Well John, they are out there trying to hurt each other...

The taste test...is Walkers best?

Rugby-watching snacks tested, with Sainsbury own-brands up against Walkers.

First, Cheesy Curls. Mock Quavers. Not at all bad. Slightly different colour, but not unlike the real thing.

Next: Onion Rings. A bit on the sweet side, with an artificial tang. Not too bad, but there's better to be had.

Finally: Creature Crunch (Monster Munch). Absolutely awful. Beef, pickled onion and hot chilli were almost indistinguishable. They've got the shape wrong, there should be jagged edges and the pieces are bigger. This is going to sound like the “food is awful” “yeah, and the portions are so small” joke, but it's all very well boasting about how few calories per bag, but it sort of loses credibility when the nags are minuscule.

Ze ball, eez 'ere

You have to love a sport where the referee (the French referee at the Ireland v England game) can be heard telling the players where the ball is. Under a pile of unnaturally huge men in white or green shirts.

You have to love a game where the half time analysis includes Jerry Guscott saying “you have to remember that they all want to hurt each other out there”.

Is the RBS one of those banks the taxpayers are propping up? They sponsor the Six Nations. That must be a bit galling to anyone who does not like rugby and is a banker and pays their taxes.

They beat us 2-1 at the anthems. I don't know why they have two of the things, I sure there's a good reason for that. It does not seem to be due to people-pressure. The attitude seems to be “oyl sing barth a dem”. I noticed our national anthem isn't really national, it isn't about the country or the nation at all. It's a personal not a national anthem. It's all about the queen.

Funny how little things can get you fired up. One nasty, cynical ankle stamp from the Irish prop, and suddenly I was fervently behind England, desperate for them to win.

The Raid: Redemption

What a great film. A SWAT team enter a tower block under drug lord's control. The last Judge Dredd film was based around this, apparently. Like a martial arts Die Hard with loads of bullets. Not much to keep you guessing, but the action is so relentless, who needs to be sitting around guessing?

Nils Petter Molvaer...

Is making some of the most haunting, beautiful, strange and compelling music I've heard. You could tie yourself up in knots trying to pin down the inspirations. The exposure this music gets is minimal, because it's in the jazz section, and therefore of no interest to popular radio. Or popular radio disc jockeys. Who don't generally seem much interested in what they play in any case.