Australia v Argentina 7 Oct 2017 in Mendoza

[BarneySF]

McMahon has done the job consistently for us at 8 since Dunedin. Despite possessing all the physical attributes of an 8 Timani just hasn't been up to scratch or even replicated his form from last season and there's no way you can claim he would have done a better job than McMahon. Naisarani seems to be shaping up to be our only real option as the more classic 8. If he's able to maintain his current form until he is eligible then he may well be able to play the role of the big ball running 8 we all desire. Until then McMahon or Pockock on his return with Hooper at 7 offer more than anyone else is currently showing.

Interesting to hear Hansen’s comments about how all the RC travel roots them for the EOYT


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TSR]

I'm happy to eat some humble pie on a couple of things.

It wasn't too long ago I said I thought Cheika's position had become almost untenable, for a number of reasons. For the most part he is now starting to bear the fruits of the ground work he is putting in. While there may be some way to go, clear improvement in our general play is evident. And I think Cheika and the team deserve a lot of credit for finishing the game strongly when the effects of the gruelling travel requirements of the RC were pretty evident.

I also questioned the rational for Dempsey being in the squad and I thought he was good. We still lack some balance in the backrow/pack but Dempsey did his job and showed his worth and well done to him.

The Wallabies remain a work in progress - but finishing 2nd in a comp involving NZ, SA & the Argies is no mean feat and, apart from a dreadful first half in Sydney I think there has been plenty of good stuff.

 

[Derpus]

Those posters who said he wasn't up to it have been strangely quiet post match.

To be fair he had not really displayed being 'up to it' until this match.

 

[wamberal]

I was really impressed at the level of skill in the passing exchanges. Looks as though Mick Byrne’s work is finally starting to pay off.


Now go and do some work with Popgun Foley, Mick, please. Teach him how to kick properly, consistently, and long.

 

[barbarian]

I really like our attacking shape at the moment.

Too often in the past we've been very formulaic in attack. The classic 'triangle pod' structure, repeated ad nauseam, and then a couple of second man plays in the backline.

But now we're mixing it up a lot more. We will attack flat with forward runners, go wide through the hands, chuck a few pick-and-go phases, attack different channels. We have scored tries with 10+ phases of buildup, but also off first phase.

I think continuity is a huge factor here. Thankfully we have had a miracle run with injuries (Hunt, Naivalu, DHP and Slipper our only major outs) and we are seeing combinations and trust developing.

As always, though, you're only as good as your next game. Bled III is a dead rubber in name only - we have so much to play for. It might end up being a referrendum on 2017. We play well and the early losses were worth it, with a clear upward trajectory. We mail it in and lose, then it all looks like a false dawn.
.

 

[Braveheart81]

I thought Hooper was epic with his attacking cleanouts against the Pumas.

He made a bunch of crucial cleanouts where any ineffectiveness would have seen us get turned over.

 

[Up the Guts]

Watched a couple of parts of the game again. Gee Taf's bloody good isn't he saved our arses a number of times and was great around the park. Shame he's had such bad luck with injuries over the years.

 

[Derpus]

I thought Hooper was epic with his attacking cleanouts against the Pumas.

He made a bunch of crucial cleanouts where any ineffectiveness would have seen us get turned over.

It's a shame he's no where near as effective at attacking defensive rucks as he is cleaning offensive ones.

 

[Braveheart81]

It's a shame he's no where near as effective at attacking defensive rucks as he is cleaning offensive ones.

True. He still achieved one forced penalty/turnover in that game though.

I still don't think attacking defensive breakdowns hard is necessarily the best tactic. Argentina go hardest at trying to pilfer out of all the Rugby Championship teams and I don't think it is at all successful for them. They tend to bleed penalties.

 

[Derpus]

True. He still achieved one forced penalty/turnover in that game though.

I still don't think attacking defensive breakdowns hard is necessarily the best tactic. Argentina go hardest at trying to pilfer out of all the Rugby Championship teams and I don't think it is at all successful for them. They tend to bleed penalties.

Scotland fucked us pretty good and South Africa caused us grief. Don't think it's a tactic we should be using against other teams though.
I actually rather enjoy our standing off of the ruck in defence. That being said, i think our defensive line should be more dominant than it is given how little attention the ruck gets.

