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i agree with this. There's still a lot of rugby to be played and not that unlikely that one of the above will be injured for the test season. Pocock is not going to unseed Hooper with one great performance. However, I think the tide in the debate is clearly turning after this weekend's...

Didn't Folau win the John Eales Medal last year?

mccalman

You cant start a game with two no.7s but there is really no issue finishing a game with two no.7s. The argument about losing a line-out jumper is a bit of a Furphy. You can make do with 2 genuine jumpers and a jumping no.8 for the final 20 minutes of the match if you need to, you just need to...

It got cancelled. The coach decided its easier to convert Hooper to centre. ;)

I must say I thought Speight was impressive in his first game at 13. Looking forward to seeing whether he can continue to impress at 13 until TK returns. I do like the idea of having him as an option at 13. He does have that ability to bust tackles that i like in a 13, and with the options we...

I'd say Gill also benefited from being in a team that was defending for the majority of the game. 7s like Gill and Pocock tend to stand out more when their team is defending under pressure. Gills' defensive work was the most impressive part of his performance. Pocock didn't really get a chance...

I thought Pocock was outstanding. I got the impression that he is trying to show Cheika that he can be just as useful with ball in hand as Hooper. Ran the ball really well, hit the line hard and got at least 1 superb line-break. As always worked very hard at the ruck, and got a few pilfers. Also...

Say what you want about Genia, but the bloke has a good history of aiming up at test level.

He looks great behind a dominant Brumbies pack tho ;)

Fair points. I think I'm still a bit bitter that Cheika didn't give Cooper a start last season. He could have easily justified it. Now the task Cooper faces of winning the starting jersey prior to the WC is a monumental one

What a cop out. Cheika should have given him a run in a TEST match! if you're going to count the Barbarian's game, then here's another way of looking at it:- Games won on the EOYT with Cooper starting at 5/8 - 100% (1/1) Games won on the EOYT with Foley starting at 5/8 - 25% (1/4) Also to...

I don't disagree with this, but realistically what does Cooper have to do to prove he should be preferred ahead of Foley? Although the Reds lost on the weekend, from my point of view the benefits of having Cooper on the field were immediately obvious. If he was able to show some decent...

Well the only real match up that comes to mind is To'omua v Beale. There you have a true "X-factor -v- flawlessness/completeness" match-up. I don't think there should be any argument that To'omua should be picked as the starting 12 every day of the week, but I'm sure there'll be a lot of people...

whilst unlikely, i dont think you could rule out that the IRB will implement a formal transfer market at some stage in the future for top flight provincial rugby. I'd certainly like to see them turn their mind to one eventually.The game is gradually becoming more global. Thee IRB may eventually...

Not necessarily. contractual terms can survive the expiry of a contract. A No-compete clause is one example, Confidentiality clauses are the same. Although they can be difficult to actually enforce.

I do like the idea of somehow compensating the ARU for players going abroad. In theory it would help us to retain more talent in Australia. The big question is how you do that, and I have no idea. It would take some fairly revolutionary ideas. For instance, you could come up with a system...

Well I certainly never said anything about Holmes having more form than Alexander, or anyone other player for that matter. I merely said he's worth a look this season. As Highlander35 was saying, the options are pretty shithouse, which ever way we go. Holmes is probably no worse than the rest...

Greg Holmes getting a push over try against a pretty strong Lions' scrum deserves a mention. I'd say he's worth a look this season.

After watching the tahs game, I'm finding it hard to leave Skelton out of the Wallabies starting 15. The guy is a like was like a runaway train most of the game. The go forward he gave the tahs was invaluable.