Experts: Wallabies Grand Slam predictions

Oct 28

Posted by Gagger
15 Comments

GREEN AND GOLD RUGBY EXCLUSIVE

It’s been 25 years since we last had a crack at a Grand Slam (why?) and won it. So can Australia do it again with the current Wallabies mob? G&GR talked to a number of Aussie rugby experts, and here’s what they came up with:

Lote Tuqiri Ex-Wallaby

“I’m hoping for a clean sweep but i do worry about the Welsh and the Irish on home soil. Totally different rugby up there as u know..Sharpey will b a massive loss in the tight 5, lineout calling etc, We just really need to assert some authority in that area.”

Bob Dwyer
SuperCoach

“The Wallabies could have a turn-around on this tour. I sense a new air of determination on the part of the coaching staff to ensure the “new” style of play that they have been seeking, and on the part of the captain to support this.
I’m guessing two wins – v England and Scotland – a draw – v Wales – and a loss – v Ireland. Given my woeful tipping record, this should give us the Grand Slam.”

Aug 28

Video Highlights – Rocky in Ireland

Posted by Moses
2 Comments

Here’s a short clip showing highlights of Rocky Elsom’s time with Leinster.

This shows why Rocky is the complete package and is in the form of his life. His pace, palm off, strength in the tackle, step, mongrel, big game temperament and ability to make anyone his bitch are truly world class.

Aug 15

Tri-Nations Rugby: Commentator Ratings

Posted by Lance Free
28 Comments

Why does this man bother!

We rate the players after most tests; now that we’re in the middle of the Tri-Nations it’s time to see how the commentators are travelling. Who’s on top of the ladder SA, Oz or NZ?

Home ground advantage is most important in the commentator stakes. This breed don’t travel well as a rule although being able to speak English is a positive. Having a knowledge of rugby is desirable but not necessarily a prerequisite, as you’ll see. Read more »

Jun 13

All black and ‘bleu’

Posted by Lance Free
26 Comments

France 27 – New Zealand 22

"ah laff at yur flimzy defence neuw zealanderr - ha ha!!"

"ah laff at yur flimzy defence neau zealanderr - HA HA!!"

O.K. Lets put all the crap to bed first. The excuse the Nuw Zulenders will use for their 22 – 27 defeat to Les Bleus will be that they were without McCaw, Carter, So’olialo, Ali Williams, Conrad Smith, Sivivatu, Wulf, Kahui, etc etc yawn!

However, let’s not forget that our continental friends, colloquially known as Le Coq Gaulois, were not without their own difficulties. Think Rougerie, Parra, Nallet, Harinodoquay, Bonnaire Read more »

Mar 21

Not so pretty in pink

Posted by Gagger
5 Comments

Not in the pink

Western Force 10 – Sharks 22

For highlights follow read more link below

Watching both the Tahs and Force today was the rugby equivalent of coitus interruptus. Prolonged foreplay, relentless pounding, exciting climax….and then a damp squibb. In the meantime the Saffas and Kiwis, having barely got a sniff of space, had ripped off three quickies and were already down the pub gloating about it.

The Force worked their arses off for bugger all. Time and time again Cross, Sharp and Hodgson created great targets in midfield for poor clearing at the rucks to turn fast ball into slow, or even worse, to leave the ball waiting out the back for the Sharks to wander through and help themselves. Read more »

Feb 25

Reds go Mad

Posted by Juan Cote
10 Comments

Angry Man is Back

Not since the return of Jesus Christ has a comeback been more anticipated. Hugh McMeniman will make his debut this weekend after a leave of absence from the first two games of this year’s Super 14.

This is a major boost for the Reds who have produced some creditable results on their tour of South Africa, despite playing with an under-powered forward pack against the behemoths of the Bulls and Stormers.

Although the return of Madness may herald a new found authority, he will not return at his preferred position of blind-side flanker, but Read more »

Feb 9

Super 14 2009 predictions

Posted by Gagger
13 Comments

who's gonna bloody win it?

You can over analyse these things so I’m gonna shoot from the hip. Rather than try and rank everyone (who gives a shit if your 11th or 12th?) I’m gonna chuck em all into a few categories to guide where you bet your rent.

