Australia v Argentina - 21 November, Newcastle

[Dismal Pillock]

Intense game.

Poor old Hodge rogers it up a bit at the death.

Hopefully no Argie injuries so they're at full strength next weekend in order to unceremoniously shovel the last smegs of dirt into the unmarked shallow grave of Fozzie's 5 week tenure as All Black coach.

 

[pnut]

Hooper refusing 3 for 30 minutes straight cost us that game.

More like centre’s that can’t identify overlaps or able to pass into space.

 

[Equalizer]

Somehow the AB's are still top of the table WTF.

 

[PhilClinton]

Hooper refusing 3 for 30 minutes straight cost us that game.

Not often I agree with the Fox Sports guys but thought Hooper could have done more to settle his team in the first half when things got really fired up. I will admit I think his directness with the ref helped us get a yellow card in the second half. But player management was missing for me.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

If we were doing the form thing - on captaincy front hooper deserves to be replaced as captain for rest of the series. Dumb leadership and just not reading what is required

 

[A mutterer]

yeah i dont know about the hooper criticism about the not taking 3's. rennie ddnt seem to upset about it.

we just lack the composure of knowing when to gently lean in and slip it in when theyre not expecting it.

 

[Derpus]

Yeah Petaia kicking it at the end there was endemic of the collective mental collapse that plagued the entire team.

Notable drop once bench came on.

How many tries have the Wallabies scored over the last 5 games? Five?

 

[hifflepiff]

Wallabies lost their cool after the two disallowed tries.

Really needed a 10 and/or a captain that could cool everyone down and organise the backline.

 

[Teh Other Dave]

What a shitshow. They set theirselves up with 20min left and then shat the bed. I mean, the aimless kicking is a coach killer. I also don't understand Gordon as the replacement half. Somehow managed to make front foot ball look like back foot ball. And WTF was Hodge doing calling for the ball on the blindside when they're meant to be setting up for a drop goal. I'm incandescent.

 

[Rebel man]

Actually thought he was pretty good. Didn’t see him miss any howlers. Hard game to ref - both teams with ruck intensity

Was absolutely dogshit. Couldn’t have been more inconsistent with his calls. Let them get away with so many cynical penalties when they were under the pump. His final penalty to them the Pumas player knee was clearly on the ground

 

[Chunderstruck]

We should have got way more out of the scrum from the ref

 

[PhilClinton]

Rennie specifically addressing TT discipline in post game. Doesn’t bode well for him tbh. If you can’t trust a player to do a job and not get carded, you lose some faith. No doubt he is best tight head in the country, but Rennie obviously thinks he needs to reign him in

 

[Rebel man]

We should have got way more out of the scrum from the ref

Twice in a row the Argentinian prop pancaked out and collapsed the scrum and they got the penalty. Just an absolute joke

 

[Joe Blow]

We need a decent 10 who can manage a game.

We need a captain who will take points when on offer.
If we had taken every shot in the first half the game was over before oranges.

 

[Derpus]

Twice in a row the Argentinian prop pancaked out and collapsed the scrum and they got the penalty. Just an absolute joke

Dont kmow anything about scrums but that looked like the Argie went down both times.

Just shows scrums are a complete lottery.

 

[Tomikin]

Tough game, I think they should have brought on Leosio and shifted Hodge to 12, I think his calmness and drop goals would have got us home..

 

[Chunderstruck]

Feels super rough to blame Hodge for missing one kick. Especially in those conditions

 

[PhilClinton]

Tonight showed the limitations of Hodge at 10. We needed a spark with 20min to go and his back to basics play wasn’t enough. Ah well, we know he isn’t first choice.

 

[Rugby follower]

How could Rennie seriously pick Gordon over Tate, that was a disgrace has happened 3 times now. Tate would have provided some real difference in the last 15-20, we had nothing other than the yawn box kick. That was some of the poorest tactics I have seen in years.

 

[molman]

Mainly just over that last effort from Hanigan that prompted the statement

But fuck it yea why not, they’re shithouse

I really disagree. They were so much more consistent than some other players out there tonight and some of the comments about them is just becoming trite.



Actually thought Hooper was off his best tonight, a little sloppy at points. Daugunu wasn't great. Petaia was mixed, needs to work on his Rugby brain, skill/ability for days, a real game changer. BPA had a few average throws, but otherwise good. Tupou needs to be more controlled, similar to Petaia so much ability, just need the maturity to match at times. Philip is really standing up a test quality lock, he's been so impressive this year. White was good - people are way too critical and seem to miss all the things he does, including chasing everything down. Gordon wasn't great when he came on, though he did deliver in ensuring they didn't steal it at the end. Valentini was meh, first touch was to palm it off the Philip rather than take it into contact. Wright (not Tom) was likewise average. I'm pretty sure he went backwards in his first contact.


Tom Wright is a talent and continues to impress. Hodge is consistent. Doesn't have a great flat line pass but for a gap-stop 10 he has really stepped up. Wilson plays with impact, but he does need to work on his detail. Still a little enthusiasm over accuracy, but he's going to continue to grow - special player. Sio I thought played well. Controlled, and generally looked decent in the scrum though he does get caught out with his bind at time - did he break/recently his arm recently? just not quite back to his best.

Structure and control really went out of that game. Miss the mature heads of JOC (James O'Connor) and To'omua to bring a game like that home.