Present: Keith, myself, and about 100 total strangers. Nice appearance by Dave Deadman with about twenty minutes to go.
Pre-match expectations: the game is at 3 am on Sunday morning, it’s not on normal TV and the only option is Sugar. Not a bad option, but definitely no commentary and accompanied by a whole bunch of people who really couldn’t give two hoots.
Prediction: England have to win. I can’t see past a thumping victory, whatever it is they say about the ‘big’ Georgians. So England to win, with a better performance than last week’s against Argentina.
Half-time status: it’s hard to tell what's really going on with no sound. England were fast out of the blocks with Shontayne Hape’s fourth minute try, but then things settle down or rather into the rut discovered last week against Argentina. England spend the majority of the half defending, with forwards giving away countless penalties and only the failure of Merab Kvirikashvili to score five of them (on the same ground where Jonny Wilkinson struggled last week) keeping England ahead at half time. With Dylan Hartley sin binned just before half time, the Georgians got in a try and looked really happy about it. They looked really happy about everything, actually. More so than the English. Half-time score was 17-10 to England.
Full-time status: after about 60 minutes you could really tell the difference between the two teams in terms of fitness. You could also tell the difference in Sugar: when I arrived just before 3 it was almost rammed, but by 5 people were staggering homewards, especially one poor punter who was carried out by two bouncers after losing his ability to walk. England were good in parts. Something isn’t working though, and it seems to be the forwards. Next week’s game against Romania will be the last one that comes ‘for free’, I just hope it all works then. 41-10 to England at the end.
Man of the match: probably Shontayne Hape, but also could be James Haskell, Simon Shaw, Chris Ashton, Delon Armitage or Toby Flood. Men of the match.
‘Food’: several Coronas until Dave turns up, then it’s a couple of pints of Quilmes.
Conversation keywords: I had one conversation with a girl who I thought I was friends with on Facebook, but who informed me that she’d deleted me two months earlier for “numerous reasons” and after this conversation would not like to speak to me again. A bit surprising, but also quite entertaining.
Comments: the Sugar punter who staggered out of the male toilets, only to turn around, fix his glassy stare on the prohylactics dispenser and dismiss it with a derisive snort pretty much summed up the attitude of everyone in there last night.
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