France v Australia

[Rugbynutter39]

If on form I would suggest BDA spreight not justified selection and hodgkinson would be ahead of Mcmahon....

But if working towards world cup as EOYT more about one suspects I would actually rest hodgkinson and mcmahon and give luke Jones a run and also spreight ahead of tomane....

I would also give Genia another run on the bench.....and maybe start white and rest phipps....chance to see different combo's but to be clear this is about resting a player as on form phipps streets ahead with foley combination....

With Jones as lock/6 option could allow skelton or horwill to be rested and give cooper a run.....ie have skelton/horwill and jones on bench to cover lock/6....as higgers also provides versatility as well....

Give fawks another go on bench as need to build great depth in props and not been given decent game time yet...robinson no thanks....

 

[Rugbynutter39]

If playing pure on form I reckon hodgkinson gets the gurnsey over mcmahon at the moment....but the kid is definitely a terrific prospect and more that hodgo in great form....

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Normally EOYT's with world cup year the following year all about testing combinations so be surprised if Cheika does not do this.....missing opportunity otherwise....we need to look at other half/five eighth combo's in case of injury for RWC.....and also need to look at other lock options...but not much there...hence jones comment....play him as lock.....

Hope hansen enjoys his wallaby experience as with depth of hookers to return he is next to no chance of playing again for a while in 2015....with Moore, TPN and Charles to return...Fainga'a shows he is at least in latter 3's class....

 

[Boomer]

If playing pure on form I reckon hodgkinson gets the gurnsey over mcmahon at the moment..but the kid is definitely a terrific prospect and more that hodgo in great form..

Who is the mystery man Hodgkinson?

Matt Hodgson, Australian captain, Western Force captain, Wanneroo stalwart, all-round good fella

 

[RugbyReg]

He must be mates with James Hansen.

 

[S120]

I'd go with the following:

1. Slipper
2. Fainga'a
3. Kepu
4. Horwill
5. Simmons
6. Higginbotham (if he's not fit, McMahon)
7. Hooper
8. McCalman
9. Phipps
10. Foley
11. Speight (unlucky for Tomane, I thought he was fairly decent against Wales but my excitement to see Henry play good opposition is too much for me)
12. Leali'ifano (I like To'omua more, but he deserves not to be dropped)
13. Kuridrani
14. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15. Folau

16. Hanson
17. Faulkner
18. Alexander
19. Carter
20. McMahon
21. Genia
22. Cooper
23. Horne

 

[Bowside]

I'd drop Tomane and Alexander.

Give Genia and Hanson more game time (still off the bench) so Fainga'a and Phipps stay fresh for the rest of the tour.

If Higgers is fit start him on the bench and bring him on at 55 when McMahon is done.

 

[Bowside]

Australia has easily the worst and most inconsistent second row of the 'contender' nations England, SA and NZ.

 

[Scrubber2050]

I thought the Irish played exceptionally well, had some luck go their way. It was a good day at the office for Ireland, and the boks on the other hand weren't at their best. The irish were under a lot of pressure for large portions of the game. Had to defend a lot and were under pressure in the scrums. The Boks just couldn't turn their dominance into points.

I actually think we'll beat Ireland. We might have the stronger scrum and unlike the Boks, we should do a better job of breaking down their defense.

If we play well we'll beat france, no doubt in my mind.
My team for france

1. Slipper
2. Fainga'a
3. Kepu
4. Simo
5. Carter
6. Higgers
7. Hooper
8. McCalman

9. Phipps
10. Foley
11. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
12. Lilo/To'omua (I prefer To'omua but no reason to upset the apple-cart)
13. Kuridrani
14. Speight
15. Folau

16. Robinson
17. Alexander
18. Hanson
19. Skelton
20. Horwill/Cooper
21. McMahon
22. Genia/White (either will do)
23. Horne

- tempted to drop Genia for his poor performance but I think Cheika might be better off letting him play his way into form - plus it is nice to bring a guy with his experience on in the last 20 minutes.
- Speight needs game time - we need him to fit form before the England game
- Skelton needs as much test game experience as possible before the RWC. Needs to work hard on his scrummaging during the week though.
-If you were going to play a 5/3 split id drop Horwill and add Cooper

Horwill on the bench - Skelton was just terrible at scrumtime. He singlehandedly fucked Keps

Would slot Cooper onto the bench to give him more gametime. The To'omua/Lilo selection is very close. I cannot pick between them.

It will be interesting to see if Robbo was "rested" last game - although I wouldn't understand that anyway.m and comes back to the bench this week. Slipper normally gets replaced at 60 odd but played an extra 10 or 15 minutes.

 

[Ruggo]

We can't take France lightly. The bastards are just to unpredictable at the end of the day. I would like to see Jones get a crack at that 6 jersey. Two locks on the bench is just plain stupid. Cooper comes onto the bench. Saia starts. It isn't broken so you don't fix it.

 

[Pfitzy]

We can't take them lightly after what our tight five served up at set piece.

