Six new faces and an old favourite in Wallabies' Bledisloe Cup squad

And considering that my opinion was that Thorn was foolish to just discard Cooper for 2018 without any experienced alternative, no you won't change my mind. As it was a huge gamble. Lance becoming available due to factors outside his control saved his bacon a little. But it still doesn't change that will a pack able to provide a better attacking platform we were not able to improve our attack with him, nor our defence. That's before we consider absolutely inept performances like vs the Sunwolves and the Blues.

It's easy to risk somebody else's income when it's not going to hurt your bank account isn't it bud? Funny how NZ rugby works with players to get the best out of them. People like you love just casting adrift players with irreplacable skill rather than even trying to develop them further.

I don't know but he's not training in a full time professional environment. The only access to rugby coaching he has is at an amatuer team. You reckon being paid not to work is more of a factor than being coached, training with other full time professionals and part of an actual elite structure? By your logic basically every uni student should be a gun player by virture of not being as committed with work. Where your logic falls down is training with and around other elite players is what refines skills. And Quade is being denied that by the Reds.

Don't need to get past any paywalls to see whats published on rugby.com.au and promoted on multiple social media platforms http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2018/08/05/one-percenters-august-5 I don't even read rugby.com.au regularly but saw it on twitter.

It's not being a snob. It's poking the holes in your argument. If that's what Thorn was doing. I contend that either Thorn is an idiot, or that's not what he was doing... You decide... Thorn hasn't made a case for why he shouldn't show consideration. He's just said he felt he didn't play well enough the year before, ignored that on that metric nobody did and decided that he would just be not considered. There isnt obviously an issue with anything. You'd just stated there is. Again. People of power/importance have jumped up and down. You just choose to ignore it. In the same article where Martin mentioned a past anecdote of Quade, he advocates for him. Horan has too. Cooper was tearing up the competition. Souths were too. He also missed about 6 weeks with injury and since he's come back the team has been weaker with injuries, and he's possibly been weaker too.

"dislike people saying rumours for fact" And who's done that? Both the rumours above about Sean Mc and Tui are stated as just that, rumours

You need to get in early before the flood. Speight is off to Ulster till NYE. With Super Rugby finishing earlier next year and if he doesn't make the mid year test squads I can see him looking for a longer deal. He is at the age where he needs to consider it. Unlike other RWC windows I can't see many AB wingers looking for deals due to their age profile and players already left like Savea and Lowe.

I have never seen it work long term as it means the opposition have worked it out and also know that one player will be out of position. Eddie did it with George Smith to get Phil Waugh in the starting side and to make things worse he had Lyons at 8 who wasn't a noted lineout jumper.

as i have said before and numerous people who think the same.. your professional career is short.. the window for making the top grade is limited.. the guy had an ideal opportunity to prove thorn and the board wrong buy going to the brumbies or rebels and ripping it up and getting his place back.. he takes a paycut of 300k on the year for example.. no idea of his real salary or sponsorship.. but the upside is huge.. great contract the following year.. world cup position.. then can go off to japan for huge money in 2020.. but no, the guy sticks at the chipsy on his 'mission impossible'.. not many professional players in the same position with such talent at that stage of his career would be doing that.. doesn't mean he is not with his right to do what he has done. of course he is.. people use this as reference to a normal working career etc.. if my company did this etc i would stay.. your work career isn't going to be stopping in 5 years though.. hence that argument loses all relevance. i repeat, he is completely in his rights to do it, but there is not much logic to it.. and i am not sure how i would feel if i was a player in that qld squad and can't get a pay rise due to there being 600k playing club footie.. i won't change your opinion on cooper that is evident... that is fine..j i am just trying to bring a balance to the rhetoric that gets bandied around here as fact and reality.. like i do with foley.. not everyone agrees.. but i just try to put some reality into what actually happens.. not just the bias against x, y and z..

If Thorn doesn’t want to have a go at him in public then he isn’t very bright, because that’s exactly what Thorn has done. Publicly come out and criticised him. He immediately reduced Quade’s value when’s he said he was unwanted. i don't know thorn but i am sure he is a bright guy.. very successful so far in his careers.. very snobby of u as per usual.. He has a contract. He’s been banished from the premises to try and push him out. How is that treated fairly ? He isn’t owed selection. But he is owed consideration. why? if the coach has made his case to the board justifying why he doesn't want him in the squad. why should he show consideration. there is obviously an issue with attitude/arrogance.. even one of his greatest supporters greg martin came out and alluded to it.. brisbane is a small place.. nobody there of power/importance is jumping up and down for him to be in the team.. why is that? neither in the aru for that matter.. as for souths.. all i have read from the usual suspects on this site and gagr is that he has been tearing up the club scene and making souths an unbeatable machine.. reality set in over the past few weeks.. more losses than wins.. this is not on cooper's shoulders in my opinion.. just disproves the naarative that cooper was making all the play and brilliantly tearing it up.. all i am asking for a fair and balanced view of the situations.. sometimes on here it is really like watching fox news re trump/democrats.. so far removed from reality that people are blinkered..

