Your favourite Wallaby XV

[barbarian]

11 Hynes - Mr Reliable

Another favourite of mine - should have played many more tests than he did.
.

 

[KOB1987]

4. Greg Cornelson 4 try freak, thanks for the memories you **** ********* ****. Don't tell me he was a#8, the c*** was 3 metres tall.

He's actually not! I thought the same thing because he looks like such a long gangly thing in that footage but I met him in his home town Armidale a few years ago and he's about 6'3" maybe 4". Short by today's measures. Interestingly those 4 tries were the only points he scored for the Wallabies in 25 appearances.

 

[TSR]

1. Daly
2. Kearns
3. McKenzie
4. McCall
5. Eales
6. Willie O
7. Wilson
8. Kefu
9. Farr-Jones
10. Lynagh
11. Campese
12. Horan
13. Herbert
14. Tune
15. Latham

 

[Jimmy_Crouch]

He's actually not! I thought the same thing because he looks like such a long gangly thing in that footage but I met him in his home town Armidale a few years ago and he's about 6'3" maybe 4". Short by today's measures. Interestingly those 4 tries were the only points he scored for the Wallabies in 25 appearances.

And didnt take a pass for any of them.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Favourite is a hard one, given the great selection of players in my lifetime.

But....

1, Andy McIntyre
2, Phil Kearns
3, Topo Rodriguez
4, Steve Williams
5, John Eales
6, Simon Poidevin
7, David Pocock
8, Toutai Kefu
9, Nick Farr-Jones
10, Mark Ella
11, Joe Roff
12, Tim Horan
13, Stirling Mortlock
14, David Campese
15, Roger Gould

I think that would be a pretty useful team. They'd certainly have plenty of grunt and mongrel up front and excitement out wide.

 

[wamberal]

Steve Williams is a great call. He took a while to blossom, but he finally came of age on a tour of New Zealand, and dominated the buggers.



Gould, on the other hand.....could kick.

 

[Gnostic]

1. McIntyre
2. Kearns
3. Topo
4. Giffen
5. Eales
6. Finegan
7. G. Smith
8. Wille O
9. NJF
10. Lynagh
11. Campo
12. Horan
13. Mortlock
14. Tune
15. Burke

A couple are very close run things and Ella at 10, but Lynagh was just so consistent for so long. Finegan pushed close by Daniel Manu, a back row of Manu and Willie O would bring some serious defensive power and tight running. Finegan just a bit more dynamic. 4 genuine lineout jumpers in that pack (3.5 really - imagine trying to lift Wille O)

 

[TSR]

Whilst I agree with your comment lifting Willie O, if I recall correctly he did win ‘that’ lineout in the 91 WC final, so that makes him a bone fide jumper IMO.

Good team.

 

[Aurelius]

Shepherd
Rathbone
Mortlock
Giteau
Tuqiri
Barnes
White
Mowen
Pocock
Elsom
Sharpe
Coleman
Kepu
Polota-Nau
Robinson

It's a very contemporary-looking team, and yet I'm enough of a bluff old traditionalist to insist on listing the team from 15 down.

 

[Derpus]

Shepherd
Rathbone
Mortlock
Giteau
Tuqiri
Barnes
White
Mowen
Pocock
Elsom
Sharpe
Coleman
Kepu
Polota-Nau
Robinson

It's a very contemporary-looking team, and yet I'm enough of a bluff old traditionalist to insist on listing the team from 15 down.

Barnes was always so underrated. Great player.

 

[Pfitzy]

9. Any half back that doesn't take two steps. (early Genia and early Gregan)

Whitaker it is.

 

[formerflanker]

Looking a little further back:

15 Phil Gould
14 David Campese
13 Geoff Shaw
12 Steve Knight
11 Matthew Burke
10 Russell Fairfax
9 Ken Catchpole
Lock Wiilie O
Left breakaway Greg Davis
Right breakaway Simon Poidevin
2nd row Rob Hemming
2nd row John Eales
3 John Thornett
2 Bruce Malouf
1 Roy Prosser
coach D Brockhoff

Selection criteria - I enjoyed watching them play.

 

[Proud Pig]

Picking favourites is tricky, mine are often quite a distance from the best players for a number of reasons (often just shits and giggles).

Dunning
Paul
Al "The accountant with attitude" Baxter
Eales
Vickerman - Principally because he was an absolute nut job.
Rocky
Smith
Lyons
Gregan
Larkham
Campo
Roff
Mortlock
Lote
Walker.

 

[Froggy]

Saw the very end of Catchpole, Hipwell probably the best 9 I really saw much of, but Steve Merrick was such a great story, and played so well for those three tests, had to go for him!

 

[wamberal]

Talking of Hipwell and Merrick, those were the days (particularly when Hippie played) that NSW Country was a formidable side. BTW I was at Millner when they scored the famous "up the jumper" try.


The thing about Catchy was that he was sensational at cleaning up bad ball. The Wallaby lineout always struggled in those days, and the ball they managed to scramble back was always scrappy.


But he was one of the best snipers you will ever see, and as creative as da Vinci. I knew a Saffer who played 8 for the Wicks for a couple of seasons when Catchy was the 9, he scored a bundle of tries, he told me that all he had to do was follow Catchy around the paddock and be there when the break came.

 

[Tomikin]

Way too hard. Way too hard.

Amateur era

15 Marty Roebuck
14 Rob Egerton
13 Andrew Slack
12 Brett Papworth
11 David Campese
10 Lloyd Walker
9 Peter Slattery

8 Willie O
7 Scott Gourley
6 Illie Tabua
5 John Eales
4 Garrick Morgan
3 Topo Rodrigez
2 Phil Kearns
1 Tony Daly

Kills me to leave out Michael Lynagh, but Walker's deft passing does it for me.

Professional era

15 Chris Latham
14 Ben Tune
13 Dan Herbert
12 Tim Horan
11 Andrew Walker
10 Steve Larkham
9 Matt Giteau
8 Jim Williams
7 George Smith
6 Sean McMahon
5 Radike Samo
4 Adam Coleman
3 Taniela Tupou
2 Brendan Cannon
1 Matt Dunning

Again, would love to fit in QC (Quade Cooper) but Larkham can't be omitted.

I don't think I could ever leave Andrew Walker out of my team, what a gem of a player, just was amazing.. Matt Giteau at 9 .. now that's a site to see, I imagine as a young chap that he would have been an 9 and one of the best if he wasn't best friends with and at school with another amazing 9 in Matt Henjak.. now Henjak never got as good as he probably could but played across the world makes you pretty fucking good...

Imagine if Gits was playing 9 all those years..

 

[Tomikin]

Now for a really one-eyed favourite Wallaby XV:

Robinson
TPN
Kepu
Welborn
Vickerman
Brial
Hooper
Gavin
Payne
Larkham
Roff
Barnes
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
Tuqiri
Beale

Difficult to select Larkham and Roff given they never played for Eastern Suburbs nor the Waratahs but there you have it.

Is that a tip of the cap at how good they were, Joe Roff is one of my favorites ever..

 

[Tomikin]

Barnes was always so underrated. Great player.

Had a shocking record in winning games though, I would love to know how many games he won in Queensland (hardly any) before moving to NSW and winning fuck all.. Great player and bloke but losing followed him around.

 

[RoffsChoice]

You may notice a theme among my players:

1. Young
2. Moore
3. Holmes
4. Giffin
5. Harrison
6. Fardy
7. Smith
8. Mowen
9. White
10. Barnes
11. Roff
12. Giteau
13. Mortlock
14. Tuqiri
15. Latham

 

[Slim 293]

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