Australia vs British and Irish Lions - 1st Test (Brisbane)

[ChargerWA]

To all of those people defending the selection of JOC (James O'Connor) at 10 on the basis that Lilo was to be the play maker, can you please explain to me why JOC (James O'Connor) was picked at 10 then.

Just put Lilo to 10 and dispense with the rigmarole.

Lilo would have taken the pressure off JOC (James O'Connor), but that doesn't execuse the fact that he couldn't execute his primary role. Which really isn't his fault, as anyone with a pinch of rugby nous knows he isn't a test standard 10.

 

[ChargerWA]

Nothing in his management team resourcing is ever done is a systematic and strategic manner.

Except for the inevitable blood letting of assistants at the end of another unsuccessful test campaign.

 

[Country Kid]

I find it difficult to understand how having Lilo at 12 would have corrected this basic lack of vision or use of support players?

I'm baffled by all the talk of the game plan. I don't know what the plan was but the line that seems to be running is ....
that Lilo would be the ball player to (I assume) 'complement' JOC (James O'Connor)'s game.

Still can't work out why an outside back would be selected to play 10 without possessing the fundamental requirements for the 10 job:
1. tactical kicking, 2. ball distribution, and 3. game management

Barnes was given 1. (wrong guy for the job)

Lilo apparently was meant to do 2. (terrible injury)

JOC (James O'Connor) I guess was meant to do 3. (went missing)

Was it really the game plan to 'dumb down' the 10 role by allocating 2/3 of the 'normal' role to others?

 

[Bullrush]

I read this on the review on the main page:

Some dubious defence from the Wallabies allowed prop Corbisiero to break the line after not being held in the tackle.

This is something I've seen a number of times in Super Rugby this year. With a lot of attention being given to the tackler releasing, I think there are times when guys are being tackled but just getting back up and carrying on. I always thought a tackled player had to actually release the ball and get back to his feet before playing it again? I think this law needs to be policed more.

 

[Country Kid]

Lilo would have taken the pressure off JOC (James O'Connor), but that doesn't execuse the fact that he couldn't execute his primary role. Which really isn't his fault, as anyone with a pinch of rugby nous knows he isn't a test standard 10.

Nor is he a super rugby 10.

The Rebels seem to play markedly better when JOC (James O'Connor) is absent.

Actually I don't know what is JOC (James O'Connor)'s position, a utility outside back I guess?

He strikes me as an individual 'ad-lib' player and that would be the antithesis of a genuine rugby 10.

 

[Pfitzy]

I read this on the review on the main page:




This is something I've seen a number of times in Super Rugby this year. With a lot of attention being given to the tackler releasing, I think there are times when guys are being tackled but just getting back up and carrying on. I always thought a tackled player had to actually release the ball and get back to his feet before playing it again? I think this law needs to be policed more.

I agree, but in this case he wasn't held

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[Kaz]

Absolute privilege to be able to attend last night's game.

Think it is important to recognise what the forwards achieved in the scrum.

Having been at HQ when it went to uncontested scrums and getting heckled all the way home, it was amazing to see the forwards dig deep last night and win some critical scrums.

Hopefully Ox's words about scrum ascendancy have struck home.

 

[Pfitzy]

When you last played professional Test rugby?

Oh smart arse eh? Well you are a kiwi

Almost got us, except its " QUEEEEEEEEEEENSLANDEEERRRRR"

Noted. Thanks!


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[Country Kid]

Think it is important to recognise what the forwards achieved in the scrum.

I'm over the moon with the way the forwards went about their job last night. Maybe that explains why the loss last night doesn't feel as bad. Because in a sense, the forwards won their part of the game. And the forwards should be up for the task in Melbourne - but losing Horwill could be a problem

The camera shot of the Lions coaches at full time was revealing - plenty of cheering and back slapping...

except from Gatland, he looked like a man with a lot on his mind

 

[Shiggins]

Why didn't Farrell get cited for his stomp on Lucas in the reds game? Lucas had to be stretched off as a result!

 

[Cassius88]

Firstly he gets rid of terms like 'I guess' and 'probably'.

He says something like 'James did the best he could in difficult circumstances'. That is all that is required.

I feel like you're really nitpicking there. Your issue isn't with the overall message, but rather the fact that he wasn't completely precise in his convictions, ie: was actually responding to a question honestly, rather than spewing out a predetermined answer.

Deans had just lost the first test in incredibly trying circumstances and you're worried that he says "probably"? Kinda ridiculous in my opinion.

 

[Pfitzy]

We chewed off a LOT of metres around the rich especially. Bar that first completed scrum and the complete abortion that was Robinson being penalised, the scrum and lineout were good

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[Rassie]

As an aside, anyone know if this BIL test series is reflected in the IRB rankings?

Free ranking points for Scotland?

 

[Garryowen]

Watched the Horwill incident again - no idea what he's doing, he clearly can't see through Hooper's back, but one doesn't ordinarily retain his balance by stamping his foot across his body and then lifting his foot back up immediately thereafter.

 

[Ash]

I initially said Ant has no ball skills. I didn't pass judgment on his peers until you brought up that strawman argument.

For what it's worth, I think he is worse than Horne and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) in this department.

