Recent content by SamoanNo8

Wright has done his ACL. Who moves to 15?

Appreciate the above commentary that Slipper may be injured. However, if it transpires that he is not injured, I strongly suspect that Slipper will shift to tighthead prop and Aidan Ross will come onto the beach at loosehead. Regards

Bear in mind that Lynagh is (effectively) two Tests into his Wallabies career. Don't quote me on this, but I don't recall Noah copping it "relentlessly" after his second start. Lolesio has certainly faced criticism. But this came after several starts and further into his ~30 Test career (to...

Agree. Julian Linden agrees via his piece in The Australian today: "With Skelton and possibly Carlo Tizzano also coming on, the Wallabies can still retain enough firepower for the second half but they need to take some risks to make sure there’s still something to play for when they do get on."

Question to the Forum: if you were in the shoes of Andy Farrell, would you make any changes to the Lions team? Or "don't fix what's not broken"? Regards

Some groundbreaking thinking from you, dru. My post was rather alluding to the composition and split of our best players across the starting side and the bench. Take the example of James Slipper and Angus Bell. Most members of this forum would agree that between Angus Bell and James...

What time is team announcement? Regards Edit: Understand it is Thursday afternoon.

Interested to see what tactical changes Joe Schmidt might introduce to unleash Joseph-Aukuso Sua'ali'i. From the outside centre channel against Fiji, Sua'ali'i found himself running hard, quasi-decoy "unders" lines in order to draw defenders and create space. Alas, this left him starved of...

Faessler is a natural footballer and a shrewd operator as a thrower and at the back of the maul. Despite his injury layoffs, Faessler seemed comfortable in the Reds' hit out against the Lions and I expect him to be able to handle a 55+ minute stint come this Saturday evening. Pollard has been...

Oh of course - I agree with your point. That is assuming, however, that the outside backs are 'of a similar quality' (insofar as their skills as outside backs are concerned). If not, their skills as an outside back should come first and foremost. Fellow G&G members may argue that Daugunu does...

His 'jackalling' against Fiji didn't seem to yield too much (other than penalties against Australia). Should the outside back reserve be picked on their attributes as an outside back (and not as a make-shift flanker)?

Early mail indicating that Faessler and Gleeson may be starting. More to come.

On the face of it (as described above), the cohesion would seem flakey. But when you consider that: 1. JAS and Ikitau were the (predominant) centre pairing on the successful '24 Spring Tour; 2. Gordon was the recurring 9; and 3. characters such as Wright, Jorgensen et al were all in and amongst...

Let’s assume the back reserves are 21. White, 22. JOC (James O'Connor) and 23. Kellaway/Daugunu - who do we envisage provides inside centre coverage? Is JOC (James O'Connor) still capable of providing coverage at 12 at this level? Or does JAS shift to 12? It then perhaps necessitates Daugunu holding the bench spot. Regards

He's a sensational player - I too would love to see him get a run for the Wallabies against the Lions. That being said, McReight is clearly the superior 7. How would you go about fitting him in the 23? Is Carlo worth a bench spot over say Gleeson? It depends what attributes you want in...