World Cup hopefuls lose head coach on eve of qualification campaign

All eyes on the Brumbies' power as Racing-bound Taniela Tupou's Lion dream fades

BA 19 minutes ago

The Aussie Super games to be played later this year will be a big step forward in keeping pathways players development innovation in positional selections Athletes are still here in these parts of the world visited by Cook in abundance you just need places for them to go it’s a good first step I reckon

Six selection questions for Joe Schmidt as Lions loom large

Brett McKay 34 minutes ago

..I think the more experience and game management they can squeeze onto the park the better with the stocks of guys like kellaway, white and even a hunter rising with that injury.

This is a really good point NH, and I could easily have beefed up my ‘what now’ and ‘..how much does this forced change of personnel change the approach?’ questions.

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..

Six selection questions for Joe Schmidt as Lions loom large

NH 51 minutes ago

Nice one Brett. I think you can potentially hit 2 brids with one stone as it were with a couple of your conundrums. Having skelton off the bench with hooper/uru would reduce your balance issue, help finish the back end of games strong, and let Wilson captain. And with Noah out (bloke can’t catch a break), I think the more experience and game management they can squeeze onto the park the better with the stocks of guys like kellaway, white and even a hunter rising with that injury. I, for one, liked the varied kicking the WBs employed vs fiji and it be all the more important for each of the likes of wright, the 9, ikitau to help donno/lynagh in this aspect with kicking/game mgmt which is a clear weakness in aus rugby at the moment relative to the lions.

All eyes on the Brumbies' power as Racing-bound Taniela Tupou's Lion dream fades

Space-laika 54 minutes ago

Nick, great article. Tupou hasn't looked fit all year. On offense I noticed him tracking the ball but always being a phase or 10m behind so ending up being last at a ruck (and not needed) or running a lazy inside line that clearly wasn't on.

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

BA 1 hour ago

Play the different comps with no Champions cup breaking it up and at end of URC SA clubs joins with Super for its version of a Champions cup then every 4 the World Cup challenge ?or does the Top 14 need to be the showpiece finish for French rugby? I know that’s very simplistic and fraught with logistical problems but could work?

Six selection questions for Joe Schmidt as Lions loom large

Brett McKay 1 hour ago

Fair to say you’ve offered a very different perspective Am, thanks for taking the time to outline as you have..

BA 1 hour ago

Perhaps moving forward run meters tackles rucks and so on relative to weight height age etc becomes the new metric for guiding player welfare ?

BA 1 hour ago

I was just praising Cam for all the sniping he has done all season and last and that Cortez could follow suit bit more especially considering he is really quick

All Blacks front five power points to brighter times ahead

Cantab 1 hour ago

Absolutely. Need to actually walk the walk before the talk the talk. While there is always optimism existing problems need to be addressed before improvement can be achieved.

7 Go to comments

BA 1 hour ago

5 million watched Top 14 final 8 million ABs test LY how many will watch Boks France at end of year ?10 million?not saying you can compare to games downunder atm with times no French stars etc but def still shows a appetite for international rugby

All Blacks front five power points to brighter times ahead

GP 1 hour ago

I agree with you. I think the “rose tinted glasses” are being worn in this article. Fletcher Newell is a machine in the scrums as the article says. Carrying on from what he did for the Crusaders against the Blues and Chiefs. But we need Tamaiti Williams back down the track and Scott Barrett is going to be missed while he is out. Scott is under appreciated by some.

7 Go to comments

BA 1 hour ago

What if the Lions tour ? What do they do then?And that seems likely at some point but maybe quite far away

All eyes on the Brumbies' power as Racing-bound Taniela Tupou's Lion dream fades

NH 2 hours ago

tbh I’d still have nella off the bench and just really try and simplify his game. Anchor the scrum (don’t need to win a penatly), make your tackles, pick and gos in 22 zone, and clean otherwise. But, he is somewhat the antithesis of the workrate player Schmidt likes and nongorr has been good in this regard this season (scrum wobbles aside). Curious to see what Schmidt does at 10, I think noah is a bigger loss than alot of people might give credit to. I thought the wallabies shape and decision making was largely quite good in the 1st half against fiji and I liked the diverse kicking. I personally have no confidence in donno or lynagh, they are just too green, but JOC seems on the outer. Very little game management present across the team. Need as much as we can get now from the 9, 12, 15 and even wings to help out whoever the 10 is. Guys like kellaway, white, wright, ikitau, hunter all the more important to take some load.

Six selection questions for Joe Schmidt as Lions loom large

AM 2 hours ago

Find this an odd one. AAA is a terrible scrummager and was shown up badly in the RwC and European games. He should not start. The front row should be Bell, Latu and Thor or Jordan U at hooker. Latu played well for La Rochelle and JU played well for MP. The French comp is the best in the world. Ainsley is a better scrummager than AAA and played well for Lyon. He should be on the bench. At loose Scott Sio played well for Exeter and is better than slipper. The young no 1 at the Tahs is also solid. Nongoor and Robertson are worse than AAA in the scrum and not international level.

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.

IkeaBoy 2 hours ago

If you applied your logic to country and not club, then you're on to something!

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.