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I’d be amazed if he didn’t attract attention from League.

I don’t think that’s true. Nic White really didn’t change that much - although he was in superb form for the Brumbies in 2022 so, in that sense, he probably only had one way to go. The fundamentals of White’s game are still pretty much the same and his instinct to kick first (which from...

To be fair to Slim, Nic White went from ‘Australia’s best half’ to ‘past it’ in the eyes of many Brumbies fans last May. :)

I haven’t seen him play in years but, assuming he’s still super rugby standard, I wouldn’t be disappointed if the Reds added an experienced lock to our squad. I’d be damn happy about it in fact.

Good read BR. I don’t know much about the emerging players but pretty much agree with the rest of it. A couple of my thoughts to what you’ve written - - the loss is of Ala'alatoa is a significant one. Even though I think van Nek did very well last year. But, crucially, Ala'alatoa should be back...

Sorry mate - was just having a cheeky dig. I believe there is a Christmas tale of some desription (maybe Scrooge??) where lumps of coal are the Christmas gift of choice for people with no festive spirit. Edit: in fact Dr Google tells me lumps of coal were traditionally what Santa left the...

What did your kids think of their lumps of coal?

Agree - but I assume he’ll be more used for depth this year and given a bit of exposure for his development with a view to him competing for the 10 spot in 2025 (based purely on his age and the fact he has no super rugby experience as yet).

Largely agree with your thoughts - although I think success in 2 yrs is achievable. Both McKenzie and Cheika won their titles in their second year after a year to make changes. But I think it is reasonable to expect improvement this year from what is essentially a settled squad boosted by a...

So what’s everyone’s thoughts for this season? I know that there is an overarching sense of doom and gloom in Australian rugby but personally January is always a good time to be (cautiously) optimistic. For the Reds there seems to be plenty of reason to feel we will do better than last year...

I actually think there is a lot of promise in our current cattle. For the last 20 yrs we’ve had weaknesses across numerous positions - playmakers in particular, but at different times we lacked test level players in every other position. We haven’t had players capable of delivering on the basics...

He does. He also has potential to plateau and find the next step too big. A couple of years ago we had a boom group of youngster in the junior Wallabies. McReight, Harry Wilson, Hosea, Harris, Lolesio, Harrison, Lucas, Donaldson, Nawaqanitwase. It takes time for these guys to come through the...

Unfortunately yes - but this is where I think that there is a workable strategy. The funnel for girls 7s is huge and is growing constantly. They are going to have a high attrition rate, but at least fhey get a crack at the best girls and have a whole bunch behind that to fill out the program...

One thing I’ve noticed in the last two tournaments which I haven’t noticed as much before is that the women seem to have changed their tackle strategy. They generally are staying more uptight and hitting higher which is then resulting in more turnovers as they often putting the ball carrier to...

I’m not going to argue against your general point but I will say that I personally find Shannon Parry one of the hardest working rugby employees who, in my experience, is happy to do everything she can to support the growth of women’s rugby. Not for a second saying that there doesn’t need to be...

Not to forget Paterson. He’s been close to their best forward the last two years

I know they got dusted in the final - but that is a pretty amazing turnaround by the men. Last week they looked like a few of them really weren’t at this level. This week beating SA at home & Fiji to get to the final was bloody impressive. They are more workman like than flashy and I think the...

That was a bit of rocks and diamonds from the men - blown off the park by NZ but comfortably dealt with Samoa and took care of Canada. Which sounds on face value as pretty much how you would expect results to go, but given NZ lost to Samoa & Canada it was a bit of a crazy pool. Lawson was good...

Westpac seems to have disappeared from the Reds training kit (from the photos I’ve seen anyway). Has that sponsorship been lost?

Gee the women are playing some good footy. Across the board - defence is has been very strong and attack has had great tempo and good ball movement. Hats off to the ladies and the coaching staff - they are great to watch at the moment.