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Nah, Crotty is class. Fast (enough), big (enough), makes good decisions, good distribution, steps off both feet, gets his upper body through tackles. If he could kick he'd be like a slightly less good Aaron Mauger. Presuming SBW goes back to league, I really wouldn't be surprised to see Crotty...

Nothing to say, it was the wrong call. Richie's generally pretty good with the close game decisions, but he shanked that one.

I agree, but I really struggle to think of any way to soften the game that wouldn't ruin what I love about it - big forwards, fast backs, the pace and the collisions. Having said that: a really firm policy on concussions might go a way towards stopping the lengthy spells out that Berrick etc...

How about Brad Shields? He's 112kg and plays even heavier. That penalty he copped in the first half was promising; he just needs to add a little polish to his aggression. Really excited about him as an ABs prospect.

It's on Sky Sports in NZ - which is pay, but everyone has it (free to air TV in new zealand is horrendous). Not sure whether Super Sports in South Africa is pay or free to air, but it has the sound of a pay tv channel. Those numbers are surprisingly huge.

I know this is a union forum, so I won't dwell on this - but isn't that situation outrageous. I suppose it's not a lot different to the George Smiths and Jerome Kainos of this world going over to France and Japan at the expense of national honours, but there's something about the way origin...

I remember reading that Pocock used to play 12 outside Cooper at school, and that that's why Cooper never learned how to tackle. Pocock would probably dominate the midfield.

I can't stop seeing pikachu. Anything that reminds me of playing pokemon blue while waiting to bat in under-10s cricket is a good thing.

Wow. That sucks. I enjoyed watching him play, and he made a huge contribution to the Rebs. This seems to be an increasing problem at the top level. Between Lipman, Berrick and even Kieran Read (among others), it seems like there are more high profile cases of repeat concussions than there used...

I can remember a few instances this year of SBW stepping in at first receiver then passing it on to Carter, who then runs the play from second five-eighth. It happens when NZ has an overlap or the openside is big and generally under-populated, and Carter stands quite deep. I agree that you...

With respect mate, got to disagree. 13 doesn't have to be a dominant front-on tackler, but definitely has to be a great defender. The defensive decisions you make at centre are harder than anywhere else on the field. Maybe McCabe could make the transition easily, but being good at stopping...

On a different point, it's nice to see a winger so consciously keeping width. Classy.

In a BBC Q&A recently (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/18509728) Jeremy Guscott named his current World XV as follows: 15. Israel Dagg 14. Julian Savea 13. Pat McCabe 12. Sonny Bill Williams 11. Bryan Habana 10. Berrick Barnes 9. Will Genia 1. Tendai 'Beast' Mtawarira 2. Bismarck du...

Bugger. Well done mini-Boks.

Pretty crazy theory, but I've always had the vaguest inkling that stuff like this happens at the Blues. Sometimes the Auckland-North Harbour rivalry can be relatively intense, and I sometimes got the sense some of those Blues backs would rather pass to anyone than Rudi Wulf. I'd be surprised...

Give it about a year. Maybe six months.

I'll be at this, and for the first time in a long time I'll be cheering for Australia. It's taken me a while to get over the days of Gregan et al, but this has been a really impressive series. And the side is a fair bit more endearing to a parochial kiwi without Cooper in it. Good luck to your...

I'm really worried about this from an All Blacks perspective. Henry could have dropped a senior player if he'd needed to, but I don't Hansen has the authority yet - the team seems to be revolving around a core of senior players, mainly from Canterbury (+ Smith). Basically, even if he is...

Apologies for the ignorance I'm about to showcase, but I haven't had the chance to follow the tournament. A few people have made this point about slow wingers - so I was just wondering what happened to this Chris F'Sautia kid we hear so much about? He hasn't looked too slow in the snippets of...

I don't really agree with this. I'm not on the board of any companies (and the day that I am I advise you all not to invest in those companies), but by my reckoning there's a difference between being on a board as a rubber stamp and being on a board in an executive capacity. I can't think of too...