Former All Blacks have their say ahead of Italy team selection

Fin Smith might be slightly better, but i’d pick them both to go to Australia.

You don’t go from conceding no tries in two rounds to 5 tries and 37 points. High reward high risk doesn’t explain that alone. Leinster’s issue is that the many weaknesses we saw yesterday were not exposed over the season. They had a hard match against Rochelle and that was it: all year. That is not enough.

It is extremely hard for URC teams to win that tournament. Look at the two hardened and rounded French teams today. Hopefully the URC gets a few teams up to standard during the league stage next year.

Will you now start condemning Toulouse for complacency, arrogance just because they lost when expected to win? Didnt think so.

So happy that England finally have an established 10 with a triple threat, I didn't enjoy much of the Farrell era, he's a great rugby player but over reliant on attacking kicks. Fin has a great tactical kicking game but is far more instinctive, excited to see where he can go, just hope he's trusted to run the attack and play what's in front of him.

Ireland won 17 matches in a row beating all the top nations twice. That included a series win in NZ. Only the second time it happenned and a major major pressured achievement for Ireland. The talk after the QF in 2023 was that ‘only an a$$hole would say Ireland choked’. How quickly people forget.

Was the Durban 2nd test against SA not a pressured occasion?

In 2023 SA needed a massive dollop of luck due to the ridiculous draw. 9 points down to a bad England team, needing dodgy ref decisions. Needing a red card to beat NZ.

Its a nice story that only RWCs count. But 6Ns, RCs, Match series and tests count also.

So boast away about how great SA are in pressurized situations. Thats the point youre trying to reach isnt it? But also explain why it is Leinster year in year out left to represent the URC in the champions league.

You take things personally boet. Just swallow your frustration, and take the loss on the chin and hopefully your coaches can make a difference in a few weeks time in the URC Semi Finals. Maybe this will be the year they make it to a URC Final. They have never played in a URC Final btw. Let's see that. Maybe your luck will kick in and they get something this season. At least they can fully focus on the last two pool games of the URC now and put all their energy into it. That might be the break they need to finally win a URC cup.

So yes it could be arrogance on the part of Boks and Blacks but we have a legitimate reason for feeling that way. Whereas Ireland never have. In fact in terms of WCs, they have only ever done better than Italy regarding the Six Nations teams.

England have been in at least three finals, won one.

France have been in three finals, although they lost all of them, Wales have been in at least two Semi Finals, Scotland one Semi Final.

Even amongst your peers, you guys are at the back. So I don't see what reason you have be arrogant and yet, and yet you are.

Yes you win when the ultimate pressure is not on you. Pool games, three match series, autumn series, etc, URC and EPCR pool games. But when it comes to highest tier stakes, you don't have the ability to capitalize.

It's not how you start that matters, although it does help, but how you finish. I am reminded of Munster from 2023, playing seven away games in a row and managing to win all of them on the trot including a final. That one hurt because it was against my team the Stormers.

But the stats don't even help your case. So there is a difference between “arrogance” based on fact and that based on feeling.