France v Australia

[cornetto]

Awful first half for WB, not much better second. How many times did they drop the ball in contact - jesus that is a basic skill that should have been drilled into them in the 13B's. The second most frustrating thing was not taking the high ball - repeatedly. What has happened to Folau? I was thinking for a while thank god we have a FB who can catch the ball, not any more. Just depressing.

I think I actually have just resolved to myself that we just dont have players that are good enough at the moment. Good players play well more often then not, weaker players play poorly more often than good. So lacking in consistency at the moment - Kurindrani (not Kudriani - geez that was pissing me off), Slipper and Hooper for mine are close to the only players showing any type of consistency.

It will be another 4 years before we completely clear out the players that are beyond their prime and those that were never really good enough and some decent new talent comes through (hopefully). Things are not going to turn around in 12 months.

Anyway I will keep watching no matter how crap we are, cause thats what a loyal supporter does.

 

[It is what it is]

Are there others out there who feel sick every time they see Alexander coming off the bench?
Here's my sequential reaction;
1. Oh shit, Alexander's coming on.
2. Who's going off, gee I hope it's only a blood bin.
3. Oh boy he's a full replacement.
4. How long to go?
5. Please don't let there be any scrums.

 

[Sully]

I hear a lot of people saying Foley's kicking is better than Coopers. It's not. They are pretty even in that department. Should Cooper replace him? I don't know. He's had one average game on tour. I do think he should have been subbed tonight.

 

[I like to watch]

I wouldn't be so sure. Cooper has only now come back into the fold. I think an in-form Cooper makes a big claim to starting at 10, especially if he's kicking goals well. From what Cheika has had to say about him, I think he sees a lot he can offer. In recent Tests, Foley has been about the only real option that is playing 10 consistently. Leali'ifano and To'omua have been chopped and changed so much it's hard to know where either stands at 10 currently.

Cheika has been in charge for 240 minutes.
How many minutes has anybody but Foley played 10?

 

[Quick Hands]

After all the wailing here I suggest we look at the positives: atrocious handling, finishing backline resembling a mad dog's breakfast, scrums cum Skelton usual crap, Genia contributing fuck all, AND WE NEARLY BEAT FRANCE IN PARIS!

At last. I thought I was in a minority of one (again)

 

[cyclopath]

Cheika has been in charge for 240 minutes.
How many minutes has anybody but Foley played 10?

Sounds like a rhetorical question. I think my post was fairly self-explanatory. Especially in the context of what Cheika said about continuing with the team he inherited from Bledisloe 3 to start with.

 

[Quick Hands]

Cheika has been in charge for 240 minutes.
How many minutes has anybody but Foley played 10?

Foley's the better option at the moment, a year ago Cooper was. I hope they both stay fit for the next 12 months and we end up with 2 form 10s for the RWC.

 

[Paradox]

Keep Phipps/Foley for England give Genia/Cooper/Speight a crack at Ireland. They need a chance

 

[Gillys_ghost]

Keep Phipps/Foley for England give Genia/Cooper/Speight a crack at Ireland. They need a chance

but what if Quade, Genia and speight all play fantastically against Ireland? do you still start Foley and phipps? also i think people have the order wrong when it comes to the NH powers. Ireland are the 6 Nations champions, lost to the all blacks by like 2 points, beat argentina in a test series in argentina for the 1st time, and flogged the springboks. England have done what exactly? I think we should be playing are best team against both ireland and england. Theres gonna be alot more pain in the coming weeks think.

 

[Quick Hands]

The scrum started well and certainly deteriorated after the replacements came on. By the end of the match it wasn't up to it at all.

We clearly need to work on our ball security in the tackle. The French defended well and put pressure on the ball-cariers and too many times this resulted in a soft turnover and French counter-attack or French scrum.

With the exception of the scrum I'm confident that we have the players capable of being a force at the RWC. It takes time - it's instructive to look back at Chieka's first year at the Waratahs, things didn't always go right but the coach and the players perservered and the results came. Chieka's way of doing things seems to be to give players he thinks are up to it a go and a fair opportunity to show what they can do. Thereafter he tends to stick with the same players and same combinations - even after players put together a couple of bad games.

