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I thought Jones and Skelton were both immense this week. They look to me to be the new locks to be introduced to the fold this year. Neither is ready to be thrust into the test jersey, but both have test match potential.

haha. I'd love to read this list you're referring to.

Hooper, Skelton, Foley and Beale really stood out for me. Palu was pretty good too. I actually thought Phipps played well.

Just a few thoughts. Provided the new format results in the ARU getting a significantly bigger pay day from the broadcasters then it could be good. I like the fact that the Aussie teams will play more games against the kiwis. The format really caters for SA, in that not only do they get an...

Agree with Braveheart that we wont see many new faces. probably not until the Rugby Championship and only because the inevitable injury list will be mounting by then. I expect the return of Higgers and Palu to push Mowen out of the side. I'd still consider having Mowen in the squad, but I...

I've always liked Coleman, but he's so far out of wallaby contention its not funny.

Season defining game here. Any game against another finals contender at this stage of the comp will have a big outcome on the final log positioning. I saw enough from the Tahs last week to think that they can win this game. They have the squad and a winning style, they just need to execute. If...

Another option would be to make the 6th Aussie team one of the NRC teams. (i.e. which ever team wins the NRC the year prior gets a spot in the Trans-Tasman Comp). It would certainly create a nice "rags to riches" story for some second tier players and would also help promote the NRC as an...

It's true. Growing rugby's share of the market in Australia is one thing, but reaching the levels of NRL and AFL is more about changing the culture of the sport in Australia, than it is about changing the competition. That starts in the schools. You'd need a major increase in accessibility to...

I agree with the sentiment. Not sure what the answer is but in the end it might be to concentrate on a domestic competition, rather than a provincial comp. It would be a risk yes, it may bring the standard of the national team down yes, it may hurt revenue in the short terms, but we have to get...

From my point of view, I've enjoyed the comp this year. In fact, I've found the Aussie derbies to be on the whole much more engaging than the past 2 years. Tahs v Force, Reds v Force, Brumbies v Tahs and Brumbies v Rebels were all highly entertaining. In years past I did not look forward to the...

so you agree that you should win this one?

Haha. nice try, but you're not fooling anyone. Whilst you might like to keep the underdog tag, it's no longer yours. The Force should be expected to win this one...they are finals contenders after all. That's not to say the Rebels are easy beats. They look a difficult side to beat, but the...

9 Nic Stirzaker ?!?!?! Da Fuck?! Is the coach trying to prove a point or something? Did Luke Burgess sleep with his daughter? Seriously I just cant see how Stirzaker continues to get a starting spot. From a neutral view point, I identified him as the weak link in the game agains the...

I'd like to see the Rebels push hard to sign Lilo. He would be a perfect fit for the team, and Lilo is currently the odd man out at the Brumbies (not sure whether that will change before the season's end)

Yeah I'd probably go Longbottom too. He's doing a decent job holding up an undersized pack. Patty Ryan is looking pretty poor atm. He seems to give away a lot of penalties at scrum time. Plus he got a few chances at test level last season he wasn't great. I reckon he'll get whistled off the park...

Comparing Hodgsons v Hooper tackle and turnover stats for the game on Saturday is not the best indicator as to who should be playing for the wobs. Surely the Force were made to make a lot more tackles than the Tahs. The Tahs seemed to have the weight of possession.

Just rewatching the Force v Tahs game. -Skelton was very dangerous for the first 45 odd minutes. He was super impressive with ball in hand, good foot work and lots of offloads in contact, plenty of tackle busts, and as always very effective in stopping the attacking maul. He really needs to...

I realy cant grasp why Burgess is not in the starting side. Stirzaker was just horrible, for the second week running.

I thought Tomane looked pretty dominant last night.