George Skivington: The Zach Mercer 'ability you couldn’t coach'

Back on the last article I noted that WR is now dedicating a whole section in their six-point business plan to this topic. It also noted that studies indicated 85-90% of workload falls outside of playing. So in respect to your point on the classification of ‘involvements’ included even subs with a low volume of minutes, it actually goes further, to the wider group of players that train as if they’re going to be required to start on the weekend, even if they’re outside the 23. That makes even the 30-35 game borderline pale into insignificance.

No doubt it is won of the main reasons why France has a quota on the number of one clubs players in their International camps, and rotate in other clubs players through the week. The number of ‘invisible’ games against a player suggests the FFRs 25 game limit as more appropriate?

So if we take it at face value that Galthie and the FFR have got it right, only a dozen players from the last 60 international caps should have gone on this tour. More players from the ‘Scotland 23’ than the more recent 23.

The only real pertinent question is what do players prefer more, health or money? There are lots of ethical decisions, like for instance whether France could make a market like Australia’s where their biggest rugby codes have yearly broadcast deals of 360 and 225 million euros. They do it by having a 7/8 month season.

Maybe because their players now qualify for France given the Top 14 is the only viable destination and clubs don’t like their players getting injured unless for them?

Sorry, j/k’s..

I help coach an U-12 team. The IRFU had set up tackle schools all around the place last summer to help coach good habits in the kids around the new tackle heights.

One of our young lads tackled low in the first game of the season. His first contact of the match. He got the other lads knee and knocked himself clean out.

There are risks high and low.

He is 113, probably a good number for Hoskins (who looks fairly overweight these days) to be at too.

He is tall I’ll give him that, maybe that was his lock weight growing up? Personally I think he needs to bulk up if he wants to play international footy, he’s not that dynamic, like Ardie, that he can get away with such a lite weight. He just needs to be a little bit more tougher and it would improve his abrasive game immensely.

That goes for French rugby in general really, so maybe just let them be, but that team was giving up 30kg to the All Black pack and it showed. BTW you see Tizzano talking about adding on weight in the offseason? Around 15kg.

From WRs 21’ financials that showed up on google I see they spent

Tournaments - 17m pound

Grants 13mil

Admin expenses of 9mil

Wages of 13m

Improving and marketing the game 16m

The previous year they gave out nearly 100mil point in grants (from 19’ WC no doubt).

Im not a financial guy, but I’d assume that largest area would be direct investment in those countries pros scenes, and that second largest area have a portion on rugby initiatives in those T2 countries. Nearly 50mil net loss for the year btw, from having 100m reserves. You still think the Top 14 contributes more than that to T2 nations?

I'm not saying you wouldn't get some ugly scorelines early in that type of comp, you could imagine Japan getting caught cold in their first game and getting banjaxed. It would bed in though.

Seems to be a huge fan base in Japan and the Fijian fans have always looked mental. Good mental.

They were probably the form team of the 2019 RWC by the end of the pools stage. Their running game was ridiculous.

They've dropped the ball since I think. They are now prioritising their league and the money streams. Eddie Jones hardly helps either.

Yeah Fiji have a lot to fight against. The day that team regularly becomes an 80 min team, the world order will change. They simply don't produce average athletes.

I would only get on board with the RC changes if it genuinely brought Fiji, Samoa and Tonga into the light. I've doubts. Even the proposed Nations Cup seems purely to ring fence the world order of rugby.

I agree on Georgia but more for form. They missed their chance. It's peaked.

You could argue that by the time Italy finally joined they'd already peaked. They were a proper, serious outfit in the 90’s but by the time they joined their moment had passed.