The Mole just got a lot more excited about ‘The Rugby Championship’/Tri-Nations + Guest [with thanks to @HarpinOnRugby and @rugbyonslaught] – great to see Serafin Dengra feature so prominently, the best Argentine forward of the 1980s and a bit of a VHS icon in Mole Towers!
Sporting Argentine philosopher Jorge Valdano. Not pictured: shit on a stick.
Argentina grabbed the win with the only bit of magic in the match. It was leader Felipe Contempomi’s best moment, in conjuction with his conversion, the only mildly difficuly kick he got all game. A wonderful finish to a tight and hard game. Continue reading
Pool B comes to the big screen
This game is almost pure cup match. If Argentina lose, they are going home. If Scotland lose, they must beat England next up and see how the permutations work out. Continue reading
Zen master points automaton Jonny Wilkinson had a hard to believe off day with his place kicking. Fortunately for the White Orcs, temporarily decked in black, so did Dr Phil and full back Rodriguez. Argentina missed most of their kicks before England did and it is difficult to see how England would have come back from a 12 point second half deficit. There have been a lot of missed kicks so far in this tournament and it will be interesting to see if kickers get more used to the new Gilbert ball as the games progress. Continue reading
By providing the Rugby World Cup with undoubtedly the worst finalists in the tournament’s history in 2007, England proved that they know more than a thing or two about thriving in cup match rugby. A big scrum and an incredibly reliable place-kicker maintaining both physical and scoreboard pressure can get you an awful long way. Continue reading
Latest In The Line of Puma And Stade Fullbacks
Martín Rodríguez Gurruchaga was an amateur fullback playing for Atlético del Rosario and Pumas Sevens Rugby when he was called into the Argentine squad for the November 2009 tour of Britain. His call-up was intended to serve as cover for a severely understrength midfield short an injured trio of experienced Pumas in Marcelo Bosch, Felipe Contepomi and Juan Martín Hernández. Continue reading
Don't have a maté, it's absolutely rank. It tastes like wet dog.
To most, the Pumas were the surprise package of the last world cup, beating the hosts France [twice] and a highly-touted Ireland along the way to a third-place finish. They were magnificent in that tournament, playing a pretty limited but extremely physical brand of rugby that was occasionally lit up by some fantastic performances from their talented backs. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 