Referee Christophe Ridley lands role with Steve Borthwick's England

There were only a handful of players Schmidt really couldn’t afford to lose, and I do think Lolesio was among them because he was clearly the one the coach had backed to provide the direction for the side.

Now that he’ll miss the series, I really do think it’s a significant dent to pre-existing plans..

With a shot Tupou, no Skelton and Valetini, no Noah, and more injuries to come (just statistically) it is hard to see the Wallabies winning a game realistically. I'd love to be wrong.

These problems shine a light on RA’s lack of strategy over the years. How many players have they lost to Europe (before and after they become Wallabies)? Why do all the young 10s stall out at the same phase of development? Why all the stop-start with the veteran 10s? Why are there no project players (not just international recruits but also younger Aussies with potential) being clearly groomed for international roles? Why are there no promising back-rowers being moved to hooker around the u20 level?

I have been reading and enjoying your columns for a decade but it is not clear if anyone at RA has spent 20 minutes reviewing the basics.

Just disappointing and frustrating all around

Harry Wilson shouldn’t be in the squad. He cannot break tackles and has poor ball skills. Samu was great for UBB who won the European club championship. Back three should be Booby V, Tizano and Leota with Gleeson and Samu off the bench. McRight has not played well against bigger teams and gets blown off the ball. Utilise the wingers more for support play.

Starting locks should be frost and Skelton. Off the bench Amatosero and Williams or Philip. There is your balance point.

The biggest issue we have the back line is that wright has a poor kicking game and not as big a boot as the back 3 of the lions. He also makes a lot of mistakes. Wallabies should have developed hodge at 15 as that big boot of his takes a lot of pressure off. That is what is going to kill them.

It’s not a big happy family. It's not south American soccer when you get scouted at 8 and join a club with lads you've grown up with. It was a pay cheque. And I suspected it wouldn't last long.

I did my bit, they did theirs. At times it was great fun. I got a Friday night at the Cardiff arms park which was my only bucket list. Not more than 1500 in attendance and we got pumped by 22 PTS but special memories.

The pitch was utter shyte though.

I mean this sincerely but the fans in the stands are often the more passionate. Professional players, to a degree, are conditioned to deal with losses. On to the next game. Pragmatism.

The players were starting to get too big so I don't miss the on field stuff and I've literally never held a ball since. I wouldn’t let either of my young cubs near a rugby ball at the moment as the game stands but I've never enjoyed watching the game more than now.

Two teams go to war but nobody dies. It's a lovely antidote to the confusing and overwhelming real world we live in. Some times your best is enough, some times it's not.

And for me, the gain in the player welfare equation is certainly obvious and I wonder how you could have missed it. Or maybe you’re more a Polemist than a real Analyst?

The third Test is 19 July, round one of Top 14 2025-26 first weekend of September. Probably a month of pre-season in August with three warm-up games. Where is the off-season for players to recover properly?

In the NFL they have 7 months.

Yeah right!

The NFL is also distributing contracts worth $210.000.000+ for 4 years… In Top 14, Dupont was paid a yearly €480.000 (brut) by Toulouse while F. Russell was offered £1.000.000 with Bath. Consequently, I really fail to see how anything NFL is relevant with rugby, but you already know that.

Beside, La Section Paloise already started its pre-season (today) and the number of warm-up games would range from 0 - 2 (mostly 1). For the bulk, after five weeks, the restart is next week as their last game was on 7 June. The break is shorter than 6 weeks for their staff and those players who were not involved in their last game.

Last season ranking. Club -> date restart (break weeks)

08. Pau (SP) -> 9 July (~ 4w)

00. Montauban (USM Sapiac) -> 14 July (> Pro D2)

07. La Rochelle (SR) -> 14 July (~ 5w)

12. Paris (SF) -> 15 July (~ 5w)

11. Lyon (LOU) -> 15 July (~ 5w)

10. Racing 92 -> 15 July (~ 5w)

13. Perpignan (USAP) -> 16 July (~ 5w)

09. Montpellier (MHR) -> 16 July (~ 5w)

06. Clermont (ASM) -> 21 July (~ 5w)

05. Castres (CO) -> 21 July (~ 5w)

04. Bayonne (AB) -> 28 July (~ 5w)

03. Toulon (RCT) -> 28 July (~ 5w)

02. Bordeaux (UBB) -> 6 August (~ 5w)

01. Toulouse (ST) -> 4-11 August (~ 5-6w)

If Attissogbe (from Pau) is also playing the 19 July test (very doubtful), he will be back from holliday on 1 September (6 weeks later). No matter what, he is going to miss several rounds of Top 14.

(…) three-Test series in NZ is not ‘friendly’. It is a serious opportunity to prove you can beat one of the best nations in history in their own backyard.

You can also repeat it a million time but it won’t change the fact that those summer tests are the lowest priority on the FFR agenda. It’s a shame, it’s not going to change - even if they rename the window something else, but it’s for good reasons in my humble opinion.