This is not a popularity contest, but I note that my comment received multiple likes. It seems that others agree with my view point. So I doubt I'm in the minority here, even including our friends north of the border.

Remember the general malaise when he and McCabe were the centre pairing during the RWC? Remember how well that went against the ABs?

Look, last post on the matter.

If you think Ant has less ball skills than Horne and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), then you haven't watched all three for years. You don't also know that of the three, one of them has actually played 10. Take a guess which one?

Sure, I remember how bad our centre pairing was, especially how limited McCabe was. I remember our forward pack getting dicked in every important game too, final game against the Welsh aside. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) wasn't any better outside of McCabe last night either, by the way. If you barely get the ball, you don't look good with it.

I can point out games where Horne's and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)'s distribution was woeful, it's not hard. How did Horne go in his last games at 13 for the Wallabies, by the way? Or against the Lions?

By no means am I saying that Ant should get called up, and I gave my reasons, just correcting your blinkered assertion. Maybe you should go talk to BrumbyMan about it if you want to argue further.....

 

[Gnostic]

Well, I have just got home from a great few days of Rugby. It was a weekend that for me epitomised the very reasons I first fell in love with the game. This weekend was a Rugby festival with some great mates, and regardless of the result the atmosphere at the Suncorp was just fabulous.

Onto the game. For me I saw some positive play from a decimated side, which I refuse to use as any form of excuse for the loss.

The positives:-
1)The Wallabies cleared the ball quickly from many rucks and moved wider than they have in the past, to runners like Mowen, and Douglas who actually made the gain line or went over it. Was this a significant review of last year's game plan. After some consideration I think it was a tweaking of the plan of the last couple of years. A refining of its execution. I don't think it was a fundamental change that I had a sneaking suspicion we could see with Lilo at 12. I put this as a positive because it was an improvement on a shockingly poor plan.
2) There were few one out forward runners. The forward carriers had close support and there was only one instance of them being held up and that was from a kick receipt from memory.
3) Folau. His skill with the ball in the air is simply breath taking.
4)Second half scrum performance - I still don't know if it was a factor of the Lions changing their front row or the impact of a very good bench for the Wallabies. Please Scott Allen or Sully have a look at the replay and give us a review.
5)It was a magnificent impassioned effort from the side.

The negatives:-
1) Kicking from the hand. Again we see the shockingly poor execution from Barnes. The BIL first try stemmed directly from two poorly directed kicks that never looked like achieving either territory or being in a position where the receiver could be pressured.
2) Kicking from the tee. For the last maybe three years a few posters here have been, shall we say posting vigorously about the Wallabies lack of an expect kicking coach. Does anybody doubt the improvement in the kickers in the BIL team is due to expert input correcting small flaws in the player's technique. None of the Wallabies kickers can be considered anywhere near the league of the BIL kickers. This is a massive flaw in a side which has struggled to score tries.
3)The Wallabies did get a great home ground refereeing display with regard to the ruck. I saw on more than a few occasions the Wallabies join from the side of the ruck, in one Folau ran from his wing and ended up on the far side of the ruck driving the BIL player straight across the ruck. They will need to be much more disciplined and accurate here in the 2nd test.
4) The scrum - as good as the scrum was in the second half, from my live viewing it seemed to me that Adam Jones had the best of Robinson and the Wallabies were lucky more than once not to be penalised. I thought that this could have been the reason for the early substitution of the BIL props for the more mobile units as Gatland perhaps made the observation that if the scrum wasn't going to get the rewards he needed the extra impact away from that set piece.

 

[Alex]

The player ratings read like they were written by an angry and drunk supporter. Way too low overall.

In a game that was very close and we should have won, the ratings given to the Wallabies effectively means that the Lions players would mostly be ranked between 4s and 7s too.

I think the game was a bit higher quality than that.

Agreed - an average mark of 5 across the team after getting so close after so much crap luck is disrespectful to both the wallabies and the team they were playing. Apart from some poor kicking out of hand (Barnes/Genia) and off the tee (O'Connnor/Beale), the wallabies were much the better team and, stomping aside, we can be pretty bloody proud of them. The poor kicking in general play and at goal unfortunately ended up being the difference. It was not an average peformance across the board by any stretch.

 

[Alex]

As for Lions' hate figure - George North. Hopefully the finger waggling bullshit will come back to haunt him.

O'Driscoll yet again proved to be an ungracious plonker in his post match comments. I hope they make it on to the changing room wall for the second test.

We don't need stomping from any Australian player, let alone the captain. Kevvy needs to sit out a few matches - and unfortunately I don't know who comes in for him. Simmons shouldn't be let near the wallabies. MMM, with Noodles to the bench?

 

[RoffsChoice]

We don't need stomping from any Australian player, let alone the captain. Kevvy needs to sit out a few matches - and unfortunately I don't know who comes in for him. Simmons shouldn't be let near the wallabies. MMM, with Noodles to the bench?

Hugh Pyle, Peter Kimlin, Sam Carter or Hugh McMeniman.

 

[Richo]

Mitchell has also signed an overseas contract. That may have something to do with it.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk HD

With his non-selection for the Wallabies? If so, Ioane, Kimlin and Barnes wouldn't be there either.

But if you're talking Tahs, then I think so, yes. Cheiks was always willing to sacrifice a bit this season to build the future.