Australia v New Zealand - Sydney 16 Aug

[biggsy]

I must admit it didn't even occur to me.

Did you think after Mccaw gave away the super rugby GF he would fuck up again. All Blacks just waited for our young inexperienced wallabies captain and tahs back line not to push for a drop goal attempted to seal a test match with running rugby against the all black in the last 3min

Would have been 15, 12 to the wallabies if foley or even cooper started.

 

[p.Tah]

Only 68000 for a game that used to sell out in seconds (and probably still would interstate).

People still defending the ARU's ticketing policy need to get their head of their arse. The game is never going to succeed here by just engaging Sydney's elite and upper middle class class. Either drop ticket prices in Sydney and get the rest of the city outside of the north and eastern suburbs involved or send games interstate to people who actually deserve games.

Which state would get more than 68k? They lost 7k due to the rain.
The ticket prices aren't the issue. It's the 4hr round trip in torrential rain.

 

[qwerty51]

McCaw should remain untouchable.

 

[Marcelo]

If anyone had any doubt, it has become very clear. The best candidate for the Wallaby #10 jersey is:

Kurtley Beale:

If you want to go to the NRL, go ahead. You have no chance against Billy Slater, Jarryd Hayne or Greg Inglis. You can't threaten the ARU saying you want a place in the starting XV, is the highest level. It's assumed that no one has a secure place, you had a great opportunity and you've missed your chance. From this point you will be the replacement of centers/fullback or NOTHING.

 

[USARugger]

Thought Foley's decision to run back inside when there was a glaring overlap late the second half - justifies Beale's promotion. You dont win safely with the ABs. kitchen sink minimum Hooper geez outstanding talent - better than Smith and Waugh if comparing at the same starting point of their careers #prodigious

As someone with a Samoa supporter's badge I think you'd be more than familiar with the fact that you also win very little rugby (against anyone) when your 10 is providing you absolutely no direction for the majority of the match.

It looked just like JOC (James O'Connor) 'playing' 10 against the Lions.

It was horrid and we would have won the test had Foley started, all other things considered.

The Beale experiment was much closer to throwing an old dirty dishtowel at the ABs than the proverbial kitchen sink.

White's service only made this worse but it was night-and-day once Foley came on. Suddenly the ball was getting past the midfield (and not 20m behind the gain line) and people were actually set up on the line and in pods by the time the ball was out and all of those wonderful things.

Thought the forwards played well up against the AB pack but I need to review set pieces as I don't try to read too much into them during live matches - too many moving parts. Thought we were solid in general play and really aggressive around the breakdown although we lacked the accuracy and coordination the ABs demonstrated around turnover ball.

Scrambling defense reminded me of the 2011 Reds in a good way.

Folau got the piss knocked out of him this game and really got punished for every mistake - good on the ABs for creating that much pressure and targeting him so well. McCabe and Horne were disappointing but it's hard to draw conclusions considering how fucked the backs were from 9/10 on for most of the match.

 

[USARugger]

McCabe and Horne have been much better this year and no not back to a Deans run the ball with someone there To'omua plays flat all the time like his D and tonight's weather called for flat play with hitting lines hard.

It's just what I thought the game needed.

Yeah it's too bad Beale was standing in Dunedin for most of the touches he got in general play. Not that doing that completely nullifies the threats he brings with his style of play, or anything.

 

[barbarian]

It was horrid and we would have won the test had Foley started, all other things considered.

I'm sorry but that is just untrue.

Remember the last tight, grinding test we played that came down to PGs? Against France in Melbourne. How did Foley play? He was poor, anonymous even. I can't see any evidence to suggest last night would have been any better.

Beale was fine, there has been so much rubbish spouted here. Other than a few spilled balls he did everything he could reasonably be expected to do- the attack was well structured, he passed well and kicked well. In tough conditions which Cruden struggled with too. Foley would have struggled as well.

The problem is people like to look for easy answers after games like last night. 'It was Beale', 'It was White', 'it was the ref' etc. In fact these things come down to a handful of chances, and the better team takes them and wins. We had ours, they had theirs, and neither side took them. So it was a draw. And in fact the chances we botched had nothing to do with Beale or White.
.

 

[barbarian]

I've only read the last few pages, so here goes. A few quick points:

1. What the fuck went wrong with our lineout? As bad as the Tahs, except with a good thrower, caller and plenty of options.

2. Argh Rob Simmons- just when you think he's finally made it, he puts in an anonymous effort in a test where we really fucking needed him to step up.

3. How many tackles did Hooper break? The man is a fucking machine.

4. Turns out not many people in Kosovo want to talk about the rugby. Just got a lot of blank looks. Must be Leaguies.

5. White's passing was very poor. It was wet wet wet but still.

6. Our defence was good, and has been for quite some time. A real foundation of our game which we can build on for next year.

7. First AB yellow was wrong, second one was OK. We certainly got the rub of the green with the officials.

8. Slipper and Kepu were good, and are now both truly International class props.

 

[Biffo]

have no fear.
The Coach has fixed all Wallaby problems.
if he hasn't, hang about for five minutes and he will.

 

[fatprop]

Mmm, some thoughts,

I thought our option taking was pretty average, I thought our work off the ball in attack was mediocre.

There seemed to be little structure in attack, runners were not being covered/supported quickly enough, our phase play was too slow. This passing to someone in a shittier position just has to stop.

White was too slow to the ruck too often and we weren't realigning quickly enough to give him that next option when he finally did get there.

