It doesn't help that Porter has gotten a reputation for illegal scrummaging (as opposed to all other props in the world who totally scrummage legally and would never try to fool a ref) 50/50 calls are never going to go his way as a result. Its not the cause of his issues but it does little to help

Ioane will, I'd imagine, play mostly on the wing, not centre. Even in a fully fit squad he would be the best finisher we have. He offers a genuine threat from distance that doesn't involve just kicking the ball ahead and chasing. He definitely has limitations but could be a real point of difference

Question to the front row gurus among us here...how does a referee decide which prop is initiating the collapse? A tighthead turning his outside shoulder downwards voluntarily would have the same effect as the opposing loose head forcing him to do so

Will do. Tighthead or loose? We have some props but we are lacking in real depth. McCarthy doing well so far and can only see him getting better over the next few years

You can't go expecting consistency in officiating. Referees need freedom to "interpret" laws so they can make the decision as random as possible

Looking at the size of Williams for New Zealand earlier, is there anything to be said for trying to convert Edwin Edogbo to prop...?

Ryan's brain fart cost us so so much. Try chalked off and allowed the opposition to drive home their scrum dominance for the next 20 minutes with a man (or more) advantage. We never recovered from that. The rest of the cards pretty much track back to that one stupid ruck clearance

For me, the straight red against the French was justified. The one at the weekend was little more than a penalty. Ive heard people say they were virtually identical but I just can't see it. Rugby has suffered for years at the hands of a refs "interpretation " of laws. Leads to huge inconsistencies

To be fair I havent seen as much of Ulster this season as I'd have liked but Hume has proper potential to be a very good player for Ireland. Ringrose, for me, is well ahead as our best 13 but we definitely need to build depth there

Would be great to see Hume get a good run of games for Ulster injury free and see if he can get back to the level he was at a couple of years ago.

Its hard to accept Beirnes is a red when Caleb Clarkes swinging arm on O'brien is a penalty only. Line out needs sorting for second half. All in all, a better 1st half than I was expecting

Is it too much to ask that the English clubs and RFU might, for once, take a look at themselves and how they're run? The whole "we need everyone else to change to suit us" is 10 years past being boring at this stage

Bans for eye gouging should be measured in years, not weeks or months.

It wasn't really meant as an individual attack on Stockdale as such, just that a lot of their attacks have come down his wing, so it was more obvious on his side and I posted immediately after it happened to him again. Like I said in a previous reply, I think if he bites in he has to make a hit.

I don't necessarily disagree with that but the very least he could do is leave something on someone. Hit something. Hard. If he bites in he has to make a hit. Even if the ball carrier gets the ball away. He's leaving himself in no man's land.

Why does Stockdale insist on biting in and having no material affect every time Bordeaux attack down his side? It's infuriating to watch

Hard to argue with that selection. Good balance across the 23 and players form being rewarded.

That's fair enough. I like him but Ulster's form, plus being played in 2 positions hasn't helped his development. I would like to see him behind a quality pack.

No love for Doak?