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I don't know why many of the EPS players chosen by the Reds, and the other teams for that matter, are not more mature players, especially in the forwards. Ostensibly these are the guys that have to step up if there are injuries. Of the Reds EPS players, only Davis is mature. Yeah I know...

If he had his permanent residence in Oz he could be excused from having to be in the country for short periods eg playing in the ITM. The burden would be on the player to prove that his absence did not interrupt permanent residence. Everything is on a case by case basis; so it is of no...

Yes they do - as does playing Sevens.

You have just described the 1973 scrum in the blog mentioned, except an engage call was not needed. Todays players could get back to that. The 'engage' word scares me because of what scrums do when they hear that now. I'd use another word like 'form'. Then the ref should look at the bind as...

This is what happened in the old days smartarse. :) In the 1950s and 60s the front rows would bind as they walked in and the 2nd rows would bind once they had something to bind onto. Often the scrummie would be picking up the ball while this was going on. The back rows, packed last of...

Well said that man. .

What JON should have said, to get more interest in the NH, is that the power hit actually benefits a team that scrums poorly. That would have got their interest. In the old days a poor scrum had nowhere to hide: after a passive engage all the power started when the ball was put in, and they...

They certainly were and were not that superior in the league component of the game either. Mind you: many of the Auggies boys that night knew a bit about league.

Good game; not a lot of tries but lots of drama with the back and forth scoring. WP fans must be glad to win the CC after missing out for so long. It was strange to see a lot of empty seats for a CC final though. I thought the Sharks would win it at home with WP missing a few stars but their...

Yet he will probably miss out on All Black selection for the EOYT unless Hansen and Co look at the Suncorp test recording a few more times. Was a bit bemused about the set pieces of Kiwi teams being so problematic - and disappointed at the performance of referee Jackson. But I still get...

Apparently Hayward has been given a 2 year deal. As I remember he is a centre who can play in either spot. I've just looked him up to see where he was born and it was in NZ. Since Matthewson was already signed I thought he would have to have an Oz grandmother or something - then the penny...

That never disqualified anybody on Green and Gold - not really. Good stuff up there Ant.

We talk about the constraint about changing countries every year. A few years back I posted that if a Tier 1 test player was wanted by a Tier 2 nation he should be allowed to play for the Tier 2 team provided that: - he was otherwise eligible, and.. - had the approval from the union of the...

Agree Tranks - not bad in the Shute Shield this year, but the jury is well and truly out. Let's see.

Nice one. That photo is of Brian Moore trying to shut himself up by throwing something into his gob, which others have wanted to do listening to his TV commentary, especially when he talks about the Wallabies. He can take a joke against himself though, Brian can. And he is the foremost critic...

He was on the Wasps players list for the current season and he's only 28. Edit I've just googled his name. You are right boyo - he has retired indeed. He had concussions before but he was cleared to start this season but got another one in the opening game...

Not as ugly as having to use some other back from the squad, but it's probably just academic as he is too valuable to his club. .

According to the Canberra Times he became eligible in August 2012. I'm disappointed not because of individuals named but because there were only 30 of them. As Braveheart mentioned, this indicates that there will be no midweek games to add to the 4 test matches. A 5th prop, Ryan, gets to...

I like the new Law Trials or whatever they are calling them and have always liked the French system of using the TMO differently. It doesn't use up a lot of time as one would think. The 5 second ELV works well and if defenders are counting down and anticipating things, it may persuade scrummies...

No they won't select 6 props in a 23 if that's what you meant; they will have two sets of front rows: 4 props and 2 hookers as they have done in European domestic competitions for a few years within the Union Specific Variations of the laws. This avoids uncontested scrums when 2 props are hurt...