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Austin: (Always great to see you in commentary here, your blog essays are some of the finest work in rugby writing anywhere.) My thoughts on this: There can be no question that Foley's departure from the Walls in late 2008 was a very serious mistake (for the Walls). The work Foley did just...

AC: Agree re S15 in general. If you stand back and be wholly objective about this comp, by any standard it has to be one of the finest, most stimulating, highest (consistent) quality, major sports code competitions in the world, ever. The range of excellent teams is fantastic, the endurance and...

That has got to be a good thing; it was suggested this morning by GG in the SMH that no Tahs or RU Board members would attend (but then, I hear myself grumbling, what would he know...)

Gagger, upon checking the Waratahs 2010 Annual Report (as at December 31, 2010) I was interested to discover that, although Jason Allen (ex South Australian Motorsport Board) was appointed Waratahs CEO in the latter part of 2010, it would appear that we was not appointed to the actual Waratahs...

With all due respect to the Tahs' business leaders, they cannot in all seriousness consider 10k members an exciting aspirational target if in 6 months of trying the Reds have hit 15,200 members in a city half the size of Sydney? How many members do the Tahs have today?

As someone has said on the blog, is not Link by far the most thoughtful and eloquent senior spokesperson in Australian rugby today? - whatever your views, this is quality argument and output. I believe Link's reflections here in part demonstrate his recent personal growth and development as a...

Slim, to this overall point, I'll bet money that Link's support coaches get very attractive offers to move elsewhere after (or during) this S15 season. And that's just the way it should be: the best aim to attract (and hold) the best, and the best get offered by the rest.

What with Gregan, Fisher, Larkham, Jones all coming back to Canberra (or reappointed) in various roles, Jake White has dipped into the human Brumbie Museum big time, and clearly, by weight of numbers, a big call on his part. New coaches hired to make radical changes usually go outwards and...

I read in the SMH today that apparently no members of the Waratahs Board or the NSWRU Board are planning to attend. If true, what an abrogation of duty and accountability, putting the whole weight of this solely back upon coaches and players. These Board members absence IMO will speak volumes...

Just to be clear, what I said was not a joke, was not exaggerated, and is indeed awfully sad for the Kiwis who feel they must leave in this way, and for those reasons. What occurred in Christchurch was horrific, anyone coming here from there, we need to make very welcome.

RR, for what it's worth, my own view is that the Tahs' management had absolutely no choice but to do something like this, for symbolic consultative purposes if nothing else. Having your fans boo the team in a generally winning match situation is a sign of serious fan anger, getting worse, and...

That's what we concluded up here, too.

An idea for RugbyUSA inclusion in Aus/NZ, that could work: A RUSA best team comes down and plays curtain-raisers to BC or 3N Tests in these countries, to vs say an Aus A or NZ A. I think the positive idea and novelty of a USA team playing here could actually have a reasonable % of the crowd...

My quick check on seat availability indicates the left-for-sale seats are reducing quite fast. I like that, this could be big, very big!!. And people buying now will come. I remember the last BC at Suncorp though, the Kiwi contingent level amazed me, and for sure ardent Cru fans will come from...

As a Jake White supporter (already ;-) ) I must say that I am a tad concerned at what seems to be the rush to get all these support coaches in place so quickly. I would have thought a longer period for JW to do a lot of background checks, look at the whole field of (Aus and w/wide) candidates...

That is excellent news!

I am resigned to The Master Coach. But I do passionately want him to make adjustments, and learn from aspects of the 2008-10 period that IMO have been far from optimal in the Wallaby system.

1. Deans not immediately upgrading his forwards and scrum support coach(es) 2. Deans not securing a top-flight kicking coach full-time in Australia/NZ from June to October 3. Selections not being made rigorously on form and recently demonstrated skills, and solid, proven physical fitness 4...

Daz: check out (if you feel like it): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRB_World_Rankings The pages there contain precise detail on these rankings, how they are calculated, etc. Bares viewing as this is quite a 'special' ranking system designed for pre-RWC use in essence. I am not knocking...

Absolutely 100% on steroids spot on Mr T! The mediocrity, poor management, etc then at the QRU, and (related) non-winning Reds, were at the heart of that exodus. It's just Reason No 127 why today professional sports organisations in major codes have to be very well run, always on their toes...