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Ironically FP I would’ve thought Connolly would’ve genuinely appealed to you as a coach.

I don’t know why Blyth is out of the team - but i thought he had been doing well and would have liked to see him in there. I assume that is unlikely now though.

No - but neither are the workhorses, and neither is Skelton. That isn’t to say their workrate is sub par, but their primary job isn’t to make mountains of tackles and hit high volume break downs. Every forward pack needs balance.

I think the thing that tips it for me Reg is that ASY (Angus Scott-Young) has been calling the lineouts. I know a lot of people seem to rate the art of lineout calling right up there at the level the medical fraternity rate chiropractors, but coaches seem to feel it’s an important skill.

Do Valetini & Tupou already fill those roles though. If you pick those 3 together, everyone else in your forward pack needs to be a workhorse to balance and your number 8 needs to be a strong lineout option.

Who calls the line outs for the Rebels & for the Brumbies?

I will say it’ll be a shame if we reduce this thread to a dissection of one player. This has potential to be a cracker of a game with the Brumbies holding the deserved mantle of the bench mark side of Australian rugby and the Reds the team on the rise who want to take that from them. A lot of...

Zero Cool - I read the same article and one of the things it concluded was that even though Wilson had a higher work rate, Valetini’s overall rating was better on both attack and defence. I think you need to be careful selectively quoting parts of articles. There have been a number of bits...

PS and he is much more in my head due to the threat he poses on Saturday. From a Wallaby fan perspective I’m rejoicing in his progress.

I’m not sure that’s necessarily true. I won’t be surprised if Rennie still picks a more lineout orientated forward at 6 and, if so, it may well be Wilson, not Valetini, who misses out. I’m not sure it is just Reds supporters who have been critical of Valetini though. If you look across the...

This used to be true, but it isn’t anymore. Valetini has shown impressive improvement this year and he now has the workrate to match the impact.

Luckily it is likely the ref will be a former Qld Halfback. Should help give us a leg up.

And my point Adam is that my question isn’t directed to you. There are people who seem to think that the National Club Comp is a superior product. My question is to them.

And to be clear Adam - I’m not having a dig at you. Your proposal is well thought through and constructed and I understand your point - regardless of the pros & cons of the NRC it would seem highly unlikely to return. The critics of the NRC point out it was a money pit that never achieved any...

I can’t see how it will be cheaper than the NRC if it involves teams from ACT, WA & Victoria. And if it doesn’t, I think there is considerable risk that it’ll be seen as a snub to those rugby communities.

It just seems to me to be a proposal to burn up more cash on an appeasement policy for a small group at the risk of just further alienating the broader rugby community?

What are our aims for the third tier? To me, the aims are (not necessarily in order) 1. Help develop/ID talent to Super Rugby Level 2. Create a product which helps attract people to rugby 3. Operate in a financially stable manner IMO the NRC addressed point 1 far better than a national club...

Thanks Slim - appreciate all your work. There are always a debate positions - that’s the fun in it. But all in all looks pretty fair.

I can’t see anyone who is in the starting 23 being allowed to play club rugby.

I feel like the thing Australian rugby has been missing is some spicy rivalries.