Bledisloe #1 - AUS v NZL, ANZ Stadium, Sydney, August 8th

[Joe Blow]

Right, let's get stuck into Phipps. What a shocker. We should start the Brumbies inside backs and be done with it.

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I am not his biggest fan but....... he has been consistently the best half in Oz for the past couple of years. He had a shocker for sure but he was under enormous pressure and he was most likely under instruction to push the pace.
He is without doubt the fastest at clearing the ball. He needs to slow down just a bit and choose his target rather than passing to where he thinks the first receiver should be. I would start him again next week with White on the bench.
The yellow card was stupid and could have cost us dearly. Cheika needs to have a word to him about that one.

 

[fatprop]

Right, let's get stuck into Phipps. What a shocker. We should start the Brumbies inside backs and be done with it.

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It was interesting that Cheika's press conference that when it was brought up he said that a lot of the erratic passes was down to the ruck with AB players loitering just enough on the ground and in the way. He said Phipps was unsure whether he should be rucking them or stepping over them; and would be sorted out during the week

http://www.foxsports.com.au/video?v=wallabies-press-conference_1227475888975&vc=235

 

[Hardtackle]

Spider cam pisses me off when I can see it. I like it when you can't - except when the producer can't keep up and you end up looking at grass.

I was thinking during the game that Cheika got the ARU hire it to get some good overhead shots of our scrum vs The Darkness. I'd be sending a GIF of all the scrums to every ref World Rugby has on their books.

I hope we can keep on dishing it out in the scrums to remove the preconceptions previous efforts have built.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

No question Phipps is the best half in Australia.
To those who think he played badly last night I suggest you have a look at the "structure" in the backline and receivers prior to To'omua coming on.
Phipps had Gitts running in the receivers channel not watching the ball and, now that Ive rewatched, it bloody nearly hit him on the chest and may actually have grazed his jersey. How can you blame the 9 if someone the size of a 10 starts running in the 10 channel without watching.
Horan summed it up later on the Mumm knock on when he asked where Foley was. Foley should have been in 1st receiver at that stage begging for the ball but he was nowhere to be seen.
On the pass to no one on which Foley got tackled in the in-goal I reckon Foley began to run and then stopped and the ball fell in front of him. He stopped because he's got a pop gun right foot kick and no left foot kick to speak of and he realised the ABs had an angle on him that meant he was running into a charge down, at best.
In my view Phipps problems finding a receiver pretty much disappeared for the couple of minutes when he and To'omua were on together.
To'omua had the backline and runner far better organised, he was flatter and took on the line.
Foley is the problem because every part of his game is about 3/4s there and you need more than that.

 

[RedsHappy]

^^^

Re that press conference of Cheika's.

Having endured the horrendous Deans' gobbledegook at such times during The Six Lost Years, how uplifting was it to have a coach that spoke straight, called a spade a spade, no bullshit, no PC crap, no cliches, every word made sense.

And even more important, Chek's content and description of the journey ahead was eminently sensible and seemed to bode well for the future.

It wasn't inspiring, it was designed to be humble and resolved, but, for me, given the recent Wallaby past, that ended up inspiring.

 

[Brumby Runner]

I am not his biggest fan but... he has been consistently the best half in Oz for the past couple of years. He had a shocker for sure but he was under enormous pressure and he was most likely under instruction to push the pace.
He is without doubt the fastest at clearing the ball. He needs to slow down just a bit and choose his target rather than passing to where he thinks the first receiver should be. I would start him again next week with White on the bench.
The yellow card was stupid and could have cost us dearly. Cheika needs to have a word to him about that one.

Phipps really hasn't been our best No 9 at all. As someone else said earlier, he is a one trick pony, and that one trick was shown up last night as being inadequate even though he was playing behind the stronger forward pack. I have been saying all along that Nic White has the best all round halfback game in the country but most people are blinded to his skill set by their aversion to the box kick. Had Nic last night put up the box kick that Phipps put up, then all and sundry would again be calling for him to be cut for good.

Phipps really let himself down last night by not looking to see where the support was (or wasn't) and just seemed to fling the ball anywhere. When his passing game is off, he has little else of real value to offer. Nic White has the best vision of any of our No 9s.

