Substitutions
There were a few talking points with regards to how Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has filled and emptied the bench. While I am more than glad we have moved away from chucking the less experienced players on with ten minutes (or less) to go we saw under Deans, I am still perplexed by a few things.
What is Will Skelton? and for that matter what is Luke Jones? It seemed quite strange to me that when Simmons looked obviously injured for almost the entire first half, neither of these players were utilized. I can understand with ten minutes to go you might decide to have a look at it in the sheds but when it’s not right for that long you have to give one of your reserve “locks” a go.
I was also surprised the Kurtley Beale came on at the expense of Henry Speight. While I understand that Rob Horne was having a great game but he took some heavy punishment to the face just prior to the substitution and looked to be tiring more than the Fijian flyer. It would have been good to get a blood bin on Horne and then decide who comes off but regulations may have prevented this late switch. At any rate I really think express pace is a little under valued in the Wallaby set up at the moment.
