The Dew Drop Inn Virtual Rugby Pub, Ballycastle Bar, Hong Kong.

First topic message reminder :

Hello and welcome to the Virtual Rugby Pub, a place where you can come in for a sly beverage and discuss whatever's on your mind, or just eavesdrop on the regulars if you fancy a break from all the rugby chat.

The pub has made its way to Hong Kong, host city for the British & Irish Lions first Tour match before their arrival in Australia - land of the Giant Budgie Smuggler.

So grab a beer, cider, whiskey or wine.... or a warm beverage and sit back and enjoy the rugby.

                     

The only rule in this pub is one of mutual respect for everyone in it, oh and no tampering with the pictures of Rory Best, Sam Warburton, the Limavady Luge Team, Papa Rodders, Mrs Rodders and our newest & sweetest member, Katelyn.    

last Pawb: https://www.606v2.com/t43001p1000-the-dew-drop-inn-virtual-rugby-pub-pyongyang

Matchday!!!!!!!!!!

Right okay so back in April I paid through the nose (350 dollars) for my bronze ticket to the second test on viagogo. I was assured it would arrive in time for the game but ultimately I ended up changing my delivery address to a friends in Melbourne giving the seller the maximum amount of time to send me the tickets. Got an email on Tuesday night saying I'd to pick my ticket up from the holiday Inn in Melbourne. Essentially the seller had buggered off leaving viagogo to source me a ticket due to their guarantee. Picked my ticket up and... Bagged me a platinum one. Thoroughly pleased match day pints are underway at fed square!

Willy you bugger! The way that story was unfolding I thought you'd been done and was ready with my indignation!

Good stuff Willy. We're supping on the Waterfront area across the dock from the stadium.

Absolutely gutted. Away out to find a Sheila to console me.

I'll 'fess up' and admit towards the end I secretly wanted Aus to win so I can watch the decider in the pub next Sat... 

Breaker, whenever you are next on here, as an Aussie would you rather win the Lions series playing some scrappy (but still better than us!) rugby, keep Deans on and have him continue to select as he has done during his tenure with JOC at 10 etc, or lose the third test and get a new coach to start anew and bring back your players like Cooper and play your backline in whatever formation best fits?

Evening All.  

Gutted the Lions lost.  Was extremely frustrating trying to receive updates from a friend via social networking whilst the signal dipped in and out on the train through the English countryside.  Such a shame the last kick didn't make it.  To be honest though, I knew this would happen - the third test being the decider.  As if I'm not going to be a bag of nerves for that one! I'm going to head to O'Neills for it I think.  Glad My (bionic) Boy had a good run out though.

Thanks for the birthday messages.  Had an ace time in Liverpool.  Not a bad city at all.  I'd recommend it to anyone for a short break. Went to all the "touristy" bits and even got to see a good free little gig in The Cavern.  Admittedly, I did spend quite a bit of it in an Irish pub watching tennis what with my travelling companion is a Wimbledon fan.  Before I'd gone to Liverpool, I'd never bought something in TK Maxx, had a pee in a cathedral, eaten a meatball sandwich and watched so much tennis. you learn something new every day...

ChequeredJersey wrote:Breaker, whenever you are next on here, as an Aussie would you rather win the Lions series playing some scrappy (but still better than us!) rugby, keep Deans on and have him continue to select as he has done during his tenure with JOC at 10 etc, or lose the third test and get a new coach to start anew and bring back your players like Cooper and play your backline in whatever formation best fits?

The first option, CJ.

However, I live in hope that RD will go one step further and give players like Toomua, Mogg a chance in the lead up to RWC 15. We've got this far without Cooper (still think he'd do more good than bad given the opportunity) but there's no way, bar more injuries, that he'd be offered an olive branch by RD. So we have to accept that... frustrating as it is for us risk takers.

I'm still unconvinced with JOC at 10 (we were very lucky last night... could have/should have been punished on more than one ocassion only to see the Lions follow it up with an error of their own) although Deans will feel vindicated just because of that one pass to AAC. Otherwise, he had an average game; one or two good clearances with the boot but then he made errors in open space after the Wallabies had waltzed over the gain line. I'd rather see JOC on one wing with Ioane/Tomane fighting for a bench spot.

I am going to be bricking it all week now. Can't believe we came so close. To be honest before hand I would have loved the lions winning the series in Sydney, after last night I really don't think I could stomach it...

