Not really sure what Robertson did wrong to earn your ire. He made 5 tackles in his 12 or so minutes on the field and wasn't penalised at scrumtime. Ala'alatoa made one tackle and played 6 more minutes.
Sio got penalised twice and Alaalaota once.
Wallabies v Springboks Saturday 9th Sept NIB Stadium
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Not really sure what Robertson did wrong to earn your ire. He made 5 tackles in his 12 or so minutes on the field and wasn't penalised at scrumtime. Ala'alatoa made one tackle and played 6 more minutes.
Sio got penalised twice and Alaalaota once.
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
Your dislike of Sio is so warped that he could put in a string of MOTM performances and you would still say he's poor..........
Joe Blow
Peter Sullivan (51)
The game was there for the taking but we let it slip in the last 25 minutes.
We were not accurate at the breakdown, not protecting our pill or putting pressure on theirs. Our set piece was inaccurate as well.
Reece Hodge was very good, infact all of the backs played well. We lost this one up front. The back row is still wrong, particularly against a big physical side like the Boks. Argentina will be similar.
Good debut from Uelese.
We were not accurate at the breakdown, not protecting our pill or putting pressure on theirs. Our set piece was inaccurate as well.
Reece Hodge was very good, infact all of the backs played well. We lost this one up front. The back row is still wrong, particularly against a big physical side like the Boks. Argentina will be similar.
Good debut from Uelese.
Scrubber2050
Mark Ella (57)
Firstly - that is plainly bullshit - I call it as I see it.
And secomdly , that is extremely unlikely.
Get off your petty tribalism
RedsHappy
Tony Shaw (54)
Dear all:
Is is not becoming blindingly obvious the M Cheika's Wallaby coaching group requires a top-grade Forwards Coach to oversight all aspects of forwards play and set-pieces generally? And to guide the whole coaching group on forwards' selections and related individual player development.
Our forwards work in loose play and breakdown is very, very far from world-class and our set-pieces oscillate far too wildly in quality and consistency. So we never build any sustainable, in-built quality in these crucial areas - we just have the (very) occasional 'really good game' in terms of forwards' performance and then more or less immediately lapse back to mediocrity or worse.
Cheika clearly thinks this area of team skill is his personal domain and speciality but it clearly is not (or is not to the required Test level) if, particularly, the 2016 and 2017 seasons are anything to go by.
I have said this many times, so it's no convenient invention out of the blue after a poor forwards performance post Perth.
L Fisher comes to mind, but it seems the Wallabies have never been interested in him for such a role.
If not I would head to the UK and head-hunt from the likes of Saracens or a top English side that is renown for excellence, over extended periods, in their forwards work.
(On the plus side, and this is hard to measure, but my sense in that M Byrne is bringing improvements in the Wallabies' unstructured play; it could be my own illusion but, for example, our capacity for coherent counter-attack through phases and with it a lowered error rate in so doing, seems to be building. Byrne rightly identified that serious weaknesses had built up in both Super and Wallaby skills in unstructured play and perhaps this is where he is contributing most. Sadly though 'Mick the Kick' as is his nickname seems to have effected little improvement in any form of Wallaby kicking; this crucial rugby skill remains at lamentably low levels within the Wallaby fold.)
Is is not becoming blindingly obvious the M Cheika's Wallaby coaching group requires a top-grade Forwards Coach to oversight all aspects of forwards play and set-pieces generally? And to guide the whole coaching group on forwards' selections and related individual player development.
Our forwards work in loose play and breakdown is very, very far from world-class and our set-pieces oscillate far too wildly in quality and consistency. So we never build any sustainable, in-built quality in these crucial areas - we just have the (very) occasional 'really good game' in terms of forwards' performance and then more or less immediately lapse back to mediocrity or worse.
Cheika clearly thinks this area of team skill is his personal domain and speciality but it clearly is not (or is not to the required Test level) if, particularly, the 2016 and 2017 seasons are anything to go by.
I have said this many times, so it's no convenient invention out of the blue after a poor forwards performance post Perth.
L Fisher comes to mind, but it seems the Wallabies have never been interested in him for such a role.
If not I would head to the UK and head-hunt from the likes of Saracens or a top English side that is renown for excellence, over extended periods, in their forwards work.
(On the plus side, and this is hard to measure, but my sense in that M Byrne is bringing improvements in the Wallabies' unstructured play; it could be my own illusion but, for example, our capacity for coherent counter-attack through phases and with it a lowered error rate in so doing, seems to be building. Byrne rightly identified that serious weaknesses had built up in both Super and Wallaby skills in unstructured play and perhaps this is where he is contributing most. Sadly though 'Mick the Kick' as is his nickname seems to have effected little improvement in any form of Wallaby kicking; this crucial rugby skill remains at lamentably low levels within the Wallaby fold.)
Slim 293
Stirling Mortlock (74)
I'm not sure how calling you out on that, again, is tribalism?
Derpus
George Gregan (70)
Yeah Hooper and Coleman were about the only forwards really pulling their weight. I like Taf and i'd agree that he's been better than Moore for a long time, but i'm not sure he's the best scrimmaging hooker in the world. Also, Robertson wasn't fucking disgraceful he just wasn't particularly good. Him and Hanigan really get the nod due to lack of alternatives.
Was a pretty classic wallabies performance. Struggled up front but saved by some brief periods of brilliance out back.
