Reds v Waratahs, rd2 SR2013

[emuarse]

Just gotta shake my head & move on :-l

Qwerty51, are you sure you're not Inside Shoulder as well?

 

[Ruggo]

I really liked what the Tahs were attempting to do

I liked that they were trying to make the ball do the work, there was a lot of straight running and support play

What I didn't like was their approach at the breakdown and lineout - just not enough competition.

I hate seeing sides standing off rucks and I hate seeing lineouts giving free catches.

Defense? meh, too many big hits with nothing to show for it. Where was the counter-ruck to leverage the domination in the tackle?

This is the bigger picture. They need a bit more control and choose their battles more wisely but the change in mindset in what the Tahs were doing was a massive improvement and full credit to them for that.

Was at the game and just totally wrapped with my members seat. That Tahs side is just huge. It was the first time I had seen them live and shit they are some big units. Really happy with the Reds in the collision zone. I thought they muscled up well and the first half of the game was just brutal.

Falou has been built up due to some punters getting excited over some trial form but this was a reality check that his transition will take time.

 

[Hawko]

Genia is really missed, in particular as the backups are not shining, Frisby in particular. Still early days yet though, Lucas was better than last week. And four weeks until Genia returns.[/quote]

Genia might be back in four more weeks but there is virtually zero chance he will be at 100% after a full knee reconstruction. It takes time, I would guess at least two months, before he's back to his best. So Lucas and/or Frisby are going to have to do a lot of work while Genia gets his form back.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Quirk excellant - has stood up and made 6 his spot - should have been MOM
Gill overshadowed Hooper but still gives away more penalties than he should.
was surprised Lucas replaced at the 50 minute mark - was he injured ?????
Reds scrum dominant (except for 1) in first half but Tahs in second.
Cooper solid - Izzy not so - the Reds attacked his legs wheras in league the tacklers seem to go high. Anyway he'll be better next time.

The Reds forwards did to the Tahs what the Brum forwards did to the Reds last week.
Reds were under real pressure - another loss would have put them under that pressure for the Oz conference. The Tahs now face the same pressure.

 

[Braveheart81]

Tahs scrum dominant after we dumped Tilse. Another Uni flat track bully, like Carter, who should be disposed of. Over 7 years in Tahs setup and only 16 caps, all off the bench, and we let someone like Dan Palmer walk? Fuck.

This is comparing apples to oranges.

Palmer left the Tahs when he was about the fourth choice prop to go and play elsewhere as a starting prop. He left for opportunity.

Tilse has stayed with the Tahs as a fourth or fifth choice prop despite not getting opportunities at the Tahs unless there were lots of injuries and realistically wouldn't have had offers to go and be a starting prop elsewhere.

It is absolute crap to suggest that the Tahs decided to keep Tilse instead of Palmer.

 

[Scoey]

Gill overshadowed Hooper but still gives away more penalties than he should.

I know it's picky but this is a line that I read a fair bit. It may be true sometimes but on the weekend I didn't see Gill get penalised much, if at all.

From the weekend's game, ESPN has Hooper & Gill both on 0 penalties and Rugbystats has them both on 1. Even in round 1 vs the Brumbies Gill's only down for 1 penalty. 1 per game is fine for an openside that secures as many turnovers as he does.

 

[tigerland12]

I know it's picky but this is a line that I read a fair bit. It may be true sometimes but on the weekend I didn't see Gill get penalised much, if at all.

From the weekend's game, ESPN has Hooper & Gill both on 0 penalties and Rugbystats has them both on 1. Even in round 1 vs the Brumbies Gill's only down for 1 penalty. 1 per game is fine for an openside that secures as many turnovers as he does.

I actually noticed twice that it looked like Gill was penalised, but the ref then said another players number.

For example I think it was around the 50minute mark, it looked like it was Gill called for not releasing the tackler, but it was actually O'Donoghue for coming in the side.

I know it sounds stupid, but I genuinly think this happens alot, simply because he is always on the ball.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

I wasn't unhappy with the game - While there were some awful patches (izzy's defensive fuckup, not counterrucking etc) I thought the realignment and phase play was 10,000 times better than last year, and most of the mistakes were fixable.

but how good is that Ed Quirk. I was never as keen as others seemed to be on him, but I've had my mind changed.

this week the only change i want to see is Volavola at 12. Give barnes another week off and let Izzy build confidence and game time.

 

[Blue]

but how good is that Ed Quirk.

Got the goods.

Only a little bit short for an international 6 though so would have to keep playing out of his skin to kick on for the Wobs.

1.91m on Wikipedia. Is that about right?

 

[I like to watch]

this week the only change i want to see is Volavola at 12. Give barnes another week off and let Izzy build confidence and game time.

+1

 

[Ash]

Be wary on Volavola. Looked good on attack with ball in hand, but ruined a try by throwing the ball at Chapman's feet and fell off more than his fair share of tackles. Plus he kicked away the ball late in the game when the Tahs were chasing points.

Still too raw to start in my book.

That being said, that was really a nice try.

 

[chasmac]

Can Kingston play fullback?
I think Falou may be better suited to play on the wing.
Also, the Tahs suffered from the bye last week.
Good overall with plenty to work on and plenty that looks good.

