Japan vs Wallabies, Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Sat 4th Nov 4.40pm AEST

[Rugbynutter39]

A proper 10.

Well if you said "A proper 10 of test standard". I would say we only have one who is out with illness. Cooper and Lance are at their current level of prowess and form not test standard 10's.

 

[dru]

Lose against Japan and most of Spring Tour games we will all be on his back as with the rest of the coaching staff giving them hell for anything they do.

It's not happening though is it. Which in no way changes the balls up he has put himself into right now.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

It's not happening though is it. Which in no way changes the balls up he has put himself into right now.

Nah I get it Wessels talked about speaking with Cheika about playing Hodge at 10. And if Foley turned to be out for the tour sure then they would probably bring someone else in, but I get cheika wants to see if other players like Hodge could possibly be answers at 10 given behind Foley there is no real test standard options. Lance imo is Super Rugby standard at best and will never be test standard and I personally think Cooper is past his best and time to look forward like Cheika has done. For my mind he is making the brave decision to try and look at other options as I personally think investing in and trying more talented test players who show versatility (Hodge played 12 and wing) better options than players who are unlikely at this point ever be test standard or in Cooper's case get back to being test standard again.

 

[Strewthcobber]

QC (Quade Cooper) has got himself a yellow card 5 times since Cheika has been coach. He's never going to pick him again

 

[Up the Guts]

Sorry Bloke. I don't understand your point. Perhaps the mini Cheikas have drunk the magic koolaide? Or perhaps bitten the shit sandwich? Whatever. We have no fly fucking half. It was a potential issue that many of us have been stating was a risk for fucking months. Yeah, like, it didn't need a lot of rugby nous, right? But you need Larkham to share Cheika's shit sandwich??? OK. I'm cool with that.

I just don't see that we ever had an opportunity to bring in a second flyhalf in the past couple of months. Ideally we would have blooded one in the June test window but we were playing so badly we had to put our best 15 on the paddock. Hell, we could barely beat Italy so it was no time to be giving an upcomer a run. No one else was ever going to get a run in the RC, the stakes were just too high especially after the drubbing in Sydney. The other issue is no one was really putting their hand up. Mason and Stewart are still a few years off and Lance and Cooper were never going to be picked over Foley in the RC. Absolute catch 22 situation.

 

[jimmydubs]

Hope we've got the same ref who got us over the line against the barbarians...

 

[jimmydubs]

Wow only 1 cm taller than me..

And 4cm shorter than our 'flyhalf' for this match. Fuck me this is a match out of dismals collective consciousness.

I'm excited. And got a few on the brave blossoms with the monster head start as an insurance policy. I.e. If its the clusterfucj it may well be and we scrape a scrappy win or the unthinkable happens at least I'll be better off

 

[fatprop]

Why? I doubt Hunt was in the plan for covering 10. Well not much anyway. At the end of the day, whatever your thoughts on my assessment, WBs are without not just a proven 10, but without a fly half in the training group ready to step in. This is not rocket science, it is fucking rugby 101. It blows my brain that serious fans of the game are ready to dismiss it as a non-important issue. Fuck up of grand proportions, that fans have been talking about for months. Look, I get that Cheika is clever, fucking over selections on a preceding game if he can show something later. But this is just a risk, a risk that the WB coach knew fully well he was taking. And now it thrusts up his right nostril. Oh, and throw the shit sandwich on Larkham too if it makes you feel better.

Hunt would have been the other playmaker, we appear to be building a attacking structure around two playmakers, Hodge is obviously not first choice, but will fill the gap so Beale can be the floating second playmaker

 

[stoff]

Remember when Deans picked JOC (James O'Connor) at 10 and we all lost our minds yet Cheika picks a bloke who hasn't spent 1 professional game in the 10 jersey and we just accept it. At least JOC (James O'Connor) had played there before.

Hodge played 50 minutes there in his Soup debut after Debreczeni and Harris were both injured. Scored 2 tries, 2 conversions, 2 penalties in a Rebels win over the Force. The one thing about Hodge is he has grabbed his opportunity every time and rarely failed when thrown in the deep end.

His distribution work looks questionnable when he is rushed, but behind a pack that’s moving forwards he’ll be fine. As a stop gap for this match it will work, but we desperately need another international standard 10 as a back up to Foley against the top tier sides.


