Australia A v Japan XV matches

[Derpus]

Well we are all going to have to learn to spell Nawaqanitawase If he keeps playing that way.

It's phonetic so it's actually pretty easy. Just sound it out.

 

[Joe Blow]

I thought Donaldson had a good game. His kicking all around was very good and he took control

 

[Members Section]

An entertaining game and an unexpected win (to me at least).

Best for Aus A imo were Gleeson (very busy in attack and defence and invariably made ground in contact), Ryan Lonergan (best long passing game of any of the Aus No 9s; perfect kicking from the tee), Donaldson (managed the second half effectively; two try assists, one with a kick for Naiwaqanitawase, one with a dummy and line break), Frost (80 minutes effort, strong lineout operator and slick hands) and Campbell (consistently beat the first, second and often third tackler; good under the high ball).

Those who didn't impress were Hanigan (tried hard but pushed backwards in contact; did he even take a lineout or make a steal?), Neville (sliding down the locking order imo), Creighton (poor defensive efforts led to a couple of Japanese tries), and Vunivalu (very poor game awareness, ineffective under the high ball, ineffective ball carrying).

Mark N (Nawaqanitawase) and Harry Hoopert looked good from the bench.

The rest did their jobs.

I would go as far as saying our bench was near excellent, for me 4 of the 7 were brilliant. MN nothing short of perfect, HH & RS were both really good as keeping the momentum of the set piece & BW was strong in contact in both def & attack & got himself a meat pie

AH considering where he was at at the end of SRP (Super Rugby Pacific) is improving slowly, BP was solid enough, JT gave okay service & sniped well, lastly IH didnt get that much of an opportunity but you could say didn't do anything wrong.

 

[Ignoto]

Some are obviously judged differently to others. Gleeson I though was good, but wasn’t an incredible performance. Hanigan had a good game, if he plays like that a couple of more times he will be on the plane for EOYT. Vunivalu is harshly judged, he had a good solid game and didn’t make as many mistakes as many believe. Alround there wasn’t any poor performances (minus Creighton). Donaldson I was critical of in the first half but was sensational in the 2nd when the game opened up.

Eh, I thought Hanigan was ok, but he just ran hard in contact. He seems to suffer a similar issue to Harry Wilson, A+ for effort but he's let down by not doing anything to put any doubt in the tacklers mind.

 

[stillmissit]

On the plus side for the Wallabies: Donaldson is a smarter option than Lolesio or Foley. Marky M (Nawaqanitawase) looked excellent and should get some game time on tour. Vunivalu looked like a must start to me.
Campbell looked a step above any 15 I've seen this year but size???? Frost, Smith (locks) looked good. I liked the look of Brad Wilkin and think he may have some headroom.
I was looking forward to seeing what Gleeson could bring and was disappointed, lacked impact, linking and appeared a bit lost. Losing his rag over a refs call at this level is a NO-NO. Many work-ons and 'learnings' for him, also a bit too small for an international 8.
I was also hoping to see a new centre to add but alas, nobody showed much.

 

[Viking]

On the plus side for the Wallabies: Donaldson is a smarter option than Lolesio or Foley. Marky M (Nawaqanitawase) looked excellent and should get some game time on tour. Vunivalu looked like a must start to me.
Campbell looked a step above any 15 I've seen this year but size???? Frost, Smith (locks) looked good. I liked the look of Brad Wilkin and think he may have some headroom.
I was looking forward to seeing what Gleeson could bring and was disappointed, lacked impact, linking and appeared a bit lost. Losing his rag over a refs call at this level is a NO-NO. Many work-ons and 'learnings' for him, also a bit too small for an international 8.
I was also hoping to see a new centre to add but alas, nobody showed much.

Gleeson lacked a little of his impact he had last Aus A, but I thought his workrate was top notch, he was doing lots of carries and was always popping up all over the park. We know he has impact, so this is a good sign IMO.

