Lawson Creighton and Lalakai Foketi could provide Schmidt with a new and fruitful string-pulling axis with the Lions tour looming.
Australia head coach Joe Schmidt feels that “anyone can have a lean spell” when teams are in transition periods.
Joe Marler’s haka comments have been an unwelcome sideshow and the main event needed no help to achieve top billing.
Team England Rugby has Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Joe Marler and Anthony Watson on its board.
The nucleus of Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies is firming-up and it must continue to do so as there’s only four more Wallaby games ahead of next year’s British and Irish Lions tour.
Another Australian, Reuben Keane, and Jeremy Rozier of France will make their Test debuts over the course of a November international window where 30 referees from 12 countries will take charge of the 36 Test matches and five other representative games.
Andrea Piardi from Italy is one of 12 referees from seven countries appointed for a tournament which will kick-off on August 10 with England’s Luke Pearce in charge of the Australia versus South Africa opener in Brisbane.
Doncaster Knights have signed Bristol Bears loosehead prop Andrew Turner on a season-long loan.
Which is why the hand-wringing and pearl-clutching over Louis Rees-Zammit’s move to the National Football League has struck a nerve
The latest instalment of the Joe Marler soap opera seemed like a best-forgotten storm in a teacup, but then in stepped the RFU whose clumsy, ill-thought response instead guaranteed it will run and run.