Obersturmbannführer Höss isn’t available to do the Friday News this week. As Hoss explains in his own words:
“I can’t just spend 15 minutes belting-out my usual Friday piece when I’m going fully ‘method-acting’ into character as an adult baby from Thursday night until Sunday. Some might call me the Daniel Day-Lewis of paraphilic infantilism.”
According to Wikipedia, paraphilic infantilism, also known as adult baby, is a form of ageplay that involves role-playing a regression to an infant-like state. People who practice adult baby play are often colloquially referred to (by themselves and others) as “adult babies”, or “ABs”.
Reports of Rugby Championship death greatly exaggerated
Nathan “don’t call me ‘inside man’ because Izzy has a go at me” Williamson reports that, like Douglas MacArthur, The Rugby Championship “shall return” in 2027, delivering a full Rugby Championship tournament for the first time in a World Cup year. Previously, a shortened competition would take place in Rugby World Cup years.
The competition will continue as normal in 2028 and 2029 amid the Nations Championship* and the British & Irish Lions tour in New Zealand.
According to RugbyPass, In 2026 and 2030 when The Rugby Championship doesn’t take place, international multi-week tours will be played in the August-September window, which is a new concept in SANZAAR’s calendar.
According to Planet Rugby this is a missed opportunity.
“There is a glaringly obvious opportunity missed that accompanies the confirmation of the calendar through to 2030, and that is, of course, the non-alignment with the Six Nations. It has been reported that the SANZAAR nations have an appetite to move the Rugby Championship to the same international window as the Six Nations, but New Zealand Rugby have been holding out. Had the Rugby Championship moved to earlier in the year and aligned with the northern hemisphere’s premier international tournament, it would have created the closest thing to a global calendar since the game went professional.”
*The Nations Championship (in 2026, 2028 and 2030) will pit the best 12 teams in men’s rugby (presumably Reds and 11 other teams) against one another. This tournament will be split across rounds in July and November every two years to determine the winner. The format of the competition is set to include a “European Conference”, consisting of the Six Nations [England, France, Italy, Ireland, Scotland and Wales] unions, and a “Rest of World Conference” comprising the SANZAAR nations, in addition to the two invited unions [reportedly Fiji and Japan] – according to Planet Rugby.
Hollie Davidson to become first woman to referee an All Blacks Test
According to Sky Sport, 33-year-old Scottish referee and popular V-twin air-cooled motorcycle, Hollie Davidson will become the first woman in history to referee an All Blacks Test this November, having been appointed to officiate Wales vs New Zealand.
GAGR wishes Hollie all the best and encourages a sharp eye around the breakdown.
Davidson was named World Rugby’s Referee of the Year for 2025, with more than a quarter of her 46 matches in the middle having come in the men’s Test arena.
Davidson recently took charge of the history-making Women’s Rugby World Cup final between England’s Red Roses and Canada’s Roughriders (with their flappy heads) at a sold out Twickenham.
This autumn Davidson will be assistant for Italy vs Australia on Saturday, 8 November along with fellow Jock Sam Grove-White. The radio chatter promises to be indecipherable.
England centre Luther Burrell claims speaking out about racist abuse ended rugby career
The Guardian reports that former England player Luther Burrell has alleged he was effectively forced to retire after he spoke out about racist abuse he suffered from teammates.
Burrell first alleged he had been the victim of racism while playing for Newcastle (northern England, not the amphetamine wonderland where Hoss lives) in 2022. Among the allegations he made at the time, Burrell claimed a teammate had referred to him as a “slave” and told him to apply sunscreen to his wrists and ankles as that’s “where your shackles were”.
Speaking on Monday to the BBC, Burrell said the investigation that began after he made the claims caused his opportunities to dry up and that despite wanting to keep playing he has been unable to find a contract at a professional club for the past three years.
“I have absolutely had to retire because of what’s gone on,” Burrell said. “I wanted to carry on playing. I pursued and it fell through when word came out that there were investigations going on, so that was difficult. I had to just accept the fate and that this whole process is bigger than me.”
Burrell, who played as a centre, left Newcastle at the end of the 2021‑22 season, after which he made his experiences public.
An investigation by the Rugby Football Union found that “on the balance of probability” Burrell’s claims were likely true, but it could not definitively prove that most of the abuse happened at Newcastle.
The club later said that the only proven incidents during his time there, which involved racist messages in a players’ WhatsApp group and incidents on an away day and a night out, were “gravely concerning” and “incredibly disappointing”, but that they were unable to take disciplinary action against individuals due to “no further actionable evidence” such as names or dates being provided.
Burrell said much of the racism he experienced was “something that’s dressed up as banter” and that he had also experienced “several traumatic experiences” while playing for England, for whom he made 15 appearances between 2014 and 2016. Burrell also said there were “undertones of discrimination” throughout English rugby.
Harry half-Inched from Crusaders, Mansbridge must get over it
Stuff.bro.nz reports that Crusaders boss Colin Mansbridge has accused chestnuts of being lazy NRL clubs of being “lazy” and relying on rugby union development pathways to stock their rosters with talented prospects.
He made the claim after one of the team’s highly touted backs, 19-year-old Harry Inch, departed the Super Rugby champions’ academy for the Auckland Warriors.
The Warriors told Stuff nothing had been finalised last weekend, but Inch has informed the Crusaders he’s pursuing an opportunity with the Auckland-based club.
Saumaki Saumaki, a powerful loose forward out of Nelson College, has also departed the academy and will link up with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
“They [league clubs] unashamedly target rugby union development systems because they think they are so good,” Mansbridge said, adding expansion teams in Perth and Papua New Guinea would only see more rugby players targeted.
Vaguely related, but fans of schadenfreude might enjoy this piece titled “Can New Zealand Rugby pick up the pieces after the NZ Schools team was thumped by the Aussies?” which has much clutching of pearls.
