The way things work around our way is that if you don´t have internet you can´t watch the telly, or at least you can´t watch British telly. Most of the time this is no great loss but things are different during the spring when the six nations is underway and the best rugby teams in the northern hemisphere are slugging it out.

On Sunday the internet signal was on the blink and I had no way of watching the Ireland England game at home. What was more, the few guys who had been talking of meeting up to watch it over a pint called it off for one reason or another.

So what was I to do?

Easy. I headed off to the river and tried to put the game out of my mind. Ireland play better when I´m not watching them anyway.

Down on the river things were looking pretty good although the river was largely in shade and I was in the sun which does add a degree of difficulty. The weather has warmed a little recently the fish are a little more active in the shallows. I figured I was in with a chance.

As I crept around trying to sneak up on some unsuspecting barbel I started to imagine that the fish were worth points and that a barbel hooked and landed should be worth the same as a converted try and would be donated to Ireland who were busy at that time playing the old enemy in Dublin.

I did succeed in landing one fish and shortly after returning it a couple of people on horseback proceeded to walk through the river that I had been stalking. They were perfectly nice people and even waved as they passed.

Needless to say, the horses hardly improved prospects and the fish was the only one I managed to catch. When it was time to head home I phoned Catriona to find out the final rugby score and she told me it was England 9, Ireland 19. Phew!

When I thought about it I figured you can´t get 19 points without at least one try and I guessed that the most likely way to rack up that particular score was with one converted try and four penalties and that, as it turned out, was the way it had happened.

Without my barbel the score would have been even closer.

Seven points!

Seven points!

 

Thanks!

Thanks!