Lions Series fears as Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii requires surgery on jaw

Hmm I can’t even think of any overseas tight head props to call on? Let’s hope there are no injuries but depth is so important at that level

The Brums look toghter to me and more aggressive than the Reds. As you can see from Canham’s body position in those pics some of the basic tech is poor.

Agree Nongorr is third up in front of Robbo but it is a bit disturbing if that is the case.

Not quite sure why Joe is so wedded to Gordon but it may be a sign of shifting emphasis in the wider context too! I reckong they will start with big Will in the Lions series which why Harry may drop out in the B/R.

Cheika doesn’t have the best squad in the Prem at Leicester, but they are making the best of themselves and have reached the final. Go compare.

With the current squad distributions, Qld should be the best side in Aussie, in the event they didn’t come close to being that. Go figure.

They’ve had JTA, Hodgman, Faagase, Nongorr, De Lutiis and Blake propping with three WB-poss hookers in Asiata, Faessler and Nasser in between them. Add Canham and LSL behind them, but still there were signal lineout and scrum fails at critical moments. An 83% lineout return is slightly below average with guys like Uru, Wright, Canham and LSL around.

What was missing was tactical nous, the ability to adapt to diff weather conditions and finals footy. I also agree with what you say about the D system, I feel improvements can be made.

Paul Williams certainly hasn't liked what he’s seen from the Reds scrum in the 2 games he’s refereed them recently. The set piece was a strength under Brad Thorn for the most part, It hasn't been up to scratch this year.

I’d also like Les Kiss and Brad Davis to consider the merits of moving to a more aggressive defensive system rather than the passive one that is currently being used. In the tackle area, the Reds absorb the contact instead of being dominant.

Finally, some mongrel would be nice.

For your info JW, Super Rugby’s attendance numbers almost halved the year the Kings & Cheetahs left, and TV viewership followed suit. Inevitable conclusion to them leaving because those regions have the biggest rugby base in SA, Eastern Cape being the biggest.

The domestic club rugby in the Eastern Cape is broadcast of free to air and gets +/- 200k viewers every week. They also broadcast Top14 and get >250k per game.

There was talk about another European competition starting, featuring clubs & backers from Russia, but the Russia/Ukraine thing intervened.