Australia vs British and Irish Lions 2nd Test (Melbourne)
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Maybe North should be cited for lifting the tackler above the horizontal;-)
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Tomikin
David Codey (61)
My take on the forwards, Douglas and Horwill really help motor the scrum and I think it was more having Simmons on for Douglas then the front row changes, would rather see a Kilmen/MMM/Fardy on the bench ( Also can cover the backrow)
Hooper seems to have lost something from last year for me his still an extremely good player and one of our best but maybe its time to give Gill a start or bring back Smith.. Last year I thought Hooper could be better then Pocock currently Im not seeing it. (although his still amazing player)
Palu I thought didnt have a big game, I actually thought here we go his made a big run in the second half then realised it was Kepu.. See above MMM/Kilmen on the bench so you can sub him
Mowen, gave away a couple of penalties but has to be in line for the.
Captain's role if Horwill is out. Massive as he has been for 2 years.
flat_eric
Alfred Walker (16)
Don't get me wrong. I was at the game and never gave up hope of snatching a win. I love our national team and was just about the happiest person in the stadium at fulltime. But let's not sugarcoat this, that was a completely rudderless performance, saved by a few moments of individual brilliance.
P
phatcows
Guest
I think you're looking at it a little hard.
It wasn't terrible. Our scrum has improved lot. We have a kicker for conversions (as long as he isn't taken out). We made terrible errors but I still think it is better than the last few years.
flat_eric
Alfred Walker (16)
Probably. Surrounded by Lions supporters you have to understand I was in very bad shape emotionally by the 70th minute.
RoffsChoice
Jim Lenehan (48)
Greg Smith had Aus during their glory years. Deans has had the Wallabies during the SA and NZ glory years, and we've still beaten SA more than they have us.
Long story short, I won't reply about Deans any further to avoid derailing. But even if we lose the Lions series, can't beat NZ or SA in TRC and fall to pieces on the EOYT, I want Deans to stick around because I want the 2 years of experience since the RWC to not be for nothing.
WALLABIES WON! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
P
phatcows
Guest
Sorry to comment on a earlier post but getting Laurie Fisher in as a breakdown technician would be great. Not sure how it will be the magic fix though.
maxdacat
Nicholas Shehadie (39)
who?
Tomikin
David Codey (61)
Manu Tuilagi and Jamie Roberts ... Roberts will be available next test and even if his not Tuilagi will play 12 over Davis.
Bullrush
John Hipwell (52)
Man.....some of you really are bitter.
That was a great game to watch. A really really great game to watch and some of you are acting like it was a loss. Some of you are saying that the better team lost. Some of you are saying that you won only because of some individual brilliance. Guess what.....who cares?!? You won!!
How many game do the ABs win that you think exactly the same things? Where they were out-played for large portions of the game but somehow still managed to grab the win? Some people think France was the better team on the day at the RWC final. The 2nd Irish Test last year. I remember a couple of years back when a dash of Israel Dagg brilliance in the dying minutes of the game got us over the line against the Boks. But the main aim of the game is to win. And tonite you guys did. Can I say that maybe for a little bit of better luck last week, you probably would have won that one too?
Winning games you maybe should have lost is a mark of a good team.
You guys have so many things to be excited about with this team but you want everything to click and fall into place on every game. It just doesn't happen like that.
Again, O'Conner wasn't perfect at all tonite but I thought he was at least as good as Sexton if not better - in just his 3rd (4th?) outing as a Test 10. Will he get better? I don't know but RD obviously sees something more in him - and this is a guy who's coached Merhtens, Dan Carter and Carlos Spencer - so who knows how good he could get? Your scrum overall has been pretty bloody good. You have some great finishers and some amazing x-factor. Your defence didn't let in any tries (and hardly any line breaks). And this is a young team with years to play together.
I wouldn't be surprised to see this team beat the ABs this year at all.
As good as Hooper is, I still think Pocock is the missing key to your forward pack. George Smith might be a great call for Sydney.
Awesome tour....I can't wait for the 2017 one now - might have to start saving to make a special trip home around then!!
That was a great game to watch. A really really great game to watch and some of you are acting like it was a loss. Some of you are saying that the better team lost. Some of you are saying that you won only because of some individual brilliance. Guess what.....who cares?!? You won!!
How many game do the ABs win that you think exactly the same things? Where they were out-played for large portions of the game but somehow still managed to grab the win? Some people think France was the better team on the day at the RWC final. The 2nd Irish Test last year. I remember a couple of years back when a dash of Israel Dagg brilliance in the dying minutes of the game got us over the line against the Boks. But the main aim of the game is to win. And tonite you guys did. Can I say that maybe for a little bit of better luck last week, you probably would have won that one too?
Winning games you maybe should have lost is a mark of a good team.
You guys have so many things to be excited about with this team but you want everything to click and fall into place on every game. It just doesn't happen like that.
