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Wallabies 2023

Linerunner2023

Watty Friend (18)
Tomthumb
Gees you talk some BS
Your allowed to view and back Eddie’s squad
And others are allowed to be against it
Let them have their say
You might agree with Eddie - might be Eddie as not many ageee with it
But looking at comments all over and taking to people I’d say there is a high percentage that don’t agree or at least majority who have no explanation into why guys are selected and while others arnt
Proof will be post RWC review
Of Aus don’t make it out of the pool stage Eddie won’t be here
If they do can’t see them getting much further
Yes some older heads may not have played well enough to hold their spot but there is still more unknown with many of these guys
As it’s mentioned only 8 have been to RWC before and many have not won a game in a wallabies jersey
One thing I know it’s hard to get team cohesion when half the team is changed my each week

just stop coming up with a sentence saying you don’t agree and saying Eddie selections are right without any reasons
And allow people to question
 

Linerunner2023

Watty Friend (18)
I knew Donaldson has quite a few Super caps at 15, the other two have 0. His utility is only 10/15 I don’t think utility role implied any other position
Only as Beale got suspended
He was a very slow 15 and got moved out
Yes he is a utility but I can’t see any impact other then 10 and even at 10 a very average one
 

Lorenzo

Colin Windon (37)
I just don't buy this concept of it being better not having players who have been around a long time because they're used to losing or something.

Do you accept that there's such a thing as winner's mindset? A culture of success? A winning culture?

Can a similar thing not potentially exist in the minds of people that have ground away for a decade not to have any meaningful success?

There's zero evidence that players who have been inferior players below test level are going to do better at test level because they haven't been part of previous losing teams.

There is evidence that shaking up losing formulas leads to different outcomes, though. You can do this by changing the staff, and they did that earlier this year. You can also do it by changing the player group / team. Sadly, it's as much art as it is science and you need to roll the dice a bunch and see what happens. When it works, you look very clever. When it doesn't, you don't. It's cringey to say but Larkham wasn't playing 10 for the Brumbies before RM put him there at the start of 1998 and people weren't positive about that at the time either. What "evidence" was there that he was going to be a better 10 than Horan or Knox, both of whom suited up in 1997?

We are putting a lot of responsibility on certain players to really lead this team and squad though.

Are we though? The expectations are pretty low. We were paying $21 last week in NZ. Frankly if we beat either Wales or Fiji I'd say most peoples' expectations will be fulfilled.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Only as Beale got suspended
He was a very slow 15 and got moved out
Yes he is a utility but I can’t see any impact other then 10 and even at 10 a very average one
Pretty sure he played there a few games in 2022 when he came back from injury and Edmed was having a good run?
 

Tomthumb

Chilla Wilson (44)
Tomthumb
Gees you talk some BS
Your allowed to view and back Eddie’s squad
And others are allowed to be against it
Let them have their say
You might agree with Eddie - might be Eddie as not many ageee with it
But looking at comments all over and taking to people I’d say there is a high percentage that don’t agree or at least majority who have no explanation into why guys are selected and while others arnt
Proof will be post RWC review
Of Aus don’t make it out of the pool stage Eddie won’t be here
If they do can’t see them getting much further
Yes some older heads may not have played well enough to hold their spot but there is still more unknown with many of these guys
As it’s mentioned only 8 have been to RWC before and many have not won a game in a wallabies jersey
One thing I know it’s hard to get team cohesion when half the team is changed my each week

just stop coming up with a sentence saying you don’t agree and saying Eddie selections are right without any reasons
And allow people to question
You’re allowed to feel however you want

And I don’t agree with every selection Eddie has made, like all coaches he has his blind spots and bias in regards to certain players

but I really like the backing of the young guys in this instance. We have watched the experienced guys for years play and win NOTHING. Logic and common sense say we aren’t winning this World Cup without a miracle, so why not see what the young guys can do?