Cheetahs – fodder

Lions – fodder

Highlanders – kiwi fodder (so not bottom of table, but close)

Bulls – strugglers. While there’s more than a few big names in there like Matfield, Du Preez, Habana, Spies. I’d back em more if they realised we’re playing under the ELVs and they weren’t tearing each other apart in the sheds. Read more »

Nov 24

About

Posted by Gagger

Matt a.k.a Gagger or GAGR (short for GreenAndGoldRugby, not a fetish)

Matt started G&GR just before the 2007 Rugby World Cup and has been enslaved ever since. The whole idea of G&GR is to create a place to share rugby opinions vaguely related to Australian rugby. (So if you’ve got one, let’s have it, even if you’re a Pom.)

Having been a year ahead of legendary Wallaby Matt Burke at school (where did it all go so wrong?) Matt furthered his drinking and rugby playing career in London, where he also went to university. The pinnacle of his rugby achievements was an “international cap” for London French vs Israel in Tel Aviv, 1996.

He still lives in London with his wife and two children, who he considers Australian, even though they were born in England to an English mother and have never lived anywhere else.

You can follow him on Twitter here. You can always email him as well.

Moses
A technical genius, Cricket tragic and great guy that I’ve yet to meet in the flesh. Moses is the driving force behind Beer and Sport and Go The Tahs. You’ll see he also contributes a hell of a lot around here, both in front and behind the scenes. Follow Moses on Twitter here

Scarfman
Loves his rugby, the biff, the ladies, speaking about himself in the third person, and posting on internet sports forums. Last seen driving at high speed towards Orange Base Hospital with an ice pack on his shoulder. Started The Yellow Scarf forum (now G&GR forum) in 2007 as a way of sticking it up the Kiwis.

Juan Cote
G&GR’s roving reporter in the Sunshine State, Juan will let nothing come between him and a story, especially if it’s in a bottle or pie tin. Often compared to a young Growden before the rot set in, Juan is also a flawed genius with an addiction to cliches and party pies. Follow Juan on twitter here

Noddy
Another one on the side of the Queenslanders, and shees, they need all the help they can get. Grew up in the wane of the Mclean/Loane/Slack era and wax of the Eales/Horan/Kefu era. Linking these two generations was his favourite player – Michael “Noddy” Lynagh. Noddy (the blogger) actually has a graduate diploma in Journalism (External) which, whilst provides him the illusion of capability, is more self satisfying as he is finally able to justify the time and money ‘well spent’ on the course. He can be followed on twitter here

Lance Free
Lance is a bit of a hybrid (mongrel? – ed.); raised in Australia but having connections in South Africa and whanau in New Zealand. Lance’s rugby career highlight was, funnily enough, representing Galilee in a match against the UN (Fijian) Monitoring Force in Northern Israel quite some years ago (true). A sort of ‘foreign correspondent’ in the Robert Fisk mould, Lance uses his in-depth knowledge of ‘overseas’ rugby to form the basis of many of his posts. Can insult in at least 12 languages.

Coatsie a.k.a ‘the Coatsenegger’
The enigmatic contributor of such posts as Coatsie’s boardgame guide to the football codes and Lunch with Larkham. When not having his life chronicled in Column 8, he’s designing stuff like the original GAGR Banner.

Aug 13

Rocky’s foot

Posted by Gagger
6 Comments

I’ve done a Sonny Boy Williams and farked off to the south of France, although unlike SBW my holiday trip is well within my current employment contract. It won’t surprise you to know that the Frogs couldn’t give a flying Gallic shrug about the supposed end of the NRLs world.

Proper news wise it’s all gone pretty quiet following last weekends Tri-Nations bye. The Saffas had a training run against the Argies last weekend, winning by 63-9. I would’ve said it wasn’t a bad idea (blow away the month long cobwebs before the ABs arrive) if they hadn’t lost Bakkies “baby eater” Botha and Jacques Fourie because of it.

As per Chooks Mongrel-o-meter, Bakkies packs about the same amount of mongrel as the Wallabies squad put together and the Boks style of play heavily relies on it.

Talking of injuries, the Wallabies are dealing with their own set. Ashley-Cooper is out for the first game with a busted hand, but most worringly Rocky Elsom is out of the first game, at least due to damaged foot ligaments. Even one game is very bad news when it comes to snuffling out a rampaging Burger.

On top of this LT “will at some time” require a clean up knee-op. But it’s “OK as long as he doesn’t train too hard”. How does this work with 3 tests coming his way, 2 of them away in a country that we haven’t won in for 8 years? If we still have Lote by Brisbane I’ll be happily surprised.

