Wallabies 2023

[Brumby Runner]

I thought they looked like a team that's had a fortnight under a completely new coaching team and looked lost at times... and not particularly fit enough.

Clearly defensive structures were a big problem... I find it hard to single out any player as there were too many scenarios where we were undermanned or had players not in the position to make a tackle, and on top of that we defended very passively.

At one point Tom Hooper had to make a tackle, and then immediately had to attempt to tackle the next player the ball was passed to because of the overlap.

And that's what is being touted here as a missed tackle. He ought to be applauded for being in a position to attempt two tackles on adjacent players. Nobody else was there to lend a hand.

 

[KOB1987]

And that's what is being touted here as a missed tackle. He ought to be applauded for being in a position to attempt two tackles on adjacent players. Nobody else was there to lend a hand.

But this is just totally subjective. On a similar note M Hooper missed a few but mostly because he was one of the only players attempting to make them. Someone else asked if there is a stat for tackle attempts, it would be interesting to see that one. For the record, I don’t think anyone is putting the boot into T Hooper, only that 2023 is not his time. At the other end of the scale, the worst case for M Hooper is that he goes to France as one of those 5 ‘clubmen’ that Eddie speaks of, barring injury of course. And as I’ve said before, I’m hoping T Hooper does succeed, being a Central West NSW product.

 

[rodha]

Eddie's selections under the microscope. The maul has gone backwards considerably. The defense was optional, especially around the ruck. People looked unsure of their place in the line. I wonder post 2023 world cup if they will keep any of these assistants lol?

The defensive structure and pattern was deficient from the outset, with the ruck defense non-existent and the boks getting outside space way too easily. Hard to decipher what the defensive plan is; it was neither rush-defence nor a game plan aimed at slowing the ball down.

Shame about T Hooper, he would have been better for the run and exposure to test level intensity. Hope he hasn't injured the shoulder he blew out last year. M Hooper is sadly past it, he doesn't have the engine, speed or tenacity that set him apart from the rest of the pack.

As frequently discussed, the prop stocks are too thin with Bell/Tupou out, and the scrum got monstered when the replacement front row came on.

 

[rodha]

Have a bit of sagacity & calm from Mr. Cooper before we burn the entire thing down.

Wallabies won’t hit panic button despite Boks thrashing, says Quade

The Wallabies veteran, who has a case of “Darren Lockyer voice” after a blow to the throat, believes the heavy loss to the world champions must be kept in perspective.

www.smh.com.au

Eddie needs wake up and allow Quade to run the gameplan just as McKenzie did. The playing off 9 and heavy kicking strategy does not utilize Quade's skills effectively. Seems to be true that McKenzie was the only one who understood Quade is effectively a coach on the field and needed to be allowed to run the gameplan. Quade needs to be empowered - he needs the ball in his hands you utter clown Eddie.

 

[Tomthumb]

Eddie needs wake up and allow Quade to run the gameplan just as McKenzie did. The playing off 9 and heavy kicking strategy does not utilize Quade's skills effectively. Seems to be true that McKenzie was the only one who understood Quade is effectively a coach on the field and needed to be allowed to run the gameplan. Quade needs to be empowered - he needs the ball in his hands you utter clown Eddie.

He’s back

 

[rodha]

Carter looked good because McDermont gave him the ball. White must have given Cooper the ball five times the whole match!

Someone needs to remind Eddie of this article he wrote criticizing Deans for exactly the same approach he's resorting to now...

Former Wallabies coach Eddie Jones hopes Quade Cooper returns to Wallabies side for Lions series

'Deans has history of personal feuds'

www.foxsports.com.au

Cooper's best play is sublime. The alert passing on the line and his kicking game are back.

But, with the right approach you feel it would be easy for Quade to take better decisions. Playing with an inside centre who can not only run but also distribute would be a big asset for him.

At the Reds, outside Will Genia, he is the only passer of the ball and maybe feels this pressure to always make the play.

Cooper is brilliant, not perfect, but Reds coach Ewen McKenzie coached him to be brilliantly consistent in 2011.

It is there. It just needs to be brought out.

I believe, by not selecting Cooper, Deans has shown his hand on what sort of game he believes can beat the Lions.

James O'Connor is not a Test flyhalf. He has to stop and prop to pass to the left and has no understanding of alignment.

He plays at the same depth regardless of the defence and the speed of the ruck ball. He is an instinctive runner who again can be a matchwinner from wing or fullback.

Brumbies player Christian Lealiifano is a handy inside centre. He is good defensively and carries well but has poor passing and distribution skills.

Against South Africa's Southern Kings, a team with no Springboks, he passed the ball a miserly 10 times last round.

So does Deans expect to brutalise the Lions with a running game where the flyhalf does not run the game but halfback Will Genia does in a one-pass rugby plan?

Can anyone else see the delicious irony with it almost exactly 10 years since he wrote this? And the sentiment is just as relevant today.

 

[Malakai01]

my world cup 23

Tupou
Fasseler or Fainga'a
Slipper
Holloway
Frost
Valentini
McReight
Samu

White
Cooper
Kerevi
Ikitau
Marika
Petaia
Kellaway

RES:
Fasseler or Fainga'a
Alaaatoa
Bell
Tom Hooper
Richie Arnold
McDermott
Carter
Wright

 

[RugbyReg]

Pone and Schoupp have joined the wallaby squad while Nella is with Aussie A. So should get game time there. Makes sense

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Yep, all of those calls make sense. Sending Taniela to the A side gets some minutes into those legs.

