Ilona Maher named for her first Bristol Bears start

But yeah they were cardboard caricatures of Moneyball guys who looked at their laptops and never went to games…

“The win rates are vitally important for this Lions tour”

I agree. But you can’t just select players on the basis of their individual win rates.

“Farrell is a straight forward, no nonsense type of guy. He’ll probably pick conservatively and with guys in their proven positions. He hasn’t the time for bolters or shock calls. Not with the touring schedule they have.”

Yes, I was thinking more England selections. For the Lions tour then if Doris and Tom Curry both start then Earl becomes a pretty viable option at 7. But if Doris ever gets injured, or Farrell wants either Chessum or Tadgh Beirne at 6, then Earl will move to 8.

Nick Nurse is 57. He was 51 in 2019.

“Rugby won’t go down the Soccer road and hire-and-fire like it’s the Wild West. It will find the value in older coaches as time passes.”

I hope you’re right, but I still highly doubt it will ever be common for coaches to be peaking in their mid 60s. If anyone manages it it will be Rassie or Farrell - because coaches with the most longevity tend to be those who stick in one job for decades. But even so, I doubt either will still be in a top international job in 15 years time. Les Kiss is only 60 now, so he could get the Wallabies job right after Schmidt leaves - but if he keeps the job to 2031 I’ll eat an actual hat.

It’s all very different now. Sticking with fast Eddie 2 years before a RWC. Then changing tact and firing him a year before it. Don’t seem as decisive anymore.

“You’ve actually missed that Ferguson is actually a sporting paradox. 23 years at the helm and the bulk of his success was from the mid-later point of his career. It only proves experience is more important than age.”

Come on IkeaBoy - try to be coherent!

If Ferguson is a “sporting paradox”, then he obviously doesn’t prove anything.

As it happens, I don’t think he is a paradox. He was coaching at a time when experience was valued extremely highly - now it is valued less so.

“I was being polite in suggesting the comparison was not stable.”

it would be unstable if experience were not strongly correlated with age. Experience is strongly correlated with age, at least among the managers that I named.

I’d have milked it too.

Lol the GM wasn’t too bad, or am I just confused on job titles and it was the ‘owner’ who had to make the final call. But yep, that interaction was one of the keys why I wasn’t really interested in it. I never realised they were the actual moneyball dudes, I thought it was just a couple of wannabe guys trying to follow in their footsteps. That’s Eastwood for ya though!

And I’d like to see how it stacks up against the Prem which is a similarly high-scoring league.