Le baby-boom du rugby : ils jouent dès 3 ans

That Fiji game was a strange one. Ireland just seemed to smother them. and they made a lot of mistakes. Caleb Muntz did not get into the game to any great extent, apart from the one pice of brilliance. Also felt the Holly Davidson made some 50/50's against Fiji that gave Ireland momentum they might not have had. So I felt it was not a test of Sam playing in a tougher game.

Australia may well be a tougher test, though if Ireland play the way they did last week, could be a tough return to Dublin for Joe.

I guess the bottom line is that I am a Crowley man till Sam proves to me he is the best player at 10 for Ireland. And you are right in spades full...."Having Crowley there as well with both of them competing should help make them both reach their full potential."

Out of interest, where do you live in Ireland ?

This is only the 4th shot at a grand slam post 1984, be bullish about replicating what that side achieved. If you're going to fail, be aspirational about it.

You have named 7 springbok players over a period spanning 1996 - 2019.

NZ had between 6 and 8 players in their squad in the last year. And about that number going back some time now.

Totally different contexts.

The issue isn't about selection of players based on where they were born. The issue is around where they are playing their club rugby professionally.

I think this does make it tricky for NZ to changes it's eligibility rules to the extent that NZ may become a mere stepping stone for some of these youngsters to move to Europe and Japan soon after turning professional (or sooner). Particularly if they are overlooked. After being developed by your systems, for better money and better exposure.

SA has a surplus of players, and used eligibility criteria to strength it's performance and position in World Rugby (after dropping to 7th in the World). This in turn has had a positive impact on the overall industry in SA - which in turn will strengthen the financial position of rugby in SA over time. So long as the boks and the bok brand keep doing well!

What worked for SA won't necessarily work for anyone else.

Jake White also has an agenda - he has been outspoken about boks being selected from overseas - so while he calls himself a traditionalist, he wants to have more boks available to him. Which is completely understandable in the context of professional rugby, wanting to field the best players to win...

But then the Bulls Rugby Company must work on being more profitable and by extension having the budgets to pay top players better. Why should the players bare the brunt of market and economic conditions? Why should the players make economic sacrifices because of issues beyond there control? I don't think that's fair and smacks of exploitation.

I don't think NZ is ever going to change it's eligibility rules and that this debate is largely a non-issue.

Australia Born

Ethan De Groot – Kiwi parents, all his rugby development in NZ

Tyrel Lomax – Former Australia U20s - Kiwi parents

Tonga Born

Ofa Tu’ungafasi yes, arrived a a you kid. Played all his professional career and development in NZ

Samisoni Taukei’aho- Former Tonga U19s - One of few players that genuinely came to NZ with some rugby experience. But still arrived as a teen.

Samipeni Finau - played all his rugby in NZ

Shannon Frizzell - Forner Tonga U20s - True, but he never really performed for the Allblacks did he?

Leicester Fainga’anuku - played all his rugby in NZ

Samoa Born

Nepo Laulala - long since finished playing for the Allblacks and a perpetual bench option when he did

Fiji Born

Emoni Narawa - played all his rugby in NZ and has never gained incumbency status

All I meant was that Faf going over to the UK visibly helped his game when he played for the Boks, including his box kicking. That's about it, really.

Speaking of the ref, he's lucky Scotland won by more than 7 and that the Wallabies were their own worst enemy because he was abysmal. He let Scotland play the ball off their feet and wasn't anywhere strict enough on the Scots rolling away incorrectly which forced the Wallabies to seal off a few times.