Rugby Championship 2025 : South Africa v Australia Round 2

[wamberal99]

Maybe JAS at 15?

 

[stillmissit]

Paisami then probably Stewart. Unless they decided to move Sua’ali’i in one and play Daugunu or Flook at 13.

I think Paisami is better than he’s often given credit for, but he’s still a clear step down from Ikiatau IMO.

We agree, apart from Paisami, I want a guy who can create something, and I don't see that much from him. If we were going to play Stewart this game in Cape Town, in the wet would have been ideal off the bench.

 

[stillmissit]

Maybe JAS at 15?

Daganau to 13

 

[molman]

Paisami then probably Stewart. Unless they decided to move Sua’ali’i in one and play Daugunu or Flook at 13.

I think Paisami is better than he’s often given credit for, but he’s still a clear step down from Ikiatau IMO.

Paisami would be my guess also, but it'd be interesting. Whoever it is, I'd like to see some rotation at some point.

Stewart is an intereting one. I like a lot about his game. He's a doggard player who you never question the effort of. Paisami has more ups and downs for me and while I think he punches above his stature, on the international stage he always feels a bit small.

Whoever it is needs to be able to bring some good game management skills and really have a keen eye for when to inject themselves. Ikaitau has been increasingly great.

 

[Yoda]

Needs to make those kicks, but wholeheartedly disagree on the pass to Kellaway. He did very well to draw in the man and give Kellaway space and time and you clearly see him take a look which causes the drop. Entirely on him, the pass was the right option.

Molman. I agree the pass was definitely on and the right option. Just a poor one. Kellaway probably should have grabbed it but in the conditions and around his ankles not ideal. My point is more that most punters have been quick to criticise Lolesio and Donaldson but far less critical of JOC (James O'Connor) and Lynagh in costly mistakes... which everyone makes. Anyway, Wallabies are looking good .

 

[rugbyAU]

Plus maybe lynagh along with Sua'ali'i and White should be okay by then
What was Jake Gordan’s injury?

hamstring - they expected him to be knocking on the door by the time of the Arg tests or at least definitely back for the bledisloe

 

[TSR]

Schmidt’s strategy at the moment seems to be to prioritise maintaining continuity above rotating players just to create depth.

It blew up in his face a bit with Lolesio but otherwise I think his strategy is going well. Injuries on their own create a fair amount of squad turnover and I feel like on of the reasons players are coming in and doing a good job is that there is a lot more consistency with selection and the core group of players are being consistently picked.

 

[TSR]

Molman. I agree the pass was definitely on and the right option. Just a poor one. Kellaway probably should have grabbed it but in the conditions and around his ankles not ideal. My point is more that most punters have been quick to criticise Lolesio and Donaldson but far less critical of JOC (James O'Connor) (James O'Connor) and Lynagh in costly mistakes... which everyone makes. Anyway, Wallabies are looking good .

You keep making this point but it isn’t true. Lynagh got plenty of criticism and JOC (James O'Connor) is getting plenty of scrutiny and criticism this morning too.

Edit: and not just on here.

 

[TSR]

hamstring - they expected him to be knocking on the door by the time of the Arg tests or at least definitely back for the bledisloe

I’ll be happy to see Lonergan get a crack.

 

[molman]

Schmidt’s strategy at the moment seems to be to prioritise maintaining continuity above rotating players just to create depth.

It blew up in his face a bit with Lolesio but otherwise I think his strategy is going well. Injuries on their own create a fair amount of squad turnover and I feel like on of the reasons players are coming in and doing a good job is that there is a lot more consistency with selection and the core group of players are being consistently picked.

Which is an approach I've personally liked seeing. They're also trying hard to embed some combinations. The Ikiatau / JAS clearly being one of the main ones.

The 9/10 axis is a bit all over the shop due to injuries. I honestly have no idea who will be lining up as our first picks come RWC.

