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And really, are they Australian? I want guys who want to pull on the Wallaby jersey, not end up like the Socceroos who pluck qualified blokes from anywhere to play for a country they have virtually no relationship with.

One under-rated factor this season has been the distinct lack of serious injuries, JOC (James O'Connor) aside. Wonder if that correlates with better fitness, or a change in management approach? Or it could be just blind luck. Hard to believe that the below backline is now our second string: 9. Tate McDermott...

Yeah it's a bit pathetic, really. "We wouldn't dare stoop to that level, but they did and it worked for them so well done, I suppose". Whatever, champion. Would love to know which of these fiendish tactics forced you to miss a series of one-on-one tackles in your own 22.

It was more than Kerevi's passes, it was his decision making in general. His option taking was near flawless, holding onto the ball when the pass was not on or too risky, and throwing it when the men outside him were in space. A couple of nice offloads too. It's the skill Paisami is yet to...

The clash with the Olympics shouldn't be underestimated either. I know I find myself with less enthusiasm for the local footy codes at the moment after what we saw in Tokyo.

I'd actually suggest within a Kiwi ref there may be an unconscious bias against the All Blacks, rather than for them. They may be worried about a perception of being a home town Harry (an expression I just made up, roll with it people), so actively go out of their way to ensure the 50/50...

Is anyone confident of that? We're all hopeful, but on present evidence there's not much reason to be super confident.

I think that's a big call after just two starts. If Samu Kerevi comes online tomorrow, I dare say they'd shift Paisami to 13 instead of keeping Ikitau in the side.

I was impressed with Ikitau in general. Defends well, runs hard. Hasn't had much space to work with in either of his tests but I can't recall him making any errors. He's a keeper.

Yeah I don't think you could do the indigenous idea. It's a nice aim but presents a few issues on both a logistical and conceptual level as some have pointed out. However I think as a few have said we should actively try and increase our indigenous representation in 7s. It's a great gateway to...

Our lineout was shocking for the first ten minutes, but did we lose one after that? Coming off the back of a great performance in the French series, I don't really think it's a problem that needs to be fixed.

I think this deserves its own thread, branching off from the Olympics discussion. It's clear that our men's 7s program needs a new approach. Despite a lot of effort, we continue to be a middling 7s team. We might pop up and win a tournament every few years, but we will never be a major power...

There's certainly a discussion to be had about how to use our (meagre) resources, and how/if the 7s program fits within that. But a couple of minor behavioural incidents shouldn't have anything to do with it.

So a few players ALLEGEDLY got on the turps on the plane home, and we should disband the whole program? Feel like that's a slight over-reaction. Meh. This happens every Olympics. It's an old trope, 'athletes go wild in the village'. There's no suggestion they did anything criminal. They should...

I don't think resting players was really the issue considering the time between matches, and it wasn't like either game was a gut-buster. You're right about the rising standards, but we still should have won that game. We should have put them away, either in the first half (Tonegato dropping...

Yeah the restarts might have been the difference, especially in the second half.

I don't think that is correct. If we top our pool we play the second team in pool A, likely to be GB.

Yeah a bit worried about GB in the quarters, they look one of the best four or five sides. But those are the games we need to win anyway, I suppose.

Vs China at 6:30pm AEST

That was as good as we've looked in a long time. Hope it continues.