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Brian Smith's biggest problem wasn't that he didn't coach the 1st XV well, its that he neglected the rest of the school to focus only on the top. There are more than 15-30 boys in a school program, and arguably all good 1st XVs are built on a solid base - in fact that's 100% why Joeys have so...

As a big roosters fan and someone who has watched Chief Joe Sua'ali'i play a lot (57 games and he's not even 21), I am pretty confident he will go better in Union than League. He is a power athlete who will suit the way modern Test Rugby is played quite well, absolute battering ram and built...

It is doubly frustrating because I do legitimately think that proper constitutional reform is the only path to professional rugby in this country thriving again. But the voices calling for it (such as the SOAR or the Hammer) seem to be absolute flogs of the highest order who I wouldn't trust to...

I will never stop banging the drum that not picking Skelton where possible is an incredibly low IQ thing to do. Yes you have to change some things about your pack to make it work. Yes he is also that good that you change things to accommodate him. I'd argue he is the best tight five forward...

Up the fucken tahs.

https://www.theroar.com.au/2024/02/22/waratahs-star-rushed-to-hospital-following-training-mishap-ahead-of-season-opener/?fbclid=IwAR0CBkFNSjvoIoVfAuKkkC4ZuZ_tVBSzingVP5pg0iTW3y-izvUbEB9gWrE Doesn't sound very good.

Sorry this is absolute madness to me (mainly talking about Skelton). IMO as much as you can possibly pick him club commitments allowing, you play him. Test Rugby is not a development arena, despite what Eddie Jones made out. We need to win, and win soon, because further embarrassing losses will...

JS should play in the back three, his aerial ability is too good to not utilise and its one skill which should be pretty instantly transferable.

Hatchet job by who precisely? How does it suit RA to take over a club that can't pay its own bills? Why exactly would they want to diminish their Rugby presence in a state they clearly value, delivering them premium test matches year on year and reportedly a World Cup final? I don't want to...

I am someone who thinks we should make more of 7s than we do, and highlight our successes where they exist. But I think any discussion of that issue needs to account for the fact that as a format, it has not exactly captured the hearts and minds of rugby fans globally, not just in Aus. Outside...

I think Waugh (and if you are inclined to see things this way, Dan Herbert also) deserves a fair bit of credit amidst all of this. To come out of the shit-show that was the RWC and the McLennan fiasco afterwards and lock down Horne, Nucifora and Joe Schmidt is pretty good stuff. Horne was...

One of the big positives of having a Waugh-Horne-Nucifora-Schmidt power axis driving the game is that they are, to my eyes, all well aligned. Personality wise they all seem quite similar - pretty straight-forward types who aren't ones to over-egg the pudding. But also, quite tough and demanding...

I think in absence of a proper coordinated professional development program (ie productive academies) and an attractive pathway for juniors into Super (which they're obviously isn't at the moment, at least compared to NRL) it is not particularly positive for the sport of Rugby Union. However, if...

Well put by both you Phil and Ghost above. This is the essential conundrum that RA have tied themselves into. On the one hand, they have put all their chips into a successful Wallabies brand for years now - it is the golden goose that sustains the meagre professional game still surviving. Yet...

For once I agree with half. Yeah sure it's just one journo, I reckon the vast majority of journos also wouldn't include a rugby player if they did their list. Obviously on GAGR we are going to champion rugby players. The whataboutism is pretty pointless and emblematic of the head in the sand...

Agree with everything you say BH, MCG is 100% the best big event stadium in the country all factors considered (by a distance IMO) oval be damned. But there is something that just grates a little about having a World Cup final in a city (and most relevantly for me, a government) that has shown...

Lol calm down with your "Australian hero". He wrote a story about a bloke taking a job interview - which had already been reported in the Japanese press. Its not exactly Watergate or the Panama Papers.

Agreed. It's also a good carrot to dangle in front of talented youngsters - come and spend a year flying around the world playing for your country rather than treading water on a Super/NRL bench - seem to have taken this approach with Hadley Tonga which I like.

The whole building for the future thing also mistakes that, in my experience, the best way to win in the future is to win in the present. Its difficult to establish a winning environment when you are constantly losing. If you picked a team for 2027 in 2024 and played them for four years, they...

Sure, agree with the general sentiment. Would still maintain I've never seen him look like a dominant test backrower for any consistent period of time. Again, I do rate Valetini. Just think he still has a decent amount of development to do as a Wallaby. I also believe he can get there, but...