The scrum- well I'm still at a loss to understand how we can't improve at this. If we think about the newer nations that have come into world rugby, Argentina, Italy, Georgia etc - they were all able to master scrummaging long before they did any other facet of the game. There's no logical reason that our big hefty blokes can't scrum as well as big hefty blokes from any other country. It would seem to be something that a scrum coach could instill in most sides if evidence from elsewhere in the rugby world is taken into account. I can't see us threatening for the RWC unless the scrum improves (not just the starting 8 - who went ok)

 

[Paradox]

but what if Quade, Genia and speight all play fantastically against Ireland? do you still start Foley and phipps? also i think people have the order wrong when it comes to the NH powers. Ireland are the 6 Nations champions, lost to the all blacks by like 2 points, beat argentina in a test series in argentina for the 1st time, and flogged the springboks. England have done what exactly? I think we should be playing are best team against both ireland and england. Theres gonna be alot more pain in the coming weeks think.

If Quade, Genia and Speight play well then that's a good dilemma for the couch to have. I suspect England will trouble us more than Ireland. Ireland have a lot of injuries and I feel our side will be more comfortable against them relative to the power of the English front five.

 

[I like to watch]

Sounds like a rhetorical question. I think my post was fairly self-explanatory. Especially in the context of what Cheika said about continuing with the team he inherited from Bledisloe 3 to start with.

I must have misunderstood what he said.
I thought he was using the last Bled side as his starting point.
I'm fine with Foley starting ATM,but I'm more of the view that this tour is more about exploring options,not cementing combinations.
We are 3 games in,and the player most people regard as the 2nd choice 10, has had a total of 10 minutes on the field in another position.
Edit: 20 minutes,I just saw the replay.

 

[Quick Hands]

but what if Quade, Genia and speight all play fantastically against Ireland? do you still start Foley and phipps? also i think people have the order wrong when it comes to the NH powers. Ireland are the 6 Nations champions, lost to the all blacks by like 2 points, beat argentina in a test series in argentina for the 1st time, and flogged the springboks. England have done what exactly? I think we should be playing are best team against both ireland and england. Theres gonna be alot more pain in the coming weeks think.

He'll pick the best team and use the others from the bench.

 

[Bowside]

The wallabies played really dumb rugby in that game:

- They needed to kick more whilst on the front foot, instead of wasting energy on trying to break that french defence.
- They needed to run more from the back when the french defence was disorganised.
- The forwards needed to pick and drive instead of trying to play static pods.

Hoopers captaincy was woeful. He had an opportunity to stand up and take charge of the narrative. Paint Masteri as the bad guy and use that to take the sting out of the French, but he didn't want a bar of it. Poor Leadership and shows a lack of nous.

Everything Phipps does without the ball in hand is great, but he can't move the ball through the air quickly like Aaron Smith or 2010 Genia could.

 

[Bowside]

Cheika in an interview stated one of the reasons for bringing over Beale was that there was not another Fullback on tour and Folau was Knacked.

I think that showed last night.

And I reckon Cooper should get a run at 15 before Beale. It's not like Beale is better under the highball or has a better kicking game.

 

[swingpass]

france played well enough and we didn't !
simple assessment but true.

skelton is simply too "big" to scrummage. look at the overhead shots. his head is so big that neither kepu nor alexander can bind properly on the hooker and his arse just so enormous mccalman can even get his arm around it to grab hold

 

[Bowside]

france played well enough and we didn't !
simple assessment but true.

skelton is simply too "big" to scrummage. look at the overhead shots. his head is so big that neither kepu nor alexander can bind properly on the hooker and his arse just so enormous mccalman can even get his arm around it to grab hold

The more and more I look at it I think Skelton might be better packing at 8.

The wallaby packs binding is atrocious in general though.

 

[swingpass]

The wallabies played really dumb rugby in that game:

Hoopers captaincy was woeful. Poor Leadership and shows a lack of nous.
.

agree completely, Hooper's youth and inexperience as a captain gives him no gravitas with the refs. and as for tacking a quick tap when you have a numerical advantage wtf !

 

[Bowside]

agree completely, Hooper's youth and inexperience as a captain gives him no gravitas with the refs. and as for tacking a quick tap when you have a numerical advantage wtf !

Youth and inexperience play a role, but more than that I think it's important that you go in with a mindset that you need to dominate the ref.

Gregan had it. McCaw is more subtle about it, but he is still ever present always planting thoughts in the refs mind, as is his protege Read.

Hooper looks like he wants to just play footy.

If I was Cheika and wanted to persist with Hooper as captain I'd be sending him for one on one sessions with Michael Clarke every time he is in Sydney.

 

[KOB1987]

Cheika in an interview stated one of the reasons for bringing over Beale was that there was not another Fullback on tour and Folau was Knacked.

I think that showed last night.

And I reckon Cooper should get a run at 15 before Beale. It's not like Beale is better under the highball or has a better kicking game.

sounds ominous that Izzy will be rested v Ireland. I reckon:

11. Speight
14. Tomane or Horne (1 to be rested)
15. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
23. Beale