'It is with mixed feelings that I announce my retirement from Ulster'

Onece they are gone, they’re gone - no NZ, you cannot reclaim the guys you already offloaded as surplus to requirements! Ireland developed all three into Test-match players.

They maby be able to reclaim KT from Tonga but it all feels rather dodgy to me.

But the spectre of multi-qualified players is always there. Hoskins Sotutu could play for Fiji [father] or England [mother] quite legitimately, so what are your new criteria?

“The most interesting ppl I have met in the game have all coached well into their sixties and they value the time and opportunity they have had to reflect and therefore innovate in the game. That’s based on their ability to compare and contrast between multiple eras.”

I don’t doubt that that’s true. But having interesting insights doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be the best able to inspire a team, or the best at managing the backroom staff.

“Wayne Smith winning the WWC in his mid sixties three years ago prob means nothing to you but it meant a lot to him. It took him back to the roots of is own coaching journey.”

I don’t doubt that! But I don’t think coaches should be hired on the basis that it means a lot to them.

“The likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Wayne Bennett and Andy Reid all have a tale to tell. You should open your ears and listen to it!”

I agree! Never have I ever suggested otherwise!

If KT really only had a dream of representing the ABs, why on earth did he play for Tonga first? He could have avoided the stand-down period entirely by doing so…

As it stands, Tonga can no longer build a future backline around him and there’s no certainty he will make the ABs - which would be a waste of his talent.

The most interesting ppl I have met in the game have all coached well into their sixties and they value the time and opportunity they have had to reflect and therefore innovate in the game. That’s based on their ability to compare and contrast between multiple eras.

Wayne Smith winning the WWC in his mid sixties three years ago prob means nothing to you but it meant a lot to him. It took him back to the roots of is own coaching journey.

The likes of Carlo Ancelotti and Wayne Bennett and Andy Reid all have a tale to tell. You should open your ears and listen to it!

Will it magically make me think that Pep, Gatland, and Jones have gotten better with age? What I’ve seen of it so far certainly hasn’t had that effect.

To be clear, are you admitting you’re wrong about Pep?

I’d say Petia is a completely different athlete, and it matters not at all how they perform playing rugby. What positions did they try out for? I don’t think he’s played rugby for well over a year now, can’t remember him in SR last year, but his form fell off a cliff compared to how he played as a youngster, so you haven’t missed out. Obviously still got by on pure ability. It’s very easy to look at the NFL with stary eyes but I’m not really sure how much ‘special’ is needed at all for most positions/players. JP though was very special when he started out, much like how Joseph was last November.

I find data and science the opposite of tedious myself. You’re correlating the wrong thing Graham, it wouldn’t make SA the most exciting team, it would make The Rugby Championship the most exciting comp.

On this topic (for URC viewers) I tried watching some URC this year but it was distinctly unexciting. But then I had a look at the ladder a few weeks ago and saw that there was like half a dozen points separating like 14 teams, which is crazy competitive.

I guess like you said these sorts of things are still going to be fairly subjective, and may change drastically by having some skin in the games. I’d rate JRLO more exciting and perhaps I’d call the Top 14 more entertaining (could be a large part in have Merths on the comms), which might relate to a lot of other factors. In terms of subjectively looking at SRP you’ve got some pertinent factors that I think accurately show a big difference so far.

What do you mean by “these days”?

You couldn’t be more wrong Graham, did you read the article?

They used youth rep selection for locking national elifibilty at one point etc. Then later only counted residency after the age of 18 (make clubs/nations like in this case wait even longer).

That’s what I’m talking about, not changing allegiance in rugby (were it can only be captured by the senior side), where it is still the senior side. Oh yeah, good point about CJ, so in most cases we probably want kids to be able to switch allegiance, were say someone like Lemoto could rep Tonga (if he wasn’t so good) but still play for Australia’s seniors, while in someone like Kite’s (the last aussie kid to go to France) case he’ll be French qualified via 5 years residency at the age of 21, so France to lock him up before Aussie even get a chance to select him. But if we use footballs regulations, who I’m suggesting WR need to get their a into g replicating, he would only start his 5 years once he turns 18 or whatever, meaning 23 yo is as soon as anyone can switch, and when if they’re good enough teams like NZ and Aus can select them (France don’t give a f, they select anybody just to lock them).