Highlanders shutout: Reds starting to ‘deal with’ hype and expectation

But the drop-off from Felix Jones is still immense. Coaching Top 14 D is very different to coaching D in international rugby - the priorities are different, the challenges are like chalk and cheese. It's a huge ask for him.

I don't really blame the players. I blame the WRU. Their best players is not available due to restrictions, small change as pay and an overly believe in their own power that amounts to nothing. Get rid of them and Gatland, and maybe their will be an upwards curve. They will lose against the Boks, and also all the games in the 6N if they keep the current board. Italy will be able to smash them.

NZ, Argentina (if they are more consistent), and now the Wallabies too is in an upward curve (can they be consistent?), as well as Fiji(as inconsistent as Argentina) looks like possible contenders. The Boks will be as usual a huge threat to defend their title. Things are looking up for the South, so the North should rightfully beware of the Southern Hemisphere threat.

With the French looking dangerous, the English with their close runs (mostly a mindset problem) and the Scottish seems to be the NH main contenders. The Irish is good, but not excellent anymore. They are more overbearing and with their glory days mostly gone with old players hanging on by a thread, by 2027 if they don't start adding in the younger players, they won't make it past yet another WC Quarter final. The problem is that their youngsters, while good is nothing special.

That is just 8 teams without the Irish that can become real WC contenders. Lots of hickups to be sorted still for these teams, excluding the Boks to become a threat. Make no mistake, the top Tier is much closer than people realise and the 2027 WC will be a really great WC, possibly the best contended WC ever.

And there lies the rub. We don't care about your problems with Aussie Rules or Rugby League. If you're in the job just to save your union from competition by making our fantastic game more like one-dimensional boring league then all the rest of your promises are just BS. We'll be watching you like hawks to try and keep you in line, but - like Beaumont - you'll probably be able to push through whatever you like and the game will lose once again, but this time potentially terminally. I believe that your selection could be the worst decision WR have ever made.

Not a bad effort but a correction. McKenzie was not born in NSW so is not a Tah. He was born in Victoria. Played for the Brumbies and coached Qld and also played and then later coached NSW, until the self entitled Tah players decided to stab him in the back. And who was the captain of the Tahs at the time leading the back stabbing. Well, well it was none other than Phil Waugh, current Rugby Australia CEO. Who recently tried to deny he had met Suallii at Hamish McLennan's house pre signing, until McLennan outed him recently as a bald faced liar as he was in fact there.

I doubt very much if McKenzie, who was also assistant coach to Eddie Jones in Jones first stint coaching Australia, would appreciate being labelled a Tah, given it was the Tahs Hooper and Beale and Cheika who stabbed him in the back again when he walked away thru lack of support from Hooper and Rugby Australia.

Schmidt might have theoretically better credentials, even tho he dumped Ireland in the brink but he had to start somewhere. You can't argue if you think he is great that Schmidt should never have been given an opportunity.

Schmidt lacks a crucial ingredient. He's not Australian. It does matter, which as a Bokke you would well know.