‘Desperately wanted to play’: Quins captain defies injury to score hat-trick

The chances of even getting 15 games next year to earn selection, let alone ones of such quality, are exactly zero.

You can certainly make up for size with talent or whatever, that's for sure, but talent isn't dependent on size, so size is undisputedly beneficial (until you go overboard like Nick Bishop and want someone like Cale to increase from 105 to 115kg).

Ardie is a few kg lighter than Cale because he is shorter (but using your lower center of gravity is a skill that allows lighter players to compete) and you might not notice it, no, but the 10kg different between Jordie and Andre at 12 is critical at determining what strategies are successful. As is mauling for teams with tall players like Skelton or Meafou, who are therefor able to carry much more weight.

But you're probably only still arguing about your view people put too much on height and weight, and I agree with that.

"First off, I would start at the bottom, and I'd probably make the two divisions identical."

what does this mean?

"What happened last year is irrelevant, any model or distribution needs to be taken with the future in mind, and that is going to likely mean weaker English teams (when the comp expands again)"

What a bizarre thing to say. You have to let teams qualify on merit, not based on how you assume they will do next season. English teams do well in the champions cup.

"First I think qualificatin has to be incentive based, so none of the worst teams qualify"

Completely agree.

"Then theres a myriad of cool wildcard tricks to balance things out further"

every wildcard idea you go on to suggest is terrible. If you for one moment thought any of them are good then you should probably get a lobotomy.

It's hard to say Barry. I'm not certain Mo'unga would have been preferrable over Dmac to the way we played. Mo'unga is more like Pendragrast, a league first five. Dmac is a traditional 1st who feeds his outsides, not taking the gaps/running lines like we saw off Jordie last weekend, or Mo'unga against Ireland.

That said, he would have been a huge benefit for when Dmac got rested or Razor wanted to try something different, in place fo Beauden.

But in relation to your discussion with JD, the circumstance is no different than Ireland not being able to select their stars in France, Farrell with England, or France requiring Frisch to return/sign locally before he was selected.

That's a change for Ireland is it? What do you think is behind that? Are the top ups just for players that get offered big million dollar (well 500k pound for you I suppose) contracts?

But yep, I assume with the URC that has probably dictated that (SA has done the same), with money possibly going straight to the teams now?

We're not criticizing Ardie for this of course but the parallel that was being made was to the hindrance to development of the side. If you remember we played Ardie at blindside specifically because Read was captain and thought undropable.

You can think of his selection as causing someone like Sotutu (when he quite rightly should have been benched early in the season and caused Razor to change his loosie makeup), who could prove unplayable with the right selections around him, from leaving the country and doing the same against us instead, or slowing the development of young players like Sititi.

Others have already clearly made the point re your reference to him being the best this year, I was just expressing the another picture that actually needs more attention. Youre right, he could have been the best forward on the northern tour at least (thanks to constant opportunity), but at what cost?

Your talking about a team who hunted Benji Marshall, you're not doing your point any favours.

Same team with BB were hopeless last year. This year the won the competition without him.

Do you keep playing the 10 that we given the job in losses to Eng, SA, and Aus1? Or would you pick one of Ed's names (or any else you like), or someone else from home?

In real life, the vast majority of first choice All Blacks stay at home while at their peak. Every country has a tipping point but we're nowhere near it.

Incorrect. Robinson has said the team have been prepared and able to be spending more money on contracts than what they're bring inn(and have spent in the past), but that it's not able to continue for much longer.

He could improve though, I don't really see Jordan able to achieve much improvement however. He is been in a professional environment much longer than Tele'a, the physical side, with just a bit of strength and speed work, is about were I see his gains coming from. Were as Tele'a has a lot of technical areas to gain improvement, which simply comes with practice (ie getting more consistent in the times his aerial ability has proved critical to victories).

And it's clear why I'm comparing 1st years.

Razor was always going to be judged on wins, not building depth & breadth. Rassie's first year sacrificed results for development. The only way was up. His 2nd year they won the RWC. I'm expecting Razor's 2nd year to show a more development bias.

First off, I would start at the bottom, and I'd probably make the two divisions identical.

There's also whether some sort of balance or competitiveness is desired. URC teams chose a stronger provincial model, does that mean they should be given a bigger share, or less to balance out their dominance? What happened last year is irrelevant, any model or distribution needs to be taken with the future in mind, and that is going to likely mean weaker English teams (when the comp expands again). I do enjoy good wildcard system like you employed (if it had some sort of national/league reward, 6N, CC winner country etc that is).

First I think qualificatin has to be incentive based, so none of the worst teams qualify, they should be concentrating on player welfare so they can play their best team more often and not have to deal with the need for rotation and a bigger squad, and be rewarded for getting off the bottom of the ladder.

I don't know if qualification from winning the Cup needs to be a thing. I feel if thats their level (they don't qualify by being the best in their league that year), they should have the chance of winning back to back trophy's, rather than getting beat in the champions cup.

The easiest way to visualize a format, so perhaps the fairest and more accepted idea, is to split each league three ways, guys miss out, guys make it into europe, guys play for the CC. Then theres a myriad of cool wildcard tricks to balance things out further. So say theres a 6/5/4 split, URC/Top14/Prem, then instead of like challenge cup winner getting a spot replacing the 6th team for instance (using similar scenario to article), with your idea of WCs it becomes a 7/5/4 split, but you can award the WC to the 7th overall URC team, or the next best SA team. Not to go through all options but then you could also say have those 3 wildcards aval so have additional ones like 6N winner gets +1, so if scotland win it they would pretty much be guarenteed both their teams making it one was outside the top 6 etc. Or overall 8th URC seed gets it. In your scenario a competitively strong England could get 6/7/5, if their teams picked up the 6N and both Cups for example (remaining three in Challenge so none missing out on europe). An idea like this really allows for a country like England to make a small domestic league model successful, theyre guarenteed getting full europe involvement to ensure club sides can cope with a more compact league because of 4/5 weeks of europe games, given national side benefits by more cohesion amongts it's players and clubs from more concentration of talent.

There could be more wildcards of course, I just split 16 into 6 (URC/3), 14 5, and 10 4, by rounding up to find a nice number like 18 in total (wilth WCs). You get a winning formular amongst fans (so not this idea of resting players on away games, and these late night games certainly aren't it for my liking either) and LNR is happy to use it as premium content and reduce their league to compensate, they (and the others) would actually find it more appealing to have fixtures against their own sides during the eu segment. A home and away group play like in football?