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I have a lot of time for Pat Lam. He took AUckland to 2 NPC titles and 3 finals from memory. That was with some fairly un-recognised players. I think he had a few injuries last season that he struggled to handle but I think he's the best the Blues have had since the Henry years of 1996, 1997 and...

Chiefs team to play the Blues: Mils Muliaina, Lelia Masaga, Jackson Willison, Tana Umaga, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Stephen Donald, Brendon Leonard, Fritz Lee, Tanerau Latimer, Liam Messam, Romana Graham, Hayden Triggs, Nathan White, Daniel Perrin, Toby Smith. Reserves: Ben May, Sona Taumalolo...

With all the talk of the Tahs and Reds line-ups for 2011, the Blues line-up for their Chiefs pre-season game caught my eye: 1. Tony Woodcock 2. Keven Mealamu 3. John Afoa 4. Anthony Boric 5. Ali Williams 6. Jerome Kaino 7. Daniel Braid 8. Chris Lowrey 9. Alby Mathewson 10. Luke...

Never played Fantasy Rugby before.... If I have a player on my bench who is in the starting 15, does he still earn points??

No Isaia Toeava, Joe Rocks, Rene Ranger, Kevin Mealamu, Dan Braid, Alby Mathewson, Stephen Brett, Tony Woodcock or John Afoa....def a Blues trial...lol

From the Blues: Matthew Luamanu and Jared Payne.....hopefully Stephen Brett and Alby Mathewson have HUGE Super seasons as well.

Go Samoa!! Cheeeee hooooooo!!

That's a good lock for my mind, not a game-changing one. Understand that it may be harder due to their position but it's not impossible eg Matlock's chip-and-chase or Eales Bledisloe Cup kick. If Sharpe had been on the field when they lost late line-outs in the Tri-Nations then maybe that would...

I'd argue that Palu doesn't do those things so much against NZ and SA which is why his average G&GR rating is only a 5 against Tri-Nations opponents. Sharpe definitely adds a lot to the Wallabies but I think a game changer is someone who can do something out-of-the-box or extraordinary to...

Against NH Palu may be a game changer but he hasn't had the same impact against NZ and Aus. Sharpe is solid but hardly a game changer IMO.

Would he be in your Test squad just for leadership abilities? Just wondering.... Some Kiwis would argue that was the main reason Reuben Thorne was in the AB squad for so long and under different coaches.

If someone is better than me at the top level of competition, than I am a worse player. Are you saying that although other players at Test level are better than him, he would make a better captain?

2 big differences with the Crusader teams and this Wallaby team: 1. Robbie Deans didn't create that culture. He inherited it from Wayne Smith. That's not to say that he can't try to emulate it but Wayne Smith is generally regarded as the person who started the current rugby culture in...

Did Wayne Barnes ref either of those games?? Hehehe

There was nothing fair about that RWC and might I add..... You bastard!!....lol

Completely agree....which is why using the number of players a country may have registered isn't a great indication of how good they are at actually playing rugby.

That's correct. The number of players isn't a good stat to go from. I think Australia has more registered players that NZ does but you guys have only just now entered your 5th team - a team heavily relying on foreigners when compared with the rest of the comp. And who cares how willing people...

Well it can't be for his amazing playing....LMAO

From a NZ perspective, I'm yet to see one player who went overseas and came back better, or maybe even as good as when he left. Exception - Leon MacDonald.

His position demands that he communicates well with the half-back and his back-line. To me, that doesn't make him a leader. A good 1st-five perhaps but not a good leader. But maybe we are talking about different kinds of leadership. The defense is a big one because again, tacking says a lot...