New Zealand v Wallabies, Eden Park, Sat 22nd October

[TOCC]

Weird :
- Foley at 10 (everyone's been saying he's not a 12)
- Hodge at 12 (which 90% of the people here want)
- Speight on the wing (90% of the people on here have been saying we need a proper winger),

What you meant to say was:

"It just shits me when Cheika doesn't pick the team I would have picked".

Do you really think the scoreline is now going to blow out because of these selections?

And then there are those who think Cheika can do no wrong..

Wallabies combos have chopped and changed all season for poor performances, selection criticisms are to be expected and warranted

 

[KOB1987]

And then there are those who think Cheika can do no wrong

No I don't think that at all. I want to see the game first before I am too critical of the selections.

 

[emuarse]

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen yesterday mischievously picked what he thought Australia would put out in the backline, with remarkable success. He picked Cooper would be dropped as well as Hodge coming into second-five and Samu Kerevi at centre.

What model drone did you say Steve Hansen owned

 

[emuarse]

32 zip to All Blacks in the 1st 20mins.
Looking forward to Phipps and Foely's kicking and passing game.
Thankfully Wallabies AB's have Mumm.
.

Fixed

 

[Viking]

Foley's form has been substantially better in the last couple of games.

At 12. He started at 12 as a poor defender, running game not as good, and struggled to get into the game.

So yes he's improves his defence and his running game.

Has he improved any skills that a quality 10 possesses? The skills which were exposed by England 3 games in a row. Kicking, Passing, Organising the back-line? I don't see any evident of this at all.

So your argument of "improvement" would help justify his selection at 12 but certainly not at 10.

I'm confused and dumbfounded by the selection. Goal-kicking and a combination with Phipps the only 2 bearings I can see in his favour.

I'm keen to see Hodge at 12 but his distributions has also been poor at test level - so who on earth is going to be setting up our back-line?

 

[sunnyboys]

The leaking might possibly be from someone that shares an agent with a former AB, and who is a bit aggrieved...

that would make sense wouldn't it?

 

[Ignoto]

The leaking might possibly be from someone that shares an agent with a former AB, and who is a bit aggrieved.

that would make sense wouldn't it?

Maybe the Kiwi's weren't the only ones who had a listening device in a couch, just the Wallaby staff didn't do a sweep!

 

[fatprop]

.

Has he improved any skills that a quality 10 possesses? The skills which were exposed by England 3 games in a row. Kicking, Passing, Organising the back-line? I don't see any evident of this at all.

Did you watch the RWC?

 

[Train Without a Station]

Yes we did FP.

Is that the one where Foley had 1 try assist for the tournament (6 games) and the majority of our backline offered little in attack?

The issue his detractors have is where he did play well, he did not exhibit these qualities still.

 

[Lorenzo]

Foley's just not a test footballer. Yeah, he had a good game against England in 2015 and we can all agree that happened at a fortuitous time. His continued inclusion is Cheika continuing to try to win provincial footy despite not actually playing in a provincial comp.

We went through a similar thing with Matt Giteau, who was able to consistently woo the wallaby selectors with outstanding play in Super Rugby that largely didn't cross over to the test arena. He played 92 tests before taking half a decade off prior to coming back heralded by many (including some on here) as the great white hope, so we are nothing if not gluttons for punishment.

 

[fatprop]

Yes we did FP.

Is that the one where Foley had 1 try assist for the tournament (6 games) and the majority of our backline offered little in attack?

The issue his detractors have is where he did play well, he did not exhibit these qualities still.

We must have gone really, really bad in the tournament with such a crappy 10, oh wait ......................

 

[Lorenzo]

We were a dubious penalty away from losing to Scotland. Let's not act like we brought back bill, regardless.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Foley was close to our worst player against NZ in Sydney last year and we won.

What's your point FP?

 

[Braveheart81]

The point is that this is a pointless conversation and it's probably time to stop with the hand wringing.

It's a surprising selection and who knows what will happen but the Wallabies are almost no chance tomorrow night and that hasn't changed based on who has been selected.

Last year Cheika was accused of giving Foley the easy run by starting him in Sydney and Quade in NZ.

