Western Force vs World XV: Rapid Rugby Showcase live scores, blog

Ok. So 1 - you agree they weren’t fat and away the best team. And secondly, sure it looks a lot like them except for: JP Smith BPA Taniela Tupou Izack Rodda Lukhan Sakaila-Loto George Smith Scott Higginbotham Jono Lance Samu Kerevi Aiden Toua Once you remove 10 regular first choice starters it’s hard to say it looks a lot like the current Reds. Nobody is saying the games aren’t a decent standard, but when you are saying players who aren’t even standing out in these games should be in Wallaby discussions, that’s just getting silly

Ready was playing well and was a genuine contender until he was displaced by Steven Moore who transferred to the Reds for his retirement year. Ready reacted poorly, got on the booze, got out of shape and I think he may have found his way into Carmichael Hunt's Kit bag. I am hoping he can find his way back.

1. They finished 3rd on the ladder, beaten in a close semi to a Queensland country side that looks a lot like the current Reds. 2. The reserve roster was made up of a number of grade players. Their second half tended to fall apart.

Well why wasn’t the Force far and away the best team in the NRC? Hard to argue that the Force games are considerably different to NRC standard given that.

I disagree, From my seat at the games, the intensity last year was on par with the other Australian SR sides. The world XV provided a formidable opposition last friday. I think they said that the players had something in the order of 225 caps between them. This experienced showed, and with some more time together as a team, they will be hard for many teams to beat

In my opinion MacGreogor is a great future prospect. I think he has a D-Mac feel about him. I have a distinct memory of him (10) and Maddocks (15) Make a mess of Perth Spirit a few years back. I flagged both of them as players to watch for the future. Wallaby grade, no, not yet, but not too far away. His talent needs to be recognized, acknowledged and nurtured, I am sure the NH and Japanese scouts will already have his name on their wish lists. I am not sure what agenda is in the barrow that TWAS is pushing, but I believe he is at least a worthy of SR, even if it is a bench utility. Rebels have (will have) depth at both 10 and 15, it is no surprise he wasn't going to get a run. As to Deegan, He is my pick of the 10's in Australia right now. That said, I acknowlege that the bar is pretty low, "QB" Cooper doesn't seem to be offering much in the way of defense, Foley, in my opinion is the default "least Worst" choice. If you have only ever watched the 4 minute highlights pack I can understand why some might not see his skills, but for anyone watching the Force games, Deegan has demonstrates a full bag of tricks some commensurate defensive skills and a wise head from the #10 spot. I have only seen highlights from the Reds games but I get a sense that Hegarty and Stewart sharing the 10/15 duties serves them well. Now that he has freed himself from the shadows at the Tahs, Hegarty looks like he is putting his hand up as a contender too.

Yes I agree your post is better than mine ...... and has more drool on it too :)

Well done to the Western Rejects on defeating the World ‘who the hell is he’ XV. Looking forward to a real cliffhanger against Hong Kong. I hear the winner will play Nauru ????????

Wow what an insighful well thought out post waxhead. Keep them coming. (Maybe wipe the drool of your keyboad first though).

Hasn’t been as much adverting for this years game as last year so crowd was fairly good turn out

I think it’s a bit of a blight on Ready that he’s not the out and out best hooker they have. He’s young with good SR experience. Has the talent to play well at SR level and he’s on the bench at the Force. I doubt the Force have him on the bench because he came in and trained the house down.

Yes and he’s become a decent and consistent NRC level player now. That’s a long way from Wallaby discussions. SR is a step above what the Force are playing, and just playing decent, consistent footy rightly is not enough to put a player into Wallaby calculations. So a player doing that for the Force, at 15 mind you, would be quite a way from Wallaby calculations.

oh great .... Did the Force beat the world again ? Gee I blinked and missed it but looks like a few 100 other people stayed up for it :)

For a 20 yo who's changed from F/H to F/B McGregor has grasped the opportunities with the Western Force with both hands. He's obviously added ~5 kg to his bucket which has provided plenty of stability through his ball carries and helped his defence. As far as his potential watch this space as he's going to get plenty of game time in the West.

I base it on him being considered below Taylor Adams at the Rebels and how he played NRC for Rising at 10

Probably a bit of hyperbole there on my part. But if people were talking about Andrew Deegan as a possible Wallaby contender, then why not McGregor? Particularly when our depth at number 10 is questionable at best. I like Deegan, but I personally don’t think he fits the bill as a test player. McGregor has some skill and x factor that could be cultivated at Super Rugby level at least. I’d be happy to have McGregor at the Brumbies as a utility and a back up to Lealiifano.

Quite enjoyed the game. Whilst it only ran for 70 minutes I feel I got good bang for my buck - hardly any time wasting where you sat around waiting for a scrum to reset or a player going down for ages so the teams could suck in some air. Still not sure on the power tries though.

You’re most probably right about Ready. I guess I, like many, can still see the potential that has always been there for him to be a decent player. He possesses the rugby IQ that a lot of current Super Rugby, and indeed Test players seem to lack these days. As you point out, his discipline will most likely always be what prevents him from long term professional rugby. In regards to talking about Wallaby selection, I was merely trying to find some positives out of a mediocre contest, and the first game of the series. Plus, the players mentioned above have form from last year’s comp and the NRC. I admit being tested at Super Rugby level is another step required. But there’s nothing wrong with keeping an eye on them.

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