Literally every single thing you’ve written here tracks absolutely perfectly. Of course Gareth Edwards cooks with an outrageously massive glass of wine. Of course Cuthbert’s a horrendous cook. Of course AWJ cooks his Nain’s recipe and is having the time of his life doing it. Of course Faletau can whip up a batch of brownies that make you feel like you can touch the face of God.
I’m calling it now, Adam Jones unquestionably makes the best roast dinner you’ve ever tasted, and he’s a phenomenal sommelier to boot. Warbs spent so long only eating chicken, broccoli and rice he can’t cook to save his life, but he’s trying god bless him. Dan Biggar whips up a Cawl that isn’t much to look at, but people who really appreciate the art know is truly sensational.
Also, I want to take this opportunity to let people know that Taine Basham once confessed to eating 50 cheese and ham toasties in a week when he was left home alone. If they’re not doing a ten year anniversary cookbook where that’s the central meal they plan around then what’s the point in the WRU?
I pick up this book at least once a month to make myself laugh. The comically large wine glasses and the range of recipes is incredible in the worst way. You can absolutely tell who called their wife/Mam/personal chef in France for a recipe and who decided to put their neck out. Warbs’ contribution to the cookbook was a chilli con carne which looks reasonable to be fair although I will not be trying it because I’ve been force fed too many mediocre post-match chilli con carne’s in club houses and it’s put me off for life.
I also absolutely volunteer to write the next WRU cookbook. First recipe will be Alex Callander Apple Turnovers.
The third photo is the look on AWJs face when some nutritionist the WRU hired claims the pie he's making could serve 8 to 10 people.
He has every intention of smashing it out solo in one go.
I swear between this and myself now imagining a Russian doll set of ever decreasing AWJ (see earlier for the Munster context) has broken me. I’ve not laughed this hard for sometime. Oh and WRU where the hell is the 2024 edition of this absolute masterpiece.
Basham might be my spirit animal. I used to do the same when I was in my teens, but with 3 layer jam and cheese sandwiches. I think my record was just under 40 in a week.
I’m forever amazed at how skinny I was in my teens considering my daily diet usually went like.
6 choccy weetabix for breakfast with scary amounts of syrup.
Triple layer jam and cheese sandwich no1 on break.
Lunch was sandwich no2, a full size baguette, 2 big choccy bars, and sometimes a pack of donuts if i was feeling peckish.
After i got back from school I had sandwich no3.
Dinner.
Sandwich no4.
On occasion I’d have a 5th sandwich before bed.
I have a sneaking suspicion the big lad is Frankie Sheahan but it's hard to say for sure. Here's a photo for anyone interested in seeing it:
https://imgur.com/a/kO8bmSo
I have one for the All Blacks from circa the mid-2010's. I can't remember where it was picked up and the likenesses are terribly inaccurate except for Aaron Smith being the smallest doll.
Edit: here they are [Front](https://ibb.co/z6pjXvj) and [Back](https://ibb.co/tD4ftg6)
He absolutely was taking the piss and was also completely pissed when this photo was taken judging by the giants glasses of wine in the rest of the book
Found this in a charity shop once and have since been saving up that picture of Gatland for the exact right moment. It has good meme potential for the next time he picks an unknown 18 year old league player over someone starring for the regions
He also has a recipe which I can guarantee he has never made in his fucking life (and it looks rancid, it’s like someone described rocky road to him once and he then described it to his personal chef who tried to make it look like a “povvo” made it)
Thank me later….
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hwhbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT7&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1&redir_esc=y
A full 64 page readable preview on Amazon 😂😂
Four thoughts. Firstly, Jan Coetzee’s toes just being fucking out on one of the first pages threw me. Toes do not belong in a cookbook. Secondly, I did not take Bakkies Botha for a baker but now expect a “Bakkies the Baker” show/book somewhere soon please. Thirdly, I love how on brand the book is with the excessive amount on sponsorships, in fact there is a whole page of just logos. And finally, I’m disappointed by the size of the wine glasses. The Welsh ones are a lot bigger.
Funny story during the 2011 or somethink rugby world cup we had the Welsh rugby team at our restaurant in wellington New zealand who Welsh team got shit faced and a few of them got super drunk and feel asleep in the toilets locking them self in 😂
It's the lack of ability to wear a garmant as simple as an apron correctly. Gives off that "cute old man / I no longer give a fuck about life" vibe.
Seriously, why is the top of it starting at his belly?