I disagree on Vunivalu, some nice moments, coupled with some moments of him looking a bit lost too, he also dropped some easy high balls.

I agree on Campbell, surely he gets a shot now, but that will mean moving Kellaway to the wing.

 

[Derpus]

On the plus side for the Wallabies: Donaldson is a smarter option than Lolesio or Foley. Marky M (Nawaqanitawase) looked excellent and should get some game time on tour. Vunivalu looked like a must start to me.
Campbell looked a step above any 15 I've seen this year but size???? Frost, Smith (locks) looked good. I liked the look of Brad Wilkin and think he may have some headroom.
I was looking forward to seeing what Gleeson could bring and was disappointed, lacked impact, linking and appeared a bit lost. Losing his rag over a refs call at this level is a NO-NO. Many work-ons and 'learnings' for him, also a bit too small for an international 8.
I was also hoping to see a new centre to add but alas, nobody showed much.

Please dont say 'learnings'.

 

[stillmissit]

Gleeson lacked a little of his impact he had last Aus A, but I thought his workrate was top notch, he was doing lots of carries and was always popping up all over the park. We know he has impact, so this is a good sign IMO.

I disagree on Vunivalu, some nice moments, coupled with some moments of him looking a bit lost too, he also dropped some easy high balls.

I agree on Campbell, surely he gets a shot now, but that will mean moving Kellaway to the wing.

Agree Viking but that's the lot of 80% of wingers. His attacking ability was what surprised me, he showed up at the right times and made ground nearly every time. Like most here I was not too impressed with him but I thought he looked a lot less lost, still not home but getting there.
I guess it may be a bit soon but I am expecting him in the Wallabies whereas I was not convinced before.
Re Glesson. I suspect he can look good against a looser team but against a good D like Japan and other top 10 teams he will struggle for a while. Would like to see what he brought over the ball but he didn't get many opportunities, could he be a 7? he looks pretty quick.

 

[stillmissit]

Please dont say 'learnings'.

I hate it Derpus and that's why I put it in inverted commas. It is one of the worst of many bastardisations of the English language...

 

[stillmissit]

Does anybody here think Marky M (Nawaqanitawase) could make it in the centres? Assuming he could learn to defend at 13? Struggle to see him at 12.

 

[Running_rugby_1954]

Does anybody here think Marky M (Nawaqanitawase) could make it in the centres? Assuming he could learn to defend at 13? Struggle to see him at 12.

His defense has improved a lot, but it still needs to grow a lot to play the hardest defensive position on the field.

 

[hifflepiff]

Does anybody here think Marky M (Nawaqanitawase) could make it in the centres? Assuming he could learn to defend at 13? Struggle to see him at 12.

God no, let him establish himself at wing before we start throwing him in the centres.

 

[wamberal]

Does anybody here think Marky M (Nawaqanitawase) could make it in the centres? Assuming he could learn to defend at 13? Struggle to see him at 12.

Does anybody here think Marky M (Nawaqanitawase) could make it in the centres? Assuming he could learn to defend at 13? Struggle to see him at 12.

No no no no no etc

 

[Brumby Runner]

Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase) was the standout for me. Limited minutes but didn't put a foot wrong. Made the right decisions, solid under the high ball, was an attacking threat, scored a great try. Looks confident and assured. Couldn't have asked for more. Goodbye T. Wright.

I don't think there were any other standouts that made me think "get them into the squad now". Some solid without being outstanding performances. Gleeson continues to show promise. He would be next off the line.

None of the other forwards impressed me. None were strong in the contact zone. Some hardworkers but we need more impact if they want to take the next set-up at test level. Frost looked okay and is still so young so will develop nicely. His pace is a point of difference. These games are great for players like this.

Then there's the flip side of players who I think have played themselves out of contention like Hanigan. He was getting man-handled by the Japanese wingers (one was 100kg+ but I still expect more physicality from a tall flanker). It's been several years since he was last in the wallabies and it seems he hasn't made any progress in the strength and impact departments.