On box kicks, they are a useful tool if and when performed correctly. The biggest problem is that our kickers more often than not don't execute them with the necessary accuracy. Anyone watching the SS semi yesterday would have seen it done perfectly by Matt Lucas. Smallest player on the ground, put up the kick, chased, and caught it on the full uncontested because it was perfectly weighted for his chase.

White and To'omua at 9/10 will do me from here on in.

 

[ChargerWA]

Nah, I gave Phipps shit last night because he was awful, but you can't turf a player out because of one bad game. Phipps is still the form halfback and deserves to keep his spot for next week.

 

[swingpass]

No question Phipps is the best half in Australia.
To those who think he played badly last night I suggest you have a look at the "structure" in the backline and receivers prior to To'omua coming on.
Phipps had Gitts running in the receivers channel not watching the ball and, now that Ive rewatched, it bloody nearly hit him on the chest and may actually have grazed his jersey. How can you blame the 9 if someone the size of a 10 starts running in the 10 channel without watching.
Horan summed it up later on the Mumm knock on when he asked where Foley was. Foley should have been in 1st receiver at that stage begging for the ball but he was nowhere to be seen.
On the pass to no one on which Foley got tackled in the in-goal I reckon Foley began to run and then stopped and the ball fell in front of him. He stopped because he's got a pop gun right foot kick and no left foot kick to speak of and he realised the ABs had an angle on him that meant he was running into a charge down, at best.
In my view Phipps problems finding a receiver pretty much disappeared for the couple of minutes when he and To'omua were on together.
To'omua had the backline and runner far better organised, he was flatter and took on the line.
Foley is the problem because every part of his game is about 3/4s there and you need more than that.

i thought exactly the same thing. perhaps the faulty passing was the receivers fault, when To'omua came on Phipps hit the hands at perfect height and in front about 5 or 6 times in a row, no problems.

 

[redstragic]

^^^

Re that press conference of Cheika's.

Having endured the horrendous Deans' gobbledegook at such times during The Six Lost Years, how uplifting was it to have a coach that spoke straight, called a spade a spade, no bullshit, no PC crap, no cliches, every word made sense.

And even more important, Chek's content and description of the journey ahead was eminently sensible and seemed to bode well for the future.

It wasn't inspiring, it was designed to be humble and resolved, but, for me, given the recent Wallaby past, that ended up inspiring.

The only thing I would add after watching it is that is brilliant to have the both coach and captain prominent in the no dickheads allowed club.

 

[Hardtackle]

What channel was the presser on? I couldn't see it.

I couldn't agree more about straight talking. Same from Moore. So much about high performance sport is mental. Delivering a clear message is paramount. All that Deans goobledegook would have been confusing to even the most cunning linguist.

 

[BarneySF]

World Rugby interns haven't updated the site, but this is official enough I s'pose (couldn't see it anywhere else) - We're back to three:

http://www.independent.ie/sport/rug...nd-best-rugby-team-in-the-world-31437119.html

 

[the sabanator]

Phipps had a shocker, but I think a lot of his problems could be traced back to how Foley played. I've never really thought Foley has done anything to distinguish himself in gold and it's time to give To'omua his well-deserved shot at playing 10 for the Wallabies.

If Quade had played the way Foley did last night he would be getting absolutely crucified. IMO Foley put out worse than Quade did against South Africa

 

[Tex]

I am not his biggest fan but... he has been consistently the best half in Oz for the past couple of years. He had a shocker for sure but he was under enormous pressure and he was most likely under instruction to push the pace.
He is without doubt the fastest at clearing the ball. He needs to slow down just a bit and choose his target rather than passing to where he thinks the first receiver should be. I would start him again next week with White on the bench.
The yellow card was stupid and could have cost us dearly. Cheika needs to have a word to him about that one.

He just looked rushed, didn't he? I reckon I'd be sweeter on him if he cut down on the yelling and carrying on. Refs do a great job of impartiality but god it must be satisfying to card a bloke who's been chirping at you all night.

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[fatprop]

What channel was the presser on? I couldn't see it.

I couldn't agree more about straight talking. Same from Moore. So much about high performance sport is mental. Delivering a clear message is paramount. All that Deans goobledegook would have been confusing to even the most cunning linguist.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/video?v=wallabies-press-conference_1227475888975&vc=235

 

[fatprop]

He just looked rushed, didn't he? I reckon I'd be sweeter on him if he cut down on the yelling and carrying on. Refs do a great job of impartiality but god it must be satisfying to card a bloke who's been chirping at you all night.

