bra come off. Or any other underwear. In fact, at the end of it - post-coitus, as it were - they're both wearing underwear. Which comes in handy, because then... ninjas!

But, fuck, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Opening scene sets a really good tone for this thing. Priest, sermon, walks outside - sees his parents by a car - wave, smile, cut away, cut back to where the parents and car WERE - but now it's an empty car-park with text on-screen stating "VFX: car on fire"
This was my first out-loud "what... the... fuck?" Over the course of this movie - I literally said out loud "... the fuck?" 2 or 3 times, and "What. The. Fuck." another 2 or 3 times. It would have been more, I was tired. We meet a pimp. A subtle character. His name is Frankie Mermaid. Why? "Because he's swimming in pussy." He decides to go into confession. "Over the last 4 days? I stole candy from a baby... then I threw that baby into the river... so he couldn't snitch, obviously" I noted this dialogue early on, before realising it was fucking low-key compared to the rest:
Hooker: "I don't know much about God"
Priest who's a were-dinosaur: "Well, I don't know much about dinosaurs" There's one of several montages, with the priest-were-dinosaur working out, for some reason, giving an air-fist-pump, and also burgeoning romance... all mixed together. Why would you work-out if your plan is to use your dinosaur "persona" to fight evil? I don't know... that question becomes the smallest of your worries very quickly Ninjas!
All of a sudden there are fucking ninjas. I had some small quibbles with the ninjas early on, but again - they became relatively insignificant in hindsight, after the fucking madness that comes later Before spoilers - I'll note that there is a scene of the priest reading up on how to use his were-dinosaur-ery... he's reading "All About Dinosaurs", and "Crime 2". That's... kind of a nice little summary of this movie, in some ways Oh - there's a Vietnam flashback. This has got a WHOLE lot of what-the-fuckery going on. A fucking WHOLE lot. And then... Here be spoilers... Fucking ninjas. Just... everything you thought you knew about these ninjas goes out the fucking window.
They're christians.
But... they're drug dealers, I hear you say?
Yeah - but their plan is to get everybody addicted to drugs, and then cut off the supply, so that everybody has to join AA-type meetings, and get converted to Christianity.
And they're chinese.
And one of them is the priest's brother. And now there's a magic sword. And there's a scene of a blood drenched man holding his enemy's head over his own, with a freeze-frame and then the imposed text of a Gandhi quote about eradicating violence And then some more What-The-Actual-Fuck-ery with the aid of magical screen text

All in all - I give The Velociraptor - 4.5 good-intentioned christian dinosaurs out of 5 evil-intentioned christian ninjas.
The missing 0.5 - is because for about 10 minutes in the middle of the film - I thought I knew what was going on... and that felt kinda meandering.

@MN5 he is way cooler than you realise, that was July 2021.

How the hell do you remember this ? Amazing ferning

@victor-meldrew said in Grumpy Old Man:

When you're having a dump and the cat somehow gets in and wanders over to you and sits in front of looking very interested.

Makes me fucking nervous and wrecks what should be a quiet few moment of reflection.

Same when engaged in horizontal refreshment. Piss off you ginga perv, you're the last kind of pussy I'm after right now.

@jc the road between Warkworth and Wellsford is an absolute disgrace, I love getting up North whenever I can but road between Puhoi and Wellsford is a total put off ..I don’t know how accurate this information is but I believe the new link will be opening before Queens birthday weekend this year

Observation today:

I read a few daily rags and look at more for headlines.

Meatloaf is a big story today. Lots of obituaries, stories, tributes, memories - all you’d expect when an icon passes.

The herald? MEATLOAF DIES FROM COVID.

Which has now doubled down to:

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These guys should be in jail for project fear.

Unfortunately they are more likely to win an award.

Which will be presented by Ardern.

@l_n_p said in British Politics:

Good summary in the Times today by the political editor of the Spectator

Very interesting suggestion in it that Labour deliberately timed Wakefords crossover to actually rally support for Johnson, suggestion being Labour see keeping Johnson as PM as advantageous

Tory civil war could drag on to the summer

I acknowledge the right wing aspect of the spectator but I still think it’s the most thoughtful publication out there.

Really challenges the narrative.

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He’s on a brompton on stage.

It’s a no from me.

You would hope that the competition will eventually be home and away games for each team.

@booboo said in RIP 2022:

Always thought this was 'When Rock and Roll Dreams Come True'. Learn something every day. Should be a thread for it.

