Horwill wants to play Lions

I think 2 weeks is best but who knows. Im not so sure players need to be playing. Maybe forming combinations and creating a tight Wallabies is more of a benifit than playing in a diff team with diff combinations. The ideal prep would be playing for the Wallabies. The 2nd best prep would be training with the Wallabies imo. I wonder if Deans has thrown 3 weeks out there but is really only after 2 in an attempt to haggle with the clubs.

It proves that there is no more risk for them playing a match for their contracted state against the Lions. They aren't learning anything by being in the Wallabies camp so why not play a game of Rugby. Deans is happy to let them play park Rugby on rubbish pitches that have little grass on them by why not against the Lions?

let's just hope horwill has adjusted his stance at the breakdown. If not, he won't last long enough to worry about the Lions!

Players need too play.. Its as simple as that!! Each individual player should be managed throughout the season.

I'll copy my comment over to there NOS - looks a more appropriate place for it.

Oh we finally know! Was just writing on the Barnes article that the presence of Hooper might have positive influence on his fellow back rowers, was mentioning Palu as my captain of choice, but Dennis fits the bill too. Agree with you jez that Dennis isnt the type of player who gets stuck in and clean rucks no matter what but playing alongside young bloke like Hooper might galvanise him and bring the best out of him. I really think Hooper in the forwards and maybe Folau in the backs can bring a lot of positive energy to the team. Dennis it is then.

While Dennis was injured a while back, he was coaching, and apparently did a good job of it. I suspect that kind of ability to think about the game is what got him into the captaincy. Also, he's a good guy and no penalty magnet, so his standing with the referees should be good. Contrast with Waugh, for whom everything was a fight, even talking to the referees. I think Dennis will be able to be the respectful guy that gives a veneer of decency, ala Richie and the hard nosed AB pack.

I know it is off topic but did anyone else see Dennis has been named Tahs captain? I can understand the thinking with him being an 80 minute player, 2012 Waratahs Player's Player, he is a thinker about the game as shown by his coaching during injury and he looks to have the respect of his teammates. Hopefully he is on board with Cheika and gets them all as fit as he is. I have a concern that if we are lucky enough to have Palu go injury free and if Lopeti Timani develops this year then Dennis may struggle to command his place - will be interested to see what Cheika does if that arises. Maybe a Robbie Deans style switch to lock if Douglas or Sitaleki aren't performing? http://www.nswrugby.com.au/NSWRugby/News/NewsArticle/tabid/374/ArticleID/8338/Default.aspx My other concern is that Cheika has been talking about the team having more 'dog' in them, a hard nosed edge about their play that is a bit rougher and gets stuck in harder. Dennis isn't really that type of player and I wonder how he will drive that style of play without embodying it himself. To be fair Waugh was absolutely that kind of player and the team regressed in his later years so maybe the style of the captain isn't the critical requirement but you'd think it would help.

totally agree, see my post below.

No real issue that Wallabies are rest from provincial games against the Lions. However what is very poor is that the players are in camp and do not play for 3 weeks. Training in camp is NO substitute for games. They should not be allowed to play for their province 1 week before, the first 2 weeks they should be in camp but let out to play the weekend game for their province. This way they play games and miss minimal time away from camp. This is a genuine win/win. It is so obvious I do not know what all the fuss is about. Just an ego contest I suspect that neither party will compromise.

A three week layoff coming into a test against the best of the home nations who have had a 4 moderate warm up games to get match fit is going to be disaster.

yeah, and aping the AB's by appointing a Kiwi coach has proved such a winning strategy. The ARU should stay out of the way.

Thank you for confirming 18,000, coincidently the capacity of Ballymore. I'm sure if it was bigger they would have had a bigger crowd. And the score was 42-8. More likely to get injured in Super rugby and Wallabies training camp, ow else are they going to get injured?

This sounds sensible to me. Assess things on an individual basis, however, an official line that all players must be rested might work best and then a few exceptions can be made at the right time. Otherwise it could open the flood gates to players/coaches demanding that they be allowed to play. On the Wallabies v States argument, surely what the Wallabies say should go and the States should fall into line. Could you picture it any other way over the ditch? The AB's coach's words is chiselled in stone and read from a mountain top. No dissention.

But three weeks??

The Lions beat Queensland 43-6 in 2001 in front of 18,000 fans. It was a weak Qld side and the Reds were doing well back then too. Their full strength side was much better then the Reds side that won the Super 15 in 2011. The Wallabies players are more likely going to get injured playing Super Rugby and in training at Wallabies camp, which is what happened last year.

So you don't admire a bunch of amateurs of NSW country having a go at fully fledged internationals? Admittedly they didn't come close to winning, but it wasn't one way traffic. Lions were hardly well behaved either with two in the bin. My point is, the Waratahs, NSW Country and Brumbies stuck it to the Lions and gave it a crack which made for entertaining rugby. The Wallabies are going to struggle enough as it is beating them, so to put the province game as preferential is ludicrous. Can anyone recall how many people went and watched the Reds last time the Lions were here? I'm sure majority of people could remember who won the Series ahead of the crowd figures for a provincial game. I would be extremely surprised if Suncorp is not near capacity regardless of who is their line up, given the majority will be Lions supporters anyway,

''Priority should be Wallabies, end of argument. Twelve years ago when the Lions toured, franchises played the Lions with Wallaby depleted outfits, and the games were crackers'' No they weren't. The Brumbies and the Aus A matches were the only good games. The Waratahs were disgraceful against the Lions particularly Bob Dwyer and Duncan McRae in their behaviour. Bowman got carded in the first 10 seconds of the match. Maybe if the Tahs concentrated on playing Rugby that night they would of got closer to the Lions. The Reds match was just an opposed training session for the Lions. I can understand the Queensland position as they want to fill Suncorp for the match. Their union is on a roll and they know that they don't have the depth in reserve players to beat the Lions (you only have to look at their results when they had a load of injuries last season).

Horwill is right. Some players will benefit from being rested, others will benefit from match time. I think assess it on an individual basis.

Agree a warm up Test would have made sense. Samoa would be after another upset while Fiji hasn't been here for a while. Japan?