RWC 2015

[boyo]

'Phone a friend?

IRB to consider World Cup mobile phone ban to protect game against match-fixing
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...game-against-matchfixing-20141115-11nd4a.html

 

[Rugbynutter39]

So what have I worked out so far for RWC positions...

Starting front row ok but backup options a concern
Hooker - starting and backup options ok once Moore, TPN, Charles return from injury
Second row - help - cupboard is bare....
Flanker - hooper, hodgson, higgers seem best options here - mcmahon will improve so may be in the mix, plus pocock to return
No 8 - mccalum been on fire and with palu to return ok
half - not completely convinced have sorted this out
No.10 - ditto per above....foley good kicking game, cooper attacking spark but lacks consistency
No.11 - hmmm
No.12 - another problem area- Hunt as the saviour here....Beale as bench option
No.. 13 Tevi stiched this up with AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) as good bench option for backup and wing backup also
No. 14.....hmmm
No. 15 Izzy stiched this up.....Beale as bench backup option

 

[tragic]

So what have I worked out so far for RWC positions.

Hooker - starting and backup options ok once Moore, TPN, Charles return from injury

Charles? Really??
Fainga'a has been close to MOTM in every game he's played since he got the jersey.
Don't think we'll be seeing charles again for a while.

 

[Bairdy]

He never said Fainga'a was excluded. Why do you need to get defensive over RN saying we have depth at hooker?

 

[tragic]

He never said Fainga'a was excluded. Why do you need to get defensive over RN saying we have depth at hooker?

Cue engraged force supporter.
I'm not the one getting defensive.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

So if I were to assume overseas players eligible for Wallabies, and players returning from injury...my RWC squad starts to look quite good....nice to dream....

1. Slipper / ??
2. Moore, TPN, Charles, Fainga'a
3. Kepu, Sio
4. Mowen / Simmons
5. Douglas / Carter
6. Fardy/Higgers
7. Hooper/pocock
8. Palu/McCalman
9. Phipps/Genia
10. Cooper / Foley
11. Digby Ioane
12. Hunt / Giteau
13. TK/ AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
14. Honey Badger / JOC (James O'Connor)
15. Folau / Beale

 

[tragic]

Usually only three hookers in a RWC squad, which was the point I was making.Nothing against Charles - just don't think we'll see him again for a while at a national level barring injury.
For me the best 6,8,12 are still contentious. as well as the bench THP.
Hopefully some bolters come out of the 2015 super 15

 

[RugbyReg]

Maafu at 3 Sio at 1. Mowen not a lock. Ioane is now fashion icon first and rugby player 2nd.

 

[KevinO]

1. Slipper / ??

Toby Smith, was surprised he was not on EOYT

 

[Lindommer]

Is there any word the RWC squads have been increased from 30? It'd make sense to add a prop, or two, seeing four are required for every match.

Let's look at the Oz squad for RWC1011:

hookers (3): Moore, TPN, Fainga'a
props (4): Alexander, Kepu, Ma'afu, Slipper
locks (4): Horwill, Sharpe, Simmons, Vickerman
flankers (4): Elsom, Higginbotham, Hodgson, Pocock
no. 8 (2): Samo, McCalman
halves (3): Phipps, Genia, Burgess
five-eighths (2): Barnes, Cooper
centres (4): AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Fainga'a, McCabe, Horne
wingers (3): JOC (James O'Connor), Ioane, Turner
fullback (1): Beale

Ma'afu, Sharpe, Vickerman, Elsom, Samo, Barnes, McCabe and Ioane are unavailable for selection, I doubt Burgess, A Fainga'a and Turner will get the nod while the selections of Alexander, Horne and Beale are problematical. Definites to go into the 2015 squad (if fit) are Sio, Fardy, Hooper, Palu, Foley, Kuridrani and Folau. What to do with To'omua, Leali'ifano, Horne, JOC (James O'Connor), Beale and Hunt? Karmichael would have to set Suncorp on fire next year to get a guernsey, he's a long way back in the queue of outside backs. On reflection we seem to have a lot of versatile backs and not enough specialists, especially speedy wingers.

Going through the list like that the age-old problem of Australian rugby rears its ugly head: depth in the tight five. A crying shame Longbottom and Douglas departed our shores recently.

 

[Brumby Runner]

So what have I worked out so far for RWC positions.


