Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
Sorry Rob........ uh, Scott.........
Australia vs South Africa - Brisbane 7th Sept 2013
- Thread starter PaarlBok
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Sorry Rob........ uh, Scott.........
BPC
Phil Hardcastle (33)
Ewen, a former front-rower, can't seem to get the scrum functional let alone a useful weapon. Is it him, the assistants, or both?
Robinson apparently needs to lift his game and is dropped all the way out of the training squad to club rugby. Clearly Genia has issues he needs to work on, and is promoted to captain?
Douglas is a strong scrummager yet is picked at loose-head lock rather than tight-head lock?
We have been getting smashed at the breakdown in the last few match but there seems to be no improvement, probably regression. Given the monster back-row the Boks picked, didn't any of the coaching staff think this might be an area to shore up?
Robinson apparently needs to lift his game and is dropped all the way out of the training squad to club rugby. Clearly Genia has issues he needs to work on, and is promoted to captain?
Douglas is a strong scrummager yet is picked at loose-head lock rather than tight-head lock?
We have been getting smashed at the breakdown in the last few match but there seems to be no improvement, probably regression. Given the monster back-row the Boks picked, didn't any of the coaching staff think this might be an area to shore up?
No4918
John Hipwell (52)
I was starting to think Hooper is overrrated but that is not right. Not a huge fan and while we are getting smashed weekly at the breakdown he is not the player to have at 7. There are plenty of guys who can run the ball in the backline and Hooper is ineffective running close to the ruck and is average over the ball. Time for a change.
Edit: before anyone gets upset he has been very good at times and I appreciate he gives 110% every week (as would another 7 option)..
Edit: before anyone gets upset he has been very good at times and I appreciate he gives 110% every week (as would another 7 option)..
Quade needs to be removed from the side. Enough said. Why To'omua wasn't picked is beyond me. To'omua's first two tests were against the best side in the world, what did we all expect? He was also playing with a new halves partner. To'omua needs to be our next number 10. Lilo and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) have made a good centre partnership, and hence we should keep them there. The only way to give To'omua more confidence is to play him, which is what didn't happen last night. Quade failed in the world cup and, for me, hasn't improved since. He still gives his 'flashy' passes, runs across field and can hardly tackle.
Richo
John Thornett (49)
Great post. The biggest surprise for me so far under Link has been our horrendous scrum. Obviously I didn't expect for the Wallabies to suddenly become dominant, but I did think we might get a little closer to parity. Instead, the gulf has widened even further. Slipper has to go to THP and Robinson has to go to LHP. It cannot possibly be worse than it is right now -- and what's happening now is clearly a disaster.
The back row needs some serious rethinking. We are getting blown apart at the breakdown, losing too much ball, and don't secure quick, clean ball enough. Is it balance? Is it personnel? Is it tactics? Maybe we need to see Gill and Hooper playing alongside each other? 6. Gill 7. Hooper 8. Mowen?
Baldric
Jim Clark (26)
What I found strange was that at the scrums Kepu could not keep his bind. Strange in that they are binding prior to the engage. He must have been under enormous pressure for that to happen.
I also dont think that the Boks will have Meyer as a coach much longer. I thought he was about to explode last night. The man must calm down before he does some damage.
I also dont think that the Boks will have Meyer as a coach much longer. I thought he was about to explode last night. The man must calm down before he does some damage.
Ruggo
Mark Ella (57)
Kepu was bad no doubt but Beast was sensational also. He was able to get under Kepu all night and when the shove came, he had no answer. Time time of the Bokke shove was really fell executed also. They have a bloody good lock pairing at current.
It is time to move Slipper over to TH, Give Sio his shot as starting LH. This opens a door for Fatcat to come onto the bench and work on forcing his way into the starting side. I think this may improve our scrum but there will be no pot plants around the park. A team that sees up tempo as its best option just can't afford pot plants.
Mowen has lost his vibe. People saying he is a better six and that's fair but it doesn't tell the full story. When he played the Lions series he had only played half the rugby he has to date. He is a player fatigued and it shows. The same goes for Moore. It's a simple case of quality players tired.
Don't bother talking about the backs until we can get these forwards right.
It is time to move Slipper over to TH, Give Sio his shot as starting LH. This opens a door for Fatcat to come onto the bench and work on forcing his way into the starting side. I think this may improve our scrum but there will be no pot plants around the park. A team that sees up tempo as its best option just can't afford pot plants.
Mowen has lost his vibe. People saying he is a better six and that's fair but it doesn't tell the full story. When he played the Lions series he had only played half the rugby he has to date. He is a player fatigued and it shows. The same goes for Moore. It's a simple case of quality players tired.
Don't bother talking about the backs until we can get these forwards right.
TSR
Mark Ella (57)
Not sure why this seems to mystify people. Mckenzie makes no secret of the fact that he takes a pragmatic approach to selection and his belief is that winning games relies on his front row being able to provide work rate around the field. In need he will aim to achieve parity in the scrum rather than domination.
