L’Écosse change quatre joueuses pour aller en Italie

I was happy enough with the two semi final games last season though, perhaps those could just be really close crackers that Toulouse and Bordeaux happen to lose 😅 We (I mean, 'I') get the best of both worlds!

Those two would actually make for a great rematch though, one of those cases where it would be different second time round, you think.

Ahah! So the counter theory of not letting the All Blacks know who good your top team is works the other way too! That's the classic case of 'keeping the powder dry', something that 2007 team must have learnt from us! Ahem.. well maybe it was actually the ABs who learn from you..

Otherwise we don't really go for other nations stars like that. They would make for one mean All Black team though, throw in the Irish and they'd be unbeatable and you'd be waxing lyricals about their size and raw domination!!

Look at that Eng v NZ game. If Smith had of been left on, with Ford kept on the bench, and he misses those two kicks SB would be vilified for not going to the bench for the match winner chosen for exactly those circumstances.

That is essentially what Ireland did in their final.

SARU has included private investment in its portfolio but is far from 'giving away their control'.

France has a separate org runnng the club game and there is no equivalent to it in SA. And FFR does not 'control what LNR are' - whatever that is supposed to mean.

I actually took heart at the beginning of the year when we heard that Havili had been requested by the All Blacks to play 10 for Crusaders! More fool me.

Have to correct you on that recap though. I don't actually have the stats for gainlines anywere (have to check johnnyopta for an artcile), but they show up on the Breakdown and it was our highest gainline success this year (above 50% for once) I'm pretty sure. No idea if any of that was in the second half though, I certainly though that scrambled much better.

It hurt Finau going of, but it doesn't explain Paddy not starting. Well perhaps it does when you've banked on a 6 as yuo main lock come lineout and play caller, then pigeon holeing the other 6, and lock, as your captain, so you haven't tried to give him too much on his plate, like being able to switch to 6 in case of injury (or situation/opponent). Who the hell is Paddy supposed to come on for! A lot of wrk need by Razor that I really thought he'd be doing this tour. Appears to be more like Foster and concerned with winning though.

I really really hope Razor isn't playing a waiting game for his 3 favourite players to come back. We need to progress NOW!

Nick puts a nice clean slant on the situation here, but it's not actually the case, which you also appear to think it is, either.

Followers of these Long Reads know that the FFR and LNR have abolished the top 20 concept (well at least for this year). So do you need it explained why there is still talk of French stars possibly not touring next year?

The Top 14 Final next year is played on the last day of June, and the French teams already flown out of the country in order to get to New Zealand for the first week of July. Cross your fingers, maybe no big names are playing in the Top 14 final and therefor they don't have to miss out on the tour.