Always fun every 2 to 4 years when England football fans have to confront the reality that the players they've heard being hyped incessantly are actually not that good.

England are such a dreary team to watch. Croatia much more watchable, elegant.

It needs to be said. The Prem is a ridiculous league.

This is the way to engage with readers/users. Thoughtful, respectful and transparent. Refreshing

University Challenge is such a joy. Madgwick was incredible.

I think Sale might have a new head coach next season. What has happened today??

@jukes.ie Hope you're improving Matt. Sorry to read about recent health challenges.

Borthwick sounds a little lost in that interview.

Beautiful reminder. England have one strategy. Box kicking. That's it. That was a timorous performance. They deserved to lose.

Rhys Carre was so fast he had a vapour trail.

The MacBook Neo is an odd device. For a company that once decried netbooks, this feels like a strange decision. Is it a market share grab? Is it weak iPad sales at that price point? 8GB of RAM is going to be eaten up very quickly.

I recall with huge fondness talking to Xbox co-founder Seamus Blackley at one of the first European Xbox launch events. His excitement and pride was infectious. So sad to read his comments predicting the demise of Xbox hardware. share.google/BnyZWfy1ZJTU...

Rolling after the tackle. Penalised today. Not yesterday.

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I feel so desperately sorry for the Welsh players. More than half the team may not even have jobs in 18 months. They looked broken from minute one. Even the Twickenham faithful seem sorry for us. This is what 20+ years of ineffectual management has brought us. We're a sad sad joke.

France had a snooze at the start of second half. And then put the boot back on throat. Ireland will smash us (Wales) but I'd be worried going into the Scotland and England matches.

I think we know Crowley will be playing 10 next week for Ireland.

Ireland look broken. Lost. Aimless. Prendergast is having a ghastly time. And France aren't even playing that well.

No it's not! Get the Dragons result in there!

I wonder how long Microsoft will keep reference to initiatives like the one attached available on their website. www.theverge.com/news/838002/...

Takes me back to my ONS days and the backup site which was also Wordpress, as was (are?) the ONS blog and Data Science Campus website. Oh the fun that caused!

I'm almost indifferent to Wales shipping 73 and getting nilled at home. To be honest, we're now in the same relative category as teams like Portugal and Spain.

We have a winner for the worst decision ever taken by a team of officials in a pro rugby match.

I've never seen one side commit so many cynical offences. There should have been at least 2 more yellows.

The laws say a player should have been sent off following that penalty try.

Absolutely

That should be a permanent red. Makes a mockery of the whole review and TMO system.

This is a disgraceful refereeing performance. Disgraceful.

This. What am I meant to do for the next 4 hours?

Who could have predicted that England's headless 20/20 approach to Test cricket could have led to today's result? Shocked.

I have belatedly discovered The Family Stone and I think it's already one of my favourite Christmas films.

This feels like a scrambling and reactive PR effort. I'm interested to see console sales this Christmas. My hunch is that PS5 will stretch to 3 to 1 vs Xbox.

It was worse, somehow. This is what I think it feels like to be in a car crash in slow motion but you still perceive it in real time. The central reservation is coming. It's coming. It's... Oh never mind.

This

I'm inclined to agree with Polygon. Years of self sabotage by Microsoft has given Valve the confidence to do this. Xbox can't be a brand without an actual console strategy. www.polygon.com/microsoft-xb...

A terrific list. Can I humbly add Peter Gabriel's Us. A more heart breaking collection of post relationship soul searching and reflection you won't find. Honest, painful and also beautifully performed, sung and produced.

Any journalist giving credence to the notion that Earl or Pollock should play in the backline or Ford at 9 should question their life choices.

Shameful

This is one of the worst Scarlets performances I've ever seen. Just heartbreaking to see how poor we've become. I just don't see it ever getting better. Is there any point in fighting to continue. Llanelli rugby is dead.

So those of us who had downgraded or cancelled our Ultimate subscription are sold short, it would seem.

Microsoft really doesn't want to be in the console games business any more.

More than one hour in a Google support chat thread taking to three different teams trying to do one simple thing: activate my Nest Aware account. Failed attempt to connect me to fourth team. This is really shoddy service from Google.

Your new daily obsession. You're welcome chartle.cc

Upgraded my Pixel 8 Pro to 10 Pro. First impressions are that it's a decent uplift in performance. Am enjoying the smaller size and improved camera. Battery life seems on par for Google (average).

My latest Bellingcat tool is out! It lets you search what was said in council meetings across the UK and Ireland, and takes you directly to the right part of the video session to verify. Check it out and let me know what you think! 👇 council-search.bellingcat.com

The Eurostar experience at Paris Nord remains as dreadful as ever. Aside from the crush of passport control and security with v little organisation, the "hallway" of departures is chronically short of seats and the tannoys are garbled and barely audible. It's so far removed from the experience sold.

Schmidt complaining about Jac Morgan clear out has the hallmarks of trying to influence next week's ref. It was a text book clear out low, with wrap and shifted player legally. The theatrics from Aussie clutching his head after he fell back were embarrassing.

Absolutely delighted with this news. Wales beat Australia to claim first win under Lynn - www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-...

I admire the boldness of giving users actual control over the front page.