Antoine Gibert n'est « plus le petit jeune qui monte »

Could you afford to go to the match?

Is jy seker jy's nie Terry24 maar met 'n klein beter houding?

Also, on your favourite subject of illiteracy/grammar, you put your question mark after the quote marks. It's before, lad. Always before.

Sorry to be a stickler but a third world education is no excuse.

Englands biggest problem is tight-head prop. Dan Cole cannot keep going, Will Stuart doesnt bring his Bath form to England and Joe Heyes hasnt kicked on as hoped. The lads at Sale look good, hopefully they keep improving.

The England team that played Ireland needs more run-outs. Bringing back a fit Genge and Chessum and keeping the two back-rowers on the bench - two out of Ted Hill, Barbeary and CCS - would do me to play NZ and SA. A good few changes for Australia should be enough and a win against Japan is a definite requirement even with a B team. I think we will get 3 out of 4. Fingers crossed.

Ford fly-half v NZ and SA, M Smith v Australia and Fin Smith v Japan. Thats how I would do it. Maybe have Marcus as the starting 15 v Japan too, with Ford and Furbank on the bench for that one.

I sense your comments would stick better if I was, ya know... 'Engelsmense'...

I'm not, Steve. Oh dear.

Is préachán tú

Guns are hard to find in the civilised world.

Cane is missing it tackles at times and is part of a loose forward trio that's lost two from three and incredibly lucky to sneak a win against the Wallabies who were all over the Allblacks like rash.

And yet we get the distinct impression we are all supposed to be feting him as a legend that's being given 100 test caps because he's been in the Allblacks since 2012.

Savea had also had a good go and been not quite good enough in 2019 and 2023 also. Two key loose forwards that has one definitely not at the 2027 world cup and Savea who is simply not going to be good enough by then to retain the number eight position.

Meanwhile we've three larger, younger Dalton carrying the tackle bags as soon as Cane got over a back injury and we are literally dying in the final half of each game as our two aged loose forwards fade.

Married to that we've DMac, a delightful player with tremendous skill. Very elusive like one of the small Bok wingers. The problem is that he simply doesn't shut down and manage territory, hes tantalizingly close but no cigar and he's now 29. A case of he's not going to change.

Will Jordan is the ordained fullback and the plan is to ensure he lacks any competition by picking his under study at the Crusaders, a guy that hasn't done anything yet unlike several other fullback candidates.

Reece, another DMac, small and tantalizingly close but not test standard.

Meanwhile the Allblacks now seen to all get long term contracts and if half descent it just keeps going like David Havilis.

The Allblacks need urgent reform, players need to be on retainers at super level and then picked seasonally.

The world cup squad build years are now, 2025 with firmed up squad by late 2026. There seems to be very little recognition of that or the contracts the rugby players association have got the NZ union to agree to prevent a surge in players capped to see if they have what it takes.

The painful losses in South Africa were avoidable with a heavier six forward ratio on the bench, Beauden at ten. Cane ir Savea leading in a NZ answer to the bomb squad

Big fan of Razor but he's going to have to build depth, get ruthless and leave at home players he knows what they give him at test level that aren't threatening to start and blood new caps.

It's becoming obvious he's got a Crusaders bias and needs to stop it quick, he's in my view been a flop so far and Schmidt would've been the better pick.

Can Razor sort this crisis out? Each test he trundles out the DMac, Cane and Ardie show I get less and less confident.

France have more depth than anyone else in the world and its not even close. As your said yourself, they were without Dupont and Ntamack all tournament, and yet they still managed to finish second overall, and get a good win against a good English side. They still got thrashed by Ireland.

Besides, they weren't actually missing very many players. The french 23 that lost to Ireland featured 20 members of the world cup squad. The french 23 that lost to argentina featured 2.

If Irelands best players are from NZ why didn't they/don't they play for the ABs?

Who's Goodson-Park, by the way? When did we get him? Under 20s? Breakthrough schools player?

NFL!!!!! Oh dear. Oh dear. I understand yanks being thick enough to watch that shyte. A kiwi, though? Shameful.

In the last 12 months he's played in two tests - one against Tonga in a heavily rotated side, and one against New Zealand a couple of weeks ago, a game in which he was South Africa's worst player.