Was a pretty classic wallabies performance. Struggled up front but saved by some brief periods of brilliance out back.
Scrubber2050
Mark Ella (57)
A reasonable level of intelligence would be required, of that I'm sure.
Micheal
Nicholas Shehadie (39)
I don't really know what you were expecting from Scrubber. He subscribes to the Shiggins School of Posting. Dismal Pillock is the Headmaster, Head Tutor, Treasurer and Captain of the Demented XV.
Scrubber2050
Mark Ella (57)
USARugger
John Thornett (49)
Dismal is funny.
Hawko
Tony Shaw (54)
Ain't that the truth. Unhinged humour is still very funny.
Scrubber's point, for all his stridency, still has some value. 7A's is learning that being an international TH prop is seriously difficult stuff when you are up against the top level loosies. And Sio, too, has looked out of it in the 2017 internationals. We are very thin for talented props right now, Slipper can't get back soon enough. Robertson is three years away from international standard (at least). No doubt he'll get to 28, just when he's matured as a prop, and retire with 70+ caps and we'll start again with a 22 year old.
Strangely, we have a load of raw talent coming through (or in Lomax's case we did until he went to the darkside). Vui, Ainslie, Uelese, Tongan Thor and several others make me think that the 2020's will be a great decade if only we don't burn them out by promoting them too early. I haven't looked at the records but I reckon you could count the number of NZ front rowers who debuted before they were 25 on one hand. We, on the other hand, discard them at 25 unless they've got lots of caps already.
People keep talking about what we will do when TPN and Kepu retire but if we had the right perspective we would not be expecting that for at least another five years unless injuries intervene. In their positions they are now in their prime and as you can see from the tests so far they are so far in front of the next option that to lose either of them now would be a disaster.
If Radike Samo can play NRC in his 50's, surely pensioning of front rowers before they are 30 is a criminal waste.
Brumby Runner
David Wilson (68)
Hawko, you are so right about the way we view props.
Your call for Slipper's return reminds me that he was seriously out of form for quite a while before he elected to get his injuries right. I see Sio as being in the same boat. He had a bad year last year with injuries and just look at the bandaging he carries on his leg atm. Any leg injury not completely healed should just about automatically rule a prop out until it is fixed.
Looking for a seasoned prop around 30 yo who has been in passable to good form, look to Ben Alexander. Still a good couple of years in him and a wealth of experience.
Your call for Slipper's return reminds me that he was seriously out of form for quite a while before he elected to get his injuries right. I see Sio as being in the same boat. He had a bad year last year with injuries and just look at the bandaging he carries on his leg atm. Any leg injury not completely healed should just about automatically rule a prop out until it is fixed.
Looking for a seasoned prop around 30 yo who has been in passable to good form, look to Ben Alexander. Still a good couple of years in him and a wealth of experience.
PaarlBok
Rod McCall (65)
You are digging deep into chicken running territory.
The Bokke performed well enough, need a lot of finishing touches but much improvement from 2016.
Mount Everest next but expect them to lift themself against the old foe.
Up the Guts
Steve Williams (59)
I reckon we should get someone onto developing Hodge's goal kicking further. At the moment it seems to be stuck at the same sort of stage as my golf game where yeah they're wide but shit did you see how far it went.
After you start to nail a couple consistently from long range the real benefit in my opinion is that teams become wary of giving away penalties anywhere in their own half and in particular don't attack the break down as hard. A key example of this was in the 75th minute around the 10m line where the Boks secured a penalty for holding-Kriel (I don't think he secured the penalty) went hard over the ball but wasn't supporting his weight for a second or so. In my opinion if the Boks were more wary of Hodge's ability to kick long range Kriel wouldn't have been going for a second dig after bridging and we may have avoided the turn over.
After you start to nail a couple consistently from long range the real benefit in my opinion is that teams become wary of giving away penalties anywhere in their own half and in particular don't attack the break down as hard. A key example of this was in the 75th minute around the 10m line where the Boks secured a penalty for holding-Kriel (I don't think he secured the penalty) went hard over the ball but wasn't supporting his weight for a second or so. In my opinion if the Boks were more wary of Hodge's ability to kick long range Kriel wouldn't have been going for a second dig after bridging and we may have avoided the turn over.
Derpus
George Gregan (70)
grooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooan.
You want to bring Ben fucken Alexander back into the Wallabies. ugh.
Derpus
George Gregan (70)
I don't think he will ever be accurate enough to be a reliable goal-kicker. That being said i'd be stoked if he proved me wrong.
Tomikin
Simon Poidevin (60)
Benny could do a job at LHP but we have moved on. Sios had a year of injuries AAA isnt playing his best. Kepu's coming on strong and Robertson is young and has been OK. Better to keep the young guy then go to the old guy.
We probably need a forward coach like Fisher. Lucky next year his at least back in Oz.
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MonkeyBoy
Bill Watson (15)
The backrow issues, ruck defence etc. were all Wallaby problems. The Scrum issues were all Jackson issues, there was not once stability at any stage of the set up for either team. Have a look at how many completed scrums with clean ball occurred for either team. Jacksons inability to make a decision is at its worst at the scrum, its like he closes his eyes on hopes the ball comes out somehow because he has no idea who has caused the issues. A simple pause for stability between bind and set will clear everything up neatly, or show who is playing silly buggers as they won't be able to hold shape.
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