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

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ACT Crusader

Jim Lenehan (48)
I'm thinking the AB backline will be

9. Smith
10. Carter

12. SBW
13. Smith

11. Savea
14. NMS
15. Smith

21. TJP
22. Barrett
23. Fekitoa
 

Blue

Andrew Slack (58)
This may have already been canvassed, but what happens if the scores are equal after 80 mins?!

Three pink camels with horns will come running across the pitch, chased by twin T Rexes, each piloted by a naked nymph with a beard.
 

dru

Tim Horan (67)
Rob Simmons ruled out of the next two tests (Scaphoid); will undergo surgery tomorrow.

Issue then becomes: Mumm or Horwill? I'd go with the latter.

I don't know anything about a scaphoid, Wiki describes it as Casew size and shape. More concerning is that early detection and operation is advised to avoid complications. Aparantly it's a slow healing bone.

Operation is, what, 9 days after the injury? Seems longer than necessary where we have on going medical scrutiny. Had to get back to Aus, but still?
 

MonkeyBoy

Bill Watson (15)
I don't know anything about a scaphoid, Wiki describes it as Casew size and shape. More concerning is that early detection and operation is advised to avoid complications. Aparantly it's a slow healing bone.

Operation is, what, 9 days after the injury? Seems longer than necessary where we have on going medical scrutiny. Had to get back to Aus, but still?

I believe it is the only bone in the human body with a blood supply from only one end. Therefore if broken through there is a risk of the other end dying and turning necrotic. It also presents very poorly on x-ray and is difficult to diagnose. Normally cast with the hand in the "beer can" posn silver lining will make it slightly easier for Simmo to enjoy watching from the stand.
 

TGFan

Stan Wickham (3)
I have snapped my scaphoid. Located at the base of the thumb.

I did it playing for the woods against uni whilst attempting a palm off, my wrist snapped backwards.

My initial x-ray showed nothing - no break. Physio said it was a strain only. I continued to play with it strapped for the remainder of the season. It never improved and while playing oz-tag in the off season I hit it again and couldn't even open a car door to get home. X-ray again and a clean break through my scaphoid. Apparently, the scaphoid fractures do not show up until a period of time after as it gets compressed (well mine did anyway). Operation, screw insetred, cast on for three months.

Not saying that is what is happening to Simmons, but it can be a nasty injury.
 

Mr Doug

Dick Tooth (41)
The first televised International 23 man Boat Race?

If that is tied, after adjusting for spillage, then there is the option of a second Boat Race with just the backs drinking 5 oz ponies of Pink Lemonade.



Hello Hugh, given that the ABs hold the BC, in the event of a draw do they retain it, or do we have another chance to steal it in game two? I guess it's the former!
 

Hugh Jarse

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
The BC is stacked in favour of the holder.

The "challenger" has to win a series, either 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, or 3-1. Can't recall a 5 test series.

The "holder" gets to keep it in a drawn series, 1-1 or 2-2.

That worked in our favour at times during the last extended period of holding the BC.
 

RedsHappy

Tony Shaw (54)
Just switching radio frequencies over to the Wallaby-related station no one really cares about (except a tiny little group).

'The total coaching team that matters most' - 2TCT FM

>> B Foley on Rugby HQ last week, in discussing his kicking issues, referred to the fact that Cheika has just now brought in Chris Malone ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Malone) to assist with his kicking.

(Chek has clearly sacked the hapless Hill whose kicking coach improvement stats just about matched up with A Blades' equivalent in his forwards and set piece coaching of 2012-14. As an aside: the ARU's recent history in choosing Assistant Coaches at Wallaby level is dire - I can think of only P Blake, who did excellent work with Wallaby defence in his period - that has made a demonstrably positive contribution - have there been others?)

Chris Malone has his talents, but a seasoned, specialist kicking coach he is not. This is clearly an 'emergency ring-in' band-aid style appointment.

Highly dangerous to be going into a RWC with no credentialed kicking and catching coach the equivalent of the AB's Mick Byrne.

>> To the best of my knowledge, we still have no Wallaby Forwards Coach.