Again, O'Conner wasn't perfect at all tonite but I thought he was at least as good as Sexton if not better - in just his 3rd (4th?) outing as a Test 10. Will he get better? I don't know but RD obviously sees something more in him - and this is a guy who's coached Merhtens, Dan Carter and Carlos Spencer - so who knows how good he could get? Your scrum overall has been pretty bloody good. You have some great finishers and some amazing x-factor. Your defence didn't let in any tries (and hardly any line breaks). And this is a young team with years to play together.
I wouldn't be surprised to see this team beat the ABs this year at all.
As good as Hooper is, I still think Pocock is the missing key to your forward pack. George Smith might be a great call for Sydney.
Awesome tour....I can't wait for the 2017 one now - might have to start saving to make a special trip home around then!!
Richo
John Thornett (49)
Tonight we saw the huge difference an accurate kicker makes. Lilo's first few kicks were difficult and he nailed them perfectly. If there were ever any doubts that we must pick a goal kicker above anything else, tonight should have laid those to rest.
As for the next test, I don't think we'll see any changes to the starting backs (assuming AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is fine), only Barnes in on the bench for Mogg.
Forwards will be a very tough call. 1-3 aren't going anywhere and I wasn't convinced enough by Simmons to think he should replace Douglas---although he may have to come in for Kev and Kane will move to THL. The other big question is 7, assuming George is fit. How do you drop Hooper after such a solid performance? Or Gill, after a match-clinching line out steal?
It was a funny old game for the forwards, I thought, with some good and bad things from a lot of players. Palu, for example, had a lot of good involvements but also made some poor handling errors. Mowen was strong, but picked up a few ruck penalties.
As for the next test, I don't think we'll see any changes to the starting backs (assuming AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is fine), only Barnes in on the bench for Mogg.
Forwards will be a very tough call. 1-3 aren't going anywhere and I wasn't convinced enough by Simmons to think he should replace Douglas---although he may have to come in for Kev and Kane will move to THL. The other big question is 7, assuming George is fit. How do you drop Hooper after such a solid performance? Or Gill, after a match-clinching line out steal?
It was a funny old game for the forwards, I thought, with some good and bad things from a lot of players. Palu, for example, had a lot of good involvements but also made some poor handling errors. Mowen was strong, but picked up a few ruck penalties.
Brumbieman
Dick Tooth (41)
I wouldn't.
I know what he'll bring, and what he won't. Aimless kicks that North and co can return at leisure, are NOT the way to close our and win a test match.
Brumbieman
Dick Tooth (41)
I don't think he was that good. He had good moments, sure but he missed 3 easy shots at goal, and butchered quite a few good opportunities to set up his outside men. He was average, at BEST.
The Rant
Fred Wood (13)
Stats from the telegraph (UK).
Shows which team tried to play rugby.
WALLABIES vs WHINGERS
67 Tackles 144
7 Missed Tackles 14
127 Carries 60
418 Metres 148
14 Defenders Beaten 7
4 Clean Breaks 0
9 Offload 3
24 Kicks from Hand 28
18 Turnovers Conceded 13
14 Penalties Conceded 11
Shows which team tried to play rugby.
WALLABIES vs WHINGERS
67 Tackles 144
7 Missed Tackles 14
127 Carries 60
418 Metres 148
14 Defenders Beaten 7
4 Clean Breaks 0
9 Offload 3
24 Kicks from Hand 28
18 Turnovers Conceded 13
14 Penalties Conceded 11
Richo
John Thornett (49)
Fantastic post, Bullrush. There were numerous points during the game where I thought the Wallabies were going to let it get away from them, but they always found a way to regroup and shift the momentum. They looked a lot more like scoring tries than the Lions did, and even if the other guys were "better" (and I do think the Lions were the better team in a bunch of key areas) that capacity to overcome adversity and still win was huge.
Bullrush
John Hipwell (52)
Yeah, that's fair enough. Still, Israel Folau is probably the only player I mite consider before Beale right now.....
Brumbieman
Dick Tooth (41)
You absolutely start Smith.
It's George fucking Smith. Would you not start Dan Carter, or Richie McCaw, or John Eales, or Tim Horan, if you could? Of course you would, and anyone who wouldn't, is inexperienced and prone to following hype.
Switch Beiber and Lealiifano, start Mogg and bring Beale on at half time. Everyone else stays.
GaffaCHinO
Peter Sullivan (51)
I thought me missed digbys in tight running thats why i think cummins needs to start next week. Tomane is to much like Izzy they both like space to work in where as digby and the badger love it in tight.
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Richo
John Thornett (49)
I'd start Smith too, but I don't know that it's as simple as you make out. What if he's not match fit? What if he can't play more than 50 mins? He is coming back from a knee injury. I'd start Smith and have Hooper on the bench.
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