Quite fitting that the Reds quest for a turnaround is being played on the Easter weekend.
A pity that they are not playing on Sunday speckie.
It's difficult for a fan when their team has to deal with the adversity of injuries beyond their share, as the fans of the Lions would attest to, but it can get dividends later on.
Oz Super teams don't have the benefit of a Currie Cup type competition to assess their fringe players in and sometimes the replacements do better than you would have expected, having not seen them play above the club level. Even if the opposite applies, that is a positive in a way, because a 3rd fellow, or even a 4th can get a shot - and the 2nd work on his shortcomings.
I don't know that young Sam Lane will make his mark, but at least Oz rugby will get first shot at him. Looking at the video, he looks like a good ball player, and better than his old man was, though he would want to be, being a specialist 10.
As for the breast beating about Gill and Hooper: let's wait and see. IMO Hooper was the best player at the Oz Schools tournament in 2008 but we kept hearing about the U/16 player north of the Tweed, who could play a bit. I couldn't wait to see them oppose each other in 2009 but it never happened. Hooper had to have a knee reconstruction and missed nearly all of the 2009 school season.
It is much too early to make a call on these splendid youngsters especially as Gill is younger and also hasn't had the Super experience of Hooper. Both found themselves in Super teams where they had to contend with other fetchers and be rotated, but that was a good thing at their age: one wouldn't have wanted them to burn out young. Few young players can play like a grown man, as Pocock did, after they walk out of the school gates for the last time.
Let's not beat our breast and instead be happy that in a couple of years' time Oz could have two excellent candidates to back up Pocock - as some old fella (ahem) foretold 3 years ago.
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