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RANK: Wallabies Bledisloe 2

Matt Rowley August 27, 2012 27

No GravatarI had my go on Saturday, now it’s your turn…

Bledisloe 2 Wallaby Player Ratings


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POSTED IN » Wallabies
About the author: Matt Rowley View all posts by
Matt started G&GR just before the 2007 Rugby World Cup and has been enslaved ever since. Follow him on twitter: @MattRowley

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Discussion »

  • D.

    No subs?

  • Lee Enfield

    I will happily admit that Timani stepped up on Saturday night. Now, I want to see him do it every game and keep improving.

    We have two weeks until the Boks, swing the axe.

    1. Slipper
    2. Moore
    3. Holmes
    4. Simmons
    5. Timani
    6. Higgers
    7. Hooper
    8. Schatz
    9. Genia
    10. Cooper
    11. Ioane
    12. Tapuai
    13. O’Connor
    14. Shipperly
    15. AAC

    16. Palmer/Robinson
    17. TPN/Hansen
    18. Douglas/Pyle
    19. Samo
    20. Phipps
    21. Harris
    22. Beale

    • Trys NOT Kicks

      I’m surprised that you are axing Sharpe. I my opinion he has been one of our most solid (and good performers). On the plus side he also looks gutted every time he loses…

      • Lee Enfield

        Axing sharpe is not about form, as he has been a good perfromer. It is more about the fact the Wallabies need to start adjusting to life without him and it is time the next generation stood up. This campaign is over after two losses and the current team will be likely onlyto get two wins in the tournament. We really have nothing to lose by bringing in new blood.

        Simmons has it in him, he and Horwill work well together at the Reds and were the best locking combination in the Australian conference. My reason for picking Simmons is his lineout work his first class, both on our throws and the oppositions.

        If O’Connor is out for the Boks, I would move AAC to 13, Beale to 15 and bring Morahan onto the Bench.

    • BloodRed

      I like it a lot but on current form Beale doesn’t even deserve a bench spot. Morahan, Mogg or even Foley (gasp……. I’ve just nominated a waratah)

  • horror-tahs

    no surprise, bottom 4 waratahs

    • Ads

      No suprises – 1 red in the top 5. Enough of the petty province stuff. It’s tedious and mindless. Yet again they were crap regardless of where they come from.
      I think the coaching is crap, but also think our players are (how to say it politically correct) friggin half-wits. If you look back to past wallaby greats, NFJ, Lynagh, Eales,
      Gregan etc, they all seemed intelligent blokes. We won by playing “smart” often against superior opposition. To put it mildly, i sometimes wonder if Quade, JOC, KB et al struggle to walk and chew gum at the same time. Outstanding talent no doubt, but a few sambos short of a picnic if you ask me.

      • RJ

        Or 7 of the top 11 come from Queensland.

        • Ads

          That was my point RJ. There could be any number of pointless useless statistics. Who cares? Why dont we throw Sookface, Moore, Sharpie and Drew in the QLD bucket seeing as they came from there anyway right? You can have claim to most of the team that way, and then it is QLD’s fault the Wallabies are crap. I’m more interested in how the Wallabies are going, and why they are crap, and how to fix it. I dont really care where the players are currently playing Super Rugby.

        • sph45

          I understand the sentiment Ads and RJ, particularly in that there is no need to be petty and provincial. But there is little doubt there are systematic problems at the Waratahs and it wouldn’t be that surprising if Waratahs players bring some of that baggage to the Wallabies…

        • Ads

          sph45. Mate, agree with that. I don’t get though how all the team can play rubbish. To me the waratahs players might be bringing some baggage, but if the coaching was any good, it would be beaten out of em, or they’d be dropped. I also accept the tah’s players possibly lack fitness, but so does Kurtley etc. A Finger was not markedly better than Horne, Moore was not markedly better than TPN, Quade didn’t do alot etc. The coaching is shit. It’s not cos there are too many tah’s. We need 1 more Tah I reckon – Ewen.

      • Jimmy

        Easy on Quade mate – sure he isn’t playing well but I hear he is malnourished from only eating rice.

        • Hooper for 12

          Soggy rice at that.

      • @sackdeansnow

        Agreed…..union is a game of smarts… To play it properly at this level u need to be studious, thinking 3 – 4 different outcomes, consequences etc it’s essentially an academic exercise played out in a state of controlled but extreme physical aggression with ur actions being part of a unified group all surgically attached at the hip. I also think that deans does not come across as the sharpest cookie either. He is a psychologist apparently-well no offense but he sounds very very average to me. I will take Aussie smarts any day of the week thanks very much- when we really set our minds to it , well we r f…king hard to beat. IMO there is a whole sub group of players completely ignored in aust who woul be of the ill we saw 10 years ago- we definetelyyyyy have the cattle-absolutely-what we don’t have r any brains at the top. McQueen, Ewen – proper Aussie men!

