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The Scrubber Death Knell? It seems like anytime we get confident enough to say our scrum is on the up, we get a reality check. If all of the above are healthy we should be ok, but 1 or two injuries could hurt us. The Loss of Moore, Slipper or Kepu would be bad. Sio, Smith, PAE are all largely...

Not sure how bad Slipper's injury is, but it doesn't appear to have been effecting his scrummaging. The Reds front row has been staunch. Also I'm not sure that Slipper's short minutes-per-game stats is a sign that he's been struggling, or more just player management. I accept that he's putting...

From what I've noticed of Horwill, these days he's only effective over short spurts. He's a good bench option because you can definitely get 25-30 quality minutes out of him, before he starts getting fatigued and lazy.

\ As the saying goes, form is temporary, class is permanent. Some players are just proven test match players. JOC (James O'Connor) is one of those players. He might currently be in shit form, but under the right coach in the right environment he can turn things around pretty quickly. From here its really...

The absence of Timani maybe increases Vaea's prospects. They are similar players in that their strengths are physicality and ball running, neither being a legitimate line-out option. Looking at their stats side by side, the big difference is Vaea's effectiveness with ball in hand. they went...

Timani must be unavailable. I cant imagine why he would be left out otherwise

Horwill hasn't been great this season, but he's shown enough to be in the mix. If nothing else, his set piece work has been solid, and that's a very important attribute at the world cup. Plus all of the other options have either never played a test match, or aren't genuine locks.

Agree re Hunt and Faulkner. Neither have done much at all to impress this season and neither have the runs on the board to get selected on aynthing other than outstanding form. I see no point in including either player in the 45 man squad. Agree that Timani, Stirzaker and Inman are all more...

Any news on Slipper's injury?

I understand Cheika has been in touch with George Smith. There would be some value in having him brought into the 45 man squad. I imagine Cheika might have Smith in mind as an injury back up for the world cup. He'll already by living up north, so logistically it would be easier to bring him into...

As long as Pocock and Hooper are fit, I don't see a place for George Smith. However, honestly I'd probably rate Smith ahead of Gill and Hodgson. Smith has that invaluable experience that would benefit the squad in its entirety. If Pocock was to go down injured I'd probably replace him with...

No chance in hell Beale will be left out of the 45. I'd say take out Toby Smith and put in Beale and you're pretty much on the money

I agree with what you say. Cheika may well make the right decision in the end and he may simply be wanting to portray to Hooper that he is still in the frame (even if he isn't). I'm just saying that if he did name Hooper as captain for the world cup, before any rugby is played, that would seem...

Personally I'd like to see him name Moore as Captain with Hooper and Pocock his deputies.

It really worries me that Cheika has said that prior to the game against the Boks he'll be naming either Hooper or Moore as RWC Captain, for several reasons. 1. I think the recent poll taken on this website suggests that most fans believe that Hooper should not be captain. Cheika would be...

I might add it's no coincidence that Pocock didn't play in the one pool game we lost in 2011 :D

What those stats don't shown are pocock's most crucial stats. Turnovers Forced / Pilferers. I've struggled at times this season with the idea of leaving Hooper out of the starting 15. I imagine Cheika will play a running game, and Hooper is the perfect backrower for the game plan. However, I...

I've been involved in a few pieces of litigation whereby it was argued that a letter of intent or "heads of agreement" document was a binding contract. Both were relating to large Commercial Leases. Whether a letter of intent / heads of agreement is binding generally depends on:- 1. the...

I think that partly depends on whether Hooper or Pocock start. A Backrow of Palu, Higgers, Hooper would be unbalanced. A Backrow of Palu, Higgers, Pocock has better balance. If you have both Higgers and Skelton in the starting side I think there's less need for Palu. I probably go for a...

The Wallabies continue to be very lucky on the injury front. A few injuries here and there, but no big names with any long term injuries. McCalman will really only miss 2 games. Even Sam Carter might be available (although probably wont get selected)