V the Boks, the poor quality of our breakdown work was hugely exposed and the Boks:Wallaby turnovers won ratio was embarrassing. This dimension v Argentina was better, but that team was in IMO weaker than the 2014 version and their forwards skills in broken play were way below what we will see in the RWC v the likes of England, Boks again, and of course the ABs. (Note that the Boks in recent years have invested in a specialised breakdown-focussed coaching program under Richie Gray.)

Chek is valiantly coaching the forwards himself, but history shows just as Deans foolishly insisted on coaching the backs/attack himself, that, at this highly demanding and competitive level, you just cannot combine total team overnight as HC with also trying to optimise performance directly yourself in a key specialised function of the team. Something has to give, or be compromised, in one or the other.

The NZRU figured this out long ago - indeed weak thinking on his potential ABs coaching team as a whole was one of the major reasons Deans lost out to Henry in the context re the appointment of AB HC in late 2007.

It wil be fascinating - I hope not in yet another painful way - to see how our forwards deal with those of the ABs on Saturday night. This is just the area where time and time again the ABs have shown us the forwards playing standards and 'correctly applied intensity' (especially in broken play) to which we could only aspire. We observe all this, but little really gets done about it, in a genuine coaching upgrade action plan.

Our approach to dealing with this obvious gap seems to principally be to attempt to forge 'new cultures', 'deposits in belief' and 'identities and passion' and, that vastly over-used term that no one quite knows what it means anymore, 'up the physicality'. The complex, precise technical work in terms of breakdown timing, numbers to allocate, technique over the loose ball, assembling-in-pods skills, etc seem to be considered secondary, but this is what a crack forwards coach works on day and night.
 

Ignoto

John Thornett (49)
Operation is, what, 9 days after the injury? Seems longer than necessary where we have on going medical scrutiny. Had to get back to Aus, but still?


I haven't read anything that suggests the injury happened in the last game. For all we know, the injury could be FIFA related as all the boys had the weekend off.
 

Mr Doug

Dick Tooth (41)
The BC is stacked in favour of the holder.

The "challenger" has to win a series, either 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, or 3-1. Can't recall a 5 test series.

The "holder" gets to keep it in a drawn series, 1-1 or 2-2.

That worked in our favour at times during the last extended period of holding the BC.


Thanks for that info.
We should take it in first BC match, given the performance of my latest "LRJs" ...... (two from two)!!
 

blindsider

Billy Sheehan (19)
Just switching radio frequencies over to the Wallaby-related station no one really cares about (except a tiny little group).

'The total coaching team that matters most' - 2TCT FM

>> B Foley on Rugby HQ last week, in discussing his kicking issues, referred to the fact that Cheika has just now brought in Chris Malone ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Malone) to assist with his kicking.

(Chek has clearly sacked the hapless Hill whose kicking coach improvement stats just about matched up with A Blades' equivalent in his forwards and set piece coaching of 2012-14. As an aside: the ARU's recent history in choosing Assistant Coaches at Wallaby level is dire - I can think of only P Blake, who did excellent work with Wallaby defence in his period - that has made a demonstrably positive contribution - have there been others?)

Chris Malone has his talents, but a seasoned, specialist kicking coach he is not. This is clearly an 'emergency ring-in' band-aid style appointment.

Highly dangerous to be going into a RWC with no credentialed kicking and catching coach the equivalent of the AB's Mick Byrne.

>> To the best of my knowledge, we still have no Wallaby Forwards Coach.

V the Boks, the poor quality of our breakdown work was hugely exposed and the Boks:Wallaby turnovers won ratio was embarrassing. This dimension v Argentina was better, but that team was in IMO weaker than the 2014 version and their forwards skills in broken play were way below what we will see in the RWC v the likes of England, Boks again, and of course the ABs. (Note that the Boks in recent years have invested in a specialised breakdown-focussed coaching program under Richie Gray.)

Chek is valiantly coaching the forwards himself, but history shows just as Deans foolishly insisted on coaching the backs/attack himself, that, at this highly demanding and competitive level, you just cannot combine total team overnight as HC with also trying to optimise performance directly yourself in a key specialised function of the team. Something has to give, or be compromised, in one or the other.

