Australia v Argentina - 21 November, Newcastle

[Joe Blow]

This game seems made for Valetini IMO. I wish the bloke could jump.

He did so well against the Argies for the As. I’m not sure if he is accurate enough in general but he may be the ticket.
Wright is not the right bloke. He was out muscled by the ABs in Bled 2. Looked better in the last game. I’d have him or Samu or McReight on the bench to finish. The ABs lacked pace in the forwards in the last 20 mins.

 

[Jimmy_Crouch]

And as I said above Isi was good in the trials, but he was equity bad/one dimensional. Picking him is like picking a center who has no kicking or passing game. They've gotta have one hell of a running game to make up for it, I don't think Isi does for the full 80, but coming off the bench he could be monstrous.

Kerevi

 

[TSR]

This game seems made for Valetini IMO. I wish the bloke could jump.

As Joe Blow said above he has been used regularly and effectively by Australia A at 2. I was concerned about using him because of his jumping but that seems to have been addressed.

My concerns are with his workrate/accuracy. I didn’t really notice any improvement there in the Australia A games, but if Rennie thinks he can get more out of him then he could be a really good option.

 

[Rob42]

Agree. If you look at the stats from last weekend, the kiwis kept ball in hand a lot more than the Argies and kicked far less, I think there was something like 180 passes from the Kiwis v 120 from the Pumas, the largest margin in those statistics so far in the Rugby Championship. To beat the Pumas I think we need to play a similar game back at them. I would expect to see the Wobs playing deep in the Argentine half and only really retaining the ball when in an attacking position.

Yes. Conditions won't be as perfect for ball-in-hand this Saturday as they were at Bankwest last week - this will be in the evening, cooler and higher humidity, looks like quite a strong southerly wind for Newcastle then. Pepper their back three with a few wobbly bombs, keep the ball out of our half.

 

[Brumby Runner]

This game seems made for Valetini IMO. I wish the bloke could jump.

Took at least four lineouts against the Argies in the second warm up game. Your wish has come true.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Yes. Conditions won't be as perfect for ball-in-hand this Saturday as they were at Bankwest last week - this will be in the evening, cooler and higher humidity, looks like quite a strong southerly wind for Newcastle then. Pepper their back three with a few wobbly bombs, keep the ball out of our half.

High balls to the back could work a treat. The one Argy who I thought had a less than impressive game was their No 15. Not in the class of say Tuculet.

 

[Up the Guts]

High balls to the back could work a treat. The one Argy who I thought had a less than impressive game was their No 15. Not in the class of say Tuculet.

There are weaknesses in the 10 channel and the centres. Goodhue and ALB offered nothing in attack last week so they were never exploited. We will be much more dynamic.

 

[Joe Blow]

One thing is for sure. Rennie will have his own thoughts on selection and implement them. So far he has done pretty well. If he wants to counter the Argie beef then we could always go with LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) at 6. Once again, I think being brought into their fight is a bad idea.
We need solid set piece, quick ball, presence at the breakdown and to utilise our kicking game and speed out wide.
If we can drop a couple of early tries on them it will make our job much easier.

 

[PhilClinton]

I agree Joe. Coming up with a gameplan to beat an opposition is great, but trying to match them in areas where we may be deficient can cause issues.

There is more than one way to skin a cat. NZ didn't really offer much last weekend, for as good as Argies were, the NZ team have been flat. We will shine in other areas that weren't highlighted last week and find our own weak points.

 

[Zero_Cool]

@Jimmie - Kerevi is exactly that guy, but the difference is he made/makes mega meters even with the best defences in the world entirely keyed in on him! And Isi makes mistakes around the park too.

I think the problem with Rob Valetini is he's just a budget Naisarani, a little more balanced but he really shat the bed in Bled 1.
But ultimatly I think we will have back row issues until we stop picking Hooper at 7, it just forces us into selecting an overall worse back row.

I do think Gutz is right with where the Argies will struggle, especially if we select something like O'Connor at 10 then Hunter & jordie the starch they'll give us will both blunt their attack but also to really take advantage of their weakness there.

 

[Jaguardo]

The same XV that started against the All Blacks and some places that are disputed in the bench.
Rumors from the Los Pumas bunker:

15. Santiago Carreras
14. Bautista Delguy
13. Matías Orlando
12. Santiago Chocobares
11. Juan Imhoff
10. Nicolás Sánchez
9. Tomás Cubelli
8. Rodrigo Bruni
7. Marcos Kremer
6. Pablo Matera (c)
5. Matías Alemanno
4. Guido Petti
3. Francisco Gómez Codela
2. Julián Montoya
1. Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro

16. Santiago Socino
12. Mayco Vivas
18. Santiago Medrano
19. Santiago Grondona / Tomás Lezana
20. Facundo Isa
21. Gonzalo Bertranou
22. Domingo Miotti / Lucio Cinti / Juan Cruz Mallía
23. Emiliano Boffelli / Santiago Cordero

 

[Braveheart81]

I think the problem with Rob Valetini is he's just a budget Naisarani, a little more balanced but he really shat the bed in Bled 1.
But ultimatly I think we will have back row issues until we stop picking Hooper at 7, it just forces us into selecting an overall worse back row.

You are amazingly critical of the players you don't like but seemingly give a free pass to the players you like (the Queenslanders).

It's telling that you seem to think Wright is a good option to start this weekend whereas almost everyone else thinks he's about the last backrower suited for this match.

 

[Derpus]

I didn't see the Australia A game but.... Valetini plays nothing like Naisarani?

He puts big hits on in D and has a higher workrate around the ruck. Isi is all about boshing it up and bending the line, which is not a thing Valetini does. Wasn't it Kafe whining about how Valetini doesn't play wider and run it more?

 

[Jets]

Wright isn't quite the 6 he can be yet. I think Samu and Valentini both offer more than him.

I feel our best option will be attacking out wide. We need guys who can support our fast guys and win breakdowns to secure our ball.

 

[Rob42]

Wright isn't quite the 6 he can be yet. I think Samu and Valentini both offer more than him.

I feel our best option will be attacking out wide. We need guys who can support our fast guys and win breakdowns to secure our ball.

Agree - maybe I'm just thinking about playing "the Australian way", but spreading the point of attack to ensure Matera can't hit every second ruck would make life easier, I reckon. But that does rely on backs who can hit offensive rucks.

 

[TSR]

I don’t mind if they start Wright.

I think he is more likely for the 20 jersey though.

 

[Braveheart81]

JOC (James O'Connor) is out with an injured foot so looks like Hodge will stay at 10.

 

[Dctarget]

JOC (James O'Connor) is out with an injured foot so looks like Hodge will stay at 10.

Is that a new injury or same one?

 

[Braveheart81]

Is that a new injury or same one?

Not the same one. He missed the last two tests with an MCL injury.

This is a planta fascia injury which he has reportedly carried most of the season but has got worse.

 

[Jets]

Happy for Hodge to stay at 10 if there is no JOC (James O'Connor). Also, great to have him on the field so we can take every shot at goal and build some scoreboard pressure.