Apologies, Chiefs and....C.B.W.1.

Right, I should probably open with an apology.  After the drama of that last Lions Test, I had to take an impromptu off-season (well, European off-season) break.  I genuinely think I’ve only just recovered from the hangover I sustained from that night out with my Aussie chums, plus I came back to a pile of work as big as Dylan Hartley’s list of misdemeanours – so all in all, a break from rugby blogging was required.

So what have I missed?  Well I had planned on doing some debrief of the Lions tour, but that didn’t happen.  Besides, I want to wait for the behind the scenes documentary to come out so I can make judgements on banter-levels as well as form during the Tour.  By far the biggest event that I skipped past though was the Super Rugby playoffs – with the final being decided in a tight game between the Chiefs and the Brumbies, with the kiwi outfit coming out on top to retain their title.  Well done to the Chiefs, who have been the frontrunners pretty much all year, but also hats off to the Brumbies who showed that you don’t need experience to win big games as they squeezed past surprise package, the Cheetahs, and the Bulls in nail-biters on their way to the final.

What’s coming up then?  Well pre-season is well underway, so there’ll be a full preview of the Premiership season and, more imminently, there’s the Quad Nations to look forward to.  OK, I know it’s called the Rugby Championship, but I can’t bring myself to call it that – it’s an arrogant name that suggests it’s the only important annual international competition.  Which, to be fair, in terms of entertainment, it pretty much is.  But regardless, that’s 2 months of top class international rugby to look forward to and it will be really interesting to see just how much the All Black win by.

In the meantime, here’s a little compilation I’ve put together of the biggest hits of last season to tee us up for the next 12 months.  I couldn’t think of a name for it, but being a big Alan Partridge fan, Crash, Bang, Wallop (or C.B.W.) seemed appropriate.  Enjoy.