No.12 - another problem area- Hunt as the saviour here..Beale as bench option
No. 14...hmmm
No. 15 Izzy stiched this up...Beale as bench backup option

Two weeks ago by general consensus we had the best No 12 in years in Matt To'omua. He gets a slight injury, is replaced by Lealiifano who has a blinder, sowe then have a better No 12 than the previous best. Now after a quiet game by Lealiifano against the French we are in trouble for No 12s. I just can't follow the logic. If Quade gets to start at 10, then To'omua at 12 is a no brainer. Last year's EOYT showed how they complement each other. If Foley starts at 10, then probably favour Lealiifano as the more creative No 12. In the wings then is Godwin who shows immense potential.

No 14 - heard of Speight? Just needs to get a run when fit to show that this is his positon.

No 15. Definitely Izzy, but he does have an issue with his poor kicking. He just needs to trust his ability to run further than he can kick. The missed penalty goal by France where he caught it under the crossbar was an opportunity for him to run as there was only one real chaser coming at him. Had he run, he would have retained possession and probably made more ground than the lollypop kick put in by Foley. But nowhere would I like to see Beale as his backup. He is not consistently good at test level and his defense will never be adequate. If we're looking for a bloke who can take the high ball, run like the wind, kick the shit out of the ball when needed and tackle, then the best on offer atm imo would be Cam Crawford. Needs to be given the opportunity.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Not exactly laying claim to underdog status, but Shag talking down expectations of the AB going back-to-back next year:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/...teve-Hansen-ends-All-Blacks-year-with-warning

He kinda has a point, too, when you consider how the defending Champions have fared at the following Cup:

1987 New Zealand, 3rd in 1991
1991 Australia, QF in 1995
1995 South Africa, 3rd in 1999
1999 Australia, 2nd in 2003
2003 England, 2nd in 2007
2007 South Africa, QF in 2011

 

[Mr Doug]

Psssst! (Could you all come in a little closer please, I don't want boyo or SammyP to hear this)!

Miss Doug, who lives and works in BC, Canada got up at 2 am today to go online for two RWC tickets for herself and her English boyfriend. She waited in "the queue" until 3:40 am, only to be told that there were no multiples, only single seats left, for the Australia vs Uruguay pool match!!

 

[boyo]

You'll have to do better than that.

 

[hammertimethere]

I tend to think that the Wallaby cattle, if everyone remains fit and healthy, is really the rival of anyone in the world.

So for RWC you're dealing with a squad of 31 or 32. For the purposes of this speculation I will say 31 (because of extra prop etc.).

That Breaks down to
- Props: 4 players (would maybe be 5 if squad was allowed to be 32). 2 definite starters and their anointed back ups. The thought of turning Sio into a tight head is an intriguing one because if he was any good having him and Robinson as the back ups would be better than having to take Alexander at this stage. Unfortunately this is unlikely to happen so I think we'll end up leaving Benn Robinson behind.

Hooker - We're fine once our 3 injured ones return.

- 2nd rowers: probably 4 players. Fuck it's a crying shame Kane Douglas and Ben Mowen left when they did. The Douglas, Horwill and Mowen (to run the line out) 4/5/6 combo was certainly the strongest we have fielded in the last 3ish years. But that's a pipe dream for now. Simmons will be a lock for his line out leadership (plus his defensive work has been top notch), Carter and Horwill have not set the world on fire but both certainly have more in them (Horwill particularly). Skelton is an intriguing prospect but for mine his set piece skills make his position untenable unless we see massive improvement in the next 12 months (the other solution would be look to find him a place as a back row impact game finisher but our back row stocks our not so weak to make that worth it). Not 100% on the solution but I guess it will become apparent over time.

- Backrow: We're strong here no doubt. It'll be 5 or 6 players with Hooper, McCalman and probably Palu, Higgers and Fardy (who conveniently covers 2nd row) all locked in. There is maybe one more spot that will probably be decided by what balance the coach wants to go with i.e an out and out fetcher (Gill, Hodgson or POCOCK if he can stay fit) or someone who can play a similar game to Hooper (e.g McMahon). My preference is just to pick the best player.

- Scrum half: We're fine. I would only take 2 and call up a third if necessary. May mean we can take more forwards (props or locks). Phipps is in the form of his life, Genia is prodigiously talented and the coaching of Cheika looks to be having him improving back to near his best. Nic White is also a serviceable option who has showed good patches of form and has a kicking game that will be useful in some games in the North.

- Flyhalf: There is a lot of players who could potentially play here which is awesome. Foley is a facilitator and great goal kicker, Quade Cooper is potentially among the best in the world and To'omua is a serviceable 3rd string. Lilo also can play.

- Centres: To'omua is the 12 in my opinion and should be ably backed up by probably Godwin or Lilo. Beale can also play here and Karmichael Hunt has potential. TK is fast becoming the world's most useful attacking 13 and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) can play 13 to a very very high standard as well.

