Injury scare as Beauden Barrett limps off during Blues’ win over Reds

That’s not a settled spine.

Below them, you have excellent players who should make the starting team but are also in danger of being replaced if they have bad performances - Kellaway, Wilson, Tupou. Slipper and Allaatoa fall into this category, but also have experience on their side.

And then you have a number of positions where no one is really outright stamping their mark on the position as well as overseas players who no one knows about:

Jorgenson vs Daugunu vs Potter vs Pietcsh vs Koribete?

Sualii vs Paisami vs Kerevi?

Lolesio vs Donaldson

White vs McDermott

Wright vs Cale vs Gleeson vs Uru

Swain vs Frost vs Williams vs LSL vs Blyth vs Canham vs skelton?

Pollard vs Faessler vs Nasser vs Porecki vs BPA vs Lonergan

I think the opposite is true.

By including these countries in 6N you’re increasing interest in the game generally. This will have a positive knock-on effect on the club game as more people, knowing they could play for their country on one of the biggest stages in rugby, will boost numbers at existing clubs and potentially boost the number of clubs as new ones are formed.

But hey, i’m no expert.

Peneis a terrible rugby player put in a no win position. It’s not his fault he’s crap. But he should have never been placed in that situation.

The blazers at HQ are holding this sport back.

I was pleased for English friends about the ambition and speed they played with but the opposition were like children. Some of the play felt like a contested training run.

The questions asked of that forward pack by a team committing them to defensive work and making the yards hard to gain will be more interesting than we saw in Cardiff.

If we’re dishing out As for most improved - then cool. England gets an A. But France played mesmerizing rugby during this campaign. England were being lambasted half way through their campaign. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Or we may as well announce it now:

England are going to win the World Cup.