The NZRU figured this out long ago - indeed weak thinking on his potential ABs coaching team as a whole was one of the major reasons Deans lost out to Henry in the context re the appointment of AB HC in late 2007.

It wil be fascinating - I hope not in yet another painful way - to see how our forwards deal with those of the ABs on Saturday night. This is just the area where time and time again the ABs have shown us the forwards playing standards and 'correctly applied intensity' (especially in broken play) to which we could only aspire. We observe all this, but little really gets done about it, in a genuine coaching upgrade action plan.

Our approach to dealing with this obvious gap seems to principally be to attempt to forge 'new cultures', 'deposits in belief' and 'identities and passion' and, that vastly over-used term that no one quite knows what it means anymore, 'up the physicality'. The complex, precise technical work in terms of breakdown timing, numbers to allocate, technique over the loose ball, assembling-in-pods skills, etc seem to be considered secondary, but this is what a crack forwards coach works on day and night.

They should get Dan Parks in for a kicking masterclass.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

KOB1987

Rod McCall (65)
Chris Malone has his talents, but a seasoned, specialist kicking coach he is not. This is clearly an 'emergency ring-in' band-aid style appointment.

To be fair, I'd query the career path options of anyone who claimed this to be their job.

Chris Malone is coach of Sydney Uni and also the Sydney Stars so it would be reasonable to assume that he has at least chosen rugby coaching as his career and is already coaching at a high level considering only a few years on the job (he only finished playing in 2011). For reasons best known by Cheika he has now been called in to the Wallabies coaching team as said specialist kicking coach, presumably up to and including the RWC.

I'd be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.
 

Dumbledore

Dick Tooth (41)
It's too late to bring in a specialist. Way too late to reconstruct or rebuild a kicking style before the World Cup. Going to be a matter of discipline, routine, and hope for the best from here.
 
D

daz

Guest
I'd be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I don't think we have much of a choice but to do just that. As DD has said above, it's too late now to contemplate any other options.

Having said that, I do think that it is unfair to put the responsibility of teaching how to kick on the Wallaby coaching set-up. Sure, we need to have someone who can review and finesse, but you would hope that a kicker would have a bit of a clue before he got to pull on a Gold jersey. The work needs to be done by the bloke with the boot, and he needs to know that and not wait to be told to train.

I am reminded somewhat of our old nemesis J. Wilkinson, and how he was at training 2 hours early and still there 2 hours afterwards every day, just banging them over like a metronome.

The adage of "practice makes perfect" may apply here. I don't know how many hours a day our specialist kickers practice, but from recent results, I'd suggest they ring their old club coach to meet them down at the local oval and double their workload.
 

fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
To be fair, I'd query the career path options of anyone who claimed this to be their job.

Chris Malone is coach of Sydney Uni and also the Sydney Stars so it would be reasonable to assume that he has at least chosen rugby coaching as his career and is already coaching at a high level considering only a few years on the job (he only finished playing in 2011). For reasons best known by Cheika he has now been called in to the Wallabies coaching team as said specialist kicking coach, presumably up to and including the RWC.

I'd be inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.



he is also part of the Tahs coaching staff for next season and was actually a Dan Parks type player; a slow, but pretty smart 10
 

Floggn'

Jimmy Flynn (14)
Yep, would have to agree that Horwill would be my pick to replace Simmons. Who else is going to be able to give away as penalties as Simmo?

C'mon mate that line is getting old. I think everyone on this site would agree that in the last 12 months that has come out of his game. He has averaged less than a penalty a game which compared to other international locks is outstanding.
 

No4918

John Hipwell (52)
1. Slipper
2. Moore
3. Kepu
4. Skelton
5. Horwill
6. Fardy
7. Pocock
8. McCalman
9. Phipps
10. Cooper
11. Tomane
12. To'omua
13. Kuridrani
14. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15. Folau

16. TPN
17. Sio
18. Holmes
19. Mumm
20. Hooper
21. White
22. Foley
23. Beale/Mitchell
 
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