Wallabies vs England, Sydney

[RugbyFuture]

we lost, however there were some good looking women there tonight

 

[TOCC]

I am slightly pissed of at the loss, but in all honesty the loss was due to a much improved English performance as opposed to a dire wallaby performance.

Tonight there were many things which impressed me with the Wallaby performance, i thought the scrum displayed a marked improvement, Cooper and Giteau combined quite well at times, JOC (James O'Connor) displayed even against bigger backlines his still capable of holding his own.

In terms of aspects which dissapointed me, team cohesion is the major and really only major issue i have. However its a understandable reflection of the fact these guys are still only figuring each other out, its the first time that backline has played together and there were cases of misscommunication or a lack of understanding.

However, England performed well tonight and Australia have shown a very good platform to build from IMO.

 

[Sandpit Fan]

Daz - Giteau performed very unevenly from the Tris on last year, and I am sure I recall issues with his performance in the higher-pressure games vs the easy beats. The look-for-every-sliver-lining-under-Deans followers will highlight his 2 tries tonight, but for my eyes at the game they were, in this case, as much genuine team tries as Giteau-the-star tries. And I agree, that smile was either appalling (in these circumstances), or a revealing marker of deeper issues of declining self-confidence.

Got to agree with that - Gits got the meat pies on the end of good lead up work, and not through any sort of individual brilliance for either of them, just standard backup play. If he's supposed to be there for his ability to kick goals as much as playmaking, then it's time for a tap on the shoulder. Still, if we get rid of him and JOC (James O'Connor), not sure I am all that happy with QC (Quade Cooper) being the only recognised kicker in the team, so do we bring Barnes back?

Otherwise the whole team looked pretty un-enthusiastic tonight for mine. God help us if we front up to the Tri Nations with this sort of attitude, we will get 3 figure scores put on us.
The only time I have seen Rocky fire up this year has been in the Brumbies/Reds game, the rest of the time he has been no more than average, as ACT Crusader points out.

At least there were no penalty tries from the scrum. Slipper looks like he's the goods.

 

[Sandpit Fan]

we lost, however there were some good looking women there tonight

So the marathon trip out there wasn't a total waste then? Good news for a change!

 

[mark_s]

The thing that once again disappoints me is our ability to close out games once we get in winnable positions. Its been a problem for us since Deans took over but we don't seem to be making forward progress. Its easy to blame Giteau for the loss, so I will. He is becoming the Darryl Cullinan of world rugby - he looks like a great talent, gets treated like a great talent but never seems to produce when its really needed.

The poms were vastly improved tonight. They were composed, clever and brutal when they needed to be and that got them the win. Actually, it was a good game to be at and was one of the best June tests I have ever been despite the result.

Thought the ref missed heaps of stuff, but we still could have won anyway so its irrelevant.

BTW - I wouldn't get too worked up about Gits smiling after the simple miss - everyone reacts differently to stress, I am sure he was gutted.

 

[AussieDominance]

So I'm utterly bemused as I watch this game. We are seeing Matt Giteau a player who has constantly single handedly lost us games. He's boring and shit in attack, and plays a one dimensional brand of rugby. Why was Faainga not selected. One must ask why Quade Cooper wasn't giving the kicking role.

We've seen a lottery at the scrums. And I honestly say this, I've said it before Robbie Deans should not be coaching this Wallaby team. Him with Matt Giteau has completely killed the Wallaby brand. We were Australia's premier team, now we appear to be Australia's most over rated, over paid team. Yes I'm overcome with emotion here but jesus christ. This is really quite embarrassing. Game set and match to the Pommies

God help the Wallabies if Fainga'a gets near a Gold Jersey

 

[Grandmaster Flash]

Hmmm hate to sound like naza but a few ramblings.

Elsom. Didn't notice him unless he was talking to the ref, and it's not like he's doing the hard yard in the rucks. Pocock was (again) a one man band out there tonight. How come Hodgson didn't get any time on the park?

Burgess is a confidence player and should have started given his form last week. Genia was clearly not 100% and while he still played well, Burgo sniping around the fringes would have been handy tonight.

Giteau. While not a total "cancer" he doesn't seem to be in the right frame of mind. Smiling after that terrible miss? The two tries he scored were simple backing up tries that he had very little doing in creating.

 

[daz]

Ok, I've had a few drinkies and calmed myself somewhat. A few points:

1) I've stated quite firmly that I am still on the Deans bandwagon. That has not changed after tonight. I thought the scrum was a quantum leap forward from last week. Not perfect, but a huge improvement. Well done lads, although the sooner you are able to be on the bench, the better.

2) I saw this quote in the SMH today and found it amusing at the time. Now it just seems somewhat prophetic:
Wallabies fullback James O'Connor describes a typical Wallabies practice session: "The forwards are on the scrum machine working hard, while the backs sit in a circle and talk about their feelings."

Clearly they should start talking about OUR feelings....especially after a performance like that where they became only the second team to be beaten by England outside of the UK since MJ took over. The other team was Italy. We let down the SH today.

Cash those egos boys; you haven't achieved anything yet and are in fact a laughing stock. Thanks.

I guess MJ now has a job for life, huh?

 

[Moono75]

Newbe to the forum.
I think a major problem with the wallabies is their cohesion. At some stage Deans has to field his A team and give them the time to play and develop together. Given at the moment the front row are all very inexperienceed and are developing as backups for the tri nations and world cup. I feel tonight the wallabies were determined to imporve the scurm and forgot about the other aspects of play that won them the first game. Maybe Berrick Barnes shoudl have been bought on to bring some defensive clout into the team. As much as Gits was on the end of some nice attacking movements I still cringe (as a Force supporter) at some of the give me points kicks he misses.

