An old schoolmate was giving out about rugby referee Wayne Barnes and his handling of the Scotland v Ireland World Cup rugby match.
His contention was that we (Scotland) never get anything from Wayne.
Now far from me ever wanting to defend referees but I think Scotland can succeed in losing to anyone all on their own.
In an effort to make referees appear more human World Cup sponsors Emirates http://www.emirates.ie have this natty and amusing video.
With refereeing legend Nigel Owens at its heart reminding passengers of airplane etiquette.
The first of the videos with an Irish fan is on https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cm4dvKiKNNM&feature=youtu.be
And the second Is here… https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=JLpGV-ytNtY
Coming back to my pal Mark’s nemesis, Wayne Barnes.
And I had the pleasure of listening to Ireland rugby hero Tommy Bowe interview him back in Dublin.
And he told us that back in 2007 after he had refereed the New Zealand v France match, the last time the All Blacks were beaten in the WC, he was voted the second most hated man in NZ.
After Osama Bin Laden.
Now there is a belief, mostly perpetrated by the egg-chasers, that rugby players don’t pull the same strokes as footballers.
However, I’m reminded of a particularly tight Calcutta Cup game at Murrayfield which I was reporting on.
When an Englishman put his hand in the ruck and then called foul.
And the ref fell for it.
Remembering the rugby code of mild acquiescence Scotland captain Gavin Hastings told us later.
‘It’s all part of life’s great tapestry.’
Up, up and away
When you’re 15,000ft up in the air then it’s difficult to keep tabs on what’s happening on the field of play down below.
And so it was a Godsend to the Gaelic football fans of Dublin and Kerry when the steward told them at the end of our flight to Tenerife that the All-Ireland final had been a draw.
It was the perfect result and probably averted an all-out riot between the Dublin and Kerry fans on board.
But you needn’t have to wait until the plane lands before you find out the result.
Emirates is screening matches live on its sports channel Sport 24.
So not even 15,000ft up in the air will I be spared the inevitable drubbing for the Scots.
Emirates has two flights daily from Dublin to Dubai.
The airline also offers a daily A380 flight to Osaka, a daily A380 flight to Tokyo’s Narita Airport.
And a Boeing 777 flight to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, providing easy connectivity via the airline’s Dubai hub.
Now, remember for all other flight entertainment, then this is the blog to be on and Flyday Friday is the day God (or me) made for it.
See https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/09/20/flyday-friday-averting-a-greek-disaster/,
And https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/09/13/flyday-friday-virgin-vs-.
And back to Emirates… plastic/https://jimmurtytraveltraveltravel.com/2019/09/06/flyday-friday-emirates-and-the-rugby-world-cup/