And if you want some more trivia, Scott Ian from Anthrax is Meat Loaf's son-in-law.

@catogrande said in Coronavirus - UK:

@victor-meldrew said in Coronavirus - UK:

@tewaio said in Coronavirus - UK:

@victor-meldrew said in Coronavirus - UK:

@majorrage said in Coronavirus - UK:

Conclusion. It's far from perfect. Far from it. But the coalface workers have been incredible and amazing. Something to genuinely be proud of.
It's enough to make you turn a bit left.

We've had the completely opposite experience from the coal-face workers. Yes, they smiled and said all the right things but the utter lack of care they gave to Mrs M's parents was so bad, they refused to go back to hospital for treatment. Some examples:

We were given 36 hrs to arrange 24/7 care for two old people with dementia and Parkinsons. It was made clear an ambulance would deliver them back to their house whether care was in place or not.

The "caring" staff never took notice of our requests that water, reading glasses and hearing aid were kept by his bedside. He was diagnosed with dehydration after he was discharged.

They had been married for 65 years but when Mrs M's father asked how his wife was, they refused to answer any questions, quoting "data protection" - witnessed by other people.

I can only speak from our recent experience, but the contrast between the initial smiling, caring faces and reality was stark. They really didn't care.

My recent experience is much more in line with yours than @MajorRage sadly. We've had multiple visits to NHS maternity care for various reasons, and the attitude is just "get you out of there as fast as possible and don't you dare ask questions." Really upsetting the lack of humanity by all the staff. Nonsense covid rules seem like an excuse to treat patients even worse. I get these poor staff are probably overwhelmed and underfunded etc, but it is a brutal experience.

I've found the GP service more than OK and out-patient stuff like scans and osteopaths quite good with the staff really helpful.

I hate to say it, but it seems the moment you come into contact with nursing staff, it all seems to go to pot. I've found the lack of feeling by a lot of hospital staff really hard to understand.

I really think that this sort of thing is localised to individual hospitals. Most likely caused by indifferent or toxic management and quite possibly being overwhelmed for most of the time.

I'm not so sure. I think we've seen too often in too many hospitals for it to be localised thing. It's the medical staff themselves who are to blame for patient abuse and malpractice and not the management - as we saw at Mid-Staffs.

Nursing in particular is not a career you get into for the money, it is much more vocational

You'd be surprised. My daughter pulls in around £60k a year as an agency nurse.

and it must take something pretty profound to knock that out of, not just the odd member of staff, but the whole bloody lot of them!

It's a cultural thing? No-one really cares enough or is too scared to stand up when there's obvious and widespread malpractice and so it goes on. And whistle-blowers are often hung out to dry (or in the case of the the woman who exposed the Mid-Staffs cover-up, they get their homes and mothers grave vandalised).

And there's seemingly never any action taken against clinicians & nurses who ignore obvious symptoms of distress or are too incompetent to recognise them. The above can definitely be blamed on toxic NHS management

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@mick-gold-coast-qld said in US Politics:

@antipodean said in US Politics:
...

A legitimate blind appraisal/ comparison of (Ronald Reagan's) speeches and policies versus that of modern politicians would have all but the loony left saying they'd vote for him. History (outside of the pronoun brigade) will be kind to his legacy, as it should.

From Victor Meldrew: "He was branded as stupid by ... many commentators"

From Siam: "I have heard some criticism of him for ..."

Banjo Paterson wrote about this phenomenon long ago:

But all the finest horsemen out, the men to Beat the Band
You'll find amongst the crowd that ride their races in the Stand

Well shit, that could be the Fern by-line couldn't it?

@nta said in Aussie Cricket:

@siam said in Aussie Cricket:

We're in the top two without him

Which is a good point.

The rules are shit, but are you displacing a guy who helped get you into the top 2 for Steve Smith? I reckon opinion would be divided.

Jeez mate, it's not under 12s with a participation trophy. 🙂 Every squad has used many players

Although in oz now who knows.

I'm pretty sure if it was Kane in the Super Smash the team ethos would take precedent.

Although in NZ now who knows 🙂

where's that GOM thread (stomp stomp stomp) 😉

Just saw on the socials the saders have brought in freedom vahaakolo for some pre season games, hope he does well

@mn5 said in Blues 2022:

@tim said in Blues 2022:

alt text

Moobs are looking good

He's lived in Christchurch too long, developed some hills for a bit of variety.

