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I agree and eventually it was scrapped because Brisbane and Sydney were no longer uncompetitive. They didn't need additional cash to entice players to join them. It's seemingly coming back as part of a soft cap adjustment (can be spent on things other than players) which is very much cost of...

Rugby Australia is a pretty nebulous thing to everyone outside but if you're a Super Rugby and Wallaby player the people you specifically have grievances against are generally no longer there and most of your experience is with players, coaches and staff that you are likely close to and you...

It's a tricky situation for the players, RA, Waratahs and Schmidt. For the players at the pointy end, the opinion Schmidt has of them is going to be a big driver in terms of whether they are going to get acceptable offers to stay in Australia. Given we've had one test it's very early in that...

Woops. For some reason I had it in my head that Swain was going to France.

Absolutely. It's definitely RA money that is needed. It's obviously incredibly early in the Schmidt era and we have no idea what the plans are for Skelton when available but at this stage it would seem there's a strong indication that Salakaia-Loto is the first lock picked. Swain and Rodda...

You'd think that there would definitely be some carrots to dangle given they have to sign players for the Waratahs regardless and it would be an abject disaster if the Waratahs squad got substantially worse in 2025 than it was this year.

You'd think Lukhan Salakaia-Loto would be the easiest to persuade to come to the Waratahs. Joe Schmidt makes it clear that he's central to his plans with the Wallabies but that relies on him playing Super Rugby and staying in Australia. Tahs obviously need a lock and while he wants to go to the...

To act as captain? I can't imagine Schmidt would be concerned about that. McReight or Gordon could just as easily do it rather than impacting multiple bench replacements.

I think the key there is you would need to accept that the timer on the big screen at the ground is then the official one. If the referee's timer is 2 seconds ahead of the scoreboard it would potentially be worse than the status quo. Imagine the drama if the scoreboard says the kicker has 2...

I can imagine the challenge for the stadium game day people is when do you start the timer and unless it happens on the signal of the referee, how do you make it official rather than being anything more than a guide. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the timer on a penalty commences when a team opts...

Yes, absolutely RA is obliged to pay them unless all parties agree to terminate the contract. You previously said "If the player is playing club rugby by their own decision, I wouldn't let them out of their contract to go anywhere else." In that situation, why wouldn't RA agree to release...

If the players don't want to play at a location that RA wants them to play then surely the next best option is to be able to release these players and not pay them at all. It would also make it very difficult for RA to offer any of these players a top up contract after their current contract...

Outside of Tupou, there's a fair discrepancy between what De Goey and other upper tier AFL players earn and what most of the players in question here would earn.

How affordable is that for a player on $200k a year or less?

I don't know that it's really a conflict of interest. RA has a contractual obligation to a number of players signed for 2025 already and the only team they had influence over in terms of ongoing contracts was the Waratahs at that point.

I totally get the referee management of not wanting to cause a stoppage unnecessarily and giving some leeway regarding "use it" etc. but if you do that, you can't backtrack on that substantially late in the game when things are tense. It has always been an accepted refereeing practice to blow a...

I think we're only dealing with players who are already contracted for 2025 and beyond as the cost is a RA is a budgeting issue regardless of where they end up. I'm not sure if purged is fair but I definitely think the uncertainty regarding the Rebels and their contracted players combined with...

It's not really a Stan issue though is it? They don't run gameday and while it would be handy for people watching at home it doesn't help prevent it not happening in a crucial situation.

I could have sworn I have seen the shot clock this season. Was it used at all in Super Rugby? Or would it have been from watching World Rugby Sevens?