Champions Cup : le Racing fait tourner pour aller à Glasgow

Reporters just keep writing that Stevenson could have his contract cut short so he can go to Japan. Well Japan is now 3 games into there season and they have very short seasons so when is this supposed move going to take place? Post season?

Still wasting oxygen little jonny?

Yes, that is correct, but I was merely providing additional information from a radio interview with Laidlaw back in December.

Yes this bitter and twisted mean spirited kiwi coach throwing his weight around in Australia is going to go down real well with the Australian players .......

Not soon enough for a Lions tour.

Possibly they used to do this? Not sure. The Ella brothers talk about when they played for their local public school against one of the big rich private schools and beat them but that sounds like a one off.

Even in union the culture has become going abroad ala Tuipulotu. It is a culture that needs to be changed for sure.

You sound like your right an essay on what RA have done this year already BS👍

Comes across really well. Good luck in all your future indeavours. An impressed Quins fan

You can include from within too john (i'm sure they will be from NSWs or something), far too many people making a living off of the negativity angle.

Not so good against the teams under them though. Good problem to have I suppose, will be looking to not make it so hard on themselves in the quarter final this year!

Haha I don't think even ever seen a private vs public selection policy, as in two separate campaigns and vs each other? Embrace the differences.

Yeah I think it might have been one of these aussie focused jounralists that came out with an article that highlighted some key factors that resulted in a heavy talent drain just after they had exapanded. Not enough ducks in the row to make it work.

Just needed that full pre-season to fully flick the switch and turn them all super nasty!

Would certainly look set up for ROG, after the 2027 World Cup

Exactly, there's just a lack of opportunity down under. The game needs massive investment.

It's not really feasible to select them. Just look at the Skelton situation, it needs a lot of desire and influence from the player to be able to play for a SH/Oceanic country. A 'new' potential Wallaby is not going to have that.

Well said, it is a good short term boost at just the right time though. Change is always good, a rocket up the a$$ was needed.

Wow, the case of Australian Rugby. It doesn't really need or want divisive articles like this, that's for sure!

At the same time, according to Melbourne-based Kiwi journalist Geoff Parkes writing on The Roar: “At a pre-season Rebels sponsor evening on November 24 last year, Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh told the local audience how Victoria was ‘leading the way’ with regard to connecting the amateur and professional game, using the catch-cry, One team from club to country. Yet within a fortnight, Rugby Australia had switched paths. As their actions would increasingly show, they had determined that the Rebels were no longer ‘family’.”

Lets just start with the elephant in the room. Everybody had the same problem with that neighbour, Australia were still the second best rugby nation in the world for large periods of the 'present' window. There was still the other 2/3s of the competition to win against.

The outcome of its first attempt to axe the Force, by force, was disastrous.

The outcome was great. As has been shown recently (with money not becoming a problem), the Force just want to be a rep team. They belong in a competition like the Bunnings NPC, not an elite competition like Super Rugby. Their hearts not in it. The game would have been so much better off if Twiggy had been able to setup rapid rugby.

As it was COVID delivered the Force a great opportunity to step up to the SR plate by bringing in a heavy overseas contingent, both players wanting to return home, and in the case of Argentinians, wanting to remain in SR. Their hands remained in their pockets. That was a golden opportunity to snap up some of the Rugby Championships best talent and keep a heavy Argentinian flavour to the competition, and who knows, perhaps even pathing the way for an easy return of jaguares a couple of years after COVID. Perhaps even by hosting a lot of games in the same region!

Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh told the local audience how Victoria was ‘leading the way’ with regard to connecting the amateur and professional game, using the catch-cry, One team from club to country. Yet within a fortnight, Rugby Australia had switched paths.

These are some pretty poor quality views to share. The financial state of Rebels is no reason not to acknowledge success. This just sounds like a bitter local, or someone making up stories along the same lines of the clubs own skullduggery.

It is certain there will be far more chance of sustaining a winning Wallaby culture with more intense competition for squad places at Super Rugby level.

The two biggest beneficiaries from the demise of the Rebels will be the traditional twin powerhouses of Queensland and New South Wales, and they have made strides in recruitment where it really matters, in the front five forwards.

From an outsiders view it seems to be helping the English game nicely, and is just the right timing for a similar short term boost to the Aus game. There is a surprising, and shocking, amount of depth needed for such a short competition.

It's good to see a way forward. The Australian story is definitely a case of missed opportunities, and it is that which needs to be told as theres far too much doom and gloom coming from their fans as it is.

He's still young. He may yet come back to Australia. The Top14 may be a good exercise to improve him as a player, which is a scary prospect given he is pretty handy at this point.