RedFruit

Final Score Royal XV 25 – 37 Lions

Many will claim that the Lions were lucky to have won their first match, but that’s not the way  I saw it.  The first 30 minutes aside, I thought the Lions were clearly the better team.  The problem was that their accuracy was poor – which isn’t entirely a shock for the first  game of the tour.  Some of these players haven’t played for a little while and most of the combinations were brand new.

The first half was dissapointing and the Royal XV deserved to go in at the break with an 18-10 lead.  The Lions did rally at the end of the half, however, to secure a well finished try through Irishman Tommy Bowe.  In the second half the Lions scored three excellent tries; although they would have been dissapointed not to have scored at least two more.  There were plenty of opportunities, which displayed their ascendancy, but the accuracy was simply not there and cost them the chance of finishing those chances.  Lee Byrne came out with his reputation in tact – possibly even enhanced after a suberb solo effort try.  Jamie Roberts also did well, and I was pleased to see Riki Flutey looking dangerous.

Plenty to improve on, but not as bad as many will suggest.  The rest of this tour is starting look very tasty…

It was also a delight to see a return to the much missed maul.

It begins!

Lions team v Royal XV:

Lee Byrne (Ospreys/Wales), Tommy Bowe (Ospreys/Ireland), Keith Earls (Munster/Ireland), Jamie Roberts (Cardiff Blues/Wales), Shane Williams (Ospreys/Wales); Ronan O’Gara (Munster/Ireland), Mike Blair (Edinburgh/Scotland); Andrew Sheridan (Sales Sharks/England), Matthew Rees (Scarlets/Wales), Adam Jones (Ospreys/Wales), Simon Shaw (London Wasps/England), Paul O’Connell (Munster/Ireland – captain), Joe Worsley (London Wasps/England), Martyn Williams (Cardiff Blues/Wales), Andy Powell (Cardiff Blues/Wales).
Replacements: Lee Mears (Bath/England), Phil Vickery (London Wasps/England), Alun-Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales), Stephen Ferris (Ulster/Ireland), Mike Phillips (Ospreys/Wales), Stephen Jones (Scarlets/Wales), Riki Flutey (London Wasps/England).

Courtesy of BBC Rugby Union.

Looking forward to a first tour win!

I just downloaded Skyfire – which is a new browser for windows mobile 5/6.  I’d previously been using the beta version of Opera; which was annoyingly buggy.

I’ve only been playing with Skyfire for a few minutes – but I’m already impressed.  It’s fast and, so far, hasn’t given me any problems.  The user interface looks good and the fact that’s it’s named after one of the best transformers doesn’t hurt!

It’s free and you can get it from getSkyfire.com

Last week I listened to a sermon by John Piper called What Is the Recession For?. I was exceedingly challenged by some of the things he said, not just in terms of the recession and any present financial difficulties, but also from the point of view of general suffering and troubles.

Life for me and my family  is quite challenging at the moment.  I have various health problems, which seem to be increasingly serious, and am finding work very stressful at present.  As a result, I often find myself crying out to God for healing and/or a change in my job situation.  One of the things that God particularly impressed on me, while listening to John Piper speaking, was that I also need to use this time as an opportunity to seek God.  In fact that’s actually what really matters at this time.

Don’t misunderstand me – praying about my job and health are good things and I will certainly consider doing so!  But, if they, are the focus of all my praying, they may reveal that my identity or idols are in my health or job.  What I need more than anything is to know Jesus more; to hear his voice more. If I have that then the rest doesn’t matter half so much.

If I was to have the best health I’ve ever had, but not know Jesus; then I’ve settled for second best.  Similarly with my job situation.  In fact,if it was a straight choice between knowing Jesus more and having great health;  If I could only have one or the other then I would be extremely foolish to prioritise my health.  Even though that would help at work and would also make life at home much easier.

As I say, that doesn’t mean I won’t pray about my job or my health.  It does, however, mean that my praying needs to reflect knowing Jesus, hearing his voice and enjoying his precence as my highest priority.

So here it is – my new blog RedFruit.  Actually – it’s my second attempt at the RedFruit blog.  The first attempt was lost a few years ago but some of it can still be found via the Internet Archive.

My main reason for this blog is to write about things that God has been speaking to me or challenging me about.  I think that writing them down will help me to clarify my thoughts.  It may be that they are also of interest or help to others.  If that’s the case then that’s brilliant but, if not, then I’m sure I’ll still find it useful.

It’s also very likely that I’ll post about the other passions in my life: my family, church, music, films and rugby.  In fact, with the British & Irish Lions tour starting this weekend, there’s a good chance there’ll be a few rugby posts soon.

Anyway – welcome to RedFruit.

Coming soon…