 

[Braveheart81]

I certainly feel like the team is trending up. There are more players more regularly putting in a strong game and I think we are becoming less reliant on a couple of players having an absolute blinder for us to be competitive.

I'd say Dempsey, Genia, Hodge and TPN all outperformed expectations having strong to very strong games (clearly the expectation of Genia is higher than Dempsey).

I would say the bulk of our team had good/solid games.

It's hard to pinpoint anyone you could say had a bad game.

We need to keep improving to challenge the All Blacks. Their greatest strength is their consistency across the park. They had a relatively poor test by their standards against a very good Springboks performance on the weekend but still managed to get the win mostly because an average performance by them with few standouts is still seriously good.

 

[drewprint]

I watched the game today after first reading this match thread. I mainly tried keeping an eye on our locks and while Coleman was his usual tough self I really thought Rodda stepped up too. Busy and hard as nails.

 

[notapatrioticboneinme]

Do you think the players (on any team) care at all whether they finish 2nd or 3rd in the RC? I doubt they considered it for a second on the field.

Strewth cobber, not sure I agree. To brag to your grandkid that you played in the team that finished 2nd to the almighty AB's, I dunno, sounds pretty fu*kin' fantastic to me

 

[Brumby Runner]

A lot of supportive comments on the thread and rightly so. Almost across the board, there were good performances. The only disappointing performance in my eyes was from Kepu. Had a hard time in many of the scrums, was lethargic around the ground, missed tackles and dropped the ball. Certainly out of character but nonetheless a less than acceptable game.

 

[Up the Guts]

A lot of supportive comments on the thread and rightly so. Almost across the board, there were good performances. The only disappointing performance in my eyes was from Kepu. Had a hard time in many of the scrums, was lethargic around the ground, missed tackles and dropped the ball. Certainly out of character but nonetheless a less than acceptable game.

Fatigued perhaps, hopefully it's a one off.

 

[Hawko]

A lot of supportive comments on the thread and rightly so. Almost across the board, there were good performances. The only disappointing performance in my eyes was from Kepu. Had a hard time in many of the scrums, was lethargic around the ground, missed tackles and dropped the ball. Certainly out of character but nonetheless a less than acceptable game.

The man has held up our scrum all season and made some huge contributions around the park. I'm prepared to cut him some slack. He will be a key part of our efforts to beat NZ next week.

 

[wamberal]

The man has held up our scrum all season and made some huge contributions around the park. I'm prepared to cut him some slack. He will be a key part of our efforts to beat NZ next week.

I assume that most of us have done some long distance travel. Surely it is pretty obvious that the ridiculous travel schedule that these players endure will affect some of them. Who knows what sort of condition all of them are in, some of them are bound to be carrying minor problems.


Cut them a bit of slack when they are off their game a bit. They are not Supermen.

 

[notapatrioticboneinme]

A lot of supportive comments on the thread and rightly so. Almost across the board, there were good performances. The only disappointing performance in my eyes was from Kepu. Had a hard time in many of the scrums, was lethargic around the ground, missed tackles and dropped the ball. Certainly out of character but nonetheless a less than acceptable game.

Sekope Kepu looked buggered last match; was slow to his feet after scrummaging a couple of times. The 'warrior' needs a spell.

 

[Braveheart81]

I thought Kepu was one of our best against the Springboks in Bloemfontein. He has been terrific overall this season.

 

[Derpus]

I certainly feel like the team is trending up. There are more players more regularly putting in a strong game and I think we are becoming less reliant on a couple of players having an absolute blinder for us to be competitive.

I'd say Dempsey, Genia, Hodge and TPN all outperformed expectations having strong to very strong games (clearly the expectation of Genia is higher than Dempsey).

I would say the bulk of our team had good/solid games.

It's hard to pinpoint anyone you could say had a bad game.

We need to keep improving to challenge the All Blacks. Their greatest strength is their consistency across the park. They had a relatively poor test by their standards against a very good Springboks performance on the weekend but still managed to get the win mostly because an average performance by them with few standouts is still seriously good.

Beale and TK were both pretty average/quiet.