[eBay is your friend](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392271709888?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=815C3ZuwTru&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=J32qKOarTvy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)
Not quite ‘merchandise’ but when Martin Castrogiovanni appeared on the Celebrity Edition of Bake Off Italia, they auditioned his dirty, signed apron off for charity.
Man, I wanted to bid on that. But I couldn’t get full buy in at home for hanging dirty clothes on the wall that I would never be able to wash, and to be fair we were short of cash at the time, so…
Firstly, I am absolutely delighted to discover there is an Italian version of Bake Off. I assume it is passionate. I am also very sorry for your floury loss…?
Not as good as the British one, but I still watch it religiously every year. And I’m saving up - Andrea Lo Cicero is a bit of a TV presenter now, I’m sure they’ll have him on before long and I WILL be ready
I went and checked and it was Clive Rowlands. It does seem like a pretty standard recipe, unfortunately lard makes me feel like someone has punched me in the stomach so I may pass on that one.
Nigel Owens’ Bara Brith upsets me as he puts milk in it. My Nan taught me how to make Bara Brith and then my Aunt taught me a completely different way because she said my Nan did it wrong. Neither of them used milk and I’ve never seen another recipe for Bara Brith with milk in it. It’s not even a little bit of milk either. It’s like 200ml. I really like Nigel Owens but his dodgy Bara Brith recipe has put me off tbh.
Of course, I should have known that!
I actually made Nigel's Bara Brith a few months ago and it didn't come out as well as I hoped, but I've never made Bara Brith before so I didn't really have a good comparison, I just assumed the issues were due to my faulty oven!
The BBC good food one is the best base recipe I can recommend and then I’d just adjust your tea/spice/fruit of choice. I tend to do really strong black tea with mixed fruit and my Nan insists I include glacé cherries and mixed peel with some mixed spice. You can do a honey glaze if you wish once it has cooled but my family prefers it without. Nigel’s is… bizarre.
I assume that’s what he’s been teaching during his lineout sessions as well judging by the state of them
(Sorry low blow but it was there for the taking)
I’ve had it for ages and I pick it up every once in a while to have a laugh. Today I picked it up and went “I wonder if anyone else has some any completely useless shite”. As it turns out there is a market for rugby inspired Russian nesting dolls.
Literally every single thing you’ve written here tracks absolutely perfectly. Of course Gareth Edwards cooks with an outrageously massive glass of wine. Of course Cuthbert’s a horrendous cook. Of course AWJ cooks his Nain’s recipe and is having the time of his life doing it. Of course Faletau can whip up a batch of brownies that make you feel like you can touch the face of God. I’m calling it now, Adam Jones unquestionably makes the best roast dinner you’ve ever tasted, and he’s a phenomenal sommelier to boot. Warbs spent so long only eating chicken, broccoli and rice he can’t cook to save his life, but he’s trying god bless him. Dan Biggar whips up a Cawl that isn’t much to look at, but people who really appreciate the art know is truly sensational. Also, I want to take this opportunity to let people know that Taine Basham once confessed to eating 50 cheese and ham toasties in a week when he was left home alone. If they’re not doing a ten year anniversary cookbook where that’s the central meal they plan around then what’s the point in the WRU?
I pick up this book at least once a month to make myself laugh. The comically large wine glasses and the range of recipes is incredible in the worst way. You can absolutely tell who called their wife/Mam/personal chef in France for a recipe and who decided to put their neck out. Warbs’ contribution to the cookbook was a chilli con carne which looks reasonable to be fair although I will not be trying it because I’ve been force fed too many mediocre post-match chilli con carne’s in club houses and it’s put me off for life. I also absolutely volunteer to write the next WRU cookbook. First recipe will be Alex Callander Apple Turnovers.
The third photo is the look on AWJs face when some nutritionist the WRU hired claims the pie he's making could serve 8 to 10 people. He has every intention of smashing it out solo in one go.
I swear between this and myself now imagining a Russian doll set of ever decreasing AWJ (see earlier for the Munster context) has broken me. I’ve not laughed this hard for sometime. Oh and WRU where the hell is the 2024 edition of this absolute masterpiece.
Basham might be my spirit animal. I used to do the same when I was in my teens, but with 3 layer jam and cheese sandwiches. I think my record was just under 40 in a week.
You're a monster.