 

[molman]

Molman. I agree the pass was definitely on and the right option. Just a poor one. Kellaway probably should have grabbed it but in the conditions and around his ankles not ideal. My point is more that most punters have been quick to criticise Lolesio and Donaldson but far less critical of JOC (James O'Connor) (James O'Connor) and Lynagh in costly mistakes... which everyone makes. Anyway, Wallabies are looking good .

Also, your quoting @Marbig not me, @molman.

 

[Yoda]

You keep making this point but it isn’t true. Lynagh got plenty of criticism and JOC (James O'Connor) (James O'Connor) is getting plenty of scrutiny and criticism this morning too.

I keep making it because it's true. Lynagh got off lightly imo. I think all 4 of them are good players and we need depth in all positions. Edmed did pretty well although not sure he should have been laughing when he kicked it out on the full from the kick off to start the second half?

 

[Yoda]

Also, your quoting @Marbig not me, @molman.

Apologies.

 

[Cauliflower Ear]

Maybe JAS at 15?

Would be a good experiment against the Pumas.

Hopefully Tom Wright isn't out for an extended period, non-contact knee injury on soft turf is really worrying.

 

[stillmissit]

Would be a good experiment against the Pumas.

Hopefully Tom Wright isn't out for an extended period, non-contact knee injury on soft turf is really worrying.

Just watched a 10 min NZ V ARG game and the Arg's look very quick. The ABs lost due to kicking misses, the same as us.

JAS to 15 could be a good call, as we will need our best defensive backs up front, and JAS is not that. Attacking them by running the ball back at speed, he could be dangerous.
The Arg's will have watched the SA game closely and will certainly put up a lot of ball, and JAS could be handy.

 

[Brumby Runner]

I’ll be happy to see Lonergan get a crack.

Unlikely. The next two weeks will most likely see both Nic and Gordon available. Tate is a must so either one of the others comes in and Ryan misses out again.

 

[Uh huh]

It ain't obvious as Iketau has been uninjured for a while. Paisami is the obvious one but I'm not a big fan. I would put Dangunau in at 13 but can you move JAS to 12? Flook is a guy I think has headroom but not seen enough of him lately due to injury.

Yeah I'd be more inclined to move Sua'ali'i to 12, because I think we have more credible options at 13 (Flook and Daugunu) than at 12 (Paisami and literally nobody).

 

[Uh huh]

BTW, can we get an acknowledgement that - after an inauspicious start - Edmed did really well? Minimal errors, made most of his tackles, and picked some good runners. It felt like he added a bit more mystery than O'Connor about who was getting the short ball, creating some indecision in the defence. Made metres in the tight a couple of times too.

I wouldn't want to pin our trophy hopes on him, but he didn't let anyone down. Good shift from the young man.

 

[Uh huh]

We should have Slipper and Wilson back for Arg, Donaldson was set to be out for 3 weeks

Tough decision to make in the back row. Who misses out between the bloke who's been MOTM against the Boks and the bloke who started the season fairly widely regarded as "Australia's only world XV player".

It's particularly difficult because what distinguishes all three of them is their incredible engines and ability to go full send for 80 mins.

 

[Major Tom]

No complaints about the result, the Wallabies stayed in touch with the game through stubborn defence, strong exits and counter attack. The Springboks definitely created more scoring opportunities.

Not having a whinge about refereeing, because I'm sure there were decisions our way that I didn't notice, but there was one moment that really felt like it stopped the swing in momentum and changed the game. After Toole's excellent break and (less excellent) chip kick, he went to clean out the tackler on Kellaway, and Reinach deliberately ran behind the ruck from a blatantly offside position and shoulder charged him to prevent him from securing the ball. The Wallabies then lost possession, right in front of the posts.

That really felt like a turning point, and it's the sort of thing that's so obvious on replay, I would like to see some consistency in whether these kinds of infringements are picked up.

Yeah saw that too. Bloody frustrating.