Another worry for the first test is Horwill with a bruised ankle bone. Despite being the form Aussie lock this might make easing the lineout king Vickerman back into the side.

Aussie Robbie will have a few thoughts on his mind other than the result this weekend. Speaking of which, who should we be rooting for? Simplistically I like the idea of the Boks keeping out the ABs and then us for one test, for us to win one away and then win at home. I think this should get us there. Thoughts?
And here is the rest of it.

Jul 16

Australia vs South Africa Tri-Nations First Test Preview

Posted by Gagger
4 Comments

UPDATED

Here it is – the first big Wallaby hit out in the Aussie Robbie era, and what a test it’s gonna be. The world champeen Springboks have just re-inforced their top-dog status with two matches out of the top drawer, the second earning them their first win on NZ soil for 10 years. As for the Wallabies, we’ve had flashes of brilliance, but some big questions remain unanswered.

So who’s gonna do it in Perth?

Well, I reckon all the clues are written above. It’s difficult to imagine the impact of two hard fought test matches in two weeks on the other side of the earth to home, a well deserved piss-up and then a trip right across terra Australis to front up again within the same 7 days. Plus, in the psyche will be that they’ve played their big match and taken their big scalp. Just hold the rest of their home games and that should be it for this Tri-Nations. Happy daze.

But this doesn’t mean it’s gonna be easy for the Wallabies. The two softest parts of our game – the breakdown and scrum – are selling points for the Saffas. The scrum I reckon just might hold. It’s home turf, they haven’t been on top form and its the beginning of the comp – we always seem to get away with it then. [UPDATE: The Boks have opted for a whole second front-row on their bench, signalling where their focus is. I've also heard conflicting reports about wet weather forecasts. The scrum could be more of a factor than I'd hoped]

It’s the breakdown that worries me the most. I haven’t seen a convincing game here since before the RWC, even against the holidaying Frogs, and the likes of Burger and Botha are in wrecking ball form. This is the time for Palu to finally step up onto the big stage and Horwill re-discover some inner mongrel. If they don’t then with the ensuing crappy ball and offside Jaapies it’s going to be even harder to break the strangle hold of the rush defence. We saw where that got the ABs last weekend.

With what we’ve seen so far this should be a close game, the fresher Wallaby legs getting them through by 5 points or so. If it’s more than that, then the Boks obviously enjoyed the celebrations in Christchurch. If the Wallabies don’t do it then its game over Tri-Nations.

Jul 14

Chooks own Mongrel-o-meter

Posted by Gagger
7 Comments

By Chook.
I think we need to rate the players that will face off for the Tri Nations and see how the Wallabies match-up. I feel that we would be quite low at the moment. I reckon the Saffas easily out-mongrel ABs and Wallabies, although the ABs wouldn’t be too far behind them. Bakkies Botha being present basically drags the whole team up to a whole new echelon of mongrelness. Not to mention freakin’ Burger. The ABs have Carter which drags them down a bit due to his underwear commitments and Donald makes me laugh, so he brings them down further.

Things like eye gouging, biting , spear tackles and dangerous throws score highly. Tackling without using the arms and niggle off the ball also was taken into account. Supporting your pals in the fight is admirable but does not score highly.

Some points to consider:

ABs
8. Ali Williams is as useless as Sharpe but with more mongrel so he has some good attributes. Keven Mealamu is useful and mongrel-y. He is handy but a bit passed his prime. Good in a scrap and willing to take a sneaky lineout throw as well.
They have plenty of players that look pìssed off but that is due to residual hatred to Henry and the stupid rotation system as well as the unbearable burden of actually being in a team that has won only a single RWC. Sivivatu can only fight chicks which is a poor effort by him. Nonu gets an unhonorable mention for hitting Huxley who had a brain tumour and is obviously retarded. Shame about the mascara though.

Saffas
The Saffas wrote the book on mongrel. France, Fiji, Manu Samoa and Tonga touch on the level of mongrel the Saffas have at times but not across the board like the Saffas can. They have depth that other nations can only dream of in this area. Think Bakkies Botha, Butch James, Burger and Victor Matfield just for starters. Its too bad the Saffas also include wet tea towels like Frannie Steyn and Monty in their team to take that edginess off. Otherwise they would be unbeatable and be deserved world champions.

As it is, it seems to me they must have a quota system on mongrel perhaps due to the need to finish a game with slightly more players than a Rugby League side.

