What a shithouse game, what a depressing performance. I am getting sick of this shit.
The game never rose to any great heights and we were beaten by a pretty average England side. Yes the officials were fucking appalling, but our performance wasn’t much better. Surely it is time for Link to wield the axe.
Anyway, here are my ratings:
[one_third last=”no”]
James Slipper
Time to go, surely. His ratings for the last five games have been 4,4,4,5 and 5. Has shown no signs of improvement, and no signs of his good form from the Reds earlier in the year. Scrum was once again a shambles, and his work rate was average – he didn’t even touch the ball. 2
[/one_third] [one_third last=”no”]
Stephen Moore
Did a fair bit of work, but was a bit below his best. Maybe the long season is beginning to take its toll and with TPN back on deck he may get a rest soon. 5 [/one_third] [one_third last=”yes”]
Ben Alexander
Mr Mediocre. Missed tackles, only touched the ball a few times. Then there was the scrum, where he was well outpointed by Vunipola (regardless of the legality of his tactics). There doesn’t seem to be an obvious replacement, but it has to be time to give someone else a chance. 2 [/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
James Horwill
A slight form improvement. But we still need more. Got the ball in his hands a bit more, which was nice to see. Lineout struggled under his direction. 5 [/one_third] [one_third last=”no”]
Sitaleki Timani
Couldn’t replicate his good form off the bench. Work rate was low, contribution was very limited. Now to utter something I never thought I would say: come back Rob Simmons, we miss you… 3 [/one_third] [one_third last=”yes”]
Scott Fardy
Was having a decent enough game until he was carried off just after half time. Was a little bit outmuscled by the bigger English backrow, however. 5 [/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Michael Hooper
Our best forward, but that isn’t really saying much. Never gave up, made plenty of tackles and got us a nice turnover. If only a few of the other forwards had his heart, and he had their size. 6 [/one_third] [one_third last=”no”]
Ben Mowen
A forgettable start to his reign as captain. Had very little impact with ball in hand, made a good deal of tackles but in a game where we were beaten at the breakdown we needed more. Jury is still out on whether he has the leadership qualities to take this side any higher than where they are at the moment. 4 [/one_third] [one_third last=”yes”]
Will Genia
Hard to believe I gave him a 9 just two games ago. On Saturday he was bad, bad, bad. Hospital passes, errant kicks, no running game. He is so key to this team’s performance, and we really struggle to compete when he turns in a game like that. 2 [/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Quade Cooper
Not his best game, and a step back from the good form of the previous two games. A nice pass to Folau set up our only try, but he tempered that with five missed tackles and a wild pass on our own 22 which almost handed the Poms five points. Missed two crucial kicks late in the game. 5 [/one_third] [one_third last=”no”]
Nick Cummins
Typical effort from the Badger. A little rough around the edges, but looked good when he had the ball in space. 6 [/one_third] [one_third last=”yes”]
Matt Toomua
Was decent enough, and one of the few Wallabies who had the better of their English opponent. His try was well taken, and he looks to be growing in the No.12 jersey. But he kicked too often, and rarely found grass. 7 [/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Tevita Kuridrani
Played well in patches, but he has had better days in gold. 6 [/one_third] [one_third last=”no”]
Adam Ashley-Cooper
A typically lionhearted display, and in a poor team performance he gets the gong for G&GR Man of the Match. Made a couple of nice breaks, and defended like a man possessed. Wasn’t his best ever game, but good enough. 7 [/one_third] [one_third last=”yes”]
Israel Folau
Like many others he showed flashes of brilliance, but let himself down with poor option taking on a few occasions. Still looked like our most threatening back, though, and the Poms were clearly shit scared of him. 6 [/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Saia Fainga’a
Played 12 minutes, didn’t do that much. No rating [/one_third] [one_third last=”no”]
Benn Robinson
Came on for Slipper with 20 to go, and didn’t really improve our scrum. Took one nice pilfer though. 5 [/one_third] [one_third last=”yes”]
Sekope Kepu
The best case for keeping Ben Alexander in the team. Has had plenty of opportunities, but hasn’t done much to inspire any confidence. Battles hard, but just can’t make an impact. 4[/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”]
Kane Douglas
Played 18 fairly unmemorable minutes. 5 [/one_third] [one_third last=”no”]
Ben McCalman
Came on for Scott Fardy and played the last half hour. Didn’t do anything particularly noteworthy, but his stats were OK. 5 [/one_third] [one_third last=”yes”]
Nic White
Looked like a fish out of water. Might have even been worse than Genia. Took bad options, kicked too often, missed touch on crucial penalty kick. 3[/one_third]
The patented G&GR ratings guide:
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Outstanding performance: Man of the match shoo-in
8 – Excellent all-round game
7 – Good game with a few sparkles
6 – Solid performance
5 – Average – ho hum
4 – Below par
3 – Had a bad game
2 – Tell your story walking pal
1 – A complete joke
So am I on the money?