 

[Reddy!]

I don't think saying "many of these players haven't played much rugby with each other" really cuts it as an excuse. The All Blacks have a quite a few new faces in their team yet are thrashing teams like it was 2005. And SA have had good victories so far decent fielding some wacky line ups.

 

[saulih]

Otherwise the whole team looked pretty un-enthusiastic tonight for mine. God help us if we front up to the Tri Nations with this sort of attitude, we will get 3 figure scores put on us.
The only time I have seen Rocky fire up this year has been in the Brumbies/Reds game, the rest of the time he has been no more than average, as ACT Crusader points out.

I am not sure that it was a lack of enthusiasm, but confusion. Australia in the lead up to the game was expecting the pom's to try and leverage the scrum, and they got ambushed by the English effort's in the backline. They thought they were replaying last weeks game, and so the focus was preparing the game for an improvement in the scrum. England came prepared to flourish their backs, and they obviously had had a reaming during the week, showing in their eagerness to play ball. The first five/ten minutes were telling in the way Australia was on their back foot. They adjusted as the game continued, but not enough to win it.

It was after all all a game that could have gone either way at that moment Gitt's kicked. He lost the game. A good game for Australia to learn from.

 

[MrMouse]

strengths from this game (set-piece and general aggression) we'll be right.

en_force_er, I know I was being distracted by corporate types, but were you watching the same game as me? We were outmuscled, our lineout went to shit, and whilst it was a much improved effort at scrum time, we were still under the pump.

 

[saulih]

Thought the ref missed heaps of stuff, but we still could have won anyway so its irrelevant.

Yeah, he missed stuff both ways. I thought he had lost total control of the game for a while, and it was only the composure/maturity of the teams that brought it back in line - not anything of the ref's doing...

He got about 3/10 from me

 

[MrMouse]

Otherwise the whole team looked pretty un-enthusiastic tonight for mine. God help us if we front up to the Tri Nations with this sort of attitude, we will get 3 figure scores put on us.

Warm up was indicative of how it was headed I think. England were thumping out opposed pick and drives while backs worked on skills, wobs were having a love-in and casually doing ball drills. More casual than against Fiji. It was interesting to see Genia out well before the rest, expected a fitness test, but then he just did some passing with a trainer?

 

[MrMouse]

Elsom. Didn't notice him unless he was talking to the ref, and it's not like he's doing the hard yard in the rucks. Pocock was (again) a one man band out there tonight. How come Hodgson didn't get any time on the park?

Burgess is a confidence player and should have started given his form last week. Genia was clearly not 100% and while he still played well, Burgo sniping around the fringes would have been handy tonight.

Giteau. While not a total "cancer" he doesn't seem to be in the right frame of mind. Smiling after that terrible miss? The two tries he scored were simple backing up tries that he had very little doing in creating.

Agreed, Agreed, Agreed. In particular, the decision NOT to play Hodgo (the best performing Aussie 7 and arguably most consistent backrower in S14 this year) when Jizz got half a game seems looney to me. Genia definitely wasn't fit, and seemed to pick up a niggle in the hand/wrist too. Gits was...well, aptly named, despite my roaring in delight both times when he finished off moves. Besides not using the bench adequately on those three fronts, I don't think Deans can be blamed for how things went tonight. At least not unless you believe he's creating a toxic environment, which I don't. I just think several players need attitude adjustments and someone needs to call RD on a few dodgy selections.

 

[saulih]

2) I saw this quote in the SMH today and found it amusing at the time. Now it just seems somewhat prophetic:
Wallabies fullback James O'Connor describes a typical Wallabies practice session: "The forwards are on the scrum machine working hard, while the backs sit in a circle and talk about their feelings.".

Agree. Clearly Australia was preparing their forwards, and not focusing on their backs... but I am repeating myself

 

[MrMouse]

Yeah, he missed stuff both ways. I thought he had lost total control of the game for a while, and it was only the composure/maturity of the teams that brought it back in line - not anything of the ref's doing...

He got about 3/10 from me

I was about to go to bed but had to come back to say that whilst our NH friend was ordinary (5/10), he was truly several tiers above the Uni v Beasts ref today. That, gentleman, was a true muppet.

 

[PaarlBok]

Welcome Mooney. Watched the test and what a performance by the Poms. The Wablies are in urgent need of some grunt up in the forwards. That two hookers looked piss poor today and the forwards the reason for your loss. The NH refs seem to stop any momentum or flow in the tests. Stop start, stop , start, touch pause engage vokken frustrated. If you only could have had Kaplan for this test.

 

[rugbywhisperer]

Missed the game and hope to catch it this morning.
Just woke up however from a terrible nightmare where Giteau followed on from last years performances and actually missed a whole swathe of kicks, played shite and was a major cause of a wallably loss to England at ANZ. Robbie says he is our man for the job so I believe him there.
Can't wait for the replay.
Go wallabies

 

[fatprop]

Welcome Mooney. Watched the test and what a performance by the Poms. The Wablies are in urgent need of some grunt up in the forwards. That two hookers looked piss poor today and the forwards the reason for your loss. The NH refs seem to stop any momentum or flow in the tests. Stop start, stop , start, touch pause engage vokken frustrated. If you only could have had Kaplan for this test.

Yep, we were rubbish in the pigs, boys against men