Wallabies v Lions - 3rd Test, Accor Stadium, Saturday 2 August

[Strewthcobber]

Funnily enough Gleason played rugby league for South Sydney U20s. (Not saying he is a convert)

 

[notdeadyet]

A real shit that we'll be losing Tom Hooper after this year at least for a period. On his performances all year and particularly this game, he should be locked in as a starter for the Wallabies. Would like to see a backrow of 6 Hooper, 7 McReight, 8 Valetini. And when available, Skelton in the second row.

yep except Tizzano starting with mcreight on the bench

 

[notdeadyet]

Funnily enough Gleason played rugby league for South Sydney U20s. (Not saying he is a convert)

thanks, there goes my hypothesis ...

 

[Strewthcobber]

thanks, there goes my hypothesis ...

Plenty more like that if you criteria is just has ever played league.

Rocky Elsom, Wycliffe Paul etc etc

 

[Spamnoodle]

He played test 2 and 3. Curiosly, the best Wallabies performances in the Series. He wasn't involved in the Brisbane's disaster

Disaster? It was 3 tries apiece. That's not a disaster, it's a disappointment.

 

[Tomthumb]

Hooper's workrate last night was phenomenal and very impactful. Moreso than Wilson. Imagine that workrate combined with Rob Valetini's physicality. That would make most test sides in world rugby very nervous.

Hooper was awesome, I’ve always been a fan. But he’s leaving so won’t be involved next year

 

[rugbyAU]

But he’s leaving so won’t be involved next year

we need to change those stupid rules

 

[Spamnoodle]

Re South Africa I agree with one poster here. BobbyV, Hooper and McReight, Tizzano may make it, as I thought McReight was a bit quiet last night.

Quietly going about his core duties of tackling fucking everything that moved, forcing penalties and turnovers and linking?

 

[molman]

I actually had a similar thought last night. Skelton is 33. At best he'll probably look to go out at a home RWC so we have two more years of the man. His impact on the pitch is notable. He gives us a big body with an aggressive mindset to balance things out. They next closest we have to that from the last 6 weeks is Valetini and LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto). But I think we need to find at least one or two more Skelton like players.

And there is a place where we can look. The NFL is now running academies here and attracting some very large young blokes. Something the NFL is good at is identifying athletes. But even then only a small number of them will go beyond this stage. We should be scoping these kids out and looking to get some across.

Look, admittedly my maths is rough, but by my estimates the number of 15 to say 25 boys/men who are 203cm or taller is in the 100's, not evern 1000's in the Australian population. The AFL I think has 40 or so individuals running around of this size or taller. As we keep stepping down there are more. But then add in a frame or the capacity to develop a frame of Skelton's, well I guess the short answer is that there just isn't many Skeltons and when you have AFL, NFL, Basketball and some individuals who are also possibly not suitable for professional sport, well you can see why France pounces on the ones they find.

 

[notdeadyet]

Very happy to see Williams impact off the bench with at least 3 crucial plays, after a lot of supporters and media calling for his head. Tupou and Nic white also shutting up the critics and vindicating coaches selections

where has that enthusiasm / talent been for the first two tests ?

 

[Spamnoodle]

all backs; i can not recall a league forward successfully adapting to union whereas Price and Thornett did from union to league (dick i think) both did (from the mighty Parramatta for who my dad played for 1sts for in '52 against the clive churchill Souths with 10 internationals )

ERM
Brad Thorn ring a bell?
SBW?

 

[molman]

We need to bring Darcy Swain in out of the cold. He has the aggression we need and has learnt a bit over the last few years. A couple of runs from the bench will be very useful if we need a guy who can bend the line.