Backline I'm OK with, but forwards need work. Will be interesting to see if McMahon retains his spot, given the French typically like to play left and right flankers.

 

[Gnostic]

See I am less worried about Ireland. I didn't watch the game, but it sounded like Ireland struggled in the set piece. If you can match or better them there, I would back our backs to get the job done. Need to do a bit better at the breakdown than we did against Wales but they have a good backrow.

The weather will be an issue that could screw us over.

You need to watch the game. Their set piece was fine. Indeed the Wallaby set piece has been far from dominant, in fact I think the number of lineouts stolen by the Wallabies this year would be in single figures.

 

[BDA]

Horwill on the bench - Skelton was just terrible at scrumtime. He singlehandedly fucked Keps

I agree that Skelton that was very poor in the scrums but that's a technique issue that he can work on during the week. Scrum aside, I thought Skelton actually made a very positive impact on us in general play in the last 30 minutes, mostly in attack. We started to roll over the advantage line. We were struggling for go forward before he came on. He is a nice weapon to have on the bench if used effectively. I'd like to see him get as much test game time as possible on EOYT. I think we'll have the wood on the french so this seems like the perfect game to give him more game time.

I'd choose him on the proviso that he would spend a lot of time this week working on scrum technique.

 

[Shelts89]

See I am less worried about Ireland. I didn't watch the game, but it sounded like Ireland struggled in the set piece. If you can match or better them there, I would back our backs to get the job done. Need to do a bit better at the breakdown than we did against Wales but they have a good backrow.

The weather will be an issue that could screw us over.

This is interesting as I think its a close call between your backline and Irelands. Here is how I see it. Bold is the players I personally prefer, if neither are bold then its just too tight to call for me.

9. Murray vs Phipps
10. Sexton vs Foley
11. Zebo vs Tomane
12. Henshaw vs Lealiifano
13. Payne vs Kuridrani
14. Bow vs AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15. Kearney vs Folau

I suppose given it's likely to be windy and rainy I would prefer Kearney at FB, but overall I think both back 3's are very strong.

And to keep it on target, I fully expect you lot to beat the frogs.

 

[Gnostic]

I agree that Skelton that was very poor in the scrums but that's a technique issue that he can work on during the week. Scrum aside, I thought Skelton actually made a very positive impact on us in general play in the last 30 minutes, mostly in attack. We started to roll over the advantage line. We were struggling for go forward before he came on. He is a nice weapon to have on the bench if used effectively. I'd like to see him get as much test game time as possible on EOYT. I think we'll have the wood on the french so this seems like the perfect game to give him more game time.

I'd choose him on the proviso that he would spend a lot of time this week working on scrum technique.

Given the years that Blades has had to fix Alexander's technique I don't have any faith at all that this will happen. I really wish that Foley had found the time to help on this tour.

 

[BDA]

The first scrum Skelton had last night was good. He got good, low body positioning and the scrum was actually moving forward, but after about 10 minutes of play his scrum positioning went to shit. Im guessing partly a fatigue thing coupled with lack of concentration. I'm not so sure Skelton's scrum work cant be fixed with a bit of old fashioned elbow grease.

besides, Skelton as a test prospect is a worthwhile investment, even if there are growing pains.

 

[Gnostic]

The first scrum Skelton had last night was good. He got good, low body positioning and the scrum was actually moving forward, but after about 10 minutes of play his scrum positioning went to shit. Im guessing partly a fatigue thing coupled with lack of concentration. I'm not so sure Skelton's scrum work cant be fixed with a bit of old fashioned elbow grease.

besides, Skelton as a test prospect is a worthwhile investment, even if there are growing pains.

I don't doubt it can be fixed, BDA. I doubt that Blades will fix it. (Somebody print this out and give it to him).

I would add that my objections to the scrum practice photos that did the rounds showing the loose setup were just for this reason. train as you intend to play, which is in fact the philosophy that Chieka has in all other aspects of training.

 

[BDA]

If on form I would suggest BDA spreight not justified selection and hodgkinson would be ahead of Mcmahon..

I picked my team based on us aiming to win all games on tour, and that the game against the French will most likely be our easiest game on tour. And that's not to say we should be underestimating the french. I'm not suggesting we rest or rotate players. Speight has shown to be a step above our other wings when he's playing well. This game is a good opportunity to give Speight a run with the aim to possibly making him an option against England. Tomane played well and i'm not saying you wouldn't bring back tomane for the game against Ireland.

 

[Ruggo]

He must be mates with James Hansen.

I think he means the Nordic Hansen's. Not James but Sven.

 

[Forcefield]

You need to watch the game. Their set piece was fine. Indeed the Wallaby set piece has been far from dominant, in fact I think the number of lineouts stolen by the Wallabies this year would be in single figures.

I haven't had time yet. It was reported somewhere that they lost 25% of their own feed scrums and 25% of their line-outs. South Africa are a tough team in the lineouts for anyone but those aren't good numbers.