Cheers Dingo
Been enjoying the games so far!
Mahomes feels a little inevetiable this year doesn’t he? All the talk around Lamar and Allen, meanwhile Mahomes and the Chiefs keep trucking.

Think you’re proving Ed’s point here SB.
Why not Lancaster? Is that based on 2015? Or the body of work he’s done since then. Lancaster had Leinster playing some incredible phase play attacking rugby. So much so that Leinster fans are unhappy with the style of winning this season under Jacque Nienabar.
If RA can’t flat out pay for the big name, they need to be clever and higher the person before they become unaffordable. So Noel McNamara…

I still think JS will extend his time but appears Kiss is the name to watch.
As I wrote an earlier piece outlining why I’d like to see the current SR head coaches stay put, I didn’t include them here

Yeah great point Ed.
However, who wouldn’t fans give out about? Joe Schmidt was arguably over qualified to take on the Wallabies job but he saw the potential, yet fans still were unhappy he was a NZer.
But I do agree Lancaster would be a harder sell but I think he would be excellent with this crop of players.

Think DMcK need a big year at the Waratahs before he’s back in contention with the wallabies. Brad Thorn is an interesting name but I think he needs more experience. He could have been someone to come in post Eddie Jones to steady the ship as he did with the reds but now mightn’t be the right time for him.

Could Brad Thorn make a return to Ireland… Munster are searching for a head coach?

Amatosero has even been on the wallabies radar in training camps. I think they would have loved to land one of the rebels however, McKellar does have a great track record of developing forwards. Hopefully he brings this unknown crop on

Ooof
34 is the new 40 apparently!

I get your point but I think with the Crusaders fly halves being so young, JOC is a good guy to bring in as a bridge ten and provide some mentorship until they’re ready.

Great point Jeznez
The locking stocks in NSW do look a little light, which is a missed opportunity considering the players who became available post Rebels. But very astute by QLD, can never have too much talent in such a key position.

Hi Baz
I’m not trying to move the goalposts here,l or be overly critical because the list you’ve done out there is extensive and does make for a good cv.
But it’s possible to look at those seasons and come back with a different view.
For example, Smashed by the jaguares in SR 2019. A good year but the manner of the loss would have been tough for the organisation.
SR AU beat a young reds team in the final and lost to them the following year. Going backwards ?
The 5 games in a row for the wallabies is interesting. Initially I was going to say, in the middle of a World Cup cycle and SA experiment so much, but I’ve gone back and looked at SAs XV and they were bloody good sides. But he was involved with Rennie who had a below pass rate as wallabies coach. And I don’t think his stint with Leicester did him any favours, that team had just won a premiership.

The list of players you’ve written out though, is spot on, you’re right. Developed some terrific talent and was the most successful AU franchise.

So I absolutely take your points on board but I do think there is another side to the story with those points, which makes his new job with NSW really important

Faessler making his debut, Nonggorr’s involvement increased, LSL will be a red next year, Wilson made captain, Tate McDermott biggest impact player in the team, paisami and flook in the opening tests. Uru v South Africa and Scotland.

I hardly think they’re being overlooked.

I did think one of the the likes of Angus Blythe or Ryan smith would be involved because they’re workhorses and Schmidt valued that in Ireland but the pairing of Williams and frost has been one of the finds of the year.

I get your points. But I don’t think it’s RA’s job to manage Kiss.
He’s an experienced veteran coach, he’s not part of their homegrown developed talent. So I think they need to be more concerned with the state of their franchise than LKs professional development.

Also McKellar is a great example of what earmarking a young coach can do. He was dubbed time and again as the heir apparent to Dave Rennie and he hasn’t earned it yet.

Kiss is only going into year two of a 3 year deal. I think it’s very easy to jump the gun. If kiss gets offers from abroad then it means he’s continued to deliver and 3 years of continuity at the Reds will be worth its weight in gold. It’s not 3 years wasted if he leaves in 2026

Sorry I agree with you, Schmidt if he leaves was the stop gap, they don’t need another one. The next coach should get a 2 year deal to the RWC and if deserving should negotiate again.
I agree that Gatland has brought wales to semi finals consistently. Something Ireland have never done. But his record is on the downward trend, not just with this terrible wales team but going back as far as when he took over the chief. Clayton McMillan brought them to the playoffs in his first year post Gatland year.
Also, RA are obsessed with style of play and Gatland is famous for his Warrenball gameplan.

This… is definitely a name to keep an eye on.
O’Gara’s setup in La Rochelle is second to none and I think there are very few organisations who could afford the price tag to get him released

Kiss is the head coach of a SR franchise, littered with wallabies and has the backing to sign players he feels fit his vision. Why are we looking at it through the lense that he’s being stifled or sandbagged if he’s not given the national gig ?

Why does it necessarily need to be an Australian coach?
Les Kiss has spent most of his career outside of Aus. So while he’s an Aussie through and through, it’s not like you’re rewarding a career of contributions to Australia by making him wallabies coach.
And if the reds score some good tries in the regular season and crash out in the first knockout game, do we still think Kiss should get the top job?
FYI I like Kiss and really enjoyed the reds approach and execution this year l.

