It would be folly for anybody to think that the inclusion of Cooper at 10 will make one iota of difference to this team without commensurate changes to the tactics of the whole side and the basic structures. For Cooper to throw a long pass there firstly has to be somebody wide and moving to receive said pass. As with criticism of Genia's slowness at the ruck often he is left looking for somebody to pass it to since Barnes is hiding from the defense 25 metres from the gain line flat footed.
I refuse to criticize the players overly, except to opine regarding fitness and form, when it is obvious to most objective people that there are no structures and tactics for them to adhere and guide them in pressure situations.
One of the ABs tries was a beautifully worked first phase set piece move of the sort that the Wallabies used to regularly play, which the Wallabies coaches believes should never be scored in test rugby. The Wallabies under Deans are incapable of playing such moves because they are all flat footed and moving as individuals because they have no structures to play to. "Playing what is in front of you" is essentially a reactive mind set that that is what the Wallabies have, that is fine for counter attack but shit for actually creating something which with 60% of the ball in this game alone (and numerous other examples of the same issue in other tests not against the ABs) proved they cannot do. The counter attack model then fails as well when you select defensive players who have little comparative speed of evasive skills to capitalise on the opportunity.
Basically what I have been saying for the last three years, under Deans there is a fundamental disconnection between his selection of the squad and the tactics (which are at the most basic of levels - defend/territory or run). Picking Cooper this week in essentially the same conditions, tactics and selection methodology around him will do little but open him again to vociferous rancor of his detractors who will not see the fundamental flaws of the whole package as it were.
The same argument goes for Barnes who, whilst I believe has been in poor form all year for the Tahs and didn't show anything special for the Wallabies IMO in the Welsh series, has not been given any sort of platform in which to work. We should not forget either that even more than Cooper Barnes requires a firm structure in which to work as he is essentially a territory based player who can at carefully selected times run effectively. He is not a renowned distributor.
So what do I expect this weekend? I expect that Deans will continue in his pigheaded fashion to select the 22 with the exception of Hooper at 7 and perhaps throw Cooper to the wolves at 10. Do I expect the Wallabies to play well? No, but I hope they do and I hope to see some structured effective play and definitive game plan that has players in motion in attack using the whole field and not with 13 players in a 15 metre section of the field, I fear however more of the same regardless of selections. Do I expect to see the Wallabies win? No, I hope to see them play well and play like they are trying to score instead of trying to limit the damage, but I fear I will see a capitulation of monumental proportions.
The previous odds of the ABs at $1.13 appear very generous and a $10K investment would provide a far better return than the share market for less risk.
