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

[Derpus]

Apologies, I haven’t been clear. Neither Quade nor Jono should go anywhere near the Wallabies right now. Cheika has a plan, obviously I call this plan the shit sandwich. Now he eats the sandwich.

I personally would have had one of them in the squad as back up for this very obvious eventuality. Very obvious. Cheika didn’t, now he implements shit sandwich.

Whatever happens, I clearly think this shit sandwich was self made bollocks. But who knows he may pull it off against the Blossums. Fortunately it doesn’t effect much else at this stage.

Stop with all this talk of sandwiches, you're making me hungry.

 

[Up the Guts]

Strange, isn’t it, how some players should be given time following injury recovery. And others are fair game.

Unsure who is supposed to be fair game and who is supposed to have been given time.

 

[dru]

Unsure who is supposed to be fair game and who is supposed to have been given time.

How about we give a short break to any WB coming back from injury. Or illness.

 

[TOCC]

One of the Japanese locks....

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[dru]

One of the Japanese locks..

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Remember how that scrum went against the Boks in the last RWC?

I’d have given the Bok locks as pretty much the best LO locks in the world at the time. Didn’t stop a Blossum win.

They are without Eddie of course. WBs should win with a C team.

But that would be to disrespect them. I think we are.

 

[barbarian]

We've picked a full strength forward pack, which should get Hodge plenty of go-forward ball. You wouldn't want anything more from your first game as Wallaby 10.

I'm prepared to give it a chance, but I'm skeptical it will work. Agree with what TOCC said before - I like a lot about Hodge but never noticed anything special about his distribution skills.

A shame Hunt is injured, I think this move would have made a lot more sense with him at 12. Now it's Kerevi, who is struggling for form as well.
.

 

[fatprop]

At this stage? Not involved in the squad or training, doesn’t know the systems or planning. That would be a shit sandwich.

A shit sandwich spread by the great Cheika. Let him eat his own sandwich.

Do you think Larkham has had no input into the decision?

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[Joe Blow]

Hunt was impressive in June, mostly for his uncompromising defense. He really shored up the midfield and filled a position that we were struggling with. I thought Hodge went pretty well at 12 as well.
However, despite this and his obvious big game experience in other codes he still has a lot to prove in rugby union.
As said and backed up by a few, it will be tough for hodge at 10 without a recognized 2nd playmaker at 12 but he should receive ample opportunity assuming our pack will be getting a lot of good go-forward ball.

 

[Up the Guts]

As said and backed up by a few, it will be tough for hodge at 10 without a recognized 2nd playmaker at 12 but he should receive ample opportunity assuming our pack will be getting a lot of good go-forward ball.

I'm not sure how crucial the second playmaker at 12 will be with Beale at 15. I expect Hodge will mainly either be hitting Kerevi or TK running flat or hitting Beale out the back who will link up with the guys out wide. Expect Beale to also spend a lot of time at first receiver marshalling the forward runners.

 

[TOCC]

Remember how that scrum went against the Boks in the last RWC?

I’d have given the Bok locks as pretty much the best LO locks in the world at the time. Didn’t stop a Blossum win.

They are without Eddie of course. WBs should win with a C team.

But that would be to disrespect them. I think we are.

This is a vastly different Japanese team to the one which was at the 2015 RWC, they at least had 190cm locks back then .. their performance in June against the Irish(minus B&I Lions players) is a more accurate reflection of their current standard then the RWC IMO

 

[dru]

We've picked a full strength forward pack, which should get Hodge plenty of go-forward ball. You wouldn't want anything more from your first game as Wallaby 10.

I'm prepared to give it a chance, but I'm skeptical it will work. Agree with what TOCC said before - I like a lot about Hodge but never noticed anything special about his distribution skills.

A shame Hunt is injured, I think this move would have made a lot more sense with him at 12. Now it's Kerevi, who is struggling for form as well.
.

Barbarian, are you not at all detecting something of a fuck up over the last few months?

 

[dru]

Do you think Larkham has had no input into the decision?

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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.

 

[fatprop]

Hunt was underwhelming against the Barbarians. Hope he can get back to some of the form he was showing in June tests.

One game in a scratch side? Hunt is a very smart footballer who makes good decisions and gives everything. He is the kind of player you just find a place for in any side because you know he will put in 100%

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[fatprop]

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.

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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[GaffaCHinO]

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.

 

[dru]

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

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.

 

[Strewthcobber]

Hodge will be fine. He'll get plenty of tips from the coach who moved from another position to play five-eighth (Nathan Grey)

 

[Rugbynutter39]

One of the Japanese locks..

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Wow only 1 cm taller than me......

 

[Up the Guts]

One game in a scratch side? Hunt is a very smart footballer who makes good decisions and gives everything. He is the kind of player you just find a place for in any side because you know he will put in 100%

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I was more suggesting he still looked a bit underdone coming back from injury and hadn't regained his June test form. Of course if he wasn't injured he'd be in the side.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

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.

We accept it as in reality he has proved over time despite some scepticism he has 'generally' made some right coaching and selection choices which resulted in a pretty good Rugby Championship and win against AB's outside of that compared to June series (early days) and our woeful Super Rugby form of oz sides. This means probably people prepared to give bit more latitude. 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.