Search results

Chill mate - other loose forwards have come from the 7s team; McMahon, Samu and even Tom Cusack; nothing overly revolutionary.

I think the real reluctance from a lot of posters to fully endorse Valetini is that, despite being a pretty impressive physical specimen, he rarely obviously bends the line as a ball carrier. Brumbies fans will argue that he dominates contact in attack/ defence in the tight channels (which he...

Moeroa over Hunt was a terrible recruitment decision- someone should have been sacked for that alone (and they might have been too!)

A big concern is if we have to start paying big dollars just to recruit average players (or those who have never really dominated Super Rugby). Paying 400k for a 'big name' like Kyle Godwin or Ben Tapuai isn't going to make any difference at all- they need some real quality. I'd feel a lot...

I think everyone agrees that it is absolutely the fault of everyone you listed above with the exception of Penney, who while isn't blameless, is not nearly as to blame as those who have been actively involved over the last half-decade..... People were quite impressed what Penney was able to do...

It was quite simply terrible recruiting and due diligence. Was Rapp watching his Newington highlights on youtube and not his NRL games? He had become increasingly poor in his last years at Parramatta, so not sure what caught their eye as a union prospect.

Yes

Is Hodge really the best we can do in 2020? What makes him the first choice- he's barely even a first choice fullback at Super Rugby.

Apologies - I conflated this with a parochial/ Alan Jones-style opinion which unfortunately seems to be too common in our game! Agree that there is generally a skills deficiency between Aus and NZ teams but again any good coach would be able to adapt and prioritise skills development at...

See I don’t get this. NZers can coach all over the world and be successful (Europe/ Japan) but for some reason Australians are just different and must be coached by Aussies. Despite the fact that 50% of players in the Shute Shield/ professional franchises aren’t necessarily born and bred Aussies.

What age bracket was this ex-Waratah/Wallaby in?

Parramatta have always been a financial powerhouse (in terms of funding through the Leagues Club) but Penrith for example was nowhere near the slick professional club that it is now (it's close to the flagship franchise in the NRL). The argument is comparative one - do you seriously think that...

This might be the case now but definitely wasn't around 10-11 years ago when the Force were established. At that point in time rugby league clubs like Penrith and Parramatta weren't the powerhouses that they are now, and a professional rugby union club could have been a viable pathway for a...

Real leadership would merge the Brumbies and Rebels and establish a Western Sydney team.

As has been raised previously, rugby has probably missed the opportunity for a dedicated Western Sydney franchise (or there will be a 4- 5 year wait at best until the financial position has strengthened). The decisions to expand into fringe rugby areas probably made sense to the Eastern/...

I think if a Western Sydney club had been introduced to the competition instead of the Western Force circa 10 years ago- rugby would be in a stronger place than it is now (even if it had been a half-hearted commitment). Nice hypothetical though

My (quite obvious) point is that it’s not the job of the coach of a professional team to set the whole culture of an organisation and relationship with pathways.

Eddie Jones has been one of the more successful coaches of the English rugby team - how much connection and value does he place on their traditional clubland and pathways?

He doesn't hold a hose mate.

The Foxsport article is one of the most agenda- driven pieces I've read in a long time. This quote 'It was noted that when the Wallabies won the World Cup in 1991 and 1999, there wasn’t an emphasis on the under-20s program' - is pretty telling and you don't need to be a genius to work out who...