As a note, Matfield looks a little too well fed and watered on great cuisine and wine sourced from the Toulon region to fully access his mongreloid powers.

Wallabies
We score low on mongrel. Horwill promised a lot of mongrel but failed to deliver ‘cept for half a cup of claret and a stupid looking eye. McMenimen is supposed to be hard but is more like a stick of celery lost at the back of the crisper.

As always its up to the Tahs to supply mongrel with Waugh, Palu and Lote to the rescue although Waugh just plays hard, Palu needs Cowan or a copper to pìss him off and Lote needs his dreads pulled to activate his anger protocol. He also needs to have Sam Norton Knight somewhere in the same postcode to engage the red mist.

Hynes has some promise but needs to take the head off Carter for me to be totally convinced of his credentials.

I can’t see the Wallabies winning the Tri Nations as we are far and away the worst performed Mongrel team in the comp and we will be spanked form pillar to post by harder, tougher teams.

Here’s Chooks Own Mongrel-o-meter… (10 being most mongrel-iest)

10. Eats Babies (Bakkies Botha level)
9. Eats Wallaby Wingers (Richard Loe level)
8. Quokka Hammer Throw Champion level
7. Pull Lotes hair/ Flanker level
6. Gingah/Ranga/ Annoyed Scrumhalf level
5. We Got Your Back Kid, Just Don’t Be Pointing One Of Them Guns, A’ight Man
4. I fight like Ben Tune level
3. My Underwear Advertising Commitments Prevent Me From Man-ing Up level
2. Gandhi non violent resistance/ I Play In The Backs level
1. My Favourite movie Is The Notebook level

You’ll see there are a few gaps, and no doubt disagree with a few so let me know what you think.

ALL BLACKS

Tony Woodcòck, 1
Andrew Hore, 1
John Afoa, 1
Anthony Boric, 1
Ali Willliams, 8
Adam Thomson, 1
Rodney So’oialo (c), 7
Jerome Kaino, 3
Andy Ellis, 2
Dan Carter, 3
Rudi Wulf, 2
Ma’a Nonu, 8
Conrad Smith, 2
Sitiveni Sivivatu, 4
Mils Muliaina. 2

RESERVES
16. Keven Mealamu, 8
17. Neemia Tialata, 6
18. Kevin O’Neill, 5
19. Sione Lauaki, 6
20. Jimmy Cowan, 7
21. Stephen Donald, 1
22. Leon MacDonald. 1

SOUTH AFRICA

Conrad Jantjes, 4
Odwa Ndungane, 4
Adrian Jacobs, 4
Jean de Villiers, 4
Bryan Habana, 4
Butch James, 8
Ricky Januarie, 4
Joe van Niekerk, 4
Juan Smith, 4
Schalk Burger, 9
Victor Matfield, 7
Bakkies Botha, 10
CJ van der Linde, 4
John Smit (captain), 5
Gurthro Steenkamp 5

Reserves:
Bismarck du Plessis, 6
Brian Mujati, 5
Andries Bekker, 6
Luke Watson, 5
Bolla Conradie, 5
Francois Steyn, 1
Percy Montgomery 1

WALLABIES squad:
Backs: Adam Ashley Cooper, 1
Berrick Barnes, 1
G&GRs own Luke Burgess, 2
Sam Cordingley, 1
Ryan Cross, 1
Matt Giteau, 1
Peter Hynes, 7
Drew Mitchell, 1
Stirling Mortlock (capt), 5
Brett Sheehan, 6
Timana Tahu, 3
Lote Tuqiri, 7
Lachlan Turner 1

Forwards:
Ben Alexander,
Al Baxter, 5
Richard Brown,
Matt Dunning, 6
Rocky Elsom, 7
Adam Freier,
James Horwill, 8
Hugh McMeniman, 1
Dean Mumm, 2
Stephen Moore, 1
Wycliff Palu, 7
Tatafu Polota-Nau, 6
Benn Robinson,
Nathan Sharpe, 1
George Smith,
Phil Waugh, 7
Dan Vickerman. 7.

Aug 9

The many faces of Greg

Posted by Gagger
4 Comments

As pointed out by G&GR readers, everyone’s favourite Chief Rugby Correspondent has some pretty variable mug shots out there (haven’t we all?). And as they say, every picture says a thousand words….