sometimes u r just a door handle.. you said he is not a fulltime professional rugby player.. what is he then?

don't have access to oz papers per se.. paywalls in action there.. haven't seen anyone referencing a paper when i read the article on the gagr or rugbuy.com.au or the comments sections.. maybe it was there, but i can't remember seeing it..

not a case of disliking rumours.. dislike people saying rumours for fact. just to seem more 'in touch or relevant' so to speak.. more a case of let's wait and see some facts.. not discrediting your mates in france.. but there is always going to be agents scouting out options for players.. especially fringe players before a wc year... the year after the market gets flooded with a lot of quality players who want the overseas retirement fund..

Duncan P outperformed him absolutely. Change them 10 inside Duncan and he’s struggled to have the same impact in 2018... Funny that... If Thorn doesn’t want to have a go at him in public then he isn’t very bright, because that’s exactly what Thorn has done. Publicly come out and criticised him. He immediately reduced Quade’s value when’s he said he was unwanted. He has a contract. He’s been banished from the premises to try and push him out. How is that treated fairly ? He isn’t owed selection. But he is owed consideration. Never said he is amazing nor playing brilliantly. Always said the fact was we did not have an adequate replacement and haven’t had one that is any better at 10 yet. Not sure how he was “disinterested”. Not even sure what that means. He was popping up at 9 when short and making cover tackles in D. Whenever the Easts key 12 straightened he seemed to want to be there to stop him. What did he need to do to be interested? Off the back of a stronger pack our attack was no better. Likewise our defence. I don’t doubt the GPS/UQ game was a higher standard. UQ had Super Rugby players on the bench while Souths were missing Sunia the regular 8, Teti Tela, a number of their regular backs and their front row depth was tested with injuries. It was also 1 vs 2 as opposed to 3vs 4.

Why do clubs even need coaches then? Surely the senior players know how to train and can just lead it? That’s before even consider the fact that training with better players refines your skills better. He doesn’t have the resources to create a professional team environment around him. If you were disappointed by him I can’t imagine how you must feel about Wright and Gunn who have been training in the professional setup all season and were anonymous in a game where their pack was on top. I think Farrell even outplayed them both.

Riddler, a few post up you were soliciting rumours. I guess you didn't like the sound of those provided. For what it's worth I played rugby in Pau in the early 90's and still have a few contacts there. One of them is a players manager agent. He basically acts as in intermediary between players managers and the top 14 teams. He told me he's seen a few high profile Reds/Wallabies CV's over the last few weeks. He would not give specifics but did say they were capped Wallabies? None of this is unusual for this time of year but it does suggest there might be some unwanted attrition.

Nah, Riddler, it in the paper a few days ago that Kerevi is apparently in talks with the Brumbies.

overall summary is if the standard was that bad, as it was.. more of a chance for him to stand out.. he didn't take on the line.. he didn't control the direction of the game.. as for your 7 in 27mins.. that could be equally as laughable.. i saw 2 that i remember.. if there were more, excellent.. i am not saying he only made 2.. i definitely saw 3 misses.. 7 tackles completed in first 27 minutes.. well let's go to the videotape!! ;) the kick did go dead. big berror by him.. whether it was from the kick off or a box kick, i need to rewatch as the boss was rabbiting on about her previous night out.. remember europe is about 8 hours behind you guys.. at the end though twas the point is this.. he didn't pull up stick last year in the super season.. nor in the nrc, go back and read the reviews of the games.. duncan p outperformed him there.. and now in a semi-final of fairly average standards, he again didn't stand out, let alone have a good game.. as i said before the gps/students game before was of a much higher standard.. the narrative for people like yourself and a few others is that he is this amazing player, playing brilliantly that is being treated so badly. he was amazing 7/8 years ago. brilliant, freaky and inspired.. now he is not.. he is not playing brilliantly, he looked disinterested in the game on the weekend.. he could have had a field day with taking some of those return kicks.. so much space against some average, slow defenders.. and as for treated unfairly.. maybe just maybe thorn is being quiet because he doesn't want to have a go at the guy in public for whatever he has or hasn't done.. realising that it might not be good for him to get another contract somewhere else.. but neither u or i know the facts or the reality.. all we can see is what is on the pitch.. on a side note.. hope the gallopers do the tigers.. and then the rematch with uq.. c'mon the mighty gallopers!!

what is he then? he is not labouring or doing another job in his day is he? he has been a professional player for 13 years.. i think he would know by now how to train and improve. he also has the resources to enlist people to help with his training which i am sure he is doing..

heard/read about it on the gagr or here is not fact.. lets just wait and see what transpires.. i know a number of people can't wait for thorn to fail.. glad that i never had guys like these as my team-mates or mates..