Dowson’s delight at re-signing 'game-breaker' Tommy Freeman

Rassie is giving many more debuts this year than at any previous point since 2019. To whatever extent he is rewarding form now, he rewarded it less before.

Marcell Coetzee was in great form in 2020-21 but wasn't picked. Senatla, Zas, and Grobbelaar were in 2021-22. Daniel du Plessis in 2022-23. Akker van der Merwe and Cameron Hanekom in 2023-24.

Martin, Feyi-Waboso, Freeman, Cunningham-South, are all more integral to England than SFM and Moodie are to SA.

Firstly I didn’t state that the French psyche has “been impacted by invasion and how that has lead to French teams not touring overseas”. For the record, my opinion comments on the French rugby team touring were “they have close to zero interest in touring, never have and never will. It’s embedded in their dna. It’s just the way they see the world, rightly or wrongly.” and “France just don’t have the traditions of touring and therefore don’t place the same importance to it as most other nations, so this compromise is sensible for them”. Given your propensity to make noise of little to no value with your comments, I guess it’s not too surprising that you have misinterpreted my comments and entirely misquoted me.

Secondly I note that following your earlier baseless assertion that I had levelled personal insults in your direction, you have in fact resorted to exactly this behaviour in your limited and stilted reply above.

Thirdly you have absolutely no idea what my connections are to France and what level of insight I possess regarding French culture, yet still you feel qualified to judge. A textbook example in assuming your presumed knowledge is superior I’d say!

Fourthly you have failed, yet again, to provide ANY opinion on the salient points of the rugby discussion stream. Not at all surprising by this stage but worth highlighting nonetheless.

And finally, your continued stream of noise is tedious, repetitive and entirely unimaginative. Is that really the best you can do???

He's either going to make a complete fool of himself or Rugby Australia are going to have to find some really really smar,t very expensive Lawyers.

Over history Rugby Australia has given the impression of bumbling idiots. The chance of them getting this one right seem very very low. Not impossible but exceedingly low. I would say bankruptcy is inevitable. The Tahs bankrupted the Tahs. Not satisfied and thinking it was just bad luck, now they are going to do the same to Rugby Australia.

It could be a good thing when Rugby in Australia is re-constituted without the Tahs being able to screw everything up for their egos. They are an arrogant, self entitled walking disaster. They think it is their god given right to do everything to benefit the Tahs and stuff everybody else.

Karma is a bewdy sometimes.

F1 was bought outright by CVC. Silver Lake has a small percentage share of the income. Big difference.

What if some of the great talent that isn't getting a lot of URC minutes at the minute was playing for Lagos City

I have to be honest and say I don't think the URC is working at the minute, none of the games seem to have any interest with the local population. Wouldn't South Africa be more interesting in an African competition? Seeing themselves going up against other/more South African's along with the best African talent? That's what I'd say is the biggest desire for SRP's future at the moment.

As the article and PR say (and you're own comment eludes to), the whole idea of change is not something that can be achieved in the now. A change to British rugby would need to be done in partnership with African and European, so if the game is to global progress it's only going to be along these lines imo. If it's seen as too good currently to change, it really is never going to change and get better. I think a real prospect like I describe could be acheived within a decade.

But as I said, spending all that money in the AFL heartland was always going to be a terrible business decision with little return for big spend and needless exposure to private owners.

It's just teams like Ireland that haven't earn't the right yet that should try it on (@DS). It's like Matt Giteau refusing to touch the Bledisloe Cup because he hadn't earnt the right to by winning it in his career.

He won't have the advantage of continueing to select those players next year though (and hasn't had the same allowance to select others this year too, so has had to make do in some respect, kudos NZR), so I think you won't see a lot of these players providing the onfield component this eoyt (that bits to HH below).