All Blacks v Ireland part III - July 16 8.05am Ireland time

I just think the obsession with rotating the squad every single week at the expense of performance, in order to "give players exposure" is bizarre. Should we always be looking to identify new talent and ensure we have adequate depth? Of course, and Andy Farrell has done that But the importance of rotation is way overstated. I swear some people want a new XV every week.

Playing well, winning games and improving as a team is also important. And to do that you need to have a level of cohesion.

We let the pressure get to us in 2019. Players and coaches alike. We took our eye off the ball going into the 6Ns with too much of a focus on the RWC QF. And then when the wheels started to come off we panicked. Players started forcing things and making errors. Coaches started getting involved when they never had done before and just added to the pressure cooker environment.

One of the most important things Farrell seems to be doing is building confidence while also reducing pressure. And, while it may sound contradictory, then allowing us to deal with the pressure when it does come on all the better because it isn’t pressure on pressure. Spreading the load across the squad, creating a good environment, building a game plan that the lads actually enjoy. So much of that seems to be in direct response to what went wrong in 2019.

People keep talking about how our game got “figured out”. We never played a complicated game under Joe. Teams not figuring us out was not why we were so good in 2018. We were that good because we executed that game to a degree that other teams couldn’t cope with. Figuring us out was never a problem for opposition sides. Dealing with us was. And once our focus slipped in the 2019 6Ns and our performances dipped that just wasn’t the case any more. And then once the panic set in we just compounded it all.

If Farrell can get us to a RWC with the confidence and ability to deal with the pressure then that’s a large part of the job done. The other part is a game plan that is a winning one. And we have seen that we can put that together. This series has shown we can deal with the pressure. For me we look to be heading in the right direction. And that’s one that doesn’t focus on one tournament or series at the expense of others. And that’s exactly the right way to do things. After all, losing can become a habit.

I also remember a champions cup/heineken cup match with Sexton chasing back with no hope of catching the try scorer. it did end up meaning he was close enough to see that the ball wasn't grounded properly and demand a TMO which showed no try. All I remember from that is that it was Beale who did 90% of the work only for someone else to muck it up.

Provincially and nationally, we seem to be more vulnerable to tight five power than the passing game given that our defence is so well organized. Many of our backs are not pacy by international standards but only Jordan got a chance to really expose that. As noted above, the upcoming SA-NZ games will be watched with great interest to see where they and we stand.

Haven’t seen it mentioned but a test series win without arguably you’re start wrong hooker and lineout caller, two players in Kelleher and Henderson who would be in the conversation for world class if not just the tier below is huge.

IF (big if) you can keep that first choice pack and subs fit, can’t see why you’d be afraid of any team come rwc time.

would like to see Bernie start at 6 and Ryan and henderson In second row against the boks in November