Gregory the apprentice
Keen as mustard, this picture – taken on his second day at work – captures the apprentice scribe’s diligence (cop the specs & tie), ambition and joie de vivre. If he can keep the stories as sharp as his pencil, he could even one day make Chief Rugby Correspondent. No time for lunch though, I’ll just grab a pie.

Staffer Greg
He certainly found the pies, but this chirpy and effervescent journo is still like a big Labrador bouncing around the office and tracking down those hard to get stories. A fully grown rugby reporter, how lucky can you get?

The growling begins
A little older, a little wiser, and more than a little pissy. Greg’s chipper smile has faded as the temples have greyed. Who do these footy players think they are? I made them who they are! These SFS pies are cold.

Mongrel Greg
What, the fµck , are you looking at fµck face? Fµck Gregan, fµck Flowers, fµck the ARC, fµck Connolly and fµck the Wallabies – said a high placed ARU source. You fµcks don’t know how lucky you fµcking are. Pass me a fµcking four’n twenty – and fµck off.

Jun 24

Tri-Nations review: South Africa vs New Zealand

Posted by Gagger
1 Comment

Springboks 21 – All Blacks 26

Ominous signs from the boys in black

In their come from behind win over the Boks yesterday in Durban, the All Blacks showed some frightening glimpses of their potential, with just a few Achilles heels on display.

Nine points behind with 15 minutes to play, New Zealand raised the pace of the game to a level that the exhausted boks could no longer contain. The penultimate try was the pick of the bunch, with Rodney So’oaiolo producing an explosive 50m kick return from deep in New Zealand territory that set up a sustained period of phase pressure in the Boks 22. The eventual try came from a mercurial pick and go three metres out by the omnipresent Richie McCaw.

The final try, a classic capitalisation on a quick turnover to give Rokocoko a clear run in, was then almost inevitable. South Africa had nothing left in the tank.

That’s not to say that this wasn’t a strong performance from the Springboks. In the first half, Matfield read the Kiwi lineout as easily as his own, giving the home side good ball. Berger was everywhere in defence and never more than two steps away from McCaw. Percy Montgomery used his experience at the back, his kicking game impressive. The half-back Ruan Pienaar staked his case for a regular place with touches of world class.

However, by the second half the South African scrum had disintegrated and only quick work at the base managed to keep it functioning at all. To nullify the lineout malfunctions, the All Blacks started taking quick throws whenever possible, which served to accelerate the pace of the game further.

Scarily for any opposition, it’s hard to pick out single All Black contributions, such was the joined up, full pace approach. But for such a game plan to work, the back row must be at the top of their game and McCaw, Collins and So’oialo were. The power of their running and gang tackling was at times awesome.

For the Wallabies in Melbourne this weekend, victory will require a performance the like of which they haven’t given since the last world cup versus this same opposition. Encouraging as last week’s gutsy but ultimately losing effort against the Boks was, it will take much more determination and accuracy, for it also seems that this All Black side has raised the bar in terms of conditioning.

If the Wallabies can find this level of performance, then there are some chinks in the AB armour to attack:

The line-out. Perhaps because of the injuries at lock, this weakness is once again ripe for exploitation; Vickerman and Sharpe must take a leaf out of Matfield’s book. Note that this doesn’t mean the Wallabies should try and overplay a kicking game as it would play into All Black hands.
Ball retention. Keep it tight and drive it through the phases. This worked for the Boks this weekend, they came unstuck as soon as they tried to loosen it up. Give the ABs 65% of the ball next weekend and it’ll be a massacre at the MCG. As the Brumbies and Bulls also showed against the Crusaders, McCaw starts to leak penalties on the back foot.
Mongrel. The AB’s are a well oiled machine when allowed to play. You have to be in their face with big tackles and causing niggle everywhere else. The South Africans did a good job of this until they ran out of puff. Who will be Australia’s Baakies Botha?

Anyone think of anything else?

And finally, there’s another silver lining – the ref isn’t Kaplan

NEW ZEALAND 26 (Richie McCaw, Joe Rokocoko tries; Daniel Carter 3 pens 2 cons, Aaron Mauger drop goal) bt SOUTH AFRICA 21 (Schalk Burger, Butch James tries; Percy Montgomery 2 pens con, Ruan Pienaar pen) at ABSA Stadium Durban.

Jun 7

Wallabies vs Fiji – preview

Posted by Gagger

Click here for 2007 Rugby World Cup match preview

Well, apart from the usual Fijian rugby generalisations (dangerous loose and wide, hopeless with structure) I’ve got to admit I have no idea what to expect from the individuals within the team when they play the Wallabies on Saturday in Perth. However, there are a few interesting selections in the Australia side that are worth commenting on.

