Stephan Lewies signs new Quins deal after considering retirement

I was brash enough to think Razor could have gone undefeated this year but next year they'd have twice, perhaps even three, times the chance and with SA away to NZ it could be like a couple of 14 point try's back to back? Personally I see them winning one being more likely, and losing bugger all else, but anything is possible really.

I saw Ireland got nothing from beating Australia lol.. rough. They certainly would have lost points with a loss though, re "won't go up or down", surely?!!

What was it like in 2016/18 when you had the wool over NZ? Interested if you feel winning over here changed things.

Did you appreciate your teams performances this year?

Drawing a conclusion by comparing two players at different stages of the season, with different top speeds, acceleration rates, levels of fatigue is meaningless.

I know it can be tough with all the other topics but I'm not being critical of Ireland for using these players in their national side, simply is Hansen so good to watch because he's got Irish blood or because of how good he plays rugby?

While I was simply giving a more accurate picture of this side it's an inane comment without any surrounding context and in this case it would both be that Ireland would just be a typical Ireland side without these players and that the opportunity is being missed to raise the long term appeal of rugby in Ireland with the recent results. Not to take away from how theyve improved or previous contributions players like CJ to monumental wins against NZ etc. Though the Irish would probably have stayed a lot more grounded without the influx of stars.

Are they bound by confidentiality to give the real reason? Was "not being consulted" just disguise to say that SA wasn't wanted in Super? I find that very very doubtful. I find it entirely possible NZR told them this is a great opportunity to go their sperate ways with Super not working with the negativity about how unbalanced it was, and the local broadcasters wanting more relevant content, but ultimately all I've read is that SARU didn't have the funds to even enter discussions, say with dropping down to four teams to improve their performance etc, and had to do something immediate for the following year or it would go bankrupt.

This article How can Scott Robertson revive the All Blacks’ playmaking ‘triple threat’? Thanks, interesting read. I must've missed it.

You think they should use J Barrett at first receiver more often? And they should make more use of his passing/kicking talents and not just use him a battering ram?

I'm unsure why don't use him to exit more, at the least.

And yes, mentally, the ENG win signalled a rising from the depths of the EJ era despair. Conversely, a loss would've put them all on safety-watch. To me, this has caused the Schmidt factor to be somewhat over-egged. There is no escaping a 1/6 TRC win result.

Despite all the resurgent happy-happy joy-joy, sugar talk, it's clear to me the BILs are destined to dine out handsomely on a 3-course Wallaby Sweep-Steak in 2025.