It’s only two years since the Wallabies scrum was in tatters after the World Cup. Coaches Foley and Noriega have done wonders since then to develop the Wallabies scrum into a weapon.
Just as pleasing is the performance of the front row in general play Read more »
Statgimp - feel the heft
It’s been a little painful preparing statistics for the last two games against Ireland and Scotland because you need to watch and re-watch segments to confirm what happened. Re-living the missed opposrtunities in both of those games was hard but it’s been a pleasure re-watching the Wales game.
So many positives but still things to work on – in partcular a number of lazy missed tackles. The performance of the front row, Pocock and Smith was outstanding. Read more »
On Saturday evening in Cardiff the pieces finally fell together on this tour and we saw another glimpse of what we hope this Wallaby team might be regularly capable of. Below are the highlights, together with a few thoughts on the game.
Yet again the forwards led the way with the Wallaby scrum notching up yet another scalp, Read more »
The Wallabies started their 2009 test campaign against Italy in Canberra all the way back in June. Fourteen tests and about six months later the Wallabies won less than 50% of their games. As a whole the season was… disappointing. Bordering on disastrous. The continued failing in the Tri-Nations is a significant cause for concern. Our inability to back up good wins, such as against the Springboks in Brisbane, with another good performance is also worrying. The loss to Scotland, when you look at the rankings at least, was just unacceptable.
On the plus side, gees we looked good against the Boks in Brisbane. And the Welsh win was a cracker. And what about our young guns? Will Genia, David Pocock, Quade Cooper, Lachlan Turner, James O’Connor and Ben Alexander all proved their abilities at certain times this year.
Overall though, which player would come out on top? Who would win the coveted Green & Gold Rugby Wallaby Player of the Year award? Well stay tuned over the next few days and all will be revealed.
SEE FULL HIGHLIGHTS HERE
It’s just the first half, so you’ll only see the Wallabies score 3 tries in this clip…..
Something to whet the appetite ahead of tomorrow’s game.
The human bar of soap
On the surface it might look like there’s not a lot for the Wallabies to play for in this game – the Grand Slam is long gone and there’s not exactly a winning record to protect. I suspect there may also be more than a few players, coaches and administrators fantasizing about the end of season sun back home.
But those are dangerous thoughts to have before a game that will dictate the whole complexion of this tour. A win, and this is a reasonably successful trip, with just one loss (let’s just forget against who…). A loss, and this Grand Sham will morph into a clusterfuck delux, on top of which Robbie and his Wallabies will create the worst yearly winning record at 36%, since 1989 (33%).
So what’s it to be? Read more »
And so we reach the final test of the tour, which was actually the penultimate test 25 years ago. This time, however, we won’t win the Grand Slam. Hell, its more than likelywe won’t win this test.
Our backs are looking ponderous and directionless. The odd break is being made, but it inevitably dies out. The skills just look lacking as players try to overplay their hand or just plain don’t know what to do. So let’s pause for a momnet and review highlights of the famous Welsh test way back in 1984:
Something to smile about. Makes a change
Here are a few interviews from after the Cardiff Blues match.
Robbie Deans (get your Dingo Bingo out), Dean Mumm and George Smith were first up at the press conference. The guy who keeps banging on about the breakdown is me.
After that we had Quade just outside the change sheds. He and AAC seem to be darlings of the Aussie media at the moment. What’s clear is that he loves playing footy!
Jones
This is what the Welsh think – a poll from the South Wales Echo:
Do you think Wales can defeat the Wallabies on Saturday?
Yes, they’ve got the ability 
85.0%
No, it’s too big an ask 
7.4%
Jones
It’s too close to call 
7.7%
The Welsh can sniff it again. The vulnerability of this seemingly disparate Wallaby touring side, inconsistent and incontinent (well, pissing in the wind anyway) with a lack of game day direction. Read more »
Final Score: Cardiff Blues 3 – Wallabies 31
Tries: Beale 2, Cross, Morahan
For blow by blow account: Read more »
There’s been lot’s of discussion about what’s going wrong with the Wallabies attack. This video looks at a few examples that, not surprisingly, confirms what has been said on this site over the last few days.
Myfanwy Norton Knight - the blues magoo
The Wallaby team to take on the Cardiff Blues on Tuesday night has been named and contains a couple of interesting selections, with Beale on the wing and Cross again in the mid-week centres.
The makeup of the front row and the bench in particular will have the armchair aficionados reading the tea leaves to forecast test selections against Wales.
The Cardiff RFC record against the Wallabies in tour matches is six wins from six starts dating back to 1908. Even the much vaunted 1984 Wallaby Grand Slam side lost to them. Read more »
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