This week on the Rugby Pass podcast Scotty reunites with his oldest and best friend Mark Stafford in some godforsaken dark cold corner of New Zealand’s South Island. They talk about the fallout from the grubby Bledisloe Cup test last weekend, and with the Aviva Premiership getting underway this weekend ponder the age-old question: where exactly does the balance of power lie in world rugby?
Trending on RugbyPass
Many Springboks fans are saying same thing about the Lions
England star singled out online for winning Lions series
'Most controversial call ever': Tizzano no-call lingers over Lions series win
British & Irish Lions player ratings vs Wallabies | 2nd Test 2025 Lions series
Wallabies player ratings vs British & Irish Lions | Lions series
Four Lions flown home ahead of second Test
How Ellis Genge reacted to being dropped for the second Lions Test
Comments
Join free and tell us what you really think!
Sign up for freeLatest Features
Hugo Keenan: From high school 'D' team to British and Irish Lions immortality
Once omitted from the Leinster sub-academy, the Ireland full-back has taken a long and arduous road to a fairytale moment Melbourne.
How the Lions' injury-dogged 'Jukebox' Tadhg Furlong is still producing great hits
Despite a heavily disrupted season, Ireland's cornerstone tighthead is rolling back the years Down Under as he prepares to start an eighth straight Test.
Half-back depth is the flaw in 'Razor's' 4-4-4 Rugby World Cup plan
The All Blacks are stacked at least four deep in most positions, but Scott Robertson will be concerned by his options in the playmaking roles.
Comments on RugbyPass
Also does the author Neil Fissler realise the Lions won in 2013 in Australia…
15 Go to commentsYou also got to remember that with that other discussion, the All Blacks are always looking into the future. They have to, they don’t have the resources to survive on blunt force concepts like ‘immediate selection’. So when they have two players, and one has signed on for a longer period and looks committed, they do put into perspective what that player will continue to provide if he is given the opportunity now, over the player who wont' be there in future. Bit irreverent in this case but I thought it worth pointing out.
45 Go to commentsNo need to be sorry for your opinion, mate.
58 Go to commentsThree is an opinion not shared by the TMO, & the on-field Referee team.
58 Go to commentsYep your not just here for a job, to get paid, you’re up holding traditions.
When the All Blacks become just another team, then you can just pick on simple principles like ‘hes here and available’. New Zealand is a rep team, sure, it recognizes the best players from it’s catchment and rewards them with a cap, but it also does so much, means so much, is so much more than that.
45 Go to commentsAll teams are going in and destroying the defence with the ‘clean out’ and all teams are hitting the ruck and then sealing the ball off by going off their feet.
Perhaps we see the laws change so players can no longer come in late and at speed to blast the defensive players off the ball and instead must bind to the opposition and their own players.
Secondly players must not leave their feet, like the scrum it shouldn't matter why they've gone to ground, the first team to do so is penalized.
Again, all teams are blasting the opposition off the ball and leaving their feet, it's risky stuff with necks being exposed.
Well played Lions and Wallabies, the final test hopefully more of the same.
15 Go to commentsThe biggest stat though is that we kept the Chiefs scoreless for the whole 2nd half & basically put them on life support in the final 10 mins. And nutted their scrum for an easy three. That’s what “real” is bud. Hardly a “fluke”, right.
293 Go to comments🤷fair enough. There’s certainly no consistency.
I looked at the replay because I saw two kids arguing and he also clearly does connect with the back of the head first, so maybe it was delayed reaction and was more luck that he wasn’t injured more.
15 Go to commentsI wouldn’t say this was a Mo’unga or Frizell situation where there talent only was unlocked after they signed abroad, when Schmidt and Ryan came in respectively. LF was on a good trajectory, and he just decided he has the perfect window of opportunity to go abroad while he’s not first choice, learn and live in France to come back better and have a good shot at the perfect age. I think he recongised that.
Agreed that our rotation has been off the the last decade, players have not been moved on when they should, but I wouldn’t include Rieko in that discussion, though I would accept he is more of a marketing than performance signing.
Also agree it is a strange condunrum that results from the misalligned seasons, where Lester is straight into NPC in the same season almost. When really the ‘start’ of his contract is next year. Is he even going to be on the payroll at the moment? Could it be used as a double dip to encourage players back, a ‘bonus international season’ of match fees.
But they also don’t want them to become anymore common. So perhaps everything is fine? Like I was alluding to with Toko, they would need multiple markers of their own in Top 14 for them to be able to gauge off. As I’ve said in previous articles I’d be comfortable to expand sabbaticals to 2 in every position (yes a huge change), so that the was a core group of 30 of the top players all aligned with the ABs and overseas at any one time. This would ensure there are good markers to correlate levels of performance amongst everyone. This is a very similar setup/size to South Africa. It is like the AB modem in a wider organism, the vets are shipped off much earlier, and the core of next cycle is brought through. No missing out on the JGPs or Aki’s, no the Antonio’s or young Patrick Tuifua’s to france, keeping the Chandler Cunningham-South’s or Roots brothers, evan this Dubious guy from the French team was playing rugby here in NZ and could have stayed with a more ground up focus on bringing players through, not paying them much etc lol
45 Go to commentsHe is still diving. Have you heard from him? Let RA know.
47 Go to commentsPathetic clickbait article from pathetic RP…..
46 Go to commentsI would love that, as long as we got to see the other players in different teams.
That’s what I like abuot the tour setup next year. I think there are too many games assigned to the ABs for it to happen though, but only haven’t a jersey awarded to the best available player again would be epic imo.
102 Go to comments