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Plenty of room for it to for guys on the fringe of that squad or are line ball with another player - big game performances have always counted for more than the rest. Particularly for players who've spent a bit of time out injured recently like Uru, Toole or Wilkin.

It does happen, but I think more for actions like eye gouges where the video may not be as clear and there is a direct accusation being made.

Yeah, I think the point of resting players against the Drua was so we don't have to for this game and can build as much momentum as possible heading into the finals. I could understand a bit of prop rotation given we won't really be tested there and our options are on relatively even footing...

I'd be very surprised if a partial squad was named while some teams were still playing finals. There might be a wider training group named with some players to drop out, but I think it's more likely the whole squad will be named at once, whether that's before or after all teams are out of...

And with 58 super caps (43 starts) and 2 Australia A caps over 5 seasons he's hardly inexperienced or ill prepared.

He's definitely in the conversation there, though I'd have Uru and Hooper ahead of him in that role at this point. Possibly Frost as well (if not at lock), given his recent turn at 6. Then you get to Leota and Holloway who are on pretty even footing but offer something a bit different to each...

Not sure Holloway is a front line option at lock in internationals, but even if he is he's a ways down the form chart at this point.

Can't play the Chiefs, they're locked into 4th. Aiming for the Brumbies is tricky buisness too, i'd put them at a 30% or 40% chance of coming in 2nd at this stage. I do generally agree with going all out and not risking a slump from resting, but that travel burden for Fiji is very real. It...

I think it happens on an ad hoc basis for them as the Spanish speaking players tend to congregate around a few clubs (maybe because of coaches?), but I'm not sure we can expect that to go quite the same way for us. It has happened a bit with the South Africans at places like Sale too, but I'm...

It's probably the most likely route at this stage. A more neutral ground for travel (although timezones favour Europe and South Africa) but timing is still tricky. Could probably push the mid year tests back a month and find a bit of a window in there that is pretty good for it though.

I'd love to see the OS club partnerships grow (ideally with some sort of ownership stake) as a way of managing this. It'd probably have to be in the lesser club comps, but say there were a few sides around MLR, maybe Japan 2nd division or Pro D2, etc. that had partnerships with RA or the...

That's the tricky part to this, timing and travel will have such a bearing on the results and I worry there's an natural reaction for those clubs up against on those counts to not engage properly as a way to save face. I think the answer is probably just start it and let the prestige build...

There's a top 6 version of this that might be the way to go if we're dropping to 11 teams next year: First round: 1v6, 2v5, 3v4 Bottom two losers drop out with the highest ranked loser getting a 2nd chance. So assuming the top teams win in the first round, for the semis you get still get a top...

Hosting finals is worth a lot to those teams that get to, even quarter finals. It's variable depending on the stadium setup, but it's a lot more lucrative than just about any regular season game. From a broadcast perspective as well it's high value in the sense that it'll rate better than most...

It's a larger scale but he should've just bought HBF park as the key to the long term rescue package for the Force. Far and away the biggest indicator for long term financial viability for sides around the world seems to be owning their stadiums and being able to both offset the costs of hosting...

Yeah, Rebels are locked in and Drua are the only side that can fall out of the 8. I'm expecting a bit of rest and rotation from the Rebels to manage their travel into the quarter finals. Bonus point win for the Drua will put them ahead of the Rebels and into 7th, a standard win (or a bp win...

One round to go and this is all looking pretty bang on

I understand the desire to drop back to a top 6 but I think most of these formats ignore that the top 8 is actually a reward for the top placed sides. If 1st and 2nd have a bye that's one less finals game they each host, which is a huge loss in money for most sides. It's also less high value...

Sorry, but with tahs fans crushed and entirely without hope I need to find a different fanbase to beat down with the crushing weight of reality just so I can feel something.

Yeah, they can still finish 1st or 2nd. 1st pretty unlikely but 2nd a definite possibility, just needs the Chiefs beat the Blues alongside a Brumbies win. 3rd is the lowest they can finish.