Search results

Maybe. But he's still going to have to make a choice about whether he wants to be riding the pine or playing first XV rugby.

I've been one of Phipps' biggest detractors over the last couple of years, but he has improved hugely this year. I'd take him over Lucas or McKibben at the moment.

All of this. Was very, very happy with PAE. The club are doing well bringing him along slowly. Stirzaker was excellent, Roberts to 10 when Beale or Woodward gets back looks very promising. The fitness issues are pretty serious. There is no good reason for the Rebels to be in worse shape than...

That's huge if true. If the injuries get sorted and the fitness levels get up to scratch, next year the Rebels could have a real dig at things. A proper loosehead, a good hooker and Colby (or similar) at openside and things start looking pretty bright. Nice to see that we aren't being...

I don't have a huge problem with the penalty in and of itself. It's soft, but hey. What annoyed me was that Anae threw a punch but that somehow didn't factor in to considerations. FiveStarStu Roberts looked the business. Not especially dynamic, but utterly competent. Damien Hill is in...

There is absolutely no way that was a yellow, it was barely even a penalty. I'm going to leave it there though before it turns into one of the stupider shitfights we'll see. JOC (James O'Connor) was incredibly average. Stood too deep, hesitant decision making, mediocre passing game. Cooper was light years...

And then Anae punched someone which would be retaliation which would take the penalty back to the Rebels no?

So it was a complete stich up? Ahh well, what can you do. We weren't good enough for the win anyway.

He does get dragged out of position a little. He'll grow into it though. Best winger in the world going forward at the moment.

Savea is starting to play like he did in the U20s again. Making professional athletes look like absolute children. He's got the potential to be an all time great.

Can anyone explain the penalty reversal against Robinson? All I saw at the ground was Anae lying all over the wrong side of the ruck and then throwing a punch.

He was no good tonight. That's the worst I've seen him play live. If Stirzaker keeps playing like that he'll have to be given a shot in the first XV. All you can ask for from a bench player. He's quick to the breakdown, takes the right options and takes them quickly, and then his pass is just...

He's improved a lot this year, but it's pretty disingenuous to say he gets flack because he's not Genia. People get stuck into him because his pass isn't good for a top-flight scrumhalf. It's high, low, too far forward, behind the man, too hard, too soft and then occasionally it's right where it...

Cheers, daz. I agree with the rest of your post entirely. Burgess is probably a better short-term option than Phipps, and gives Stirzaker a better mentor. Win-win really. I've got nothing against Phipps as a person, he's been incredibly admirable in his dedication to the club. I'm just not...

... Not sure if serious. How many times have you actually watched him play?

It's not always as simple as missed tackles, although I agree Kingi isn't much chop in defence. He offers a huge amount more than Mitchell going forward. He regularly gets over the gainline, gets around defenders and brings the other boys into the game. If it was a direct shoot-out between the...

Bit of truth to both of those views I'd say. Maybe the club should have been open, but Phipps shouldn't expect his position to be safe. It's very much a like-for-like swap. Phipps is a very similar player - wildly erratic pass, good cover defence, good running game - but doen't quite have the...

Hey? He regularly makes horrible, horrible reads on defence - especially when he plays on the wing. Gets himself caught badly flatfooted as well.

When everyone else was broken. At least make an effort, Slim.

Mogg's tackling last year was disgraceful. Ended up with a completion rate of something like 55%. That's the side of his game that has to improve. There's a lot of competition for the wing spots as well. Fitting Digby, Speight, Tomane, Mitchell, Shipperly, Cummins and JOC (James O'Connor) into two spots isn't...