Don't worry mate... I know how you feel - sort of. It's a very close series, 38-37 points in favour of the Lions. We may as well toss a coin for the result next week. It should be very close again.

The main thing is to get your mind on other things this week - just get out and explore new places like a tourist and don't dwell on the rugby too much - even though it tends to fill the gaps in every other waking minute. (that's my philosophy anyway)  

It is amazing to read other nations Lions fans saying we must play an open game and pick attack minded players, kick less, less of the bish bash bosh. Welcome to the Wales fan's world! It's been like this for us since 2008! The answer for Saturday won't please them. Sack Rowndtree from selection. Go all out for Gatlandball with as many Welsh players as possible plus SOB, Grant and Sexton.

I think we're definitely going to lose the third test. I see it coming a mile away. What extra gear do we have? What different tactics? Australia by 2.

So it'll be a repeat of sats performance glas?

Hello y'all. We're up in Cairns for 4 days. Changed planes in Sydney and it's still pishing down there.

Looking forward to a few days in the warmth

Enjoy your time in the tropics, Hound.  

Yes, we've had the heaviest June rain in 6 years. 254mm so far for the month with the majority since June 23, 7 hours of sunshine in the last 7 days.  

It's dry where I am right now (near Stadium Oz) and it's going to be sunny for the next 11 days with 9 hours sunshine a day.
(full weather report in my Sydney Pubs thread)

Thats great news on the weather forecast Lb. And I should have said, I'm in room 606 in our hotel.

Wow... that is an amazing coincidence.  

When I was living in Saigon I was in sick-oh-ay.......('t' not pronounced)

I saw on the match thread that Gibbo was trying to spot the 606ers in the crowd on Sat. No chance with me. I was in the back row of the top tier on the 10m line. Fantastic view, even if it was difficult to make out the players at times.

Zzzzs time now - 00:30 here.

Yeah, me too. Just watching some of the Tour in Corsica.

What did you think of Etihad? Oval shaped ground... but great acoustics with the roof closed.
You know they had an AFL match there this afternoon at 3:20. All the logos wiped off, the rugby posts removed and Aussie Rules markings put back on and the 8 goal posts put up. They would have started it in the wee hours and finished about mid morning.

Just chopped down some trees... knackered! I got one of those hairline cuts down the cheek. I feel like a pirate now. Gonna get some of the Lions lads arriving tomorrow to help me chop up the branches further and get them into the bins. Beautiful sunny day...

                ...too many calories, yes?

Afternoon Lb (morning slackers in the UK & Ireland).

We've booked a trip up into the hills/mountains tomorrow. There's more 'nature' stuff to do here than you can shake a stick at.

Had a walk around town and there's plenty of restaurant/bars. So we had a kebab Much nicer than anything I've had back home.

I saw some Aborigine guys sitting on one of the streets. They weren't talking or taking anything in - just sitting there like they're not engaged with anything going on around them. It was like they were getting nothing out of life, and that's very sad.

We'll probably watch the Sydney NRL derby between the Roosters and Manly tonight. Hopefully it's a good game; the quality of the RL here is a notch above the game in the UK so I'm looking forward to it.

Watching it too now Hound.

Yes, very sad about some of the locals. Many have hopeless alcohol/drug problems - and no work. There's a place called Palm Island further south off Townsville (a beautiful stunning place) but it has a similar story. Homicide and assault rates 10 times the state average amongst indigenous people! Similar story (but not as bad) with many small towns inland. Need to be careful at night, just stay in well lit areas with plenty of other tourists and don't give them anything if they ask because it can get nasty. (sounds mean but you know what I mean)

Roosters 8-0 up with about 30% possession, and they've butchered an overlap.

Manly can't create anything in the Roosters 20.

Hey Doggie do you recognise the number 12 for the Roosters.

Afternoon all, I'm having a mental few days at work. Things look better after the deadline on Thursday at least.

Pete's "rugby porn" moment of the weekend is this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=l9slqya2RSA#at=83

It's better still because the Crusaders won with a bonus point despite that try

Nice pass Kiwi!

Weird first day of the school hols for us.

All the kids are off doing various stuff.

Strange.

Yeah brilliant, but the coach would be eating his balls for breakfast if it'd have been intercepted (as it almost was)

The difference between hero and zero is a very small one!

Seldom appreciated by the fans who will eulogise one and castigate the other irrespective.

