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Would expect Munster to be without O'Gara for the Racing game after his kick on Sean Cox.

Very entertaining day in the HEC. Watched 3 games live. First up was Harlequins 47 Connacht 8. Despite the onesided scoreline it was pretty entertaining. Connacht's weren't afraid to have a go and run the ball even when they were down to 12 players at one point. For 30 seconds of the game it...

The dog ate my homework sir (or in this case passport) has actually happen to Jason Tovey and now he'll miss playing in today's Toulon v Cardiff Blues HEC game. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20990965

Ulster first team into the knock out stages with a 23-6 win against Glasgow. They still don't look like potential champions though as there's still some vulnerabilities on show. Paddy Jackson was poor and they went to sleep at the start of the 2nd half when a better team would have turn the game...

I think the treatment of Fourie is disgraceful. If they're happy for him to pull on an England shirt he should be allowed to stay no matter where he was born. Representing a country on the international stage should confer citizenship in my opinion. The injury was picked up while representing...

A lot of interviews done in the build up to or post games aren't very informative, I know Robbie uses his Robbie speak and it's hard to decipher what he's saying. But a lot of other coaches are in game mode too and give very little away. Declan Kidney is a master of giving a 1-3 minute interview...

I actually thought the Scotland game was very significant. Australia played the conditions very well and dominated possession and territory but they couldn't put Scotland away. I think Pocock learned a big lesson about taking the points on offer and became a better captain for it.

Excellent post Anthony thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I've always felt that the IRB or the Tier 1 nations as a group should set aside a portion of the revenue from the big competitions, HEC & 6Ns up here and S15 & TRC down south for development in their hemisphere. Developing the game outside...

Scott Johnson has been appointed interim Scotland head coach and will be there for at least the 2013 6Ns. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/20780494

I wonder if the ARU will make a single appointment to replace him with the same responsibilities? Splitting the coaching and admin role would open the possibility of getting a top class administrator regardless of their coaching background. The net could be cast wider to different sports and...

Is that the same as when you move house and you always start out hoping you'll be in by Christmas but actually end up moving mid to late January?

One of the worst weekends in the HEC for Irish provinces in a long time, but what a fantastic weekend of rugby all the same. To cap it all Sky just showed a teaser for all the competition they'll be showing in 2013 and ended it with the Lions tour.

Just like any national union, from the threads I've read on here, hence my use of the word "hope" as opposed to "expect".

Missed today's games except for Ospreys beating Toulouse. The big surprise from the game wasn't that Ospreys won but that Toulouse stayed in touch for so long. They looked completely disinterested. Big wins for Clermont at Leinster and Saints at Ulster. Clermont must be the overall favourites...

Hartley got 2 weeks as it was considered an entry level incident. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/20718631

There was a very interesting interview last year or the year before with the head of England 7s where he talked about how they were moving away from the automatic assumption that 15s from the highest level were the best recruits for 7s. He said something along the lines of the 7s players were...

The considered opinion up north is that although Jake White would be the stand out candidate for the Scotland job but he'll hang on in Aus for a crack at the Wallabies job once Deans goes. If Deans goes next year I hope it's not Chieka purely from the point of view I'd like to see him at the...

Spare a thought for the poor Lions fans who have to pay once in 12 years prices every four years on tickets, flights and accommodation. I'd love to go as I love the Lions and I'm determined to visit Aus at least once in my life but right now I don't have the spare cash to afford it. For those...

Gatland announced his coaches yesterday as Roby Howley, Andy Farrell & Graham Rowntree. With the main talking point being the omission of Shawn Edwards. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/20638321

If it's the same as up here then Fox sports probably have rights to both. Sky Sports (Fox's sister channel) show all the Lions games starting from any warm up games and including all games on the actual tour.