George Smith a must for the Lions

Smith is past it and wouldn't be able to live with Warburton and Tipuric

Very nice, part from the Tahs bit. :)

Touche' :-)

Firstly thanks for your time to reply. You are no doubt correct could and should tone it down a little :-). My frustration isn't really at the hype around GS, but a comment on David implying people are twiddling their thumbs on this. It is in my opinion a rant, because it does not consider this. Consequently it comes across to me as unbalanced. Further, it is a personal opinion and demanding, without having to account for the decisions which need to be considered before any such steps can be taken. So it seems like preaching which I where my comment regarding ego comes from. Personally I think GS is a champion as does everyone else and he has possibly been the best number 7 Australia has produced. He is without doubt the best I have seen. But I saying that, I really do want to see Australian rugby set up to begin a real legacy and I think they do look like they are building to this. Nor do I necessarily see it as being an issue having GS play. I personally would just like to have seen a more balanced and insightful approach with regards to the article David submitted. I am also frustrated that we hype up some things which will be sorted by the wise men of our beloved sport and yet sports writers appear to do nothing to create a groundswell of support to ensure we have better coverage and development of the sport in places like WA and Melbourne. I just think sometimes passion could be better directed than at coaches and the ARU for perceived inefficiencies. For real ones no problem. It's a great sport which when people are switched on to it and players are performing is an absolute joy. Go the Tahs :)... not really a Tahs supporter, but as the perennial underdogs I am giving them my support at the minute :-) Hope that was a bit more chilled.

Sorry but I don't agree with that

Believe I already have on a previous article and above particularly regarding form vs selection. You obviously disagree but that's OK. In regard to explanations, the need for "David, in short your self righteous borderline fanatical rant is absolute rubbish" ? Really? And then you accuse him of "an ego driven rant". Them's very strong words, ignoring any irony. I respect you have a different opinion and the GS talk is apparently infuriating you but maybe put down the sledge and pick up the claw hammer.

Out of this I get some fans just care about the next game of footy and if it all turns to custard after that so be it. If you look at trying to attract viewers to the series and converts to the game, this is a pretty valid argument and as I started with is why Deans and White would not be sitting on their hands regardless what David might intimate. Coaches know the next game or series is what truly matters. Great teams win consistently all the time, not in patches. The counter argument to ensuring the development of a team and retaining tomorrows stars is also a valid point. And finally the rules to encourage players to be playing in the local competition is also an important one. In all I have faith on the system to provide the best outcome. The only odd ball things are: 1. HT's dislike for Palu, who I personally think can stand up to tough opposition. His game against England last year was as good as I've seen from a number 8 in a while. No-one else in Australia is close. He made an impact from the moment he came back. All the a deans haters went embarrassingly silent after being highly vocal beforehand. 2. Biltong talks way too much for a prop and more worryingly with a degree of intelligence. 3. I found myself in agreement with Sage (who is more green than wise:-)) after we have been throwing disparaging comments at one another over the week. 4. The fact Gill who is the future is not getting an ARU contract.... WTF. The fact some idiots think this is Deans decision. 5. Did I say Gill... WTF 6 Damn Pocock for getting injured. This was meant to be the year the upstarts and pretenders (like Gill) made their presence known, which they will... but I wanted to see a fight which raised the intensity and the whole team fed off it...next year I hope.

Loved watching GS play and have a great amount of respect for the player THREE YEARS AGO! Cmon there is no-one else out there younger and fitter?If the Aussie team want to look toward the next RWC it is time to blood the new players.So the lions defeat the Aussies, So What! the ultimate prize is the RWC. The lions series will be an excellent learning experience for the newbys and they might even surprise with a series win.The lions management are on to Smiths style of play and Gatland I have no doubt will be hoping he is chosen.

HT, you keep saying Palu is not a great 8, & is the worst 8 in the top 10 nations? But you haven't answered my question as to why? Could I assume that you don't know why? Or is it that stereotypical view that he is a Pacific Islander & he doesn't have the engine to go 80 mins? Palu IMHO is the most underrated player in Australia because of armchair critics like yourself who don't rate him for whatever reason. Australia's most capped Lock, a legend in Nathan Sharpe Said this about Palu "He reminds me of Toutai Kefu ... they're the two best number eights I've played with,". Retired Waratahs lock Dan Vickerman. Who believed that "Palu was the heart & soul of the Tahs" & rated Palu as "one of the best team players his ever played with". There just some opinions of some PLAYERS who have played with Palu at super & test level. But What do they know right HT.!?

Well said CB2, if you had a hypothetical crystal ball that said "Poe injured, Gill and hoops not experienced enough/or got injured, you will lose the lions series without GS" I would wonder how many people would say "no let the new guys have a go, they have waited their turn" I just don't get it, its a Lions series, once in 12 years, that's 3 RWC's... I don't care about the feelings and futures of some players based on 3 games that come around every 12 years. Recruit the best, cover all possibilities and embrace the blokes that have the experience. Do what ever it takes to win!!! Too many people here deny what value experience is equal to. How many games between the two of them have Hooper and Gill played against Wales and England? If Poe wasn't injured, sure he has experience and the backup of Hooper and Gill but he is injured!!! No one is saying Hoops and Gill arnt good enough, the difference in the end is experience. For as much depth there is in Aussie 7's there is a void in experience. Let not forget that people are selecting Gill on this seasons form only so applying the same logic GS should qualify.