Glas a du wrote:Yeah brilliant, but the coach would be eating his balls for breakfast if it'd have been intercepted (as it almost was)

 Final score was Highlanders 13 Crusaders 40 so Jamie Joseph has plenty of castigating to do anyway . Actually, maybe not - given the Highlanders' season he may have run out of things to say in castigation weeks ago.

More importantly it puts the 'saders 5th on the table going into the business end of the comp, 5 points clear of the Cheetahs with 2 rounds left. The Crusaders' have 2 home games (vs Chiefs and Hurricanes), 1 win will be enough for the playoffs. 2 bonus point wins might be enough to pinch the Chiefs' spot at the top of the NZ conference too, though that's relying on the Blues to smash them in the final round

How's the bruise Kiwi?

MrsP wrote:How's the bruise Kiwi?

 Almost gone . And I managed to avoid getting hit on Saturday (mainly by batting badly sadly)

Can't be much fun getting hit with a cricket ball.

MrP broke his arm because of a cricket ball when he was a kid.




He had thrown it at his brother and then tripped as he tried to jump over the garden wall to avoid his sibling exacting revenge!

MrsP wrote:Can't be much fun getting hit with a cricket ball.

MrP broke his arm because of a cricket ball when he was a kid.




He had thrown it at his brother and then tripped as he tried to jump over the garden wall to avoid his sibling exacting revenge!

  


Reminds me of one time I was trying to wind up my brother. He wasn't biting so I picked up a shoe & threw it (not a very hard throw either). He heaved it back, I sidestepped, & it made a nice big hole in the door. Got us both grounded that one

I bet there was one of those...

"It was his fault!!!"

moments from both of you!

MrsP wrote:I bet there was one of those...

"It was his fault!!!"

moments from both of you!

Yep.

The time he kicked a hole in my bedroom door (I may have been stirring then too , it's an older brother's job) we both got blamed as well. The stupid internal doors in that house were 2 thin sheets of wooden veneer separated by a cardboard lattice so were easily holed.

Sooooo......

Those incidents were actually the doors' fault?

Plus ca change....

MrsP wrote:Sooooo......

Those incidents were actually the doors' fault?

Plus ca change....

Well, either the door or my brother's. It wasn't me putting the boot in

At what age did you and your brother grow out of this sort of thing?

I'm asking as a friend was telling me the other day about getting a phone call at work from one of her sons who had just pushed his brother through the lounge window!

They are 171/2 and very nearly 19 years old!

MrsP wrote:At what age did you and your brother grow out of this sort of thing?

I'm asking as a friend was telling me the other day about getting a phone call at work from one of her sons who had just pushed his brother through the lounge window!

They are 171/2 and very nearly 19 years old!

Well, I moved away to university when I was 18, things had been pretty quiet a while before then. We were 14 & 13 when the doors happened - all of 3 months apart!

And I thought sibling rivalry was bad between P3 and P4!

I bet those doors were glad when you calmed down!

MrsP wrote:And I thought sibling rivalry was bad between P3 and P4!

I bet those doors were glad when you calmed down!

lol

The doors were really near the end of things - we shared a bedroom up until Dad sold the farm (the doors were in the new house), and having our own rooms massively reduced tensions.

 
Granted my sister and I didn't stop bickering until I moved out. Whereupon she and my brother bickered until he moved out, then she and Dad bickered until Fi moved out ...

She didn't like having the common denominator pointed out

Oh!

Girls can bicker all right.

If it was an Olympic sport we'd have medals!

Evening All  

Hope everyone's well. I'm knackered already and I've only been back in work one day.

Looking forward to the weekend. I'm going to O'Neills for brekkie I think. They're open from nine and doing a full brekkie for a fiver. Bargain. Oh and I'll be able to watch the Lions.

I have heard that you left Liverpool sobbing its wee heart out when you left Cari!

 

Picking up Dreamer from the airport on Wednesday evening and dropping her off at the hotel... but we'll go the more scenic route (unlike those taxi drivers... blydi rip-off merchants!) and take in the twinkly lights of the CBD, pass by the Opera House and have a good gawk at the Coathanger.

I hope you show her the big building that me bro won the awards for......

Bore da pawb / good morning all. I'm back at my desk after a great couple of days in London Village. It was great to see Pete Saturday morning, even if the second Test wasn't up to much, and then I managed to get a ticket for Centre Court at Wimbledon. It looks amazing - and you can almost smell the privilege on some of the people there. It's either privilege or Pimm's.