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Disagree on all points. Up to a point. The secondary tournament may be ignored by supporters of the Top 10 teams but a lot of others will be very interested. In particular rugby fans from the 12 countries not currently included, plus the extra interest of the other 4 because they will win some...

Annual game makes a lot of sense to me. Obviously beneficial financially. However Japan now brings something different to most teams, accuracy in everything they do. Will be a good sharpening up exercise when the Wallabies play well. A tough test match when we turn up and play sloppy football...

Omar's idea of giving countries the chance to host significant multi-nation rugby tournaments could be adapted to create pathways involving qualification pools to the next RWC. There could be a qualification pathways which at each successive round deliver pools of 4 with each pool being played...

As Papabear says, the more the merrier. Bigger global TV audience, more global interest. The lower nations have really benefited from RWC floggings to slowly lift their standard. On the other hand it is like watching grass grow. It would be nice to think that the IRB would devote a lot of funds...

I am a pretty one eyed Waratah fan. Nevertheless the biggest disappointment for 2015 was watching the complete destruction of what should have been a first class Reds team. I thought 2016 would be a tough year of rebuilding etc. There is just no evidence that RG can turn this around, has he...

On a serious note, lets not forget about the football. The Wallabies are playing the best team on the planet on Saturday, some are saying the best team that has been on the planet. Their focus needs to be on the team and on their own performance. I am not sure that unleashing responses to the...

Always need to be careful talking about traditions etc. I presume nowadays, like Australia, there is a lot of mixed blood in NZ with people from all over the place marrying or otherwise having children together. How many Maoris are represented across Super Rugby and in the All Blacks? I don't...

"I've learnt a lot already in the last three months and if I can take that to the Wallabies camp and everyone else can ... it's those little things, no more plastic moulds, it's all 15mm [studs], 18mms and 21mms. Those little one per centers, if as players we can take them to the next level...

Interesting post Scrubber. Pocock's choice of audience and stage is my problem. He has become the issue, together with the perception that he is personally tackling a huge problem of homophobia in rugby. Or, according to the Guardian, Australian male professional sport in general. It was...

Good effort. You would have got 10/10 if you managed to fit "Kant" and "backline" in the same sentence

I think Moore's point that the main issue is that it could have been picked up on the ref's mike and broadcast out is the most valid made, even if he is backfilling a bit. As I posted before I won't be lamenting if all of the pointless slurs and insults are removed from the game and we can be...

I don't know Godfrey, I thought of two in relation to the stance on using a slur and whether it was a brave and principled stance. It is not fair to pick on Australia, gay players in professional sport not coming out is a global issue. It is their profession and livelihood and I would have...

Why is this such a brave and principled stance by Pocock and Moore? Homophobic slurs are not an acceptable part of the game. That is according to the laws and regulations, the IRB (or whatever), SANZAR, ARU, Brumbies, Waratahs and every player interviewed on the subject. Is this a complete...

"He who controls the price-check mike, controls the store". Cyclopath, wouldn't that be the Trainee Manager Onduty?

Sorry Slim you are confusing me with Greg Martin who says Pocock will not captain the Wallabies because he takes principled stands

Steve has been my favourite referee for a long period of time. I hope that he decided it was time to move on to new ventures and wish him luck. Certainly there are not many referees of his calibre, even if he was now past his best. I did think he had a couple of poorer games that I saw this...

This slur/insult is a breach of the code of conduct and not acceptable in today's society. There is no excuse and Potgeiter deserves his punishment. Having said that the foundation of all sledging is to try and intimidate, belittle and humiliate. I do not like that a sledger can sledge with...

For a long time I have been thinking along some of these lines. I would love to see as many teams at the RWC as possible but do not think it serves any purpose having teams being thrashed. There is a big drop off after about team #12. I think over the last 3 World Cups there has been an...

I am not familiar with how player registrations work now but I suspect the use of "Plan" in the title is not so much in the strategic rugby sense but more like a mobile phone "plan" marketing brochure. We had a $200 team levy last year but surely this did not also cover insurance. Someone on a...

Just a very strange team. Almost as if there has been a sudden realisation that there are not many games to go and there is a need to see everyone on the park before next year's RC. Will be exciting to see how it goes and I hope they play well. Please God ...