Personally I want to see an Australian A tour series developed. We need a solid 30 or more players come RWC time, so our fringe players need more higher level rugby so they're ready to step up to the Wallabies when needed. Possibly build a series where we can play some of the so called second tier nations. Also add to our coaching development and depth.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Look, admittedly my maths is rough, but by my estimates the number of 15 to say 25 boys/men who are 203cm or taller is in the 100's, not evern 1000's in the Australian population. The AFL I think has 40 or so individuals running around of this size or taller. As we keep stepping down there are more. But then add in a frame or the capacity to develop a frame of Skelton's, well I guess the short answer is that there just isn't many Skeltons and when you have AFL, NFL and some individuals who are also possibly not suitable for professional sport, well you can see why France pounces on the ones they find.

They're certainly in short supply. Which is why we need to be as aware as possible of those that are running around.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Personally I want to see an Australian A tour series developed. We need a solid 30 or more players come RWC time, so our fringe players need more higher level rugby so they're ready to step up to the Wallabies when needed. Possibly build a series where we can play some of the so called second teir nations. Also add to our coaching development and depth.

Would also be a way of keeping foreign based players engaged.

 

[molman]

Very happy to see Williams impact off the bench with at least 3 crucial plays, after a lot of supporters and media calling for his head. Tupou and Nic white also shutting up the critics and vindicating coaches selections

I don't disagree. Only caveat I would add to both Williams and Frost's performances in the lineouts specifically (particularly in the second half) was that the Lions went to pieces somewhat after both Itoje and Ryan left the game with injuries/HIA. You could see that the Lions were struggling with their lineout, so I think it really openned the door for our boys.

 

[notdeadyet]

ERM
Brad Thorn ring a bell?
SBW?

forward to forward
how did i forget Thorn

 

[Spamnoodle]

forward to forward
how did i forget Thorn

Agree it's a rarity though.

 

[Hogan]

I didn’t think donno played badly last night but I didn’t think he played the house down either. Lynagh will continue to improve with more time in the driver’s seat. Just needs to some luck around his head. Donno gives good coverage off the bench just like Tate.

He didn’t have to play the house down. He simply had to execute the game plan which I thought he and Tom Wright did superbly in trying conditions constantly pinning the Lions down in their own half. Considering Donaldson hadn’t played for two weeks and came on at a crucial time in the game, I thought he handled the pressure and conditions with aplomb. And his 100% goal kicking record this series was a bonus.

Lolesio, Donaldson and Lynagh will be our 10’s at the 2027 WC and big games like these are invaluable for their development and experience as the team continues on its upward trajectory towards ‘27.

Hoping young Lynagh is ok and recovers quickly.

 

[rugbyAU]

He didn’t have to play the house down. He simply had to execute the game plan which I thought he and Tom Wright did superbly in trying conditions constantly pinning the Lions down in their own half. Considering Donaldson hadn’t played for two weeks and came on at a crucial time in the game, I thought he handled the pressure and conditions with aplomb. And his 100% goal kicking record this series was a bonus.

Lolesio, Donaldson and Lynagh will be our 10’s at the 2027 WC and big games like these are invaluable for their development and experience as the team continues on its upward trajectory towards ‘27.

Hoping young Lynagh is ok and recovers quickly.

I don’t know about Lolesio’s future in gold

 

[stillmissit]

The

Bit of selective memory for mine...he made plenty of metres and got through a tonne of work...a real iron man for this team... he clearly isnt the dominant ball runner the likes of Valetini or gleeson but to say he makes no impact would be wrong

Maybe a bit more to defend my post.
He was often at the back taking the ball and running it up, thus the metres gained. At one point, he wound up only to slow a bit before contact. As he doesn't have the weight or impact of BobbyV or Hooper, he strikes me as a guy who's neither a big hard 8, nor a smart running 8.
He hits the opposition front on and doesn't have the footwork to vary direction at speed towards shoulders, as good fast 8's do. I like him, and I don't think he should be dropped, but I am not a fan of his.
As the Wallaby 8, he has little competition for the position ATM, but I stick by my prediction, he will not be a starter nor captain at the RWC.