Australia A - Back on the Cards

[RugbyReg]

11am our time I think.

Anyone seen a Tongan team yet?

 

[Bandar]

dont start me on pubs not showing stan!

Don’t start me on what Stan charge pubs so show it

 

[Derpus]

11am our time I think.

Anyone seen a Tongan team yet?

Decent backline...

 

[Marce]

Finally Foketi at 13 lol

 

[Adam84]

Don’t start me on what Stan charge pubs so show it

From what I’ve seen the costs are reasonable, the biggest issue is many pubs are tied to AV systems based on Coax, and Stan isn’t incentive enough to transition just yet to streaming given outlays required.

 

[upthereds#!]

View attachment 13995

Decent backline...

Next week after a bit more time in camp they'll probably bolster the forward reserves significantly with Tameifuna and Timani. Not to mention Augustine Pulu as a halfback.

 

[Braveheart81]

Campbell and Hodge need to swap. What a stupid selection.

I'd say it's an indication that Hodge is more in line for a Wallabies recall than Campbell is getting the call up.

I agree that switching them around would be a better selection for the strength of Aus A.

 

[dru]

That team looks like an okay super rugby team. Think they might in for a tough match.

I wouldn't hold a lot of hope putting that team up against the Brumbies. I'm looking forward to the game all the same.

 

[Braveheart81]

Samoa might be the weakest of the sides now that Tonga has bolstered their roster with so several former All Blacks and Wallabies but I hope we are good enough to beat them.

I think we should.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Campbell and Hogde need to swap. What a stupid selection.

They are very light on with locks. Blythe would make that tight 5 look a bit bigger. Backrower at 4 and at 19... Eek.

I'm looking forward to these games

Key word there is "look" from what I've seen Blyth doesn't get enough of the grunt work done. Especially compared to Smith who would be slightly undersized. He might get there being a young man but I just don't see it.

Agree about Campbell. He hasn't been exposed to a level above Super rugby as yet and can only benefit. We know what Hodge can do. I understand that Hodge should keep his match fitness up as he may get called into the Wallaby squad.

Excited for Pollard to get as much time as possible. Lonergan and Pollard have me very positive about Australian Hookers moving forward.

Rae Rae

 

[Tah Man]

I must admit I’m a little disappointed to see hodge at 15 over Campbell. Mainly because I want to see Australia A be the next crop.

Hodge and Campbell are the same age

 

[Dctarget]

Wonder how Samoa will go in the future, out of their 23, they have only 2 Samoa raised players. Which is insane. Most are NZ, with a decent contingent from Aus too. Tonga are nearly as bad, with Fiji almost all home grown.

 

[Dctarget]

Hodge and Campbell are the same age

that's amusing

 

[Braveheart81]

Wonder how Samoa will go in the future, out of their 23, they have only 2 Samoa raised players. Which is insane. Most are NZ, with a decent contingent from Aus too. Tonga are nearly as bad, with Fiji almost all home grown.

This is why they ultimately need the grandparent rule more than other countries.

The islands will always have tiny populations but their diaspora grows substantially over time.

 

[Adam84]

Key word there is "look" from what I've seen Blyth doesn't get enough of the grunt work done.

If ‘grunt work’ is making tackles and hitting rucks, statistically Blyth wasn’t falling short in any of those areas. In my opinion, Blyth should feel quite aggrieved he missed out compared to some of the other locks chosen in the squad .

 

[Derpus]

If ‘grunt work’ is making tackles and hitting rucks, statistically Blyth wasn’t falling short in any of those areas. In my opinion, Blyth should feel quite aggrieved he missed out compared to some of the other locks chosen in the squad .

Yeah odd one that.

 

[Lightblue]

Of the 3 games I suspect Fiji to be the toughest opponents.

 

[Marce]

Where can I see photos and videos of Australia A trainings? It's quite difficult. Most of the RA adverts are about England series lol

 

[Tah Man]

Wonder how Samoa will go in the future, out of their 23, they have only 2 Samoa raised players. Which is insane. Most are NZ, with a decent contingent from Aus too. Tonga are nearly as bad, with Fiji almost all home grown.

Tbf Fiji has more than double the population of Samoa and Tonga combined.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Wonder how Samoa will go in the future, out of their 23, they have only 2 Samoa raised players. Which is insane. Most are NZ, with a decent contingent from Aus too. Tonga are nearly as bad, with Fiji almost all home grown.

It will continue much the same I'd imagine. Which going from the likes of the Tongan RL team doesn't seem to bother most. It's more about culture as opposed to whether you were actually born on the Islands or not. Which makes sense given that in there's very little by way of opportunity in either Tonga or Samoa so they look to the two largest more developed economies in terms of migration. Particularly NZ. Fiji on the other hand is like 5x larger in terms of GDP than both combined so there's probably more opportunity keeping many there and thus producing Rugby talent. They also have a larger overall population and significantly more developed pathways. Which would help a lot.