 

[Braveheart81]

I'd play Mitchell at fullback before Kingston.

If AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) isn't fit this weekend, Kingston will play 13 and presumably Turner comes back into the side.

I don't see Volavola as a 12. His defence is too suspect. I also wouldn't bring him in to replace Folau at fullback. We'd just be trading one defensive issue for another.

 

[emuarse]

Got the goods.

Only a little bit short for an international 6 though so would have to keep playing out of his skin to kick on for the Wobs.

1.91m on Wikipedia. Is that about right?

You obviously didn't see the article by Wayne Smith today in The Australian:

There doesn't seem to be much call in Australian rugby for a 191cm, 108kg blindside flanker.
Yet put the suggestion to McKenzie that Quirk is too small to play Test football in the position he occupied for Queensland and the Reds coach, as he is wont to do these days, answers the question with one of his own. "Tell me this . . . who plays in the back row for the All Blacks?" That would be Kieran Read (193cm, 105kg), Richie McCaw (187cm, 106kg) and, depending on fitness and form, generally either Liam Messam (190cm, 108kg) or Victor Vito (192cm, 112kg).
"I always start with the All Blacks and work backwards because they're the benchmark," said McKenzie. "Do they have 120kg locks? Do they have an amazingly tall back row? It's not always about size."
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...-play-test-rugby/story-e6frg7o6-1226584594304

 

[I like to watch]

I'd play Mitchell at fullback before Kingston.

If AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) isn't fit this weekend, Kingston will play 13 and presumably Turner comes back into the side.

I don't see Volavola as a 12. His defence is too suspect. I also wouldn't bring him in to replace Folau at fullback. We'd just be trading one defensive issue for another.

I think Volavola would go great at 12.He is a better defender than some think.
Many Kiwi 10's have had a year or two's apprenticeship at 12 before being trusted in the high pressure role at 10.
He will also allow the Tahs to play with much more width than they can presently.

 

[spikhaza]

Interesting, good game to watch apart from the handling errors. For the Quirk try I was in the second level up the other end and was screaming for him to pass the ball because we 'had a ****ing huge overlap'... only for him to march straight through 5 Waratahs defenders.

 

[scaraby]

I think Volavola would go great at 12.He is a better defender than some think.
Many Kiwi 10's have had a year or two's apprenticeship at 12 before being trusted in the high pressure role at 10.
He will also allow the Tahs to play with much more width than they can presently.

whoever we play at 12 will have his hands full with JOC (James O'Connor)...he looks better than when he left.

 

[Hawko]

While a lot of Tah fans are expecting a win I think that's highly unlikely. Why?

• This is the first game the Waratahs will be playing under a totally different game plan to what they are used to. The bulk of the Wallaby pack are used to playing with no game plan at all. Most of the team to be selected will have less than 60 minutes under their belt playing the new style under match conditions. I am expecting the team to win and lose a few early games and to finally start to fire about round 5 or 6 once they really get into the pattern of what they are trying to do. A bit like 2008 actually.
• The returning Wallabies will be rusty. Half a game against the Crusaders is not enough to get them back in the groove IMO and I expect to see plenty of dropped ball and poor passes (like the Crusader game).
• Our defensive patterns in the trials were not great, particularly our maul defence. We will need to do a lot better and that will take another couple of weeks to address I think.

So I'm expecting a close, hard fought game where we will have the advantage in the set piece but probably not at the breakdown. The Reds had a hard hitout under match conditions and a full 80 minutes experience of how the ref's want the breakdowns to work. My heart says the Tahs, but my head says this week might be a bridge too far.

When the game got to 17-17 I thought that the above prediction was going the way of my tipping (so far absolutely attrocious) but it turned out to be pretty accurate. The key issues were defense (missed tackles) and dropped ball. They will be 100% better next week for the hitout. On what we've seen so far that should account for the Rebels at home. I think the Brumbies in Canberra will be just a bit too strong after their bye week, but we've then got a run of four very winnable home games, leading into our next bye. So by then we could be 5:2 on our win/loss ratio and well placed to make a big run in the second half. All is not lost yet and the gloating in this thread is just red cheer-mongering.

The team that does have some issues IMO is the Reds. They had two quick tries put on them and then an open and shut run to the line ruined by a dropped ball. At 65 minutes, at home, with 40,000 rabid cheerleaders the Reds looked down and out against a team that was not defending and handling well. How come? If Volavola kept his nerve the Reds could easily have lost to a bunch of rusty gates. I don't think the loss of Horwill and Genia accounts for all of that. Link will be just as worried as Cheika right now.

 

[fatprop]

I'd play Mitchell at fullback before Kingston.

If AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) isn't fit this weekend, Kingston will play 13 and presumably Turner comes back into the side.

I don't see Volavola as a 12. His defence is too suspect. I also wouldn't bring him in to replace Folau at fullback. We'd just be trading one defensive issue for another.

Well have two good 15s in the squad Crawford (the guy is good) & Barnes. Leave Volavola to focus on 10

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[Inside Shoulder]

I think Volavola would go great at 12.He is a better defender than some think.

Only because he could not be worse


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