Maybe Cheika has said that Quade will get an opportunity to start with Hodge at 12 against Wales? Who the fuck knows.

It's pretty easy to argue that both of them struggle under pressure and are both likely to suck at Eden Park.

Let's move on and either discuss something else about the game or wait for it to happen.

 

[ForceFan]

Our starting XV needs to step up big time to put any pressure on the ABs ball carriers.

The Wallabies Front Row has to perform at/above their best for 2016 - firstly to match the contributions by the ABs Front Row around the park and then provide the required impact at the breakdown.

In addition the speed of the Wallabies support play has to be at its best as the ABs have enough breakdown power to really pressure the Wallabies ball carriers.

Av Ruck Involvements/80 minutes stats of our Back Row for Tests in 2016 shows the challenge:

Best DRI Efforts in 2016
Hooper - 13 - Bled 1
Mumm - 3 - Boks Brisbane
Timani - 11 - Pumas London

Moore - Av 5 - Best 12 - Eng 2 (No double figs in TRC)
Sio - Av 5 - Best 12 - Bled 1 (Only double figs in 2016)
Kepu - Av 3 - Best 6 - Eng 3

Hopefully:
Hooper plays as a more conventional OSF.
Timani sets a new high number.
Moore and Sio give their best.
Kerevi gives his best.

 

[TOCC]

We must have gone really, really bad in the tournament with such a crappy 10, oh wait ........

RWC is in the past, Foley's performance against England in the RWC was one of the best Wallaby 5/8 performances that i have seen in years... But Foley isn't the same player he was at the 2015 RWC, his form has gone backwards, he is playing deeper, his tactical kicking has gone from bad to worse and his confidence/decision making has been flaky..

If Foley was in the same form that he was in 2015 then we wouldn't be having this discussion, but he isn't and people need to accept that.

 

[cyclopath]

Firstly, since you're able to recall what 90% of people want here, you should be perfectly capable of recalling the England series and the first two Bledisloe tests.

In case you forgot, Foley was just as much a "nota10" 3 months ago as he is "nota12" now.

Those of us who aren't blinded by Foley-love remember this.

Then they recall statements made by the head coach over the last few weeks about "Standards" and how they "Have to apply across the board" in reference to various players being dropped.

Now we are seeing the coach continue to reward abysmal / anonymous peformances of his favorite player who lead us to 3-straight losses to England (with ~60% possession) and has been so unbelievably below par it's not funny.

But the thing is, after 6 years of Robbie Deans. It is funny now.

I read the team and laughed rather loudly. I wasn't shocked, surprised or bewildered as i'm very much used to clueless, biased selections that have become a staple of the Wallaby diet for the better part of a decade.

Bit harsh to lump those 3 losses solely on Foley's shoulders. Sure, he did not play well, and I'm not sure why he is picked at 10 now, but I think there were plenty of players who performed below par in those Tests.

 

[Brumby Runner]

I would assume that Phipp's attributes suit Foley's play more than Cooper's

Cooper likes his 9 to direct play until Cooper calls for it.

Phipps clears the ball and the 10 makes those decisions playing off quicker ball (hopefully) closer/flatter on the advantage line

I live in hope of seeing this happen, but it will be a first for Foley at 10 for the Wallabies if it does.

 

[Viking]

Did you watch the RWC?

Yeh, When Foley was in form and even then Beale was the one doing the play-making and Gits kicking. Distribution and kicking still never his strong suit. Running game superb though.

Plus how good would Foley's running games, and calmness in goal-kicking be in the last 30minutes? Seems like a much better bench option with more impact then Cooper.

Did you watch the England Series?

Did you watch the Rugby Championship?

 

[Braveheart81]

No one is trying to argue that Foley is in excellent form and should have replaced Cooper at 10.

Pretty much everyone has said they would have kept Cooper at 10.

After Foley played the first four tests of the year at 10, Cooper has played the last 4. For whatever reason, Cheika has reverted to Foley for this game.

The Wallabies are at their longest odds of winning the game out of any test match they've ever played and that has nothing to do with selections.

Can we just move on?