Donaldson was great with the boot, and showed some nice vision. Although his pace and running game would worry me at test level, he just seems so slow and I can't see him being a running threat at all at Test level.

Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase) was the standout for me. Limited minutes but didn't put a foot wrong. Made the right decisions, solid under the high ball, was an attacking threat, scored a great try. Looks confident and assured. Couldn't have asked for more. Goodbye T. Wright.

I don't think there were any other standouts that made me think "get them into the squad now". Some solid without being outstanding performances. Gleeson continues to show promise. He would be next off the line.

None of the other forwards impressed me. None were strong in the contact zone. Some hardworkers but we need more impact if they want to take the next set-up at test level. Frost looked okay and is still so young so will develop nicely. His pace is a point of difference. These games are great for players like this.

Then there's the flip side of players who I think have played themselves out of contention like Hanigan. He was getting man-handled by the Japanese wingers (one was 100kg+ but I still expect more physicality from a tall flanker). It's been several years since he was last in the wallabies and it seems he hasn't made any progress in the strength and impact departments.

Donaldson was great with the boot, and showed some nice vision. Although his pace and running game would worry me at test level, he just seems so slow and I can't see him being a running threat at all at Test level.

Viking, you (and others) say that Nick Frost is still young, implying he is too young for test rugby. But he was in the same U20s side as Noah Lolesio, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson, Angus Bell, Mark Naiwaqanitawase, and Lachlan Lonergan, maybe others. Are they also too young?

 

[stillmissit]

Viking, you (and others) say that Nick Frost is still young, implying he is too young for test rugby. But he was in the same U20s side as Noah Lolesio, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson, Angus Bell, Mark Naiwaqanitawase, and Lachlan Lonergan, maybe others. Are they also too young?

BR, I do not agree with this too young tag, Frost is highly talented and the right size. I know it is not a fair analogy but John Eales was 20 when he started for the Wallabies. In our current condition where we are digging in the lost property bag for players, maybe it is time to bring on those with talent and potential. To emphasise this point, I was surprised at the increase in size and muscle in Marky M (Nawaqanitawase).
We need to develop our young talent and if the coaches think they are good enough - start them BUT not against the top 5 teams, work them into it but don't dump them if you are convinced they will make it.
This Australia A is a great exercise and very eye-opening in terms of half a doz of these players who would not look out of place in the main team.

 

[Drew]

Wouldn’t mind seeing Lolesio getting a run too. I think he needs to play to improve.
Vunivalu, looks terrific when he’s good, but confused at other times, like it’s not second nature.
Marky Mark (Nawaqanitawase), I think you could see his growth in defence when confronted with the two on one that led to the try, he weighed up his options and only committed when he had to instead of trying a low percentage intercept

 

[stillmissit]

His defense has improved a lot, but it still needs to grow a lot to play the hardest defensive position on the field.

I think he needs to develop more as opposed to 'grow a lot', he's already a decent sized unit for a winger.

 

[drewprint]

With Vunivalu, you could really see the raw potential. Just a weapon in contact. We could have used him more too - I did note one moment where he was cut out and the ball went to Hanigan on the wing, Vunivalu was visibly annoyed. Fair enough too! Still at sea positionally though and nowhere near the top team yet, which is why this Aus A series is so great. Give him as much time in the saddle in games like this as possible. I’ve got high hopes for him.

 

[stillmissit]

Wouldn’t mind seeing Lolesio getting a run too. I think he needs to play to improve.
Vunivalu, looks terrific when he’s good, but confused at other times, like it’s not second nature

I think all the youngsters considered good enough need starts. Lolesio has, due to a lack of a preferred 10, had a step up against top level teams and no surprise he has struggled at times.
Vunivualu needs more game time and Super Rugby can't come too soon for him, he is getting it but he's no Koro in terms of adjusting.

 

[dru]

It's phonetic so it's actually pretty easy. Just sound it out.

This presumes that everyone knows how to say his name in the first instance.