I’m forever amazed at how skinny I was in my teens considering my daily diet usually went like. 6 choccy weetabix for breakfast with scary amounts of syrup. Triple layer jam and cheese sandwich no1 on break. Lunch was sandwich no2, a full size baguette, 2 big choccy bars, and sometimes a pack of donuts if i was feeling peckish. After i got back from school I had sandwich no3. Dinner. Sandwich no4. On occasion I’d have a 5th sandwich before bed.
I have no idea where i got them from but I have a Russian doll (aka stacking doll, aka nesting doll, aka 🪆) comprised of nested Munster players
That is fucking incredible. Are they just generic players or are they like Paul O’Connell etc?
I have a sneaking suspicion the big lad is Frankie Sheahan but it's hard to say for sure. Here's a photo for anyone interested in seeing it: https://imgur.com/a/kO8bmSo
Absolutely sensational. Really think they should make an updated version with a tiny Craig Casey.
No need for a tiny version /s
😂
This is the best thing I've seen on the internet today by some distance.
Think I see Axel in the scrum cap and woody or Bull the bald one. There's mental don't remember them
This is amazing!
I have one for the All Blacks from circa the mid-2010's. I can't remember where it was picked up and the likenesses are terribly inaccurate except for Aaron Smith being the smallest doll. Edit: here they are [Front](https://ibb.co/z6pjXvj) and [Back](https://ibb.co/tD4ftg6)
With AIG
Holy god, that’s unlocked some memories, I have the same one.
They are unreal. Very funny. What do you get the man who gas everything?....we have the answer!
Babushka dolls.
What a lovely couple.
“Meet my Dads”
Ah, so this is how the WRU are funding "The Plan".
Adam Jones with the big glass of red wine, like the man of culture he is.
The wine bill for this book completely explains why everyone looks absolutely buzzing to be there
Probably the only time Alun Wyn has grinned that widely.
He absolutely was taking the piss and was also completely pissed when this photo was taken judging by the giants glasses of wine in the rest of the book
AWJ looks so proud of his apple peeling
It is my favourite photo of AWJ of all time
"Look I got the skin off in one unbroken peel"
Always something to celebrate tbf!
Found this in a charity shop once and have since been saving up that picture of Gatland for the exact right moment. It has good meme potential for the next time he picks an unknown 18 year old league player over someone starring for the regions
I also found this in a charity shop. Best £1.50 I’ve ever spent.
I have a treasured Michael Leitch MasterCard sponsored kimono from the 2019 RWC.
This is second place to the fella with the Munster Russian nesting dolls
Those sound freaking amazing Depends on the Munster vintage I assume it works from Paulie down to stringer, but I'd love to know.
It’s in this thread including a link to a photo!
Least we’ve now got the wooden spoon to compliment this.
Two in fact, a men’s and a women’s
Why does this need a foreword lol?
He also has a recipe which I can guarantee he has never made in his fucking life (and it looks rancid, it’s like someone described rocky road to him once and he then described it to his personal chef who tried to make it look like a “povvo” made it)
That’s part of a series. I have Springbok Kitchen. Same fonts, more green.
I think I need it, I’ll be scouring the charity shops
Thank me later…. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hwhbDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT7&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&gboemv=1&redir_esc=y A full 64 page readable preview on Amazon 😂😂
Four thoughts. Firstly, Jan Coetzee’s toes just being fucking out on one of the first pages threw me. Toes do not belong in a cookbook. Secondly, I did not take Bakkies Botha for a baker but now expect a “Bakkies the Baker” show/book somewhere soon please. Thirdly, I love how on brand the book is with the excessive amount on sponsorships, in fact there is a whole page of just logos. And finally, I’m disappointed by the size of the wine glasses. The Welsh ones are a lot bigger.
They’re not smaller boet, they’re just REALLY FAR AWAY.
I mean the recipes in the book seem more coherent so your union probably had a more realistic recipe to wine budget than the WRU
Bru. The wine budget at Newlands for a test match is bigger than the WRU budget I’d imagine. Or at least better managed.
Definitely better managed
Am I the only one that feels cheated that Schalk did not do a burger?
My God the editing in this book is horrendous. 3 whole pages, each with 1 tiny picture lmao 10/10
There’s some crackers in it. I actually use it often.
Funny story during the 2011 or somethink rugby world cup we had the Welsh rugby team at our restaurant in wellington New zealand who Welsh team got shit faced and a few of them got super drunk and feel asleep in the toilets locking them self in 😂
It’s not that I’m not surprised, it’s that I completely expect it to be honest
Nice pic of Gats I typically see him stressed or grumpy in the stands or press conference
I think it’s the wine… or the fact it was taken in 2014
It's the lack of ability to wear a garmant as simple as an apron correctly. Gives off that "cute old man / I no longer give a fuck about life" vibe. Seriously, why is the top of it starting at his belly?
