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Sent away is probably the wrong way to put it, but he did go out of favour. I’m pretty sure he got left out a couple of times even when available. But maybe my recollection is wrong. Agree that he’s been excellent for the Reds when he’s been available, but I’m pretty sure he said himself...

The other thing I like about Wright’s selection is he’s a good example of a guy given some exposure early then set away to work on his short comings. After several years of growth (and a couple of injuries) his game has progressed and he has now added some grunt to his game smarts and work rate...

You’d have to assume that the extension of Wright’s tenure at the Reds is pretty much assured now, wouldn’t you? Terrific news.

IMO the best backrowers in Super Rugby for the Aussie teams were Wilson, McReight, Wright, Cale, Valetini & Swinton. Throw Leota in there if you want. With Swinton and Wilson out (plus Leota) and assuming Valetini & McReight are in their spots the choice between Wright & Cale becomes a choice of...

Close to a big heater

I’ll leave it to the other helpful souls on here to give you specifics on the game itself, location etc, but here are my tips - - if you want the true Aussie experience turn up full of naive optimism and hope. It makes the beer taste better in the second half - go early with the intention of...

That’s alright. Neither do we. Nor did the ref. I only know we was robbed.

Alaalata has been a quality prop for a long time. If Schmidt sees fit to pick him then happy to back his judgement. But he hasn’t been good this year. Coming back from injury so not unexpected- but let’s be honest scrumming has never been his big strength. If you read some of the comments it’s...

I get what you’re saying - but we also need to grow new markets to grow rugby. Perth seems to a genuine opportunity to grow a third significant and largely self-sustaining footprint (still a bit away from the self-sustaining part but they seem to be investing heavily in pathways so I feel...

Well - I never said he was bad. I said his form didn’t make his omission petty. Given Corey Toole was also released to 7s (and I got the clear impression he would otherwise be in the test squad) maybe Marky M (Nawaqanitawase) hasn’t been snubbed at all.

It’s worth remembering that Nawaqanitwase has been drafted into the 7s squad and it is clear that RA has placed a priority around doing well at the Olympics (for all the same reasons that people want our best test team picked). So it’s not like he’s been completely cast aside.

I’m guessing I’m a decent amount older than you. I can assure you some of the Qld teams that won along the way were very heavy underdogs. Even a couple of years ago people were saying it was the worst Qld team ever before they won the series 2 - 1 Edit: it was 2020

That’s fine. I never actually said we should only pick from the domestic comp. But you still haven’t named the players you thing were better who were available to be selected. No doubt you have some and I’m not trying to diminish your opinion - but I can’t think of any who were hands down better...

So who would you have in there that is available right now who is clearly better than who was picked? Guys keep saying people like Skelton, Sio, the Arnolds, Koroibete, Kerevi etc but, as far as I understand, none of them were available for selection.

I don’t think the two are comparable at all.

I’m specifically talking about guys available now, for THIS squad. Talking about the overall impact (which I don’t deny) OR listing names of players who AREN’T available for selection for this series doesn’t address the point I am making. As an aside - Sio wasn’t in our best team when he was...

Just to be clear I think the loss of all this talent OS is a huge issue. But it’s a huge issue because our Super Rugby teams are going to be significantly weaker as a result. The impact on this test squad isn’t anywhere near as significant, IMO.

Fair enough - but who isn’t there, that was available for selection (ie. not Skelton) that should be?

But these guys who are being left out aren’t significantly better. I’m a fan of a Rodda but you couldn’t say he demanded selection to the point he couldn’t be ignored. Hanigan, Holloway & Swinton were good - but it’s arguable that guys like Cale, Wright & Wilson were all better. Nawaqanitwase...

I think my overall preference would be Wisemantel gets the Waratahs job and McKellar stays OS for another 2-3 yrs for experience then comes back with that behind him. But the current state of NSW rugby is not helping anyone and I feel a high quality HC is required. Hoiles could be that guy - I...