It looks to me that when Cheika said the Tahs were out of contention he wasn't just sandbagging. He's starting to have a close look at his options for next year.
I assume Chapman has an injury that makes him doubtful and one of him and Skelton will drop out. But it is very interesting that Skelton has been chosen before Atkins and Peterson. Cheika obviously thinks Will has a lot more potential than the other two. Also interesting that Lopeti is getting no game time. With Cliffy looking at a stint overseas Lopeti needs to be developed - McCutcheon is no replacement for Palu. He backs up Dennis and Hooper, but does not have the oomph that Palu has.
I don't think this was the game to debut Crawford. The Kings game in two weeks time is a far better opportunity. Friday against the Chiefs backline will be a daunting experience and one which could easily set him back a long way. Starting him at fullback with Folau on the wing against the Kings would have been much better. Betham hasn't had a lot of time on the park this year and he needs as much as he can get if he's to develop his game to be a genuine starter next year. This I don't like. The other problem is that Kingston has been electric off the bench this year, but is not getting the game time he needs to develop. Thank goodness that Osbourne is injured - his 30 minutes last week nearly won the game for the Chiefs on his own.
I want to see both Ryan and Lucas on shortly after half time. I don't think Kepu or McKibbon have shown enough this year to hold their places and Ryan should definitely be starting. I'd like to see Lucas get 35 minutes this week and next and to start against the Kings. If he goes OK then McKibbon is bench fodder for the rest of the year.
I agree with virtually everything said here. As to the McKibben v Lucas issue, I agree with you, however Chieka has been clear he wants to develop a combination between him and Foley, and he is prepared to allow time for this to happen. Don't know if I agree, but that's his reasoning. As to Kepu, I'm quite sure he sees him as a better scrummager than Ryan, despite the extra energy Ryan brings around the paddock.
I don't know enough about Crawford to comment on his debut in such a big game, but I know with staff sometimes if you have someone who you believe has the talent but aren't really showing it, throwing them in the deep end and saying 'I have faith in you to do this' often brings out the best in them.
On another issue Kahui moving to 12 mightn't be a bad thing for us. Horne may be a bit one dimensional in attack, but the kid can really tackle and gets up and hits early, which may be just what we need on a very dangerous player.