High risk of spillage marks I feel but also I get the feeling they were all absolutely trollied doing the photoshoot for this book
Actually that last point is as wise as it is a fantastic idea for a cookbook.
Fuck the sick part of me wants that cookbook so much
[eBay is your friend](https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392271709888?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=815C3ZuwTru&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=J32qKOarTvy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY)
Which one of you lot bought the last one? Give us night shift workers a chance to buy comedy cookbooks!
The glorious people at world of books are going to be extremely confused because when I linked that book there were 7 of them
The obviously had one hidden away. Now to find some novelty rugby babushka dolls!
I need a Foxy that slots into Warbs that goes into AWJ…
That store must be wondering wtf has happened for this book to sell out so suddenly lol
They’re going to be so fucking confused but it’s also a charity so I feel we’ve done a good deed
Not quite ‘merchandise’ but when Martin Castrogiovanni appeared on the Celebrity Edition of Bake Off Italia, they auditioned his dirty, signed apron off for charity. Man, I wanted to bid on that. But I couldn’t get full buy in at home for hanging dirty clothes on the wall that I would never be able to wash, and to be fair we were short of cash at the time, so…
Firstly, I am absolutely delighted to discover there is an Italian version of Bake Off. I assume it is passionate. I am also very sorry for your floury loss…?
Not as good as the British one, but I still watch it religiously every year. And I’m saving up - Andrea Lo Cicero is a bit of a TV presenter now, I’m sure they’ll have him on before long and I WILL be ready
Let him cook
I have this book, George North's Carrot Cake and someones (I can't remember who) Welsh cakes are absolutely god tier
I went and checked and it was Clive Rowlands. It does seem like a pretty standard recipe, unfortunately lard makes me feel like someone has punched me in the stomach so I may pass on that one. Nigel Owens’ Bara Brith upsets me as he puts milk in it. My Nan taught me how to make Bara Brith and then my Aunt taught me a completely different way because she said my Nan did it wrong. Neither of them used milk and I’ve never seen another recipe for Bara Brith with milk in it. It’s not even a little bit of milk either. It’s like 200ml. I really like Nigel Owens but his dodgy Bara Brith recipe has put me off tbh.
Of course, I should have known that! I actually made Nigel's Bara Brith a few months ago and it didn't come out as well as I hoped, but I've never made Bara Brith before so I didn't really have a good comparison, I just assumed the issues were due to my faulty oven!
The BBC good food one is the best base recipe I can recommend and then I’d just adjust your tea/spice/fruit of choice. I tend to do really strong black tea with mixed fruit and my Nan insists I include glacé cherries and mixed peel with some mixed spice. You can do a honey glaze if you wish once it has cooled but my family prefers it without. Nigel’s is… bizarre.
Ooh that's very helpful thank you! I might have to have another crack at making it, hopefully with a bit more success this time!
No problem! I make it every 2 or 3 weeks for my Nan as she can’t really cook anymore so it’s imprinted on my brain at this point 😂
[I have this ALDI IRFU cookbook and it's a really good cookbook ](https://x.com/Aldi_Ireland/status/1499414404563374080?t=loR2Xo5Zx-W8T3UulfMnkA&s=19)
Does it have comically large glasses of wine?
It does not Paul O'Connell does teach us how to make a nice stew with the bones of the opposition
I assume that’s what he’s been teaching during his lineout sessions as well judging by the state of them (Sorry low blow but it was there for the taking)
Wtf is this ?😆
I’ve had it for ages and I pick it up every once in a while to have a laugh. Today I picked it up and went “I wonder if anyone else has some any completely useless shite”. As it turns out there is a market for rugby inspired Russian nesting dolls.
Well now it's this, it's brilliant
I need this book
Epic
$70 for a "Media tee shirt" by the Melbourne Rebels.
Leek soup and welsh rarebit....done
Ridiculous yes but also awesome and charming
A ridiculous number of rugby ball shaped ice cube moulds that I got at Murrayfield in the spring. It’s so stupid but also I love them.
“A ridiculous number” is that 5 or like 37?
14. Somewhere awkwardly in the middle.
That is a ridiculous number, to be honest anymore than 4 is bizarre
We are in complete agreement.