Quite a different commentary from the Spirit vs Rams result last week. The NRC is an opportunity for new players to get exposure to the next level of rugby, which is what the Spirit have done. I'm sure Kevin Foote has a plan here, and it'll all be good.
Having said that, the coverage and commentating seriously needs to be looked at. Hoiles and McMahon are shocking, they come across as not having a clue what they're talking about and are so un-impartial it's not entertaining to watch the game because of them. Considering the NRC is supposed to be our equivalent of the Currie Cup or Mitre 10 Cup, Foxtel has a long way to go before they're up to scratch and have a lot to answer for.
I'm a bit worried what's happening with the IPRC though, the ARU seem to be stalling to take momentum out. We should have had a decision whether they would support the competition by now. I don't think the ARU appreciate how much they actually need the IPRC, and I hope that Andrew Forrest is trying to find a way out by looking for ways he could go overseas for support if he can't get it from the ARU. From the rugby in the weekend, I'm not sure how appealing Drew Mitchell's idea of a next level down competition featuring Sydney club rugby would be to the wider public. I could only think of it as a very expensive way to not really grow the game much. Australia needs more higher level rugby, and only the IPRC can offer that.