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Wallaby 31 players for 2015 RWC

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Godfrey

Godfrey

Phil Hardcastle (33)
Kicking to him in space and contestable kicks are very different things though. All of the more mercurial players in Aus seem the same - sometimes they catch those ones and they look like the best in the world. Other times it's a bounce of the chest, ball straight the arms or a straight up miss that we get instead. Beale is well and truly in that category.

Come to think of it it's probably everyone but Folau in that category.
 
Slim 293

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
Campo has gone full retard:

Bernard Foley at No.10. Kurtley Beale at No.12. And Israel Folau at No.13.

This is the back line that Wallabies legend David Campese would take to the World Cup, the modern obsession with the collision be damned. "We've got to be creative," Campese implores from his adopted home of South Africa. "We've got to create space."​
...........

"[Brumbies outside-centre [Tevita] Kuridrani is a good player, but he never passes the ball," Campese says of his preference for Folau at No.13, where the Waratahs fullback has already indicated he wants to play.


"[Adam] Ashley-Cooper is a good player but he's not a centre - he's a fullback," Campese says, also solving the problem of who would wear the No.15 if Folau were to move.
"I'd have [Henry] Speight at 14 and [Drew] Mitchell on the other wing."

..........


That leaves the final back three berth open, and Campese remains frustrated that Jesse Mogg has not been able to push on after showing great early promise. "He was a good player until Jake White got hold of him and told him to kick everything away," Campese says.

What of James O'Connor. "What's he done? He hasn't done anything," Campese says, noting that he is not being helped by a Queensland side regarded even by uncritical souls as fairly dreadful. "He needs to start in every game and perform."

And Joe Tomane? "Tomane is a good finisher," Campese says. "But he needs to understand about work rate. And Rob Horne is a centre, not a winger."

.........
Campese's 13 backs for the World Cup: Nick Phipps, Will Genia, Bernard Foley, Kurtley Beale, Israel Folau, Drew Mitchell, Henry Speight, Adam-Ashley-Cooper, Matt To'omua, Matt Giteau, Tevita Kuridrani, Quade Cooper and James O'Connor/Joe Tomane/Jesse Mogg/Rob Horne.
Click to expand...

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/rug...e-to-the-rugby-world-cup-20150312-141ktx.html
91sn32Q.jpg
 
Slim 293

Slim 293

Stirling Mortlock (74)
I understand he now resides in South Africa, but didn't realise he also had his head buried in the sand for the past two years...............
 
Joe Blow

Joe Blow

Peter Sullivan (51)
Campo has lost the plot again.

We are very well covered at fullback with Folau, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Beale, JOC (James O'Connor) and Foley in the squad presumably. One or more may miss out if their form is poor and/or if injured.
Turner and Coleman are also playing very well at the moment.
 
Inside Shoulder

Inside Shoulder

Nathan Sharpe (72)
Braveheart81 said:
I'm pretty surprised Campo didn't name himself on the wing.
Click to expand...

Worse - he picked Drew Mitchell: even a fan like me recognises he is past it.
As for Campo talking about selfishness and doing the hard yards, pfft.
And he has the hide to call for allowing rucking: his fear of being rucked meant he was releasing the ball even before the laws required it. Visionary?
Does he think he was a hard man of world rugby??
 
BDA

BDA

Peter Johnson (47)
haha. that backline is horrible.

Drew Mitchell and Jesse Mogg in the 13?! wtf

The only thing I like about his 13 is that it includes Giteau, rather than a 3rd halfback, which would be pretty handy (although a bit unfair to Nick White, who deserves to be in the squad)
 
BDA

BDA

Peter Johnson (47)
Last night on HQ they very briefly discussed Backrow balance.

Despite my love for Pocock's inclusion in the 15, at this stage I'd be leaning towards this as my starting Backrow:-

6.Fardy
7.Hooper
8.Palu / McCalman

Theoretically, Fardy/Hooper/Palu looks like the most well balanced. Fardy's work in tight perfectly offsets Hooper's ability to player wider. Palu's size and aggression gives you someone that can bend the line, make big hits and provides strong drive from the back of the scrum.

For me Palu's inclusion depends on his form and fitness come the test season. If you were to pick a side to play this weekend, you'd go with McCalman, given that he's our form no.8. Palu hasn't hit his full stride yet. I highly suspect that Palu is keeping his powder dry and trying to build towards to world cup. We might not see Palu playing well until right at the end of the season. In 2011 we saw the aging Bok players have a very poor, slow start to the season (resulting in no teams in the final from memory) but they really picked things up come test season. It always looked like design to me. I think we might see something similar with Palu. Last year he started strongly and his form fell away in the test season. He'll be trying to achieve the opposite this season. He needs to be managed early in the season and Cheika knows this.

If Fardy is unavailable things get a little bit more interesting/difficult. Currently id probably have McCalman as my back no.6., but if you decide to go with a guy like Higgers at 6, I think then you need to start looking at whether Pocock is the better option at 7.
 
cyclopath

cyclopath

George Smith (75)
Staff member
He is a loon. But he is our special loon.
The most insightful thing I ever heard him say was near the end of his career when he was interviewed by Inside Sport about his changed training techniques / approaches as he lost some pace; how he built more muscle, and continually worked on his kicking from hand to be able to consistently kick 50-60m or more. It showed the dedication and application he clearly had to enjoy a long career. Now if only he could impart some of that knowledge to young players (maybe he does, when he's not talking!).
Most of his public utterances have described a steep decline since those days, unfortunately. That stuff above might only make sense on a Hunter S Thompson bender.
 
Scrubber2050

Scrubber2050

Mark Ella (57)
Campo is just a deadshit and people who seek his views are his equal.

Campo has always been about Campo not about rugby or the team.

The bloke is put on a pedestal by many. The only one he should be on is the one in the shithouse
 
qwerty51

qwerty51

Stirling Mortlock (74)
1. Scott Sio
2. Stephen Moore
3. Ben Alexander
4. Rory Arnold
5. Luke Jones
6. Scott Fardy
7. Michael Hooper
8. Ben McCalman
9. Nic White
10. Matt To'omua
11. Rob Horne
12. Christian Lealiifano
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Henry Speight
15. Robbie Coleman

Pretty uninspired by our wingers and locks, tough to pick those.
 
Marcelo

Marcelo

Ken Catchpole (46)
qwerty51 said:
1. Scott Sio
2. Stephen Moore
3. Ben Alexander
4. Rory Arnold
5. Luke Jones
6. Scott Fardy
7. Michael Hooper
8. Ben McCalman
9. Nic White
10. Matt To'omua
11. Rob Horne
12. Christian Lealiifano
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Henry Speight
15. Robbie Coleman

Pretty uninspired by our wingers and locks, tough to pick those.
Click to expand...

Ben Alexander should not be picked anymore. He's a disaster at international level, the Europeans props are going to laugh just by seeing his face and they are going to crush us at the scrum.

A good performance against a poor Reds side at Super Rugby level should not change the destiny
 
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