@gt12 said in Super Rugby 2022:

@nostrildamus said in Super Rugby 2022:

@gt12 said in Super Rugby 2022:

@kiwi_expat said in Super Rugby 2022:

@gt12 could've swore they had more players rested for that match, but my point still remains as there're many instances where Crusaders achieved similar results under Razor with significantly weakened match-day squads.

If a coach has effective structures in place wider squad members can be rotated into the starting line-up and slot into those systems fairly seamlessly (and how they are specifically utilized in context to a gameplan that maximizes the characteristics of the players at your disposal) therefore you shouldn't notice a significant drop in the team's performance. A pretty distinguishing feature of well coached sides. Eddie, Razor, Schmidt, Brown's sides come to mind. Foster does not come to mind, his Chiefs/All Blacks sides have been headless, disjointed & uncoordinated rabble, clearly less than the sum of their parts, with players hesitant & unsure of their roles...

At what stage are posters on here going to stop pinning the blame at various players, instead of acknowledging the main issue, Foster's inability to make the best use of the cattle at his disposal? Plenty of other coaches have succeeded when dealt much rougher hands. Foster isn't a proven maximizer of talent - he's a minimizer.

There is little evidence to support this statement.

In Transtasman 2021 it was the close win against the Force, when he rested both Mo'unga and Whitelock that the Saders lost their chance to win the competition.

In Super rugby Aotearoa, their close loss to the Chiefs came when he rested both Taylor and Whitelock.

In every other big win (and a few losses) over the last two seasons, one thing stands out: An over reliance on a spine of Taylor, Whitelock, Mo'unga (with a range of others such as Barrett, Havili etc). The only evidence to support your statement from the last two years would be the early wins over the Tahs, Blues, and Landers when Whitelock was out. However, even then he played Moody, Taylor, Mo'unga, Goodhue, and Havili, plus others.

He has the best squad and has had the best squad for years, and he still relies on a few main players to get them through, who then perform poorly for the ABs because they are fucked by that time.

I'm confused, were they exhausted this year through overplaying or not match-hardened because of the COVID affected season?

??

You're confused.

Perhaps. Then again I didn't think this season should have tired them out. They had plenty of time to recover prior to and in the international season.

Francis with KO / TKO after the second or third flurry

Bit of cat & mouse then ‘blink and you’ll miss it’

Turman
Nurmagomedov
Pereira
Moreno

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lo, $10k fine for the coach, $25k fine for the Nets

Sport, Rugby 'It's not easy': Young Kiwi's unusual path to Moana Pasifika 'It's not easy': Young Kiwi's unusual path to Moana Pasifika

Many believed Lincoln McClutchie should have been a Super Rugby player long before now.

Paywalled..

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before? A couple of other franchises were chasing his signature

McClutchie held conversations with several teams for the 2022 campaign, including the Crusaders and Hurricanes. However, Moana Pasifika came to him early in the piece, and he jumped at the opportunity for a role the size of which he likely wouldn't have had with other franchises.

So, assuming City maintain their points per game average for the rest of the season (and there is no reason to assume they won't)
Then Liverpool have now reached the point where they have to win every single one of their last 17 games to win the title.

Everyone else is already cooked.

@crucial a61f8e9f-4a84-4a91-983e-59a127b0df11-image.png

@antipodean yep. Not sure the relevance of the vid. Could be that the merc occupants were unmasked...😉

@nostrildamus said in All Blacks 2021:

@antipodean said in All Blacks 2021:

@taniwharugby I think results in Perthfontein was largely a mental issue.

Perthfontein?

Yes.

Nearly double the number of NZ born kiwis in Perth (61K) compared to South Africans (35K) and both overwhelmed by the Pomeranians (167K)

2016 Census QuickStats: Greater Perth

No one cares about statistics or facts thanks.

thanks for reminding me of Ozzy. Zakk Wylde pumping this out

@rotated Santner himself on Newshub last night.

Story and interview below.

Jan 19  /  Sport Blackcaps v Australia: One-day specialists focus on domestic 'Super Smash' rivalries, after tour postponement | Newshub Blackcaps v Australia: One-day specialists focus on domestic 'Super Smash' rivalries, after tour postponement | Newshub

The limited-overs tour of Australia has been delayed by ongoing COVID-19 border restrictions.

best kebab i ever had was in Munich

@barbarian revolutionary thinking.

Watching Hornby: A Model World - about the model-train, aircraft and Scalextric maker.

