Recent content by Raytah

Exchange rate also unhelpful atm. I guess the trade off is probably: A) Keep established wallaby outside back playing in super (say Tom Wright) or B) Pay a truckload to secure/develop best young talent in Aus rugby. In (B), super rugby suffers, but atleast both would remain eligible for the...

He's 6'4 and jackals. And carries. And hits. Most I've seen of him was Aus U18s so not monster sample, but blind Freddy could tell he was generational talent and suited to rugby. Was best player on the park. Next best were Uys & Ross (Reds), Makasini (Tigers), and Bassingthwaite (Roosters)...

And hopefully they now have enough cash to throw the kitchen sink at Lemoto. Should be valued at double Jorgensen. Will be the wallabies 8 for a decade if we can keep him.

Havn't been watching them, but Archer Holz and Max Douglas are coming into the right age bracket if we can get them back from Wales.

I think Brad Amatauanai is promising. Always impresses when playing for Uni. Will Goddard is a few years away but worth developing as is a strong scrummager from what I have seen at U20 and for the Woods. Wonder if Michael Ala'alatoa or Ollie Hoskins could be tempted. Ala'alatoa is world class...

Will miss raw power without Tupou, Gleeson and likely Leota next year. All have their limitations though so possible to upgrade. Philip and a fit Lee-Warner will help a bit, and have high hopes for Talataina. Probably need to look at recruiting or developing. Kemeny, Swinton or Scott-Young...

Super signing. With Kautai gone and Alatini injured, Brums were looking bare at tighthead behind AAA & RVN.

Think it's Lington Ieli. Quality 122kg Aus U20s prospect at Loose Head. No need to go external there. If Kautai is out, and Alatini injured, will definatly need more tight head cover. Could do worse than Tom Ross if on the market.

Who do we want to see for Aus A this tour? Probably needs to balance next best XV with developing potential future Wallabies, who may still be a bit green. I would like to see: 1. Schoupp / Hoopert 2. Pollard / Vailanu 3. De Lutiss / Amone 4. Canham / Blythe 5. Amotosero / Swain 6. Hooper /...

+ Pasitoa if ever gets fit. Seems to be viewed as a 12.

So, seeing squad named today would expect the XV vs NZ to look like: Uys Grenfell Hill / Langi Ross / Thompson Fonua Langi / Cleverly Robinson Lemoto / Talialeva Grover / Blank Fowler / Mackay Conway Takai / Fittler Goldsborough Makasini Bassingthwaite

There's 8 or so from GPS schools and most of them were rugby scholarship players and objectively pretty handy.

Mot Goddard, although liked the look of his scrummaging last year and saw he has been named for NSW 19s. Think it was Uys, who has ended up in the 26 for NZ.

Watch the first game. The Aus U18s team (which had most of the lads picked for NZ today) were dominant. Not perfect, but looked pretty good to me.

- Heinz Lomoto looked class at 8 - Bassingthwaite looked good at 15 - Fittler got isolated a couple of times but was bending the line. - Makasini looked a handful on the sting - Liked the look og Rylands and Robinson in the backrow - Fonua and Thompson looked solid in the row. - Hill looked...