Cracking the Code

Argentina v Wales Therein lies a fundamental difference between English and Welsh rugby, I recall thinking to myself, as I enviously read that England had defeated Argentina for the second week in succession . A feat, I marked as particularly impressive due to the fact the victory had been achieved by an England side devoid of their Lions stars. I was convinced that the quality within the Welsh ranks didn’t run deep enough to front Argentina in their own backyard and come up with a W.  Fast forward a year, and it’s a case of what do I know. Clinical A and dominant D, and I’m talking Shaun Edwards style dominant, were the driving force behind a victory in San Juan that puts Wales half way to matching the achievement of their English counterparts  Post match, Warren Gatland, spoke of a street fight mentality that Wales had planned on bringing to the party. A mentality that manifested in the combative defensive effort. That said, it is perhaps a disappointment that Cu...

When the East Great Falls High School, class of '99 wanted a host for their prom party, they selected one Steve Stiffler to organise the most prestigious of soirées. At this stage, for the sake of my tenuous analogy, I ask you not to focus on the police involvement at the aforementioned shindig. Instead, think of the good times, the laughter. Putting on Blink 182 at this point is optional. In selecting France to host the 2023, The World Rugby Council, simultaneously shunned the offer of Rugby's party protagonist. South Africa, this is not you. Ireland - my comparison of you lot with the Stiffmeister is not meant in a derogatory manner - endearing if anything. Bear with me. Before continuing, I will mitigate the hate from those supporting either of the opposing bids. I'm sure that France will host and South Africa would've hosted phenomenal sporting events. I have fond memories of both the 2007 Rugby World Cup and 2009 Lions tour. When it comes to pre/post m...

September 15 2008, Bank of America agree a deal to acquire Merrill Lynch. A deal which came as a mighty relief to US Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, and the then Chair of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke. Don't worry, I'll get to the rugby bit shortly. Paulson and Bernanke had watched on, as Investment Banking giant, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy earlier that day. They were frantically aware that the aforementioned merger played an important role in stopping the next Domino from walloping Wall Street. The credit bubble had burst. Financial meltdown and that. To put it in a scenario with which we were all familiar, Merrill were Mufassa dangling on the rock edge. Fortunately, Bank of America had a more friendly outlook on matters than Scar, and saved them from falling into the on coming stampede. Rare that the moral compass of an Investment Bank will be given the thumbs up but Scar really was a bad bloke. This was a deal driven by preservation. And this fina...