- Wing: Tomane is reasonable and Speight has potential to be scarily good. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is an option, though it is a shame that the Badge is no longer here. JOC (James O'Connor) is returning. If something were to drastically change you could even play Folau here. Horne has played ok most of the time.

- Fullback: Izzy #1 with Beale and potentially Karmichael Hunt providing unheard of depth.


So all of that considered, I will name two squads, one that I would like to see and one that I think is most likely.

The squad I think is likely (O/S players not considered). I'd be happy with
Props - Slipper, Kepu, Sio, Alexander (Res. Alexander,
Hooker - Moore, TPN, Fainga'a (Res. Charles, Hanson)
2nd row - Simmons, Horwill, Carter, Skelton (Fardy as cover, Adam Coleman on Standby)
Back row - Hooper, Palu, Fardy, Pocock, Higgers, McCalman.
9 - Genia and Phipps
10 - Cooper and Foley
12 - To'omua and Godwin
13 - TK and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
Wing - Speight, Tomane, JOC (James O'Connor)
FB - Izzy, Beale


The Dream Squad (O/S players considered)
Props - Slipper, Kepu, Robinson, Sio
Hooker - Moore, TPN, Fainga'a (Charles on standby)
2nd row - Douglas, Horwill, Simmons (Skelton on standby)
Back row - Hooper, Pocock, Higgers, Palu, Mowen, Fardy, McCalman
9 - Genia and Phipps
10 - Cooper, Foley and Giteau
12/13 - To'omua, Hunt, TK, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
Wingers - Speight, JOC (James O'Connor)
FB - Izzy, Beale

 

[Braveheart81]

There will have to be 5 props in a 2015 RWC squad because you have to have 4 in every matchday squad.

Hopefully the squad size is increased to 31 to allow that.

 

[hammertimethere]

There doesn't HAVE to be, the same as there doesn't HAVE to be 3 halfbacks because 2 are required in the 23. It may be a good idea, but not essential.

 

[Braveheart81]

There doesn't HAVE to be, the same as there doesn't HAVE to be 3 halfbacks because 2 are required in the 23. It may be a good idea, but not essential.

It's different. You have to field 4 props and 2 hookers in a 23. They are specialist positions. That's why you have to have a spare of both in case someone gets injured.

Teams select 3 halfbacks in a squad so they have a spare in case one gets injured so they can definitely have a reserve on the bench.

There's nothing in the playing regulations to say that you have to field a reserve halfback on the bench whereas there is for the front row.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Hammertime,

I can't necessarily agree with all your points.

For starters Sio at THP with Robinson at LHP can't certainly be better than Alexander. We have never seen Sio play there. He could just as conceivably be worse. There was expectation about him last season after performing well at loosehead and he still struggled at international level.

Whilst I consider him our second best LHP, he could hardly be considered as cementing a spot in the 23 due to injury preventing him from earning the caps he should have in 2014. He's an unknown quantity as a LHP at international level and even more unknown as a THP at any level.

The Douglas, Horwill, Mowen 4/5/6 combo has never been a great combo in any way. From the line out, Simmons, Horwill and Fardy is stronger, based on international form it's also stronger. Around the ground some could fairly argue that Carter, Simmons and Fardy is a better combo. Neither Douglas or Mowen have ever shown they were a 1st choice Wallaby based on their international careers. Both would have played this year but Douglas would once again have to try and convert good provincial form (after all - there's a reason he has played for the Wallabies) to international form and Mowen would have to develop a stronger running and more physicality to be an option. Just because they are now unavailable, it doesn't mean their well know flaws no longer exist.

 

[hammertimethere]

I certainly see your point but disagree with your disagreement.

The Sio thing is based on potential I'll freely admit that but I'd suggest is worth the gamble if the Brumbies would play ball (which they won't but we can't have it all). Though if we're taking 5 props I suppose it may not really be an issue. Question is, who out of slipper Robbo and Sio could be the last resort right head cover? If that's what we roll with and none of them get game time there in Super Rugby you'd have to say Slipper only because he has done it before where they other two haven't.

I'd argue that individually none of Horwill, Douglas and Mowen have made a test position their own and in no way was I suggesting that they would be starting for sure over Simmons and Fardy. My point was that in the tests that they did play properly and uninjured together they provided a reasonable balance, particularly with Palu at 8.

If I had everyone available and in form I'd actually go with Simmons and Horwill in the 2nd row then Pocock, Fardy and Higgers or Big Dog in the back row with Carter (who could easily start) and Hooper or Cliffy on the Bench.