And I feel this issue isn’t on Eddie. It’s on Rennie and his complete lack of direction at every key position for the last 3 years. His short term, panic thinking has forced this squad
 

griffins

Ted Thorn (20)
There is evidence that shaking up losing formulas leads to different outcomes, though. You can do this by changing the staff, and they did that earlier this year. You can also do it by changing the player group / team. Sadly, it's as much art as it is science and you need to roll the dice a bunch and see what happens. When it works, you look very clever. When it doesn't, you don't. It's cringey to say but Larkham wasn't playing 10 for the Brumbies before RM put him there at the start of 1998 and people weren't positive about that at the time either. What "evidence" was there that he was going to be a better 10 than Horan or Knox, both of whom suited up in 1997?

That example stinks I'm sorry. Larkham had already starred for Australia as a fullback, to the point where he was challenging and some would argue better than Burke. He had already demonstrated the skillset, including vision and game sense, to make the transition. McQueen wasn't guessing.
 

Ignoto

Greg Davis (50)
And I feel this issue isn’t on Eddie. It’s on Rennie and his complete lack of direction at every key position for the last 3 years. His short term, panic thinking has forced this squad
If we're playing the blame game, why does Chieka get off without a paddlin'?

The lack of legacy planning during his reign played a large part of the state the squad was in come 2020.
 

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
If we are really going down this path then the last really, consistently successful Wallabies coach was Rod McQueen.

So maybe it is all Eddie’s fault.
I think Robbie Deans was consistent, things were much rosier when he was coach tbh. Constantly beat SA, the occasional once a year win v NZ (even if it was 1 from 3 or 4). Never lost to Wales - Ireland and Scotland only once. Destroyed France. Beat Eng a few times, record was 4-2 against Eng I think?

A Beale slip from winning the Lions series. Won in SA, won at Twickers twice.

We were #2 and IMO, the 2nd best side in the 2011 RWC.

edit: Scotland twice
 

Tomthumb

Chilla Wilson (44)
Personally I think it’s very rough to blame Rennie.

He didn’t create this problem. He was just unsuccessful in solving it.
He did indeed create this by developing a grand total of zero halfbacks, zero first fives and zero fullbacks

He had 3/4 of a World Cup cycle, and instead of developing younger players, he was scouting Japanese rugby for the next mid 30’s guy he could beg to come back
 

Tomthumb

Chilla Wilson (44)
I think Robbie Deans was consistent, things were much rosier when he was coach tbh. Constantly beat SA, the occasional once a year win v NZ (even if it was 1 from 3 or 4). Never lost to Wales - Ireland and Scotland only once. Destroyed France. Beat Eng a few times, record was 4-2 against Eng I think?

A Beale slip from winning the Lions series. Won in SA, won at Twickers twice.

We were #2 and IMO, the 2nd best side in the 2011 RWC.

edit: Scotland twice
He also lost to Samoa
 

Lorenzo

Colin Windon (37)
That example stinks I'm sorry. Larkham had already starred for Australia as a fullback, to the point where he was challenging and some would argue better than Burke. He had already demonstrated the skillset, including vision and game sense, to make the transition. McQueen wasn't guessing.
So every fullback with the attributes you note are can make the switch to be a very good 10? Ok I guess.

But that's really not how I remember it. The rugby public and journos were fairly sketchy on the call before the English series. I'd also note that the brumbies played Pat Howard at 10 that year despite having what you're saying was an obvious stud 10 playing at 15. They went 3-8 so it's hard to imagine they decided not mess with a successful formula.
 

Spamnoodle

Sydney Middleton (9)
And…? How does that stop them? Every player has a niggle of sorts, look at all the strapping and tape they wear. Any physio could put in a legit claim on any player.
It has to be ratified by WC appointmented medical personnel. At least that was the case in past Cups.
 

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
I think Robbie Deans was consistent, things were much rosier when he was coach tbh. Constantly beat SA, the occasional once a year win v NZ (even if it was 1 from 3 or 4). Never lost to Wales - Ireland and Scotland only once. Destroyed France. Beat Eng a few times, record was 4-2 against Eng I think?

A Beale slip from winning the Lions series. Won in SA, won at Twickers twice.

We were #2 and IMO, the 2nd best side in the 2011 RWC.

edit: Scotland twice

Deans lost to Wales in their first encounter…

He was the first Wallabies coach to lose to Scotland in 27 years… twice - in Scotland and Australia.
 
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qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
That's right, that was the match Mortlock fractured Jamie Roberts' skull wasn't it. He then went something like 8 or 9-0 against them?
 
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