Ulster confirm new deals for two Ireland internationals

Winning is an admirable trait but it should not be at all costs. What is fascinating is clowns like the man in this article wanting 'nothing to do with' Ireland over some perceived trivia while being silent on abusers being role models on the NZ team.

I'm not against the idea, but it sounds like it would be incredibly complex to pull together and obviously require complete buy-in from the leagues, which seems unlikley.

Also, you ask can the Premiership be sustained in its 'current form'. I agree that currently, there aren't enough strong teams and it does no one any favours when clubs have a couple of 'Newcastle' type walkovers each season. But, if Wasps, Worcester and London Irish can be revived and promotion and relegation introduced, then I think that will help make the Prem competitive again.

France, Ireland or indeed Scotland could do nothing in 2023: the draw was based on the ranking the day the 2019 RWC ended.

Also, unlike Australia or England, both of which are also in rebuild phases, the current Wales team is not exactly full of household names. The household names have moved on, and he has a relatively junior crew left. For a sense of that, compare the Wales (starting 15) caps against Australia (279) with the equivalent Springbok caps against England (767).

So Gatland is doing his thing, a gradual build of a team that can execute consistently well, and he is doing so with an inexperienced team. IMV Gatland should be given plenty of time to get this working.

You can have head contact and not have serious injury. Which is what the penalties are for - to discourage high and dangerous hits so that they don’t occur and result in head injuries. Discourage the behavior.

I don't think this is going to happen and personally, I don't believe it should. The whole new Enhanced Player Squad (EPS) contracts can only be awarded to EQPs signed to Premiership teams (not sure about Championship sides). The Prem clubs are not going to be agreeable to any changes that see their best players heading off to France/Japan etc. Personally, I believe the Prem should be ring-fenced further with even tighter restrictions on the number of foreign players clubs can have on their books. If the RFU are serious about development pathways, then the Prem and Championship should be establish as the best nurseries for developing emerging EQP.

2. SB and coaching team must improve their coaching, selection and impact/substitutions.

Completely agree. Really disappointed that we're unlikely to see more of the England A/U20 cohort against Japan this week. Seems a perfect opportunity to get some of them on off the bench for 20-mins or so. The disparity between the starting 15 and the bench has been one of the biggest issues this Autumn.

3. England need to change their captain, young props to be given game time, inside centre to be introduced along with a younger fast fullback.

Another hot topic atm., though I'm not sure who you'd replace him with. Someone, somewhere mentioned making George Ford captain, but that creates a whole other set of issues regarding you-know-who. Agree about looking at some alternative 12/13 options. Can't see Borthwick drifting too far from Furbank at FB with Steward covering for high-kicking opposition.

Hope so.

Los pumas. 1 point.

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