I'm not saying this is the right approach, but I would argue that the biggest failing of our forward pack last night was their work rate & effectiveness were poor. This cost us far more than our shortcomings in the scrum. For whatever reason - the forward pack last night failed to achieve what the primary role McKenzie picks them for. Whether that is his fault, theirs or, most likely, a combination of both is the problem.
Quick Hands
David Wilson (68)
Correct, if we learnt anything from the Deans era it was that you can't keep chopping and changing your backs. Rightly or wongly, (I think rightly) McKenzie picked To'omua for the ABs tests. Having done so, he needed to stick with him for the rest of the season to give him a chance to grow as a player and make the position his. What does he do, after 2 matches changes course and goes back to Cooper, who despite his considerable talents, is not the player to take the Wallabies to the next RWC whereas To'omua probably is. If we keep chopping and changing, we'll be lucky to beat Argentina and we'll be no further advanced.
Dan54
Tim Horan (67)
ARU appointed Deans assistants I thought, and Link was supposed to be able to pick his own, was what I understood.
RedsHappy
Tony Shaw (54)
There's no doubt Link brought major improvements to the Reds forwards play and scrum in 2010 and 2011 - but from a very low base of performance prior to that and nonetheless since the Reds have not been known as possessing anything other than an 'mostly adequate' scrum. Certainly not class-leading.
But, to my earlier post, what people tend to overlook - and this is important - is that Alec Evans played a key specialist assistants role in all of the above periods of the Reds forwards and scrum improvements. From 2012 onwards, he sort of faded away, partly I would think as a result of his age.
Assistant coaches play a major role in elite rugby teams' successes or otherwise. How well they are chosen shapes the destiny of teams, perhaps more than the players themselves.
Do we think it's just good fortune that the ABs retain perhaps the best scrum coach in the world today in M Cron? Do we expect that Hansen is so good that he should not need such a high calibre of specialist coach?
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Amongst much discussion about the makeup of the 23 and the coaching, I think the most glaring issue exists in the process long before you even think about who is going to be in your 23. It's quite simply characterised by a couple of quotes from fairly important figures:
and
We will never ever consistently beat the ABs or the Boks whilst there is a dual focus on "entertaining" or "running rugby". Do these people not actually watch the sport? Fans of winning sides are very easily entertained.
Do people think the boks and the ABs sit around worrying about how they will win whilst entertaining, or how they will win whilst playing "running rugby"?
For the foreseeable future, and until we have a decent winning record again, I think they should big the best 10 man rugby side and make priority number 1 "play the game in the opposition half". None of this running the ball from your own 22 bullshit. It's very difficult to score points from your own half. Keeping the pill in the oppo half gives you plenty of opportunities to score (as turnovers are common in rugby, unlike rugby league which appears to have infected the strategy of all and sundry), and gives your opposition very few opportunities to score.
Start winning and the public will come around, regardless of how little of the mythical "running rugby" you play. Keep losing and they'll remain disinterested, regardless of how much "running rugby" you play.
and
We will never ever consistently beat the ABs or the Boks whilst there is a dual focus on "entertaining" or "running rugby". Do these people not actually watch the sport? Fans of winning sides are very easily entertained.
Do people think the boks and the ABs sit around worrying about how they will win whilst entertaining, or how they will win whilst playing "running rugby"?
For the foreseeable future, and until we have a decent winning record again, I think they should big the best 10 man rugby side and make priority number 1 "play the game in the opposition half". None of this running the ball from your own 22 bullshit. It's very difficult to score points from your own half. Keeping the pill in the oppo half gives you plenty of opportunities to score (as turnovers are common in rugby, unlike rugby league which appears to have infected the strategy of all and sundry), and gives your opposition very few opportunities to score.
Start winning and the public will come around, regardless of how little of the mythical "running rugby" you play. Keep losing and they'll remain disinterested, regardless of how much "running rugby" you play.
Bruce Ross
Ken Catchpole (46)
PPPP - Piss Poor Physical Preparation
The blight of Australian rugby.
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The blight of Australian rugby.
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mst
Peter Johnson (47)
Or was it because he didn't want to bring To'omua on in combination with White and be proven to have made the wrong selections?
Will Genia should never captain again. He eschewed at least two kickable shots at goal whilst the game remained within reach.
Proptip: when your team hasn't looked like scoring a try all fucking night, and you have a genuine 80% goalkicker, take the fucking points, would you? FFS
I found it confusing until i saw the quote that indicates Genia feels under pressure to be "entertaining". How entertained do you think we are feeling at the moment, Will?
Proptip: when your team hasn't looked like scoring a try all fucking night, and you have a genuine 80% goalkicker, take the fucking points, would you? FFS
I found it confusing until i saw the quote that indicates Genia feels under pressure to be "entertaining". How entertained do you think we are feeling at the moment, Will?
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