HT, pre-season Roar critics pointed to old legs and the pace of the game being too fast for a mercenary / semi-retired GS. Then with 65 odd minutes of first game brilliance it was "only one good game". Then it was "only two good games". Then "only three good games". If any other Australian forward played with the consistency, involvement and impact of GS, they would be lauded - yet ever decreasing rumblings of form are now being overtaken by mind-numbing arguements of rugby bureaucracy. In the rarified air of a 110 test career - a sensible rule can be made that won't spark the mass exodus of all our elite players and cripple Australian rugby. I think Pocock (now unavailable), Gill and Hooper are all outstanding and we are blessed to have this talent at our disposal. I can accept an arguement based upon their need for this rugby rite of passage. They are our future. For my part, I believe in the present, "what's best for Australian Rugby", would be a Lions series win. If that was my key criteria, much as David said, get George Smith.

Who knows but Palu played and no Palu isnt a great 8 and is one of the worst in the top 10 sides. I would rank Lobbe, Picamoles, Read, Vito, Heaslip, Morgan, Felatau, Harinordguoy, Beattie, Brown, Spies and Parrisse higher but thats my opinion. I would guess that by the end of the year he will be 2nd choice. Forwards win the ball, backs use the ball. Dont underestimate kicking from hand, kicking for goal, scoring tries, defending kicks, pace and being elusive. Every member is valuable but imo the most important position is a goal kicking 10. The forwards win the ball and pretty much give it to him and he dictates soooo much of the play, the linebreaks, the points scored, the territory etc. Too much revolves around that 1 player imo to consider any player more important. Tightheads are important....for scrums and....well mainly scrums and all the forwards play their role as do all the backs but for me the 10 is the pivot on which a team revolves. Dont be confused between necessity and importance. You need forwards to win the ball but that does not mean that they are more important becuz you need both to make a good team. Who was more important for the great English side of 2001-2003, Wilkinson or any 1 particular forward?

HT in what way is Palu not a great 8? & to be fair if you played 15 forwards against 15 backs in rugby, forwards win hands down every day..!! Scrums,rucks & mauls, lineouts.etc On the spring tour Australia lost one game against France you think if genia played you think the WB would of won??

Yes the rules are there to serve Australian rugby and yes you have again failed to acknowledge why but instead say they should be broken. The rules are for a reason, thats how they serve Australian rugby, by staying intact and meaning that you must play in Australia to be a Wallaby. Australia DOES have great depth at 7 and no other country in the world has the personel that Australia does at 7 imo. Australia has 3, yes they do, 3 outstanding 7s. Now the issue is, do they need to bring Smith out of retirement to make it 4? No. Does it serve Australian rugby more to break the rules to bring in a player they dont need or does it serve Australian rugby more to keep the laws intact?

Why do I assume they would have to change the rules? Becuz under the rules he isnt allowed to play for Australia. So they either need to make an exception (set a precedent) or change the laws. Either way they are breaking and eroding the laws. Does Australia value keeping their veterans in Australia or should they encourage them to leave? Will it be 100 games, then 90, then 30, then none? To be honest Im a bit in 2 minds, do I want G.Smith to play or do I want Gill or Hooper to play? I dont care and its too early to tell which is the better option.

A tolerance for losing? Do me a favor and tell me which teams in the top 10 won more than Aust in 2012? NZ and......NOBODY. Australia is won (% & number of games) just as much or more than 8 of the top 10. So before you get all down on your own team for doing extremely well under the circumstances, perhaps you should get some perspective. THE ONLY TEAM THAT WON MORE THAN AUST IN 2012 WAS NZ and they are #1.

Did someone say G.Smith was past it? Also on form you would pick him...if he was eligible, which he isnt & if the series was tomorrow, which it isnt. Yes hes played well for 3 games this year, to pretend he is a must after that is extreme dont you think? Or is 3 games enough? Should Deans have picked his team for the Lions 2 weeks ago? Yes Smith has played 100 games but what exactly does that mean? Wasnt Pocock starting to be preferred 4 years ago? Did they not know about the 100 games then? Everybody needs to calm down and think, Smith is not eligible, 7 is where Australia has the most depth, are the rules better broken or intact? & is the Lions series tomorrow or in 3 months?

... 3rd best? Palu imo is not even that important and is not a great 8. To suggest that he is more important than the worlds best 9 when last year Australia struggled without him is just wrong. To say that a half needs a forward pack to operate is naive in that a team needs a half too. A forward pack wins the ball for the most part and the backline uses or scores for the most part. You need both. As Ive said before, you put a team of 15 forwards up against my team of 8 forwarfs and 7 backs, then we will see if backs are less important.

Well we will have to disagree. In 2011 Australia must have beaten NZ becuz they had a superior forward pack. Or maybe it doesnt work that way. I wonder if a back has ever won a game? Do you really think that every time a team wins its becuz the forwards were better and every forward is more important than every back? But your right, Genia is known as the best half in the world becuz of the powerful packs he is behind. The Wallabies and Reds dominate everyone dont they? The Wallabies are 3rd in the world, is their pack

Didn't GS win MOTM on his 21st birthday against the Lions?