 

[Rusted]

Point of order if I may! When comparing props, it's important to know who plays tight head and who plays loose head. Some commentary around this prop should replace that prop doesn't stack up when you are comparing players who play on the opposite side to each other.

 

[Dctarget]

After our defensive failings on the weekend I looked up our defence coach Brett Hodgson, his CV makes Nathan Grey look like Wayne Smith.

I hope Hodgson is only signed for this year.

 

[Wilson]

After our defensive failings on the weekend I looked up our defence coach Brett Hodgson, his CV makes Nathan Grey look like Wayne Smith.

I hope Hodgson is only signed for this year.

He's definitely an interesting appointment, but defensive systems are probably the thing that takes the longest to bed down into a team, so I'm not quite ready to judge him yet, poor as we were on Sunday.

That said I'm pretty sure most of the coaching staff are on single year contracts given Eddie's "smash and grab" approach to this world cup and the short time he had to build out his team.

 

[Dctarget]

He's definitely an interesting appointment, but defensive systems are probably the thing that takes the longest to bed down into a team, so I'm not quite ready to judge him yet, poor as we were on Sunday.

That said I'm pretty sure most of the coaching staff are on single year contracts given Eddie's "smash and grab" approach to this world cup and the short time he had to build out his team.

McKay's analysis on The Roar of the defensive system shows that Vunivalu was on a bit of a hiding to nothing.

 

[Wilson]

McKay's analysis on The Roar of the defensive system shows that Vunivalu was on a bit of a hiding to nothing.

Absolutely it was a mess and I made that same point about Vunivalu and the pressure on any potential replacement. I'm in no way defending what they put out on the weekend, just making the point that it takes time under a new coach (both head and defence) to get those systems in place, so it's not too surprising it looked a mess. Where it is at the start of the Rugby World Cup that'll be more indicitive of Hodgson's performance.

 

[molman]

After our defensive failings on the weekend I looked up our defence coach Brett Hodgson, his CV makes Nathan Grey look like Wayne Smith.

I hope Hodgson is only signed for this year.

He's definitely an interesting appointment, but defensive systems are probably the thing that takes the longest to bed down into a team, so I'm not quite ready to judge him yet, poor as we were on Sunday.

That said I'm pretty sure most of the coaching staff are on single year contracts given Eddie's "smash and grab" approach to this world cup and the short time he had to build out his team.

McKay's analysis on The Roar of the defensive system shows that Vunivalu was on a bit of a hiding to nothing.

Agreed. The defensive setup was a bit of a puzzler in this match, but I also do agree that it's hard to know if players were all playing to script. You see all players revert to their norms under stress. Most of these players would have been two weeks earlier operating in potentially rather different setup, but as McKay points out and was pretty obvious watching live there really seemed to be a number of odd things occurring that would have been hard for the SA's to miss. I can't really see what Hodgeson's setup is trying to achieve.

 

[LeCheese]

McKay's analysis on The Roar of the defensive system shows that Vunivalu was on a bit of a hiding to nothing.

I'm not defending Vunivalu's performance by any stretch, but I actually thought he seemed to be caught out of position (relative to his teammates) on far fewer occasions than early in the Super season. It's good to see some growth in his game, even if it's not to an international standard yet.

 

[stillmissit]

Point of order if I may! When comparing props, it's important to know who plays tight head and who plays loose head. Some commentary around this prop should replace that prop doesn't stack up when you are comparing players who play on the opposite side to each other.

I am guilty of this as I can never remember who is LH or TH. When the teams or players are mentioned on Super Rugby sites, Wallaby teams etc they are just a prop and no mention of which 'head' or capable of both sides.

 

[SouthernX]

I'm not defending Vunivalu's performance by any stretch, but I actually thought he seemed to be caught out of position (relative to his teammates) on far fewer occasions than early in the Super season. It's good to see some growth in his game, even if it's not to an international standard yet.

Yeah there was one try where Vunivalu was last line of defense where it looked like poor width by Quade…that put Vunivalu

I’m really not a fan of Quade as a defender… think he’s a liability

If the wallabies are going to be poor defenders then Gordon for Cooper is a trigger we need to pull asap

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Yeah there was one try where Vunivalu was last line of defense where it looked like poor width by Quade…that put Vunivalu

I’m really not a fan of Quade as a defender… think he’s a liability

If the wallabies are going to be poor defenders then Gordon for Cooper is a trigger we need to pull asap

Water is wet

 

[stillmissit]

Yeah there was one try where Vunivalu was last line of defense where it looked like poor width by Quade…that put Vunivalu

I’m really not a fan of Quade as a defender… think he’s a liability

If the wallabies are going to be poor defenders then Gordon for Cooper is a trigger we need to pull asap

I'm a huge Gordon fan as many here know, BUT throwing out Cooper to replace him with Gordon is as crazy as some here saying Gordon wouldn't make it , or not this year.
On the flip side I have never been a Cooper fan but I must admit he has played some outstanding games for us in this version of Cooper.
Basically guys we need both of them to stay healthy. Put your focus on the lacklustre forwards performance, that should be our priority.