Black Ferns’ Vaha’akolo ‘living the dream’ with 4-try haul versus Wallaroos

Only way I could see it is if you (as would automatically happen) sacrifice your spot in the Nations Championship (as hope for a sanzar invitations). Maybe they could put a team in the teir 2 competition each year to earn inclusion?

Similar to the Frawley situation?

There is only one correct reply from Australia and that is unrelenting accuracy and fearsome aggression. But not quite in the way that SA expect. Unrelenting accuracy, unrelenting aggression. SA are taking the piss.

The 1/8th finals will add to the spectacle. The last match before the knock out stage should also put a global focus on the emerging teams. Imagine if Portugal Fiji had got the global coverage it deserved last time?

GMT in Australia/NZ/Japan is the other end of the day..

Look the whole rugby world agrees that the draw for the last RWC (and all preceding RWCs) was a farce. You rail against this because you think it diminsihed the SA win, so fiction is more important than fact for a fanatic like you. But its a fact. World Rugby has at last changed it based on the 2023 fiasco.

It made the 2023 RWC a lottery. Two top 4 teams were guaranteed to be eliminated before the final. Two teams ranked 6-10 were guaranteed to make the SF. The public want to see the top 4 have a chance to duke it out in the semis.

And for the second RWC in a row you had a team who couldn't even win their pool winning the RWC. Something very very wrong. A team who wins a RWC should be good enough to win their pool. It adds to the perception that the draw turned it into a lottery. SA gor the luck (England were better, red v NZ, ref V France).

I obviously have a vested interest in saying this (search for 'the 8-9 Combo' on YouTube or wherever you pod 😆), but I feel like the real growth in the game has been the independant content makers away from mainstream media.

I'm not sure where you are, but currently in Australia there's never been more rugby content than we currently have. Stan Sport produce show four days a week, and there is currently anywhere between a dozen and 15 different podcasts.

Chasing the Sun is a great example, and we're seeing more along those lines with the Six Nations Netflix series, the NZR content, etc. There's a lot of ways for fans to consume their rugby all of a sudden.

But, mostly, a lot of it is out of necessity, because as we all know, the game doesn't always do a great job of marketing itself...

Beyond the possibility of Japan and Fiji - and it remains only a possibility - there doesn't seem a lot of appetite to expand The Rugby Championship. Samoa is again experiencing financial and governance issues, and the Americas only make an already challenging format even more so. Similarly, the Six Nations seem quite happy to remain at six, no matter what the scuttlebutt about South Africa suggests, and no matter how deserving Georgia might be.

Further, there's a reason 6Ns Inc/SANZAAR announced and own the Nations Championship concept - they're protecting their turf.

And that's all before you consider there really isn't a whole lot of room in the calendar to expand international competitions that you would need, to get to an 8-14 team TRC.

And though I have absolutely nothing to back this up, my strong suspcion is that the RWC expanding to 24 teams is literally the only way WR can genuinely grow the international game - because the competitions have all but shut the gates..

Now can you deal with the rugby issue of SA almost always losing to Ireland which seems to undermine this whole GOAT debate?

DMac was playing to a script, but not realising none of the pieces were in place to run it. We were getting so owned at the breakdown there were never enough players where they needed to be. Backs like JB and Telea were constantly involved in rucks, meaning they weren't even in position, or sometimes even on their feet to chase kicks.

On the few occasions we actually had good front foot ball to put a good clearance in DMac would inexplicably call to run it into the brick wall Argentinian defensive line and we'd end up on on the back foot behind the gain line. Poor option after poor option.

One of the most noticeable things in the 2nd test vs. England when BB came on was how good his option taking was. The right play at the right time, the right kick, the right pass etc...

People on here will HATE it but Barrett will be back at 10 before the of the RC.

As for players desperate to leave, I'm not sure I've seen much evidence of that, unless we're talking about Cane. If anything Barrett was desperate to come back, and Mo'unga is now making the same noises. But hey, a season or two in Japan must be a wonderful experience and good for the finances, so who could blame them.

Whether it is because he is not at 100% after a long injury lay off, or all of his injuries have caught up with him and his best years are behind him, he is clearly off the pace of the game. He is solid but I would put any of the Argentinian loose forwards in our 6 jumper over him at the moment. He is there on reputation and deeds in Super Rugby dating back 5+ years. He should be the one playing in the NPC trying rediscover some form and fitness.