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Comments in the SMH today regarding the ref; Alexander is also eager to stay on the right side of New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence, who is officiating the quarter-final. Lawrence will have refereed Australia three times in their past five games, including their pool loss to Ireland in...

Higgers misses out. Slipper covers 1-3 TPN covers 1-2-3-8 (poorly) Sharpe covers 4-5 McCalman covers 6-7-8 Horwill covers 6 Samo covers 11-14 (?) Burgess covers 9-11-14 (i'm guessing) Barnes covers > 9 Fainga'a covers 12-13 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) covers 11-14-15 I think I would prefer Higgers to...

[/B] Maybe it does make sense grammatically but it is devoid of factual accuracy. Scandalously so. All the mungoes were signed before Flowers started- they all played the 2003 RWC. The ARC was an O'Neill idea from which he fled for the lucre offered by Lowy: it was a good idea, the abandonment...

[ Re this year's 3N. A very limited trophy IMO. Both SA and NZ seriously compromised their 3N teams for pre-RWC purposes, and the number of games was heavily reduced as a % of normal. You just can't therefore hold this up, objectively, as a major Wallaby breakthrough or such like. What was good...

I've heard comments that the ref was the main problem with the Aussie scrum. I disagree, I thought both our props were dominated and that virtually all of the penalties were warranted. I found it very frustrating however that the ref allowed the Irish front row to fake injuries for the entire...

Bloody hell. Fiji dominating then pietersens kick return sets up the try, then a penalty goal. Quick ten points basically against the run of play. Hope fiji lift again they looked v powerful but a bit slow before the try.

I've said it before. The defensive structure without Digby becomes a minefield. He and Cooper are a job lot. Has Schmoooo been practicing his defense in the # 10 channel? Diggers and Genia are the 2 most valuable backs in the team.

So..... did he tear his major or his minor. Just to be sure!!

I read Blue's post and took it as a reference to the onfield niggle with McCaw. It is certainly a questionable tactic to take into a game. It has divided opinions on this website. It seemed to me that Blue feels that it is a tactic that seems immature. From what you say RH it does seem like...

Scotty, good observations. In McCabes try on the RHS of the field did JOC (James O'Connor) come from the left wing or was he the right winger?

This is a good thread. The All Blacks have Conrad Smith. He is - rightly - never under a selection cloud so they rate what he does. He isn't a big crashball player like Mortlock. He isn't an X factor player like our mighty midgets. He is one of their most aerobically fit players and...

It wasn't the wingers that won the game last night.

Assuming QC (Quade Cooper) is suspended I would look at Beale or JOC (James O'Connor) for 10. Barnes would bring a total change of gameplan which I think would harm the Wallabies. NZ had the same issue with Spencer and Mertens years ago. So, to maintain a semblence of continuity (for better or for worse), you need a...

In Auckland, the All Blacks had 2 things that I hadn't seen from them before. They were both out of Australian coaching manuals. Firstly, they tackled low like TPN. This created a bit of stress for the Wallabies. Are there tactics to employ to counter this e.g. ball carriers be ready to be...

Can this thread be closed now. Better topics to discuss.

This thread may go nowhere and it might not come up with anything new. What I am interested in is what the forum members think will be the game plans for each team. Obviously the Wallabies will not have the same tactics as they employed at Eden Park. We also have a reasonably different line...

I don't think there is enough experience in the backs. Also with 3 of the 13 having not played due to injury, I think the mix is speculative and reckless. I would have put Giteau in for Horne. Even though I love the potential of Horne, I think it is a very risky call.

My guess is that this would come as a relief to Rocky. Also, it will give him more options to find a team for next year's S15 or Heineken Cup. I cannot see JON allowing the Wallaby skipper to go to the NH for a season, it would undermine the principles behind the Wallabys. I predict a big...

That would be a pity.

The two biggest problems with a Cooper Giteau combo is 1) Size and accuracy in defense. 2) Giteau seems to lose his mojo on attack when he's outside Cooper. The biggest advantage with them playing together is they make the opposition defense have to split their focus on the two playmakers / 2...