chrisbell-nottheweatherman

Indeed, Malcolm, some heavy rain on the way.

Nearly 10mm since midnight, but probably the last for a while.

Back to the modern pattern of east/south-eastern drought after three months of traditional autumn/early winter weather.

On that note, can I amend my ppn, entry to 24mm, please?

Inside information! Likely to be a very dry month, though I suspect I'm low for the Hadley average.

6.3C and 18mm, please.

Perhaps it's a new social media meme - trees in outfits.

It seems to vary based on who is running the lines.

There have been several blatant forward passes missed in this World Cup, many of them near the touchline in front of the assistants who have seemed to ignore them as though it's none of their business.

I was amazed by South Africa's dominance at the scrum, as well as the way they stopped Itoje, Vunipola (B) and our other ball carriers on the gain line. The tacklers didn't seem to move even when hit at full speed by England players who'd flattened Aussies and New Zealanders in the previous rounds. As someone with a physical disability who has therefore never been able to take part in rugby, I'd be fascinated to understand what the difference was. I can't imagine it's purely strength or weight (surely a 19 stone South African is much the same as a 19 stone All Black?), so could it have been tackling technique?

Isn't it the case, though, that this was down to selection and defensive strategy? Selecting Ford for this match instead of Slade after having said in the Quarter-Final that a physical team would be too much for Ford to deal with when we were playing the world's most physical side is a massive mistake. Not only that, but England, as you said, were making big hits against the All Blacks, but they were standing back today against South Africa as though they expected them to throw the ball around. Jones was saying pre-match that he didn't think South Africa would play as they have done so far; I think he convinced himself that they were going to get the ball out to the backs quickly and therefore didn't want England to use players to stop them on or behind the gain line. As for recycling - how can you when South Africa repeatedly: 1. Lay on the wrong side of the ruck while making 0 attempt to get on-side 2. Play the ball while on the floor 3. Lay on top of the tackled player to prevent him from releasing the ball?

One positive to take from this, the WC-winning cricket team will surely get Team of the Year in the Sports Personality awards, unless someone decides that a team of foreign footballers who happen to play in the UK under a British name should get it.

French referees are always hard on England. I knew what was coming the moment I saw we didn't have Nigel Owens or the Aussie referee.

Jones needs to resign immediately - the strategy was utterly incorrect for a game against South Africa.

Much the same here. Several C-C strikes, horizontal rain and hail for around 4 minutes, then moderate rain for another 3 or so minutes.

What a scoreline! Jones' decision to include Slade in the XV was correct, as it turned-out. He was good in defence and helped put pressure on the Australians during the phase of the match in which Australia were throwing everything at us.

Seems as though the cells within the system are moving up the coast.

Thanks John.

Potential for a polar maritime blast, then?

It would give us here a period in which to dry-out slightly, but I'll admit to not being much of a fan of the idea of a Bartlett High getting too well-established heading towards winter...

Evening John. Do you think the pattern change to ridging near or over the UK is indicated in the models to be a long-lasting feature as has been the case on several occasions over the past 2-3 years, especially here in the east?

Sorry to hear of your difficulties.

Corrected - I hadn't seen the previous part of the thread at that point.

Is Japan supposed to be under there?!

I'm disabled, so I know what you mean. I was thinking about getting into the garden or just outside on a sunny day rather than staying indoors if possible rather than going anywhere in particular. If you're having trouble walking, would it be useful to get a mobility aid?