Wallabies vs Scotland - 5 June 2012

[kronic]

You watch, it'll be like last year. Lose to Samoa, win the Tri Nations. Haha, nice one Robbie, you funny bugger.

Can we please have the Bledisloe instead?

 

[Chunderstruck]

Can anyone ever remember Robbie Deans outcoaching another team.

It was great tactics by Robbie, setting the bar nice and low for the rest of the season

 

[Epi]

Genia's game is not slow ball... this is a directive.

Everyone remembers the Genia who burst onto the scene with quick ball.

 

[Athilnaur]

I think what really hurts is the dumbass never again ad they ran before the game

Ath.

 

[kronic]

It was great tactics by Robbie, setting the bar nice and low for the rest of the season

As usual, pre-game drinks will be the highlight of the night.

You'll sing for the 1st minute of the game, only to be crushed by shithouse defense and another inept performance. FML sometimes. When's football (soccer) season back again?

 

[Bullrush]

Pocock should have taken the 3points when they had the chance. That's the whole point of playing the style of rugby the Wallabies did. Pressure, pressure, pressure....take the points when on offer. They did all but. Score would have been 9 - 6, Wallabies get possession from kick-off and they kick it back down the Scots corner and repeat. The Scot line-out was crap, they were at best getting parity in the scrum (before Palmer went off) and the pressure is on the Scots to just get back to even scores.

For all the talk that the ABs and Boks would have won that game, I would bet the house that both McCaw and Smit/JdV would have taken the points in that situation with those conditions. It was a no-brainer and you could tell that Deans was pretty pissed off in the post-game interview that they didn't take the penalty kick.

 

[Tangawizi]

What is truly shit is that 10 years ago, when the games were tight with a few minutes to play, as a Wallabies fan you pretty much had an unwavering belief that the team would somehow find a way to win. And they almost always did.

Tonight with a few minutes to go I had an unwavering belief that the Wallabies would somehow find a way to fark it right up. And they did.

And how the fuck did Mike Harris manage to go the full 80 mins without making a single run?

 

[Proud Pig]

I think one of the biggest issues was at made at the selection table.
The conditions were known in advance, the weather reports had predicted wet and wild since late last week.
Given Deans knew how bad the weather was he should have selected Mark Gerrard.
In a game of field position, as the weather dictated, a boot like his can win you the game.
The scrum needs pot plants all round. Palmer is great but neither Alexander nor Slipper are strong scrummagers.
Pick the team for the environment they need to play. You don't just pick a side and hope they can cope.

 

[cyclopath]

Didn't Gerrard get injured last game? Sternum?

 

[RedsHappy]

Pocock should have taken the 3points when they had the chance. That's the whole point of playing the style of rugby the Wallabies did. Pressure, pressure, pressure....take the points when on offer. They did all but. Score would have been 9 - 6, Wallabies get possession from kick-off and they kick it back down the Scots corner and repeat. The Scot line-out was crap, they were at best getting parity in the scrum (before Palmer went off) and the pressure is on the Scots to just get back to even scores.

For all the talk that the ABs and Boks would have won that game, I would bet the house that both McCaw and Smit/JdV would have taken the points in that situation with those conditions. It was a no-brainer and you could tell that Deans was pretty pissed off in the post-game interview that they didn't take the penalty kick.

Bullrush, agree overall (without excusing, it must be said, other Wallaby deficiencies tonight).

I have said well before tonight: at this stage in his development, I just don't see what others clearly do in Pocock as captain. I think Deans and the ARU want to make him that for all sorts of reasons, my fear is that what they want cannot yet be delivered. I feel we saw that gap between hope and reality again tonight.

Deans made a serious mistake in appointing Elsom as Wallaby captain, my grave concern is that he's not learned and will now jump around with more experiments and poor choices.

 

[DPK]

Is this worth watching? Replays starting now.

 

[p.Tah]

I was at the game and I really think people are underestimating how bad the weather was. Watching it on TV now and it doesn't come close to conveying what it was like out there. One minute the wind was 100km an hour with driving rain, then it's switched or stopped then the rain started and so on. It was not consistent. Thatts why box kicks went up and went backwards. The moment before there was no wind.

When Harris didn't take the kick when in the 22 it was because there was no way on earth anyone could kick it with the wind speed and the direction it was moving when that kick was on.

 

[Reddy!]

Bullrush, agree overall (without excusing, it must be said, other Wallaby deficiencies tonight).

I have said well before tonight: at this stage in his development, I just don't see what others clearly do in Pocock as captain. I think Deans and the ARU want to make him that for all sorts of reasons, my fear is that what they want cannot yet be delivered. I feel we saw that gap between hope and reality again tonight.

Deans made a serious mistake in appointing Elsom as Wallaby captain, my grave concern is that he's not learned and will now jump around with more experiments and poor choices.

Well who would you have made captain?

Pocock to me in the most obvious choice as captain. He is no John Eales or Gregan, but he is just the most obvious choice. in that he is a first choice selection, the best in his position in the world perhaps, leads by example, and is a good guy. We aren't electing a president here, just someone to chat to the ref and lead by example and rally the troops. If the other players on the field aren't pulling their weight then that's a Wallaby problem.

Genia ain't an option, he has to worry about getting his own shit together and suffers badly when there is a rush defense.

 

[The Big Code]

This excuse is getting tired. How long before the coaches own up to not getting the best out of our players?

Why is the excuse getting tired? You can get the best out of your players, but if they don't deserve to be playing for their country they aren't going to perform on the international stage.

Our full strength side would have won that match tonight. I don't think that's a huge leap of faith to believe that.

 

[Tordah]

Is this worth watching? Replays starting now.

Stay as far away from it as you can.

 

[DPK]

Stay as far away from it as you can.

I'll find the nearest padded cell and take a time out. A looooong time out.

 

[ChargerWA]

Is this worth watching? Replays starting now.

It's not up to us to judge how self masochists choose to live their life.

 

[Brumbieman]

Why is the excuse getting tired? You can get the best out of your players, but if they don't deserve to be playing for their country they aren't going to perform on the international stage.

Our full strength side would have won that match tonight. I don't think that's a huge leap of faith to believe that.

Full strength side???


Just how different would that side be, realistically?

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Pocock should have taken the 3points when they had the chance. That's the whole point of playing the style of rugby the Wallabies did. Pressure, pressure, pressure....take the points when on offer. They did all but. Score would have been 9 - 6, Wallabies get possession from kick-off and they kick it back down the Scots corner and repeat. The Scot line-out was crap, they were at best getting parity in the scrum (before Palmer went off) and the pressure is on the Scots to just get back to even scores.

For all the talk that the ABs and Boks would have won that game, I would bet the house that both McCaw and Smit/JdV would have taken the points in that situation with those conditions. It was a no-brainer and you could tell that Deans was pretty pissed off in the post-game interview that they didn't take the penalty kick.

Totally agree. In a game like this when you don't necessarily know when the next score is coming, even though you are dominating territory, and the conditions are crap -- you take the pragmatic option and go for the sticks. When it's pissing down and blowing a gale, I think a team will be forgiven for trying to win the game first.

Had it been a dry track, I'd back that decision from Pocock nearly every time.

 

[The Big Code]

Full strength side???


Just how different would that side be, realistically?

I started typing a list of guys that I realised were all injured... so maybe not as different as I first thought!

But I do think guys like AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Palu, Simmons, Robinson would have all made a big difference.