Goes thru all the stages of designing a new model locomotive, manufacturing, marketing sales and making sure it grows the company. The amount of tech involved in getting the detail right is really high and leading edge (they developed their own mini-loudspeakers to get the train sounds right).

Quirky, fly-on-the-wall, lots of tech, historical research, interesting business aspects and surprisingly few nerds. Really enjoyable and we all like toys...

@voodoo said in Coronavirus - Australia:

Can you actually imagine Albo as PM though? Btw, Labor is $1.40 fav right now, Coalition at $2.85

I actually think that's pretty good odds for Scomo

If he makes it don't blink or you will miss him!

Albosleazy (Left faction), who has a squeaky voice very like leading trainer Gai Waterhouse' famous father Tommy Smith, is shot, wherever he ends up. The convicted drug dealer's missus, Plibersek (Left, but with a smaller gang 😉 ) - once his deputy leader - wants his job, she's been overtly stalking him for years and has more recently built a stronger base on the back of Albosleazy's mediocrity.

She hasn't got much to offer intellectually of course - she spent most of her six years as a government minister bagging the tripe out of Tony Abbott, to the extent the Labor powerbrokers had to tell her to pull her head in.

She would first have to qualify for a tilt at the title.

Keneally (Right faction), "Nobody's Gurrrlll", threatened Deborah O’Neill (Right)' Senate NSW No 1 status and had to be moved because Deborah has powerful backers. Nobody's Gurrrlll's benefactor, her Eddie Obeid, is in the slammer until 2028, with his son, for corrupt granting of coal mining leases, but he still has influence. He used run Labor NSW. There are some in Labor who also believe she is marketable to the electorate, and she has long been set on a path to the top job. My instinct says they are wrong.

Keneally was dropped into the Cabramatta area electorate by head office, without consultation with the retiring member, rolling a young bright light who is part of the dominant Vietnamese community. 30 year old lawyer Tu Le found out she had been shunted from a media broadcast! Keneally is at risk of becoming a Centrelink "client".

If she succeeds Keneally will immediately start pursuing her main objective - the top job.

Incidentally, her move also set aside a future assassination job for that Wong chap, the powerful elder statesman from the Left who controls the Senate and demands it that way. Even though she is already a winner Wong would enjoy bringing her numbers behind Plibersek, to knife Nobody's Gurrrlll just for fun.

We have a Federal election coming up and Labor's fate nationally is immersed in NSW factional warfare!

I grew up in Inner Western Sydney Irish Catholic Labor heartland, I know it backwards, and the Right was the most disciplined, powerful and successful political crew I have seen. Their last twenty years has seen Labor lurch about like drunks, ignoring the success that discipline brought them, putting forward utter fools in Rudd, Gillard, Shorten and Albosleazy.

As for the Liberal Branch of the Labor Party - the best they could offer was Lord Wentworth of Goldman Sachs, who spent a decade as a rich man sitting on his clacker in Parliament doing nothing, then three years as an appalling prime minister, wiping out the fine majority won by Tony Abbott in 2013. In the three and a half years since being booted to the kerb he has dedicated his time to destroying what remains of the Party.

It is now populated by drongos indistinguishable from their Labor brothers. Just yesterday their former Attorney General was belted with a $430,000 judgement for costs in the dodgiest action involving stuff which was supposed to have occurred 30 years ago. Their judgement in selecting candidates that cannot be got at is no better than the other mob's.

Covid Darwinism:

A Czech folk singer died after she deliberately contracted Covid to obtain a health pass that would have allowed her to visit venues blocked to those without proof of vaccination or recent recovery from an infection, her family has said.

Agence France-Presse in Prague  /  Jan 19  /  World news Czech folk singer dies after deliberately contracting Covid Czech folk singer dies after deliberately contracting Covid

Hana Horka wanted to prove recovery from Covid so she could obtain a health pass

?

@voodoo i think the average 16 to 19 year old would have no problems with that after a dream trip to Jamaica to play cricket

@donsteppa said in Domestic Cricket 2021/22:

@mariner4life Yep - in the Other Cricket thread 🙂

Halfway through Maxwell's inning, Willie Watson's quote about bowling to Viv Richards being like "bowling in the highlights" came to mind...!

I’m fairly sure I remember Willie Watson walking “caught behind” off Warnie when the replay showed he hadn’t even hit it.

If anyone summed up New Zealand cricket in the early 90s post Paddles it was him.

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