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I'm a Kiwi living in Aus, I'm interested in the Wallabies just as much as New Zealand. I'm not worried, I welcome the struggle as it makes things more interesting. Aus being competitive makes things a lot more engaging as a rugby fan. I hope it continues.

I'm not concerned about the ABs one bit. We're in a win-win situation. We either retain the Bledisloe or don't, subsequently bringing in Robertson as head coach. In contrast, there are 101 reasons to be concerned about Australian rugby in a given year.

The Wallabies really targeted and swamped Mo'unga to limit his impact. To'omua was right up in his face the whole game. He took quite a few cynical late shots which seemed to put him off his game a bit. Sign of good coaching though, as Rennie would've made sure to target Richie. The Wallabies...

You have to wonder how many off-sides, illegal cleanouts, hands in the ruck & side entries, there were in those last, mad 10 minutes.. It seems the ref had made up his mind at that point that he didn't want one of those to be the deciding factor anyway!

Let's not get ahead of ourselves here.. In case you weren't aware, of the seven previous Wallabies coaches in the professional era, four of them (Rod Macqueen, Eddie Jones, Robbie Deans and Michael Cheika) all beat the All Blacks in their first attempt. Deans won his first match against the...

Codie Taylor is so underrated.

Paisami has a daunting assignment defending Reiko's channel at 13, on test debut.. His selection by Rennie in the starting midfield surprised me given he was caught out positionally on defense in the Super Rugby final. Talk about a ruthless initiation to test rugby.

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I'd probably err on the side of caution if I were you. Dingo was supposed to be Australian rugby's savour, followed by Link, then Cheik-mate. Unyielding optimism and lofty expectations from the rugby public at the start of each tenure followed by resignation of the status quo. The trend only...

If true, Paisami at 13 is a genuine surprise for me considering how he was exposed defensively in the Super Rugby Au grand final. He wasn't able to defend his channel and it cost the Reds dearly.

Ok, here's the side I hope Rennie names this Friday (tomorrow): 1 Sio, 2 Fainga'a, 3 Tupou, 4 Philip, 5 LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto), 6 Valetini, 7 Hooper, 8 Wilson, 9 McDermott, 10 O'Conner, 11 Wright, 12 Simone, 13 Petaia, 14 Koroibete, 15 DHP. 16 Uelese, 17 Slipper, 18 Ala'alatoa, 19 Hosea, 20 Samu, 21 Gordon, 22...

I'm curious as to who Wallabies fans think should be the long-term fullback under Rennie. It's weird because you have a few capable fullbacks but nothing particularly outstanding. DHP is probably getting on a bit at 31, so probably better to invest in the younger ones. Tom Banks and Reece...

Are there really no better locks in aus to choose from?

I have this weird suspicion Rennie might drop a bombshell and name Wright at fullback. Anyone else think it's plausible?

We could endlessly discuss the merits of who Wallabies best option at 10 is, but at the end of the day you want your best players on the park and O'Conner needs to be on the field in some form. At the moment with not many standout fullback options in Australia, I think he could best suited at...

Why is White even in the conversation? He's done fuck all for the Brumbies this year. Joe Powell has continued to deliver. Meanwhile Jake Gordon single-handedly carried the Tahs in many games. McDermott should start with Gordon on the bench.

I'll go out on a limb and predict White won't even make the 23. If you look at Rennie's history of using running, abrasive halfbacks (Kerr-Barlow, Pulu etc..) he's more likely to select Gordon and McDermott.

The problem was Cheika's backline was completely fucked due to having to accommodate Beale at 15 (and Hodge at 14). Just the absolute worst possible option you could select there. Cheika's NSW & Beale bias meant O'Conner wasn't ever considered an option at 15 by Cheika - despite being the best...

Yes, he should've been 100%. James O'Conner is a proven test-level fullback. Beale wasn't even remotely close to an international quality fullback (or even Super Rugby standard) in those last 3 years. He never performed his core roles adequately. Even in the Perth test he missed loads of...

He brought him back only to play him at 13 where he couldn't make anywhere near as much impact. Then only to relegate him to the bench for Petaia half-way through the world cup. The obvious solution was to play O'Conner at 15 with Petaia (or Kuridrani until Petaia's injury healed) at 13 all...