"The bench you say? Hmmmmm"
Five changes to the Wallaby starting team, four to the backline, is the notable news in today’s team announcement.
But its the ommission of George Smith, picked on the bench, that will cause most dicussion.
Is it a dropping? Is it a resting? Rotation? Reward? A sign of things to come? Robbie only knows.
The backrow of Palu, Elsom and Pocock does seem better balanced, but will need to up its work rate, along with the rest of the pack, to compete with an All Black team that blew them off the part at their last meeting.
Queensland flyers Peter Hynes and Digby Ioane have been named on the wings, with Adam Ashley-Cooper moving from outside centre to fullback. Incumbent fullback James O’Connor is now benched with Smith. Ryan Cross slips into the 13 jersey he last wore against South Africa in Subiaco.
Drew Mitchell is the only other starter from the last Wallaby team to be benched, while the prodigal (prodigious?) son Matt Dunning grabs the reserve prop spot from Pek Cowan. This will be Dunning’s first test since the Italy game on last year’s Spring tour and is a reward to his hard work and focus in his injury recovery.
The team is:
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies)
14. Peter Hynes (Queensland Reds)
13. Ryan Cross (Western Force)
12. Berrick Barnes (Queensland Reds)
11. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds)
10. Matt Giteau (Western Force)
9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds)
8. Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs)
7. David Pocock (Western Force)
6. Rocky Elsom (Brumbies, captain)
5. Mark Chisholm (Brumbies)
4. James Horwill (Queensland Reds)
3. Ben Alexander (Brumbies)
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau (NSW Waratahs)
1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs)
Run on reserves:
16. Stephen Moore (Brumbies)
17. Matt Dunning (Western Force)
18. Dean Mumm (NSW Waratahs)
19. George Smith (Brumbies)
20. Luke Burgess (NSW Waratahs)
21. Drew Mitchell (Western Force)
22. James O’Connor (Western Force)
Tags: adam ashley-cooper, bledisloe cup, david pocock, digby ioane, George Smth, Peter Hyns, robbie deans, rocky elsom, ryan cross, stirling mortlock, Wallabies
Just a shame no-one will be there to watch the match.
Not so….El Dommo is on assignment in Tokyo for G&GR so watch for his insights in the coming days
Does seem a much more balanced team than the last one. A bit of size in the backs will help.
Can’t wait to see Diggers steaming on to one of Sanchez’s inside passes.
As for Smith – I’m sure it’s just being rested. Still the best 7 in the world IMO.
yeah, but he’s had a long time to ‘rest’, so i can’t understand deans angle on this.
Pocock > Smith doesn’t make sense on this years showing.
I’d have to say in the two matches he got a start at 7, Brisbane and Wellington, Pocock had very good games at the breakdown.
In Brisbane he got rewarded because there was support at the breakdown, in Wellington he got left on his own and was repeatedly smashed over the ball.
While being a core member of the “George Smith is better than Richie McCaw” club, I have had a feeling that age has been creeping into the gurus work around the park. As with all good flankers, he has a superb nose for where to be when, but maybe he’s been having to rely upon that a little too much? As has been said, Robbie is a workrate freak.
Another way to look at it: Robbie’s re-learned that Pocock and Smith isn’t a good balance, but you’ve still got them both in the 22. The games against the ABs have been coming down to the last 10 mins. Having a fresh G. Smith running around in the back end of the game isn’t a bad thing
Smith off the bench will hopefully be an awesome sight. My guess is that he will captain the mid week team and from these two performances be given his chance to prove why he should start.
Although I think Deans has got it right, everytime Pocock has started he has been great, like TPN and Moore it has nothing to do with the quality of the person on the Bench but what bring the best out of each player. In any other team Moore would start but we get more out of the combination from having TPN start.
Perhaps that’s the way he sold it to Smith but it seems to me like punishment for not being a good captain – a role he never really wanted in the first place.
A better player than Pocock at the moment.
Smith is coming to the end of his time and Pocock is at the begining. Sure Smith is still better than Pocock but wont be for much longer. As for the wank that Smith is the best openside in the world, that is a long time out of date.
i cant believe that carter didn’t get a call up when horne got injured??
this is bullshit. noone punches holes in the defence like carter.
looks like carter gets the defense punching holes in him…
not really, Carter is an inside centre while horne is more an outside/winger.
before you go about defaming someone through use of isolated incidents to make weak points due to the lack of credability in your own opinion to post anything new, fresh or exciting, maybe you should take some george smith reflection time on the bench!
WJ says, people who impersonate others are the real losers in robbie deans master plans. the al baxter look alike from my local hasnt picked up in weeks! lucky my matt dunning is still pulling the chicks!
God I hope this is a joke post and that there is not really someone out there who genuinely thinks Carter is better than a below average S14 centre.
We’re back to AAC in fullback…
Doesn’t Deans understand he plays his best rugby on the wing or in the centres…
Same with Giteau, I though AAC said he would play inside centre…
Although i like the wingers, i dont think this team is good enough to win a bledisloe.
No reference to Gerrado at no 15? Might give myself a thumbs up for that….
does Gerrard play 15?
Surely not, especially not in Japan anyway.
I see poor Rob Horne is back off home again with a shredded hammy.
