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Down to the wire but Aus under 18s are 38-31 winners!

Really impressive performance for the Aus u18s here, 7 minutes to go and up by 12 over NZ schoolboys.

Pretty sure they're specific games - I think the first one is the Reds v tahs opening round and the second is tahs v Brumbies in Sydney, round 12.

More of the same in the second half with the Reds towards really getting dominance. 53-12 final score. Reds will want to be sharper going forward though, there were quite a few errors wasting breaks and good work done. Hopefully just that first round (for them) rust to shake out.

From the bits I've seen it's the ruck security killing the Brumbies, not sure I've seen them put more than 2 or 3 phases together.

Bit of a demolition in the works in Canberra. Reds under 19s up 29-7 at half time. I missed the first 20 or so but it's been one way traffic since I tuned in and the Reds have probably left a couple of tries out there. If they tighten up a bit it could get really ugly.

I don't mean to say Bryant and King aren't priorities or overseas targets, I just meant that they appear to be firmly in the Reds planning and getting plenty of opportunity, so I can't see the Reds letting them slip through their fingers.

I expect it's more likely to be the fringe pros (Souths have a few of them) like Phransis Sula-Siaosi, Sean Farrell, Kohan Herbert, Alofa Alofa and Dom Thygesen (already let go apparently) then the guys actively and currently featuring in the Reds setup. Xaiver Ruebens is the one guy in the...

I'd be amazed if he did - his contract ends November 1, so he won't be on the books any longer. He's been training with them for rehab and is probably helping some of the younger guys get up to speed, but I don't think it would serve the Reds or Petaia to have him play these games.

That's a risk once they're out of the system though, I'm not sure it's much more than a minor win (or maybe just a smaller loss) keeping them in the game. Apparently Leota had his heart set on the wallabies and reds growing up so there's some hope he'll return, but Pereira is a kiwi by birth...

They'll need a few with injuries and the Wallabies and Australia A squad members unavailable. It'll be interesting to see how many are signed ahead of time or spaces are left in the main squad for them - squad announcements for all the super sides in 2025 are apparently set for the end of...

Rugby.com did a break down based on win %s, which ends up mostly being in line with last years table (the worse you did the harder your draw looks): https://www.rugby.com.au/news/super-rugby-pacific-ranking-each-teams-super-rugby-pacific-2025-draw-2024930 Looking at the games and where they...

It's a real worry and we've lost a few to them recently like Macarius Pereira to Pau and Lehopa Leota to Racing, but King stands out above them as a talent and their departure probably sets him up to stay. I can't see the Reds letting King go easily, they'll likely want to bring him through on...

There are probably others better informed on the age grade players (particularly u16s), but for mine it's Trevor King and Charlie Brosnan in the forwards and Xavier Rubens and Samuela Tuisau in the backs. King and Rubens both already have time with the under 20s, with King haven't been...

Swinton cops a 5 week ban, downgraded from 10 due to mitigating circumstances (guilty plea, conduct before/during the hearing and show of remorse). I think he can probably count himself very lucky to get a 50% discount without a clean record to lean on...

I wouldn't put too much stock in it, I'm 80% sure Rhino is ai, or at least pumping all his posts through it

Defensively 12 is generally considered significantly easier, particularly because 13 has to cover more space and either move or decide faster (ideally both). There's also more room to play one-dimensional 12s working a power game then there is at 13 where the position tends to demand a better...

Imagine if they emerge at 12, traditionally an easier position for players to find their feet. I get the idea of trying new things, but what are we actually trying to achieve by shifting him to 12? There doesn't seem to be a strong argument for it beyond "he could be good there", when he's...

Is anyone actually saying he won't adapt well? The argument is that he won't be as good at 12 as he is at 13 and it will weaken the team as a whole. Realistically, if he were to move to 12 then we'd likely be running Paisami at 13, given he's the next most experienced and capable 13 in the...