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Is there any decent 9 who doesn't ref the game as well?

It is why a forward always got bonus points for stomping one of the little yappy shits

 

[jollyswagman]

i thought exactly the same thing. perhaps the faulty passing was the receivers fault, when To'omua came on Phipps hit the hands at perfect height and in front about 5 or 6 times in a row, no problems.

Oh what a load of bulldust that is......"the receivers fault"......really? The bloody grass was the receiver. He was completely rattled from the start and only got worse as the game progressed. His yellow card was a blessing as Cheik probably would have left him on the park a while longer otherwise.

His cameo off the bench against SA was great. His passing was quick and accurate and had a positive influence on the game. The match against the Argies was a step backward from that and we didn't see the same service and his decision making was pretty ordinary. Last night was a complete shocker and had we lost the match I think he would have deservedly been made the scapegoat along with Foley.

I may be stretching it here, but I think that both Phipps and Foley could have played their way out of a ticket to the RWC. We have a number of players who are in arguably better form and can cover multiple positions. To'omua can cover 10 & 12, Gits can cover 10 & 12 and possible our thrid string #9. Cooper hasn't played too badly and will most likely get some time next weekend. If he has a solid game I would not be surprised if Cheika sticks with Cooper & Gits and then keeps To'omua on the bench as his finisher and back up if Cooper or Gits goes down or if QC (Quade Cooper) starts to have some brain explosions.

The backline I would like to see next week is
White 60 / Genia 20
Cooper 65 / To'omua 25
Giteau
TK
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
Speight
Folau

Bench - Genia, To'omua, Beale? or Horne?

 

[Teh Other Dave]

The pass behind Giteau had as much to do with nobody stepping in as first receiver. The pass that was 2m in front of Mumm's boot laces was a symptom of Phipps not having his head on for this match, ditto his yellow card indiscretion, and some of his oration. His opposite number was equallt as awful, and this was a golden opportunity to stamp his authority on this match. Instead, he's played White into the frame - and White deserves a shot after last night's display.

 

[jollyswagman]

Is there any decent 9 who doesn't ref the game as well?

It is why a forward always got bonus points for stomping one of the little yappy shits

Of all three halfbacks, Genia has the least offensive temperament. Add to that he also has the "coolest head" in big games.

Do not underestimate the value to COMPOSURE in the big matches. We are slowly starting to see the great value that Giteau brings to the team in this regard.

 

[swingpass]

well we have to agree to disagree. not all the receivers fault but on at least three occasions, foley started and then stopped or altered his line of running. clearly the instructions to Phipps are to clear from the base of the ruck as quick as possible and the moans on this forum when Genia or White take a couple of paces and then pass are audible. it wasn't his best game certainly, but i think this and the last game have shown that Foley is perhaps not up to the standard at test football and as a former 10/12 myself i know that my running and game management can have an adverse effect on the half.
as i posted and others have said, when To'omua came on the whole pattern changed and there were no loose passes from Phipps. the yellow card also slowed down the AB's counterattack, and again for all i know the blanket instruction from the coaches to all players is don't let the opposition take any quick taps.
not his best game by far but he is still the best half overall. White certainly had his best game in Gold and significantly influenced the result, i don't disagree with that.
i still want to see what Phipps, Cooper and To'omua can do as 9/10/12 but i doubt we will see that now.
guess next saturday will be Phipps/Tomua/Giteau with either Cooper/Foley/Leliifano on the bench, i would pick the latter, don't think that either Foley or Cooper are good substitutes

 

[Tomikin]

The pass behind Giteau had as much to do with nobody stepping in as first receiver. The pass that was 2m in front of Mumm's boot laces was a symptom of Phipps not having his head on for this match, ditto his yellow card indiscretion, and some of his oration. His opposite number was equallt as awful, and this was a golden opportunity to stamp his authority on this match. Instead, he's played White into the frame - and White deserves a shot after last night's display.

You know what that pass to nobody and the pass in front of Mumm and the go the wrong way 360 where he got smashed tells me, he doesn't know what's going on in the game and hasn't looked before he passed. he hardly ever goes the blind side play to drag players in. I think he should start next week but he is on tender hooks.. and another thing his put up about 4 shitty box kicks the last 2 games.. if White had done that you be all over him like a bad suit..