Our wingers while defending well didn't work hard enough to give options/support on kick return. So to me they played well as centres, but not as wingers

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Disagree - as Hooper said in the presser: they were a man up and smelled blood in the water. You don't win against the ABs by taking three and then going back to halfway and worrying if you can get the ball from the restart.

If we score that try, we can take the lead and show them we won't be bullied.

We missed 5 tackles all night. They missed 20. Holding the ball was working, just that Beale isn't right for Test 10.

Perhaps he needs to see a doctor about his sense of smell then.
How many tries did we score?
Not taking the shot fails the "what would the all blacks do in this situation" test.

 

[Dan54]

The problem is people like to look for easy answers after games like last night. 'It was Beale', 'It was White', 'it was the ref' etc. In fact these things come down to a handful of chances, and the better team takes them and wins. We had ours, they had theirs, and neither side took them. So it was a draw. And in fact the chances we botched had nothing to do with Beale or White.
.

I can't say how much I agree with this comment Barb!! I think both teams supporters really should just suck in their breath and use whatever grey matter they may posess!
I cannot say I saw in either team a player I thought cost their team the match, I said earlier and still think both teams were pretty inaccurate in the conditions, and would expect a big difference next week. Peyper made mistakes (I agree the first yellow against Crockett was plain wrong) but he didn't cost the Abs or the Wallabies the game as I am sure I could find decisions that went ABs way too.
Suck it up everyone Beale wasn't horrible, White wasn't that bad with scrappy ball he got, and for my lot, same applies, I certainly won't be calling for any heads this week, though as I said earlier I can perhaps see Smith going to wing and Dagg coming in, not calling for it, just suspect maybe one or two changes.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

McCabe looked like an U/12's player against Savea. Woeful action taken when passed the ball from Charles and later on to not have the strength to drive Savea back into the in goal when he has 50m of sprinting momentum and Savea has just come up from the game was embarrassing.

Im waiting to see a replay of that and I agree that it appeared he was out of his depth.
However, I think you will find that no one straightened and drew their opposite allowing 2 men (not just Savea) to get him into touch.
All of our attack is aiming at the sideline.
Whether the ABs are dropping the ball or have men in the sin bin if we continue to run across field they will just herd us from one side to the other.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Sam Carter proved tonight that he's not only a test player, but he's up there with the best.

He certainly proved he's "up there": he has the body height of someone who's been to the June Dally Watkins school of deportment.

 

[ACT Crusader]

If anyone had any doubt, it has become very clear. The best candidate for the Wallaby #10 jersey is:

Kurtley Beale:

If you want to go to the NRL, go ahead. You have no chance against Billy Slater, Jarryd Hayne or Greg Inglis. You can't threaten the ARU saying you want a place in the starting XV, is the highest level. It's assumed that no one has a secure place, you had a great opportunity and you've missed your chance. From this point you will be the replacement of centers/fullback or NOTHING.

Haha, so it looks like Hansen has reeled in one fish....

 

[Pete King]

If anyone had any doubt, it has become very clear. The best candidate for the Wallaby #10 jersey is:

Yeah because he has never had a shocker against the all blacks or dropped the ball. Selective / short memory. I don't think you would have seen anything different from Quade or foley last night. The blacks flooded the breakdown and took space in wet conditions. Talk me through how Quade would have been better

 

[eastman]

Pretty amazing how we see the same game so differently.

Nic White had some very ordinary touches but Nick Phipps really didn't do anything when he came on to suggest he should start. We should remember that the White/Foley combination has started in most (maybe alll) of our recent wins and imo should be persisted with.

Pat McCabe didn't work on the wing. Probably, on balance, the better structure is Kuridrani at 13 and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) on the wing, until a proper winger is fit and available.

Cliff Palu again had some strong touches, but he seemed to fade early in the second half. I would retain Higgers on the bench and bring him on for Palu earlier in the game.

I think I've had this argument with you before but your bias towards Nic White is starting to become more apparent but at least most people are starting to see through it. The problem with White is that unless he is behind a dominant pack he is fairly predictable and persists with his kicking game. For all Phipps' faults at least he plays with an increased intensity and has a touch of x- factor.

Another thing I've noticed is that everytime Izzy receives the ball in counter he always looks to pass to Kurtley as quickly as possible. He needs to tell Kurley to fuck off and just have a go himself- he'd be a lot more threatening

 

[No4918]

My team for the next game:

1 Slipper
2 Charles
3 Kepu
4 Simmons
5 Carter
6 Higginbotham
7 Hooper
8 Palu
9 Phipps
10 Foley
11 Horne
12 To'omua
13 Kuridrani
14 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15 Folau

I would agree but for dropping Fardy. He has been in the top 5 most consistent Wallabies since debuting. Higgers went ok but after a poor year he is a long way from being the man we need at 6.

 

[Pete King]

I would agree but for dropping Fardy. He has been in the top 5 most consistent Wallabies since debuting. Higgers went ok but after a poor year he is a long way from being the man we need at 6.

Tie with the all blacks and make 6 changes? Fuck me dead

 

[Dave Beat]

Disagree - as Hooper said in the presser: they were a man up and smelled blood in the water. You don't win against the ABs by taking three and then going back to halfway and worrying if you can get the ball from the restart.

If we score that try, we can take the lead and show them we won't be bullied.

We missed 5 tackles all night. They missed 20. Holding the ball was working, just that Beale isn't right for Test 10.

Spot on great attitude, we almost made it 7 points - I want to win scoring tries.