Wallabies v England in Melbourne, 18 June

[ACT Crusader]

Wallabies looked quite clueless out there for large parts of the game. Both the forwards and backs weren't on song or on the same page.

So who's got McMahon's running stats. Did he double Pocock's output from last week

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Gits at 10 is a terrible idea. We've seen what he's like there at test level and he's ass. It's not a great thing to build on for the future either.

Also, Cheika overrated? Please.

 

[ACT Crusader]

Did we chip even once behind the defensive line to keep them honest? I don't recall it.

Yeah I recall at least two. But they were poorly executed. Don't tell Gnostic

 

[Gnostic]

Robshaw was immense I reckon HJ.

Should have got a yellow card for a two handed neck grab on Phipps in the first half and back slammed him doing it. Man of the match my arse. Certainly wasn't an Australian player, but Robshaw

 

[JJJ]

So does that drop us to third or 4th in the rankings? 5th?

 

[Highlander35]

Might depend on the Ireland v South Africa result, no one else is close enough to make a difference.

 

[Reido]

So does that drop us to third or 4th in the rankings? 5th?

It all depends on the Ireland v SA game.

 

[the sabanator]

4th I believe, depending on South Africa tonight

 

[Viking]

Amazing it is what I said would happen a long time before the start of the season. I have continually harped on about the lack of genuine kickers in Australian Rugby and it has been shown up again tonight. The English didn't need to play, just like the Highlanders and Force and Stormers have done against the Chieka coached Tahs. They are as I said one trick ponies. Yes it is great to watch them run the ball and break the line, but it just doesn't happen all the time from your own half. In fact any smart team knows pinning a team in their own half with a good defence will win you mnore games than you lose, especially when that side has no effective exit strategy.

I doubt anybody will listen, but a one trick pony will win when its tricks are new and shiny and bright, but when that trick is countered they have nothing else to show and they get strangled out of the games, again just like the Tahs were numerous times in 2015 despite showing surprisingly similar stats to what the Wallabies have shown in the last two games.

Great post Gnostic. We simply don't have the brains to adapt to the situation. We have one game-plan and an inability to get the whole team to quickly change strategies.

Eg. A chip kick behind the very fast defensive line. I think DHP tried it once - by himself. Where was the one from Foley with the whole backline chasing? Little plays like that simply don't enter their minds.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Our kick chase was ordinary tonight. England had way too much time to collect and return.

 

[cyclopath]

Great post Gnostic. We simply don't have the brains to adapt to the situation. We have one game-plan and an inability to get the whole team to quickly change strategies.

Eg. A chip kick behind the very fast defensive line. I think DHP tried it once - by himself. Where was the one from Foley with the whole backline chasing? Little plays like that simply don't enter their minds.

Foley did one that only he chased. Was too deep, and, you know, only he chased!

 

[The torpedo]

Wallabies looked quite clueless out there for large parts of the game. Both the forwards and backs weren't on song or on the same page.

So who's got McMahon's running stats. Did he double Pocock's output from last week

McMahon ran for 13 metres this week. Poey ran.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................for 19

 

[TOCC]

Yeah full credit to England's defensive efforts, but it was made easier by the complete lack of variety or imagination in Australia's attack.. Utterly clueless after the first or second phase, went slow when they needed quick ball and went quick when they needed to slow it down..

England's defensive pattern is built on rush defence, South Africa employed a similar style a number of years ago which was effective at first but as soon as teams started chipping over behind the line and finding space everything unravelled... So why didn't Australia chip over the top tonight?

Australia lost this game through cluelessness(is that even a word)?

 

[biggsy]

Can't wait for Super Rugby to get back, going to be a long international month.

 

[lpd]

I hope Cheika goes absolute ballistic at the boys. Awful.
If anybody ever questions the worth of Beale, Douglas, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Mitchell, Pocock and Giteau, point them to this series.

 

[Garry Owen]

Many keep waxing on about how we miss Beale. We miss a no.10 who can steer our ship, and Foley is not it, hasn't been for a long time. We have a backline with frightening potential, and 70% possession in the two games. Join the dots. And surely beating the soapdodgers at home was one of Cheika's KPI's. He's hung his hat on Foley. And during his interview, not a mention of an apology to all those who paid hard earned for tickets to the two games. (Why should they bother next time?). Perhaps next weeks game should be free for supporters as a gesture, the money deducted from their match payments. I can't even watch the Wallaby sponsored adds without cringing (How do sponsors feel?).

They need to come out and acknowledge that they are only the forth team to lose to England at home. They need to wear that millstone, and make some gesture of apology to those teams that have toiled in the past to uphold that great record at home against the poms.

I'm angry. Why don't the Wallabies seem to be?

 

[cyclopath]

McMahon ran for 13 metres this week. Poey ran...........................................................................for 19

McMahon's style of running looks intuitively like he's getting somewhere, but it's deceptive.

 

[Viking]

Foley did one that only he chased. Was too deep, and, you know, only he chased!

So exactly what I stated. Finally make the right tactical decision but failed to execute correctly and failed to communicate it to the rest of team - or anyone in the team.

 

[Bairdy]

And for everyone saying what a performance England made, just think how little they attacked, or really did. All they did was kick high balls and kick to the corners, defend well. VERY SIMPLE.

We can be beaten so easily or the opposition team needs to do is kick well.

Our kicking deficiencies are well documented, you'd think employing someone of more repute than Chris Malone to oversee all the Super Rugby franchises was a neccessity.

 

[Gnostic]

Gits at 10 is a terrible idea. We've seen what he's like there at test level and he's ass. It's not a great thing to build on for the future either.



Also, Cheika overrated? Please.

In all honesty I was on the bandwagon as much as anybody, and there is currently nobody else even close to being a test coach in this country, but both the Tahs and the Wallabies are one dimensional and predictable. Chieka has been out thought in both tests this year, and hindsight being wonderful made a couple of howling selection failures for the RWC final.

Overrated - maybe. Options - zero. In fact unless he can select and coach a side to play a complete rugby game he will deserve the tag of overrated.

In the post match interview he talked about playing too much in their own 40M. Wow. Just wow. What was the F%$$% exit strategy then. Oh yeah chuck it to Foley who has three defenders rushing him as they know he is the only kicker because DHP was rarely anywhere near the pocket to offer a second option. That is Chieka's failure but even bigger it is a general failure in Oz rugby and just try and pick a couple of back three players that can kick that are test level.