The upside is that Tyrone Smith joins the squad. Would love to see him get a run, even mid-week. Could be a real bolter on tour
Sweet. More brumbies means more horse power.
lovin the reds dominated back line!
although it may cause others some worry, actually it worries me a bit,
even though ive thought for a while peter hynes should start and higgers aswell.
actually i suppose berrick barnes doesnt count either…
Berrick who?
berrick wankaface
Berrick Buns
No mid-week team named? Perhaps?
15 James O’Connor
14 Lachie Turner
13 Tyrone Smith
12 Kurtley Beale
11 Drew Mitchell
10 Quade Cooper
9 Richard Kingi
8 Richard Brown
7 Matt Hodgson
6 Mitchell Chapman
5 Dave Dennis
4 Dean Mumm
3 Sekope Kepu
2 Stephen Moore
1 Pek Cowan
16 Tatafu Polota-Nau
17 Salesi Ma’afu
18 Mark Chisholm
19 Wycliffe Palu
20 Will Genia
21 Ryan Cross
22 Digby Ione
Perhaps not the most ideal for English conditions.
I think from Deans comments we will see;
15 Beale
14 Lachie Turner
13 Tyrone Smith
12 O’Conner
11 Drew Mitchell
10 Quade Cooper
9 Burgo
8 Richard Brown
7 George Smith (C)
6 Matt Hodgson
5 Dave Dennis
4 Dean Mumm
3 Sekope Kepu
2 Stephen Moore
1 Pek Cowan
16 Damien Fitzpatrick
17 Salesi Ma’afu
18 Mitchell Chapman
19 Wycliffe Palu
20 Kingi
21 Ryan Cross
22 Digby Ione
sounds good to me, for a developement b-team
I think James Dellow will be pushing his case for selection
I think dropping smith is justified. Pocock offers a good balance and he needs game time to develope. If this were a deciding bledisloe match or world up final then smith would be ahead of pocock for sure. However its basically a rugby publicity game and Pocock is good enough to start against an all blacks team, plus the b-team needs a leader which smith would be perfect for. He aint getting any better so why not use his experience to help develope other players. In 2 years time at the RWC i think smith will still start ahead of pocock.
Seb V, In two years time Smith will be gone. Flankers have perhaps the shortest half life of any player and others should be up and challenging. If they are not, the development of the game is sicker in Australia than we would all like to believe.
I would like to see Ioane move in one place and Giteau and Barnes swapping.
Has anyone gone from captain to the bench in the following test before?
As much as I want to see Barnes at 10 and Gits at 12, i think Deans has made the right decision in this case, more for political reasons than anything else.
Hopefully Palu’s inclusion will have an impact but I’ve always been concerned about his workrate. Could even see Smith come on for Palu if he gets pulled, but I think Deans will (and needs to) keep him on for the full 80.
Pocock will give us more enthusiasm at the break down initially, with smith providing good experience in the latter stages when it (should be!)needed.
Agree with AAC at fullback. While OConnor has been fairly solid, it has not been against NZ and he will have better impact off the bench.
Looking forward to seeing Dunning back on the park to give us some experience and depth.
TPN will provide some power hitting initia
Ioane will give us some added bulk which has been missing with Turner, and Hynes is an honest worker
Cross – Hmm. Solid but not spectacular. I’d love to see him really get stuck in the way Mortlock has for us over the years.
Horwill needs to convince. He went missing in Wellington and hasn’t live up to his ‘enforcer’ tag.
Anywone see what Deans sees in Mumm?
All in all, this is looking like a fairly strong side IMO.
While I enjoyed the Brisbane test and TPN’s bone-rattling tackling, I still think benching Moore is a big gamble. If TPN has a bad night with his throws (which he does) the ABs will pounce on it.
Still, we do need the extra firepower…
I’m not overly impressed with Ryan Cross as a playmaker either. But he’s got two good playmakers inside him and a very rumbustious finisher in Ioane outside of him plus some genuine zip in Hynes on the other flank. Being a good link might be the ticket for him.
He’s also got the size and strength to crash it up which could see AAC given the ball on the burst. With Digby and Hynes outside of AAC in this situation this could prove to be a lethal combo.
All Cross has to do now is remember to release the pill in the tackle. Mmmmmm, sometimes he plays it like the Leaugie he once was and just goes to ground with it.
This maybe the biggest cross Ryan has to bear.
Officially nobody is saying much but this 2009 Bledisloe cup is already lost. Its really now a Japanesse exhibition match. Deans and assistances know it, as do the ARU. However it’s an opportunity to give some rare experience to Pocock and PTN against the All Blacks. Furthermore it will take all 22 Wallabies to defeat the All Blacks.
What the Wallabies really need to win back the supporters and sponsors is to win the Grand Slam. This will be an extremely demanding tour for the Wallabies to back up each week. So while it would be great to win in Tokyo it’s far more important the Wallabies conquer England at Twickenham to commence a successful tour.
It’s a perfect chance for Pocock and PTN to start and have another crack at the All Blacks gaining more international experience. Additionally with George Smith absent from the field it gives Rocky Elsom a chance to being his Wallabies Captaincy and show his leadership without the unnecessary distraction of the former captain.
Smith and Moore will likley start against England at Twickers…
we’re gunna get smashed again, aren’t we.
Yep.
and now barnsey is out. king ashley cooper goes to inside and james o’conner comes in at 15.
This is going to be nasty.
James O’Connor back at full back sends cold shivers down my spine…..
I must say, Barnes is made of paper Tah fans….