Vunivalu doesn't work hard enough off the ball, but he found the try line very well this season
Wallabies 2023
- Thread starter RugbyReg
- Start date
Part of me wonders whether certain players who went from starting the first test of the year to not being in the squad fell on the wrong side of this equation.
Dctarget
John Eales (66)
Wright kept stealing the last hash browns at the breakfast buffet?
This is such a dumb argument. 'You know all of that top level international experience? That's actually a *bad* thing'.
How good would a team of complete newbies be at the World Cup. They've never lost anything - undefeated!!!!
I'm even off Fraser McReight. What have the Reds won since he's been there? Did we win the U/20 World Cup with him as skipper? Nope. Face it guys, the bloke is a capital-L Loser and it's time to move on. Let's cut our losses before we invest too much in this guy.
Tom Hooper has a 0% win record as a Wallaby. Bloke has literally never won a game. I'd be looking at holidays in South East Asia in the next few months if I were him, as there's no way he will be heading to France.
KevinO
Geoff Shaw (53)
Kiwi prop who was born in Qld, Rebels signed him from the Chiefs and he played in Melbourne for a few seasons before going back to NZ. Was a preyty solid at scrum time, did not do to much with ball in hand.
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
It’s a pity because one of the best games he played was the Reds win over the Chiefs when he was taking hit ups and looking for work. That’s the only one I can think of though.
Squad is announced at 6:30pm Thursday on Stan Sport apparently.
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The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
And YouTube according to Instagram.
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
All of the Wallabies this year have a 0% win rate. Even the coach who’s new, so it starts from now. Or, do we go with the experienced blokes who’ve won 30% of their games for the last 5 years?
Who do we pick then?
You look at the incumbent Waratah, and if they don't work you reluctantly move to another bloke.
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
Tomthumb
Colin Windon (37)
Yeah, nothing screams "regeneration" like an out of form 31 year old that is gone after the World Cup
James O'Connor and Bernard Foley for co-captains, so much "top level international experience"
In all seriousness, it's obviously a balancing act of factors. Judging a player by the win rate of his teams is pretty ludicrous if that player has clearly been a standout over that period. It applies as much to Marika as it does to Hooper.
Now if his leadership is decided to be substandard then you can have a think about turfing him. But Eddie just had a good look and made him captain, as Rennie did before him, and Cheika did before him, and Link did before him.
I'm not saying the bloke is in all-time form. There's a real argument that Fraser McReight has usurped him for the 7 jersey. But the notion that (if fit) he shouldn't be in the squad is silly. He's clearly an important member of the team, we need a genuine back-up seven (looking at you Robbie Deans) and his form is at least good enough to warrant a seat on the plane.
Tomthumb
Colin Windon (37)
It's not silly at all, it's based around only being able to pick 33 players
In a vacuum, Hooper would be great to have in the squad, but carrying 2 players that can only play 7 isn't really feasible in a 33 man squad that needs versatility. You can only really pick one of them, otherwise you are in big trouble if (realistically when) injuries occur
It seems pretty clear that it is only injury concern that would rule him out.
It will be interesting to know how they determine that? He presumably doesn't have to pass a physical today as the squad isn't playing tomorrow and we are clearly selecting several players who aren't ready to play immediately.
Is it a question of progress? I.e. he needs to be at a certain milestone now to be confident he'll be fine in a few weeks.
McDermott did really well on Saturday but it is a single game sample size. I haven't thought the team has looked great in terms of leadership last year and this year when Hooper has missed time. I wouldn't say things have looked assured with Slipper as captain. Last year in particular featured a number of games where things seemed to really drift and the team looked a bit directionless.
Anyway, all will be revealed tomorrow.
It will be interesting to know how they determine that? He presumably doesn't have to pass a physical today as the squad isn't playing tomorrow and we are clearly selecting several players who aren't ready to play immediately.
Is it a question of progress? I.e. he needs to be at a certain milestone now to be confident he'll be fine in a few weeks.
McDermott did really well on Saturday but it is a single game sample size. I haven't thought the team has looked great in terms of leadership last year and this year when Hooper has missed time. I wouldn't say things have looked assured with Slipper as captain. Last year in particular featured a number of games where things seemed to really drift and the team looked a bit directionless.
Anyway, all will be revealed tomorrow.
Wilson
Michael Lynagh (62)
I think the biggest issue there is that 'fit' is not a binary, particularly not with the way they are managing calf issues now. How fit/close to it is good enough for him to qualify for the squad? From all accounts it sounds like he's not going to be 100%, so there's going to be significant discussions around where that threshold is and his declining form means it's going to be higher than it may have been in years past.
That said I do think Hooper will be named in the squad tomorrow to give him time to get right, but I'm less convinced he'll make it to France. I'm guessing they take a few extras to Darwin to make sure they're ready to go in the event of injuries.