All good points Doctordbx
However
I think you’re doing a disservice to just how bad Australia were at the end of the World Cup. Eddie Jones set this team back years, put the union in an even deeper financial hole and the mood from supporters was on the floor.
I’m not sure there was anyone at the time of asking, who could have done what Schmidt has.

Because hiring Kiss creates more work for RA, they need to hire another coach. They’re looking to hire for the wallabies not for the reds and kiss is doing an excellent job getting key players ready to play at international level.
Dave Rennie was spending so much time on conditioning players when they came in from SR. Look at the guys coming from the Reds now. Harry Wilson has taken his game to the next level. Faessler is test ready, McReight often criticised for being undersized came back this year ready to play.
There are coaches out there, let the likes of Kiss help the next coach.

Wow
What a totally left field selection.
I think Gatland would only become available if he was let go by the WRU. We all know how it worked out for the Wallabies the last time they hired a coach who was sacked by another major union… I think we should just leave it there.

Also, who says they need a stop gap, arguably that’s that Schmidt has done, he’s stopped the rot and transformed this team in the space of one year. The next hire will have two years to build before the next World Cup, that’s plenty of time to put your imprint on a squad.

I think RA need to be a lot more savvy than just hiring a “big name”.

First of all Two Cents, bravo !

I agree Wainwright could be in the squad and for a four nations team, if you want a welsh guy in there, he’s the man. I went you Ritchie just because he has the edge in him, he’s mean.

I think you’re right about France. I couldn’t get over the amount of pundits who overlooked his absence from the French team earlier this year when analysing Frances six nations. He really is as good as we think he is!
I also think if Italy were involved, Tommaso Menoncello would give Tuipolotu a run for his money at inside centre.

I do think Tuipolotu is the front runner at the moment though. Bundee Aki is world class and a lions tour might be the perfect way to sign off his international career with rumours of top14 in the air. I do think Farrell will like ST thought, his energy on and off the field feels one of a kind.

ST vs the Wallabies midfield will make for a good talking point in the buildup too!

I think Jac Morgan is also the next man up after Josh van fee Flier at open side. But I personally don’t think all four nations need to be represented in the matchday team.

Funnily, the way you described Marcus Smith, is exactly how I would describe Finn Russell.
He is the opposite of what you want at 10 in a 3 match series. He’s incapable of playing consistently in clutch games week to week to week. One performance? Absolutely. But isn’t the man to steer the ship for the tests. Midweek games for a bit of spark. He’s played for some flashy teams, he’s secured the bag in bath and racing but he’s never won anything and with his well documents problems with coaches I wouldn’t want him anywhere near my team with something actually on the line.

The NFL is just so fixated on “reps” and pedigree, players’ high schools are mentioned in scouting reports. It’s also built on it being “the most difficult sport” and if someone like Louis Reese Zammit or Jordan Petaia can come in and make a roster, it undermines the journey and product they’ve been selling year round between college and nfl season. So until all these billionaires own the international pathways too, why would they hurt their own stable?

I’m not 100% on MJs injury history although I do remember him suffering a pretty bad one a year or so ago.
I think Joe Schmidt touched on this addressing some of his knocks, deciding to spring him from the bench instead. He’s still fit, so we’re putting him on the bench, but they were recognising he’d taken a lot of hits and less minutes off the bench should mean less hits metres run tackles etc.
Jorgensen’s appearances for the Wallabies this year: 23, 23, 14, 23, 11, 23 and 11 shirt. And averaged 40 mins during November, they’re conscious of MJ

That’s great Two Cents thanks.
I was thinking of Antonine Frisch who had been playing with Munster and went on the emerging Ireland tour, he later went on to be capped by France but good to know for sure re. Australia A

I don’t think the NFL is going to be a legitimate option for players to be lured away from Union.
This international players pathway is still new, so it’s a flashy option but over time we’ll see guys fade out of practice squads and rosters to the point where it’s not really viable.
Goalkeepers who played Gaelic Games in Ireland, kicking long range free kicks in front of 80,000 people in knockout games at Croke Park can’t even make NFL teams as kickers, which is just insane.

The NFL is a self perpetuating league, by saying how hard it is. If guys from Ireland, Germany or Australia can suddenly make teams, they undermine their own product and the importance of the college and the draft. It’s against their interests to let these international guys be a success.

Thank you Jordan, appreciate it. Really enjoy your pieces on the back end of the sport, the business and management side of it.

I agree the blame can’t be laid on anyone entirely. Injuries are part and parcel of the game. But RA are responsible for the pathways for the academy or lack thereof.
These big fixtures are already in the calendar, the organisation should know ideally when they want X U20 group to be capped during Y World Cup or RC and build that way.

I suppose the counter argument to my point is, Petaia came through at the Reds and Brad Thorn backed and relied on youth across the board so age isn’t necessarily a blanket factor. But the condition of the players at their age is important. There’s a difference between SR and the Wallabies and Petaia was getting injured at SR level, even trainings at SR level.

Agreed. Eddie Jones’s hiring was a symptom not a cause. I mean he did cause serious knock on effects but he never should have been brought in in the first place. It’s very important that Schmidt stays on for his professionalism alone. If not, his experience moulding Irish right alongside David Nucifora means he should be involved in the succession plan.