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[fatprop]

The most hated man in world rugby talks about the decision

Interesting comments from Larkham about buy in to systems vs lone wolves

 

[Brumby Runner]

It is quite clear that the coaching team simply don't rate the other 10 options left at home as up to the task, I would guess that Larkham would be a reasonable judge of what it takes

But I don't think in their worst nightmare they thought both Foley and Hunt would both go down, and if it was next week, Beale would be the starting 10

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Which is precisely the scenario some of us have lamented in the past couple of weeks, and for which there isn't one simple solution like a back up No 10. Foley goes down sick, and there are three positional changes to cover for him. Not what I consider to be a selection or coaching outcome at test match standard.

 

[barbarian]

Dru - I think the answer to your questions are broadly that Cheika has won back the trust of the rugby public. He's built the team up nicely, and we finished the RC on a high. So we're prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt on this selection decision.

Also the idea that somehow it's his fault we don't have a back-up 10. In what game was there a chance to blood anyone? The mid-year tests were vital to build combinations for the RC, and Foley is integral to that. Not to mention all were relatively close encounters. And then you're into the RC proper.

As I said, I don't agree with the selection, but I'm fine to see how it plays out.
.

 

[fatprop]

Which is precisely the scenario some of us have lamented in the past couple of weeks, and for which there isn't one simple solution like a back up No 10. Foley goes down sick, and there are three positional changes to cover for him. Not what I consider to be a selection or coaching outcome at test match standard.

If we had another decent 10 who could slot in seamlessly he would have been selected, but we had what? 3 foreign starting 10s in Super Rugby. Cooper is out for obvious reasons and then we are into bench options from under-performing Super Rugby teams or kids in the NRC

 

[Dan54]

Chill fellas, I not a Chuckles fan by any stretch of the imagination, true I wouldn't of gone into tour without 2 proper 10s, but if he doesn't feel there one that is capable of stepping up at this stage, I can almost understand saying, well let's give Hodge a crack, if it doesn't work he can be moved back to wing or whatever without the mental damage I think throwing in a rookie that is not ready, they tend not to recover their confidence.

 

[Derpus]

Remember when Deans picked JOC (James O'Connor) at 10 and we all lost our minds yet Cheika picks a bloke who hasn't spent 1 professional game in the 10 jersey and we just accept it. At least JOC (James O'Connor) had played there before.

Wasn't that against the All Blacks in a Bledisloe?

 

[tragic]

QC (Quade Cooper) has got himself a yellow card 5 times since Cheika has been coach. He's never going to pick him again

We've lost three internationals as well as a series against England off the back of Foleys poor kicking since Cheika has been coach.
He's never going to pick him again
Oh....wait.....

 

[KOB1987]

Wasn't that against the All Blacks in a Bledisloe?

The Lions series in fact

 

[Derpus]

Dru - I think the answer to your questions are broadly that Cheika has won back the trust of the rugby public. He's built the team up nicely, and we finished the RC on a high. So we're prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt on this selection decision.

Also the idea that somehow it's his fault we don't have a back-up 10. In what game was there a chance to blood anyone? The mid-year tests were vital to build combinations for the RC, and Foley is integral to that. Not to mention all were relatively close encounters. And then you're into the RC proper.

As I said, I don't agree with the selection, but I'm fine to see how it plays out.
.

He's also done a fantastic job of blooding a wide variety of new players (25?) many of whom have made it clear that they are test standard players. I'll admit that my confidence in Australian depth was non-existent following the last two Super campaigns. Cheika has demonstrated that the players are still there. Earns him a few points i reckon.

 

[Derpus]

We've lost three internationals as well as a series against England off the back of Foleys poor kicking since Cheika has been coach.
He's never going to pick him again
Oh..wait...

Oh because the only difference in a comprehensive 3-0 series defeat to England was the kicking? fuck me.

 

[Slim 293]

Remember when Deans picked JOC (James O'Connor) at 10 and we all lost our minds yet Cheika picks a bloke who hasn't spent 1 professional game in the 10 jersey and we just accept it. At least JOC (James O'Connor) had played there before.

Lions series = Japan test?
Also, JOC (James O'Connor) was Deans' first choice........ Hodge is filling in for injuries.