A Proper Charlie...

Has to be said that the drug in question was not "performance enhancing" - not unless the definition of "flying in the front row" has radically changed since the ruckandrioller hung up his boots - but oh dear, oh dear...
The chubby faced pop wannabe has blown it, it would seem. A lucrative contract with Bath, the lack of options in the English front row guaranteeing him passage to the next World Cup, the Lions on the horizon back in his home country - all blown away like, well, a line of white powder. The cynical nature of the announcement, coinciding as it did with the exact moment when Obama was clearing his throat several thousand miles away, leaves the average rugby fan wondering...

Just what the doctor ordered...

Medical student Jamie Roberts grabbed the Heineken Man of the Match award as the 14 man heroics of the Blues silenced the Shed. A late try by replacement second row Bradley Davies means that Gloucester have to travel to Biarritz next weekend with their hopes of qualifying fading fast. The Blues, on the other hand, top the group and seem to have shed the also rans tag which has bedevilled them in the past few seasons. Now, with clever leadership from Martyn Williams, and the potent threat offered by some of the best ball carriers in the Principality (Powell, Rush, Shanklin, Roberts) Dai Young's outfit will go into next week's fixture against Calvisano secure in the knowledge that they have qualified for the next round.