  • ooaahh

    can we add Robbie to this list?

    • old weary

      Normally I am first to point out Dean’s inempt coaching, but not sure he deserves a 1 rating by himself. He didn’t throw the ball away on that attacking line out. He didn’t instruct Barnes to kick absolutley crazy kicks (that cross filed kick back to his front row will forever be in my memory..

      For me, I thought the forwards played well. They fronted up, and fought hard. That first 10mins got me very excited. Timani was excellent, and Hooper was emense. Higgers was even involved in the breakdown and being aggressive! Just not for the full 80 – which is fine, just need ot use the bench more effectivley.

      The backs were terrible. Nothing more to be said really. I understand why Hooper didn’t want to give Genia the ball on that driving maul.

  • PM

    Something has to change, we don’t have too many options right now though cattle wise. A decision on Dean’s should come at the end of this competition.

    Personally I’d pay his contract out, start afresh and get someone else (possibly McKenzie) to take them on the end of season tour building up to the Lions tour, at this rate we will get smashed.

    How can a Wallaby be fired up to beat the AB’s by a Kiwi coach, I think the foreign coach experiment has failed. Majority of responsibility for our current woes lies with the players.

    1. Slipper
    2. Moore
    3. Palmer
    4. Sharpe
    5. Timani
    6. Mowen
    7. Hooper
    8. Samo
    9. Genia
    10. Cooper
    11. Ioane
    12. Tapuai
    13. AAC
    14. Shipperly
    15. Beale

    • mark conley

      PM, 100% with you on selections!

  • Jay-c

    Everyone’s looking for a scapegoat in deans but the reality of it is that half his team (tahs) are all unfit- and despite jokers on here calling for widespread changes, combinations are everything in international rugby and bringing in new faces on the scale people are suggesting would be a disaster also the benefits of the s/c coach won’t be seen for another year. Doesn’t help that Beale and joc spent the last year partying in Melbourne and our forwards are simply weaker compared to their kiwi opposites. Having said that we are now 5 years into our 3yr plan to be #1… but I’ll reserve judgement till we have finished the championship- wait n see how we go against the saffas and Importantly how they go against the blacks

    • AkRiD

      Five years into our 3 year plan to be numero 1 and I believe I saw an interview on Fox Sports News last night where Robbie confessed that NZ is a clear first and it is now simply a contest for the positions below.

      Great attitude for our national team indeed.
      You wont be the best, but second is alright :\
      Leaves me just brimming with confidence that we can beat the AB’s

      • @sackdeansnow

        That deflection that deans used in interview for me showed his true couloirs. Instead of manning up personally he sold the team out physiologically for remainder of tournament by crystallizing any doubts the team had as to their chances- pretty ruthless and also pretty dumb considering deans is a professional pyscologist

      • boutbloodytime

        Saying that shit should be a sackable offence…effective immediately!!!

        Bloody hell Deans, where’s your ANZAC spirit?!? You are a fucking disgrace!

        That tells me exactly where the problems with Australian rugby lie, not the players but the useless prick who calls himself their coach.

        Imagine if our forefathers took this attitude in WW1 & 2…we’re Australia, not Italy…we stand up & fight, not give up & run away!

        Fuck me…hand in your resignation now Deans, with that attitude you’re a useless prick no matter where you hail from & you need to pull your head out of your arse before you infect the Wallabies any further with your poison…yes the ABs are number 1 & deserve it for now…but NEVER EVER admit defeat & say number 2 is good enough, or number 3, 4 or whatever…your last duty as national coach should be to apologise to the team, every former Wallaby player & coach & the supporters and then fuck off!!!

        Rant over…

    • Garry

      Not asking for “widespread changes”, just one. Deans to go. Bring in Link, and let him choose the team. Hell, he’s coached most of them at one stage or another. He’ll know who he can get the best from.

  • Shattered

    In terms of scoring, we were lucky to get to zero.

    Is what we saw, what they were practising at training?

    • Hooper for 12

      You’re right.

      And Barnes was just woeful – the ABs clearly ran at him in Defence – his opposite number was MotM. He offers nothing in attack.

  • Trys NOT Kicks

    I thought the match was gutting-sure the Wallabies never really looked to win, but the half chances we didn’t quite take infuriate me.
    On the plus side I thought the defence was impressive. Sure you can say the All Blacks blew a lot of chances, but its the Wallabies defence which caused the pressure. After all how often do you see the All Blacks screwing up easy chances?

  • bill

    1/ Timani.
    2/ Moore.
    3/ Alexander.
    4/ Sharpe.
    5/ Higginbotham.
    6/ Hooper.
    7/ Dennis.
    8/Genia.
    9/ Robinson.
    10/ Ioane.
    11/ Cooper.
    12/ AAC.
    13/ Horne.
    14/ Barnes.
    15/ Mitchell.

    starters only.

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