10:30am Saturday SA-time

Peaches.

I mean local SA time, not middle earth time.

disagree. The Wallabies have been in camp for 3 weeks already and the ABs, by’n'large, will be coming in to this Test completely underdone having only assembled this week. This is – by far – the Aussies best chance to topple the Men in Black.

do you really think a hard-nosed b@stard like Lord Ted is stupid enough to pick SBW for RWC if he hasnt come up to the standard by Sept’11 ?! He strikes me as not answering to anyone on selection, he has been ruthless in the past and will continue to be.

Forget about the dosh NZRFU have, supposedly, thrown at him – they threw a more significant amount in a failed attempt to bring Hayman back to NZ but then threw a few spare parts and created Franks’enstein Monster instead.

steady on, that comparison was made by others here, not moi. For which I duly mocked them !

Whoa….BP…comparisons of Jonah with SBW

Sheesh..thats sacrilege…

Find urself mate…LOL

Offensive weapon; defensive liability.

Leaguies arent paid to THINK.

Theres the wall; now run through it !

Seen some footage in ITM-a few games of SBW.He is very good ball in hand,esp in contact when he keeps ball alive.His best attribute is the ability to pull off some fantastic offloads.sublime-keeps continuity on attack.Solid defender.

But hasnt done enough to be an AB.

Robbie Freuan had a fantastic season & deserved a place(yes I know he is a 13)

But with Donald & Toeava able to cover 12,SBW is a luxury

Im surprised

I didnt know we had any armed services left.

great with ball in hand, poor without it.

The comparisons with Jonah look rather relevant dont they.

1 AB tour and a Super season will give us more of an idea, I will judge him then. But Id far rather stick to a Kahui or Toeava as midfield cover.

Bench players HAVE to add something tho. They are primarily there to turn around a losing position if required. In this case, only, he may fit the bill because he can make things happen. But I dont see him as a starting midfielder against the Top 5 opposition.

Im no fan of ex-leaguies tho, so lets agree about that.

If im not mistaken he played the majority of his rugby at 13 at Toulon.He did have stints at 12 as you say.But i stand to be corrected.Saw a lot of clips of him with 13 on his back Toulon days.

And league players always have trouble in union,esp acclamitising to intricacies of the game.And midfield defensive patterns esp at international level aint no joke.Seen many a veteran mess up.

But jury is still out I guess.We shall see,because when he played in Barbarians game a couple of yrs back he had sum nice touches but that was as close international test level as he has come close to.He was bullied in contact offense & defense by Mortlock that day.

Wellington – New Zealand’s military chief admitted on Thursday the defence force was “seriously embarrassed” after a top scientist who made wild claims about his background was granted high security clearance.

The head of the Defence Technology Agency Stephen Wilce quit last month after it was revealed he falsely claimed he was an ex-Marine combat veteran and an Olympic bobsledder who raced against Jamaica’s “Cool Runnings” team.

A government inquiry released on Thursday found the recruiting process that led to Wilce’s appointment was “flawed in significant respects”, prompting moves to tighten procedures.

“Some dumb decisions were made,” Defence Force chief Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae told reporters.

British-born Wilce resigned from the agency, which provides technology support to New Zealand’s military, after commercial broadcaster TV3 alleged he padded his resume and made a string of fanciful claims about his past.

They included being a combat veteran and a member of Britain’s bobsleigh team at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, where he supposedly competed against the Jamaican team which inspired the 1993 film “Cool Runnings”.

“I know them all,” Wilce said in footage filmed by an undercover reporter. “I know all the Jamaican guys… mad, absolute nutters.”

No record

TV3′s “60 Minutes” reported that no record existed of Wilce serving in Britain’s Royal Marines or having combat experience and that no one on the 1988 British bobsleigh team had heard of him.

Previous employers and colleagues told the programme Wilce had claimed he designed guidance systems for Britain’s Polaris nuclear missiles, a defunct system launched 50 years ago during the Cold War.

Wilce headed 80 staff at the Defence Technology Agency for five years.

Mateparae said that while screening procedures had proved inadequate, most of the failings lay with Wilce.

“He represented his work history, military career, achievements, academic qualifications and activities in other fields in a way that was neither honest nor complete.

“Not only have his actions damaged his reputation, they have damaged the morale of those he led at the Defence Technology Agency, and they have damaged the reputation of the New Zealand Defence Force.”

Mateparae said the report, which found that Wilce had not posed a threat to national security, had been passed to police for further action if warranted.

- AFP

all at 12.

His only experience in Union is at 12. In most peoples eyes that would make him a ‘midfielder’ but continue clutching at straws in your desperation to compare apples and oranges.