Matt Smith

[Hot_Charlie]

..... It was mentioned in commentary that Kitto may also be EQP - something to do with his mum being from Amersham.

His biog on this site say he is!

That'll be decent confirmation then!

[RagingBull]

Tigers have Ayerza, Bai, Betham, Camacho, JDv, Fitzgerald, Fonua, Leo, Goneva, Loamanu, McCaffrey, Rizzo, Roberts, Sio, Veainu and Owen.

16 the rest can all play for England under WR conditions, (Brugnara and Tiz unsure due to the italians sometimes having and A team and sometimes not).

McCaffrey is EQP (quoted in several articles as one of London Welsh's reasons for bringing him from Oz). It was mentioned in commentary that Kitto may also be EQP - something to do with his mum being from Amersham.

Think it depends on IF Aus U20 is there second team now.

Aus A hasn't been going on for a bit.

Kitto is EQP.

[Sajerj]

Kitto is a good example of the problem in English rugby (nothing against him, or Tigers, just as an example).

Evidently he has given up on making Super 15 and All Blacks aged 23 and moved to England because of his ancestry makes him attractive to an English club looking to fill their squad. Presumably for him he feels he can make a better living from his rugby career in England.

It does nothing for the interests of English rugby, but helps the short term nature of English clubs.

After watching Englands poor WC, i am not of the opinion that the players are there, and it is all the coaches fault. Unless the clubs and the RFU get in line on policy, my view is it will get worse in the years ahead.

[ourla]

Kitto is a good example of the problem in English rugby (nothing against him, or Tigers, just as an example).

Evidently he has given up on making Super 15 and All Blacks aged 23 and moved to England because of his ancestry makes him attractive to an English club looking to fill their squad. Presumably for him he feels he can make a better living from his rugby career in England.

It does nothing for the interests of English rugby, but helps the short term nature of English clubs.

After watching Englands poor WC, i am not of the opinion that the players are there, and it is all the coaches fault. Unless the clubs and the RFU get in line on policy, my view is it will get worse in the years ahead.

But hasn't the latest salary cap rules specifically incentivised clubs to develop home grown players?

England had the most home grown players of the home nations in the RWC and if you believe the coaches weren't at least partly to blame for the poor performance I think most people would disagree.

[RagingBull]

only like 6 teams had less forign born players than England.

But yep they are the problem.

[PAW]

Wasn't this thread about Matt Smith?

A good game on Sunday and rarely lets us down.

[Sajerj]

Kitto is a good example of the problem in English rugby (nothing against him, or Tigers, just as an example).

Evidently he has given up on making Super 15 and All Blacks aged 23 and moved to England because of his ancestry makes him attractive to an English club looking to fill their squad. Presumably for him he feels he can make a better living from his rugby career in England.

It does nothing for the interests of English rugby, but helps the short term nature of English clubs.

After watching Englands poor WC, i am not of the opinion that the players are there, and it is all the coaches fault. Unless the clubs and the RFU get in line on policy, my view is it will get worse in the years ahead.

But hasn't the latest salary cap rules specifically incentivised clubs to develop home grown players?

England had the most home grown players of the home nations in the RWC and if you believe the coaches weren't at least partly to blame for the poor performance I think most people would disagree.

Agree, coaches hold some decent blame Ourla. Apologies if read otherwise.

[Cagey Tiger]

Wasn't this thread about Matt Smith?

A good game on Sunday and rarely lets us down.

Agreed. While every player aspires to play for their country, not everyone can. I think that Matt has decided that if he isn't going to play for England, then the next best thing for an English player is to play for Tigers

[fortysix]

I have thought for a few seasons that Matt was beyond his sell bye date..

However Mauger seems to have bought the best out of him quite quickly

As long as we have flyers like Vealanu Goneva and Betham in the backs , a solid defensive player like Smith will always have value..

[1979]

Lot of respect for the man, true Tiger and put in a great shift on Sunday really solid performance.

[Bill W (2)]

Lot of respect for the man, true Tiger and put in a great shift on Sunday really solid performance.

Has to win "long service award" in April!

[L Smith]

I'll try not to rock the boat here; I've been a big supporter of Matt at 13 and on the wing over the years; he never lets us down.
From the stands, he was rock solid in defense, as expected, but I dont think he had enough time on the ball at inside centre, to distribute or give us any go forward.
That's not to say that I wasn't happy to have him there, considering our limited options at 10 and 12, hence having to keep Bai on the bench as dual cover.