2009 G&GR Wallaby of the Year

Each week the members of our forum cast their 3-2-1 votes to contribute to the prestigious Green and Gold Rugby Wallaby of the Year.

The weekly Man of the Match, for each test so far, are revealed below, while the 2’s and 1’s are kept hidden for now to maintain the mystery.

Current Standings for G&GR Wallaby of the Year

Game 1 – Australia v Italy (Canberra)
Australia 31 (James O’Connor 3, Stirling Mortlock tries; Matt Giteau try, 3 conv) defeated Italy 8 (Kaine Robertson try; Luke McLean pgs)
Matt Giteau scored 21 points against Italy in Canberra, just two points behind the record for Individual Points in a test v Italy (record currently held my Michael Lynagh, 23 in 1988).
According to the web site, www.rugbystats.com.au he made five tackles, off loaded in the tackle once, kicked 15 times (for 578 metres), made four runs (earning 37 metres) and broke the line once.

Game 2 – Australia v Italy in Melbourne
Australia 34 (Adam Ashley-Cooper 2, Tatafu Polata-Nau, Ryan Cross, Lachlan Turner tries; James O’Connor 2 conv, pg; Berrick Barnes conv) defeated Italy 12 (Luke McLean 4 pgs)
Luke Burgess was Australia’s most dangerous player in the second test of the Bundaberg Rugby Series, against Italy. His stats show he made three clean line breaks, more than any other Wallaby. He also made seven tackles, off loaded three times in the tackle, kicked a couple of times (for 66 metres) and ran on 9 times for 100 metres.

Game 3 – Australia v France (Sydney)
Australia 22 (Matt Giteau try, conv, 5 pg) defeated France 6 (Dimitri Yachvili pg; Lionel Beauxis pg)
George Smith dominated play in his 99th test, against the nation he played in his debut test way back in 2000. Smith made ten tackles and two off loads in contact. Smith made four runs (for ten metres) and secured two turnovers.

Game 4 – Australia v New Zealand
New Zealand 22 (Richie McCaw try; Stephen Donald conv, 5 pg)
defeated Australia 16 (Berrick Barnes try; Matt Giteau conv, 3 pg)

In his 100th test for the Wallabies George Smith was unable to see his team over the line for victory, but he scored some consolation in being named Wallaby Player of the Match by the knowledgeable Green & Gold Rugby community.

According to rugbystats.com.au Smith had the second highest tackle count for the game, and was busy in attack as well. His off loading was a feature and his work in the lineout a bonus. Better yet – no kicks!