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To be clear I was not arguing we should shift Donaldson to 12, only that it makes as much of not more sense than moving Ikitau there. Ikitau is not starved of ball because our 12 isn't feeding him. If he is at all starved of ball (and his stats suggest he's getting a good amount of it) it's...

These are reasons he's a great 13, move him to 12 and that footwork is less useful in traffic without the size to back it up and there's more required from his passing game as a playmaker then there is at 13. We're better off leaning into our strengths and building around them than compromising...

Yeah, I don't really get the ikitau to 12 movement. He's a great 13 and there's not much in his game to suggest he'd be better suited 12 - he's not a massive crash baller or a secondary playmaker for example. I'm sure he could do a job there if required, but I'd rather a great 13 (which are...

The blues have been excellent and are probably leading the comp in that regard, and I've liked the chiefs recent output, but the Crusaders and Highlanders are still well behind the pack - basically phoned in the draw announcements (highlanders didn't even have a video on their socials). They're...

Yeah, the same one. He's had a bad run with injury but looked great in club this year, was man of.the match in the hospital's cup final. Makes a lot of sense to call him up for the Japan tour and possibly more, but might struggle to get a contract with backrow and lock looking pretty full...

This is completely unacceptable from Reiko Ioane, I really can't stomach him going to such great lengths to entertain me, forcing me to like him. Should disqualify him from ever representing New Zealand again.

Reds sides: Unfortunate to see Will Nason has fractured his jaw and won't be able to talk part in this years competition.

Announcement video for the signing is also great work from the Brumbies: https://x.com/BrumbiesRugby/status/1841614212369727688 Really impressed with how the Australian* sides have lifted their social media game the last couple of years. *W.R. Tah Funeral Directors still have a ways to go.

Aus A games are Friday 8th of November (Bristol) and Sunday 17th November (England XV). The wallabies are playing at Twickenham on Saturday the 9th and Cardiff on Sunday the 17th, So there maybe a little room for cross over on the first weekend but no chance of it on the second.

Yeah, the games against Tonga/Portugal would have been cap games and will have reset the counter.

Corey Toole has officially signed on for 2025: https://brumbies.rugby/news/toole-inks-new-deal-at-the-brumbies

And he cops a two week ban (one week suspended). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-03/michael-cheika-banned-for-two-weeks-over-doctor-disrespect/104426036

Not sure how many will drop back from the main squad, Schmidt seems to like to have a fair few players in reserve at the warm up in case of emergencies. It may mean some shuffling of the squads initially to get the fringe guys more game time, while a few experienced reserves end up held in case...

The surprising thing for me is not so much New Zealand next year (they've rested for July tours as standard) but that it includes 2026 - the first year of the nations championship. Not fielding a full strength side for those clashes could really hurt their chances.

But what do expect the return on something like that to actually be? I don't see how it's going to lure anyone over or make much difference to recruitment decisions on these players, certainly not at the cost you're talking about. Absolutely include league players who've signed in the touring...

First time the Drua have opened the season at home too, so it might be the best chance to beat them there as they haven't necessarily started strong. After last year the Force will be really targeting that round 2 clash too, aside from the difficulty facing the Drua in Fiji, most sides struggle...

Since when? What actual benefit do you think we'd get out of pulling these leaguies in short term? And at what cost? Because the example you gave was that we spend 50-100k for the opportunity to then bid on a player earning over a million a year in league. This at a time when the game is...

I hate it, sounds like a waste of money we don't have and a quick way to piss off the existing player base. I really doubt we'd learn anything we don't already know about the leagues players over a few weeks on tour with a couple of games either. There maybe some scope for holding a few places...

Cheika called before the judiciary for conduct prejudicial to the interests of the game and/or Union: https://www.theroar.com.au/2024/10/02/cheika-faces-disciplinary-panel-after-first-game-in-charge-of-leicester/

Interesting tidbit from the story about O'Connor potentially heading to the Crusaders, we should see the squads named at the end of the month (a week or two earlier than last years November 9th squad announcements)...