Imagine what it was like for Ireland fans.

Should be in the process of coming back up now.

Afternoon to you too. We should have a chat sometime. It has been FAR too long.

Nicking stuff from rugby again - not that the aerial contest metric is public facing there either.

@squidgerugby.bsky.social

I just want to thank you both for your videos during this Six Nations and compliment you on the new style which is honestly much better for me.

Your insights are frankly unmissable and the Fra v Eng video made me laugh out loud at how incredible some of the play was.

Given the potential presence of 6 of the top 7 teams in Europe in the last eight, all of which are far better than the rest, Arsenal have been incredibly fortunate with the draw. Real Madrid have to beat 3 of the top 7 before the final

Barcelona is the most likely semi-final opponent mind you.

Yes, there is the pessimism of the fan at the ground's experience. I know it well. Even 2-0 doesn't seem comfortable.

Here is a funny thing. It is possible for Arsenal's knockout matches to be against two Newcastle equivalents (Leverkusen, Sporting) & Newcastle themselves (based on ECI ranks)

Watching as a neutral (one of my family supports Arsenal which is why I see so much), it seemed extremely comfortable as you have implied.

Leverkusen's only big chance came at 2-0 down and even then Raya pulled off one of his world class saves. Frankly, Arsenal could have won by more.

It is a shame because there are worse teams in the Prem now. But that start!

Ferrari instead of Heyes given how the Italy scrum collapsed against England is frankly ridiculous.

The rest is probably fair enough.

More Scots than Irish is a weird one given their positions in the table. Also Steyn is on the right wing whereas he played his best games on the left.

No England players obviously 😂

Ah, thanks for letting me know. I will see if I can get that changed.

I have contacted the right people. I haven't worked on it for over two years now.

Given that he plays two characters in this film so that you can tell them apart despite them being twins (even without the red/blue to help you), he absolutely deserved this award.

Jordan wasn't the favourite to win until late in awards season (when he won the SAG award for Best Actor).

Everything pointed to One Battle After Another.

Producers, Directors, Critics and Writers all went for it and only one film which won the top award at each of those ceremonies didn't win.

The top-3 best 6N predictions from odds handicaps or World Rugby rankings handicaps were:

1. Italy v Scotland: WR handicap 0.5 pts off
2. Italy v France: WR 2 pts off
3. Italy v France: Odds 4 pts off
4. Ireland v Scotland: WR 4.5 pts off
5. England v Wales: WR 5 pts off

@Worldrugby

Over- and underperformance in this year's Six Nations:

Against bookmaker handicaps:

Wales +27
Italy +19
Ireland +13
Scotland -4
France -18
England -37

Against handicaps derived from World Rugby ranking:

Wales +32
Scotland +31
France +13
Italy -1.5
Ireland -24
England -50.5

I passed this on last week.

Copied this over from the other place as @topofthemoongw.bsky.social doesn't seem to have posted it here yet.

Very clear overview of all scenarios for Super Saturday

6 wins, a draw and 2 defeats. Scotland have only lost once against England with a crowd in the stadium.

England's win% under Steve Borthwick:

100% v Argentina (5/5)
100% v Japan (3/3)
83% v Wales (5/6)
75% v Italy (3/4)
67% v Fiji (2/3)
50% v Australia (1/2)
33% v France (1/3)
25% v Scotland (1/4)
25% v New Zealand (1/4)
20% v Ireland (1/5)
0% v South Africa (0/2)

56% v Nations Championship teams

Scotland's win% against Nations Championship teams under Gregor Townsend.

83% v Italy (12 games)
80% v Australia (5)
67% v England (9)
67% v Fiji (6)
57% v Argentina (7)
50% v Wales (10)
50% v Japan (2)
43% v France (14)
0% v Ireland (11)
0% v New Zealand (3)
0% v South Africa (4)

THE 24 HOURS THAT DAMAGED THE PREMIER LEAGUE'S BEST-IN-THE-WORLD REPUTATION

1. I guess it works for clicks
2. It isn't a reputation, it is a fact - 40% of the world's best play in it
3. A handful of games don't mean much
4. Sometimes even EPL teams play against better opposition than themselves

Or maybe it is that five of them were playing away and four of them were playing against better teams (home advantage included).

All the doomsday stuff today is just crazy. Many of these ties were just tough for the Premier League clubs and no one has a divine right to win.

On your earlier point on Havertz's yellow, refereeing of fouls at this point is a total mystery to me. There were a couple of fouls last night where I thought that they should have been the other way.

Also what constitutes a non-foul these days is almost impossible to assess.

Do you think that Arsenal could take a few more risks in their gameplan with this squad?

It seems that every match is so tight but theoretically Arsenal have the best squad in the world at the moment.

Well, the result of the first match matters I guess.

I should be in your starter pack I think John.

On Saturday, the Irish fans or Scottish fans will be supporting England.

Best results bookmaker handicaps
France v Italy (four points off)
France v Ireland (nine points off)
Wales v France (10 points off)