Siate Tokoloahi returns for 50th Highlanders match as southerners eye up second win of Super Rugby Aotearoa

Yeah, I think it's the future of SR, even TRC. Graham above just now posting about how good a night it was with a dbl header of ENGvSA and NZvFrance, and now I don't want to kick SA or Argentina out of TRC but it would be great if in this next of the woods 2 more top teams could come in to create more of these sort of nights (for rugby's appeal). Often Arg and SA and both travel here and you get those games but more often doesn't work out right.

Obviously a long way off but USA and Japan are the obvious two. First thing we need to do is get Eddie Jones kicked out of Japan so they can start improving again and then get a couple of US teams in SRP (even if one its just a US based and augmented Jaguares).

It will start off the whole conferences are crap debate again (which I will continue to argue vehemently against), but imagine a 6 team Pacific conference, Tokyo Sunwolves (drafted from Tokyo JRLO teams), Tokyo All Stars (made up of best remaining foreign players and overseas drafts), ALL Nihon (best of local non Tokyo based talent, inc China/Korea etc, with mainland Japan), a could of West Coast american franchises and perhaps a second self PI driven Hawai'i based team, or Jagaures. So I see a short NFL like 3 or 4 month comp as fitting best, maybe not even a full round, NZvAUSvPAC, all games taking place within a 6hr window. Model for NZ will definitely still require a competitive and funded NPC!

On the Crusaders, I liked last years ending with Grace on the bench (ovbiously form dependent but thats how it ended) and Lio-Willie at 8. I could have Blackadder trying to be a 7 but think balance will be used with him at 6 and Kellow as 7. Scott Barrett is an international 6 sized player. It is just NZ style/model that pushes him into the tight, I reckon he'd be a great loose player, and saders have Strange and Cahill as bigger players (plus that change could draw someone like Darry back). Same with Haig now, hes not grown yet but Barrett hight and been playing 6, now that the Highlanders have only chosen two locks he'll be playing lock, and that is going to change his growth trajectory massively, rather than seeing him grow like an International 6.

The whole attack needs an overhaul but Richard Wigglesworth our attack coach was a very limited scrum half who excelled at box kicking and had no running game. Spent most of his career with Saracens who mauled, defended and set pieced their way to victory.... Which might have been ok if Felix Jones hadn't quit and been replaced by a guy who coaches Oyonnax who have one of the worst defences in the French 2nd division. I'm not too emotionally invested in England right now because this coaching setup isn't capable of winning anything.

England had no attack when they were winning under Eddie either. They battered teams with huge dominant tackles and won from pressure. The last time England had any creativity in attack was the Stuart Lancaster/Mike Catt era. They played some fantastic attacking rugby but results were mediocre, lots of 2nd place finishes in the 6N although it felt like we were building something special until we got brutally dumped out of our home world cup in the pool stage.

With these guys being in the first two (into third) months of their season too.

Haha he certainly looked like he'd spoiled the party after the game too, we'll both have to expect he makes it up somehow 😁 I thought your 1 point win over them were the two best performances of the RWC, I think that was NZ's best performance this season too. Too bad we couldn't put a nail in the coffin like we did last week 😉

Lets have a look at the LQB for the last few games... 41% under 3 sec compared to 56% last week, 47% in the game you felt England best in against NZ, and 56 against Ireland.

That was my impression as well. Dunno if that is a lack of good counterattack ball from the D, forward dominance (Post Contact Meters stats reversed yesterday compared to that fast Ireland game), or some Borthwick scheme, but I think that has been highlighted as Englands best point of difference this year with their attack, more particularly how they target using it in certain areas. So depending on how you look at it, not necessarily the individual players.

You seem to be falling into the same trap as NZs supporters when it comes to Damien McKenzie. That play you highlight Slade in wasn't one of those LQB situations from memory, that was all on the brilliance of Smith. Sure, Slade did his job in that situation, but Smith far exceeded his (though I understand it was a move Sleightholme was calling for). But yeah, it's not always going to be on a platter from your 10 and NZ have been missing that Slade line, in your example, more often than not too. When you go back to Furbank and Feyi-Waboso returns you'll have that threat again. Just need to generate that ball, wait for some of these next Gen forwards to come through etc, the props and injured 6 coming back to the bench. I don't think you can put Earl back to 7, unless he spends the next two years speeding up (which might be good for him because he's getting beat by speed like he's not used to not having his own speed to react anymore).

Yes... The team that wallabies thrashed few hours ago

Ave rating for the starting teams: 6.3 vs 6.2 in favour of Wallabies (median for both teams of 6.0)

Ave rating including reserves: 6.0 each

Suggests a pretty close match.

Think someone may have had their finger of the scale for the Wales ratings.