And so the year has drawn to a close. The Spring Tour has been a disapointing expedition for the Wallabies. As for the players? We have seen the emergence of some wonderful young players this tour. Quade Cooper, Digby Ioane, Dean Mumm, Benn Robinson, Will Genia, David Pocock and Ben Alexander all showed tremendous class.
How will they fair in the final component of our Green & Gold Rugby Wallaby Player of the Year? Let’s jump into it and see.
Match Ten: Wallabies v New Zealand @ Olympic Stadium, Tokyo (31 October).
Australia: James O’Connor, Peter Hynes, Ryan Cross, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Digby Ioane, Matt Giteau, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom [c], Mark Chisholm, James Horwill, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Dean Mumm, George Smith.
New Zealand: Mils Muliaina, Corey Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Rodney So’oialo, Richie McCaw [c], Adam Thomson, Tom Donnelly, Brad Thorn, Neemia Tialata, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock. Replacements: Joe Afoa, Jason Eaton, Kieran Read, Stephen Donald.
New Zealand 32 (Sitivenu Sivivatu, Conrad Smith tries; Dan Carter 2 conv, 6 pg) defeated Australia 19 (Peter Hynes try; Matt Giteau conv, 4 pg)
G&GR Points:
3 – Adam Ashley-Cooper
2 – Will Genia
1 – David Pocock
Match Eleven: Wallabies v England @ Twickenham, London (7 November).
Australia: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu, George Smith, Rocky Elsom [c], Mark Chisholm, James Horwill, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Matt Dunning, Dean Mumm, Ryan Cross, David Pocock.
England: Ugo Monye, Mark Cueto, Dan Hipkiss, Shane Geraghty, Matt Banahan, Jonny Wilkinson, Danny Care, Jordan Crane, Lewis Moody, Tom Croft, Louis Deacon, Steve Borthwick [c], David Wilson, Steve Thompson, Tim Payne. Replacements: Dylan Hartley, Duncan Bell, Courtney Lawes, James Haskell, Paul Hodgson, Ayoole Erinle.
Australia 18 (Will Genia, Adam Ashley-Cooper tries; Matt Giteau conv, 2 pg) defeated England 9 (Jonny Wilkinson 2 pg, dg)
G&GR Points:
3 – Will Genia
2 – Wycliff Palu
1 – Quade Cooper
Match Twelve: Wallabies v Ireland @ Croke Park, Dublin (15 November).
Australia: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom [c], Mark Chisholm, James Horwill, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Tatafu Polota-Nau, George Smith, James O’Connor.
Ireland: Robert Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll (c), Paddy Wallace, Luke Fitzgerald, Ronan O’Gara, Tomas O’Leary, Jamie Heaslip, David Wallace, Stephen Ferris, Paul O’Connell, Donncha O’Callaghan, John Hayes, Jerry Flannery, Cian Healy. Replacements: Denis Leamy, Kieth Earls.
Australia 20 (Drew Mitchell, Rocky Elsom tries; Matt Giteau 2 conv, 2 pg) drew with Ireland 20 (Tommy Bowe, Brian O’Driscoll tries; Ronan O’Gara 2 conv, 2 pg)
G&GR Points:
3 – David Pocock
2 – Wycliffe Palu
1 – Rocky Elsom
Match Thirteen: Wallabies v Scotland @ Murrayfield, Edinburgh (21 November).
Australia: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Ryan Cross,Quade Cooper, Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu, George Smith, Rocky Elsom [c], Mark Chisholm, James Horwill, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Sekope Kepu, Dean Mumm, Richard Brown, Luke Burgess, James O’Connor.
Scotland: Rory Lamont, Sean Lamont, Alex Grove, Graeme Morrison, Simon Danielli, Phil Goodman, Chris Cusiter [c], Johnnie Beattie, John Barclay, Alasdair Strokosch, Alastair Kellock, Nathan Hines, Moray Low, Ross Ford, Allan Jacobsen. Replacements: Dougie Hall, Kyle Traynor, Jason White, Richie Vernon, Mike Blair, Chris Paterson, Nick De Luca.
Scotland 9 (Phil Goodman 2 pg, Chris Paterson dg) defeated Australia 8 (Ryan Cross try; Matt Giteau pg)
G&GR Points:
3 – Wycliff Palu
2 – Adam Ashley-Cooper
1 – George Smith
Match Fourteen: Wallabies v Wales @ Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (28 November).
Australia: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau, Will Genia, Wycliff Palu, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom [c], Dean Mumm, James Horwill, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson. Replacements: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Matt Dunning, Mark Chisholm, George Smithn, Luke Burgess, James O’Connor, Kurtley Beale.
Wales: James Hook, Leigh Halfpenny, Jamie Roberts, Jonathan Davies, Shane Williams, Stephen Jones, Dwayne Peel, Andy Powell [c], Martyn Williams, Dan Lydiate, Luke Charteris, Alun-Wyn Jones, Paul James, Matthew Rees, Gethin Jenkins. Replacements: Huw Bennett, Duncan Jones, Jonathan Thomas, Sam Warburton, Martin Roberts, Andrew Bishop, Tom James.
Australia 33 (Digby Ioane, James Horwill, David Pocock, Tatafu Polota-Nau tries; Matt Giteau 2 conv, 3 pg) defeated Wales 12 (Stephen Jones 3, Leigh Halfpenny pg)
G&GR Points:
3 – David Pocock
2 – Matt Giteau
1 – George Smith
The Welsh test sees us come to the end of the voting period for the G&GR Wallaby Player of the Year. But before we name that illustrious winner, we have one penultimate award. The G&GR Wallaby Player of the Spring Tour. And to the table…
| Place | Player | Points |
| 1st | Wycliff Palu | 7 |
| David Pocock | 7 | |
| 3rd | Will Genia | 5 |
| Adam Ashley-Cooper | 5 | |
| 5th | George Smith | 2 |
| Matt Giteau | 2 | |
| 7th | Rocky Elsom | 1 |
| Quade Cooper | 1 |
And so we have a tie at the top, but we like to make the hard decisions here at Green & Gold Rugby, so therefore the winner by count back (two “Man of the Match” awards rather than one) is…
… David Pocock!
Now the winner of the whole shebang? We’ll you will just have to stay tuned for a very special post tomorrow to announce it. Now now, stop your whinging. This one is worth the wait!!! Who’s your pick?