Gregan and Larkham – an interesting starting choice. You might have expected Bernie to be in 5 layers of cotton wool by now and resting that niggly hammy. This selection is more about steering well clear of the banana skin that even struggling against Fiji would represent. It’s also fairer on the trial pairing of…
Staniforth and Ashley-Cooper. With Giteau the only real backup at 10, there’s a real gap behind him at 12. All eyes on Staniforth.
And suddenly there’s pressure on the 6 million dollar man – Tuquiri: with a crop of promising wingers and Lote becoming an underperforming media side show. Unbelievably he still hasn’t signed an ARU contract while they wait for some corporate sponsor guy to get back from holiday. Hmmm….
Horwill – god knows we need some more mongrel in the pack, can he be it?
Chisholm at 6 - I’d hoped this experiment had gone with Eddie Jones; trying to manufacture a supertall blind side. Chis hasn’t had a bad run at second row, but he ain’t no 6. Hoiles, or maybe McMennimen are Elsom’s true rivals
Cordingly as reserve 9 – has he still got enough to push Gregan? Would be good to see him get a decent run

So despite the ‘dead rubber’ nature of this test there are a few interesting points to look out for. Expectations should be for at least a 40 point difference.

The Wallaby side in full: Julian Huxley, Drew Mitchell, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Scott Staniforth, Lote Tuqiri, Stephen Larkham, George Gregan, David Lyons, Phil Waugh (captain), Mark Chisholm, Dan Vickerman, James Horwill, Al Baxter, Adam Freier, Matt Dunning. Reserves: Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson, Stephen Hoiles, George Smith, Sam Cordingley, Sam Norton-Knight, Stirling Mortlock.

May 26

First Wales test – wash up

Posted by Gagger
1 Comment

Australia 29 : Wales 23
or
Australian forwards +29 : Australian backs -23

Well, for a match review you can pretty much read my match prediction in the previous post. Not surprisingly, a back-line made of out of position players and devoid of combinations was a error-ridden shmozzle and this Welsh team is not as easy as the press has made out.

Negatives from the game:
Not one inch of progress in the backs. Only 2 games until tri-nations humiliation if we keep going this way and the whole team seems to have a terminal case of dropsy. Having played a full S14 season, you can’t blame ‘rustiness’. It was also lucky that Wales didn’t get more ball because holes kept opening up in mid-field for them.

Positives from the game:
The forwards, who scored 3 of the 4 tries. Line-out worked – even managed to pressure theirs – and scrum didn’t fold. Big men made good yards. Because of this platform we got to see the old Aussie composure to win it at the death – something we’ve sorely missed for a few years.

Man by man:
1. Dunning 7/10 – solid, got the pass away to put Palu in.
2. Moore 7/10 – throwing in good (rare for wallabies hooker)
3. Shepherdson 6/10 – solid in the scrum, butterfingers outside of it
4. Sharpe 8/10 – great running game, good in the line-out as usual
5. Chisholm 6/10 – OK running game, dropped a howler
6. Elsom 6/10 – needs to get the mongrel back, dropped howler
7. Waugh (c) 7/10 – committed, linked well, scavenging needs to step up
8. Palu 9/10 – best outing for the wallabies yet. Great running game
9. Giteau 7/10 – poor guy’s in the wrong position, looked sharp though
10. Norton-Knight 4/10 – a shocker. We have a problem
11. Mitchell 7/10 – a few touches of sharpness and smart kicking
12. Ashley-Cooper 5/10 – was he on the field?
13. Mortlock (vc) 6/10 – beavis not up to usual class, errors galore
14. Gerrard 7/10 – howling drop in own 22, some good barging runs though
15. Huxley 5/10 – got talent, along with brain-fart-itis. Forgot how to pass
Reserves: I never thought I’d be so happy to see Gregan get on the field so Giteau could go to 12. Hoiles and Vickerman solid, Smith too slow.

Overall
We can only hope that this scare will jolt Connolly into putting players in the right positions (see my last post). We didn’t end up with Farr-Jones/Lynagh and Horan/Little combinations by continually dicking them around in crazy combos. With the cup only months away, we need to have Gregan, Larkham, Giteau and Mortlock almost bored of playing together in that combo, not wondering what it might be like.

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