Search results

Individual brilliance can really make the difference (Pocock v South Africa in the 2011 RWC, Barnes in all three Wales games in 2012, Foley v England in the 2015 RWC), but it's dominance and control that wins you a rugby game. If you have an impenetrable defence, a breakdown presence that...

Not while Cheika is coach.

It will take injury or suspension to move Foley from 10, and I won't wish injury on any player.

As expected, Noah Lolesio has joined the Brumbies on a two year deal. Source: https://www.brumbies.com.au/2018/08/teenage-star-lolesio-joins-plus500-brumbies/

We don't have a head coach, we have an extremely powerful sports psychologist who just so happens to pick the lineup. Cheika's strength is getting the players to believe in themselves and the plan. When it comes to tactics and skills, he's not an idiot, but his ceiling in those areas is B-. And...

Every once in a while, my mates and I throw together a first xv of "players we love to watch". The two rules are that they must be fun to watch, and can't be in the conversation about best player in that position; so Beauden Barrett might seem a natural choice for 10, but he's too good. There...

Fafita has several games as LHP, so I'd still expect him to be backup to Sione. If Arnold goes (Cheika gonna Chek), I agree that Swain starts and it'll probably be Kimber on the bench. And yeah, Simone was an oversight. Muirhead to the wing, Hansen to fullback, Peni to the bench, Lolesio drops...

Basically a Brumbies B team with some development players. I'd like to see us start out with this line up: 1Sione Taula 2Connal McInerney 3Les Makin 4Rory Arnold 5Blake Enever 6Rob Valetini 7Michael Oakman-Hunt 8Ben Hyne (c) 9Ryan Lonergan 10Wharenui Hawera 11Chance Peni edit: Andrew Muirhead...

Agree, obviously the best will likely be good beforehand, but they really reach the peak of their career after a decade of experience in the position and Aussie Thor could plateau well before then. Obviously hope his upwards trajectory continues, but counting chickens and so on.

Has promise, but only time will tell.

DHP in Fairfax: Source: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/rugby-union/we-lost-it-mentally-haylett-petty-blames-wallabies-capitulation-on-mindset-20180820-p4zyko.html To paraphrase from when a similar story came out about the Brumbies last month:

Much as I love Banks, I'd much prefer to see DHP at fullback this week and either start Petaia and push Hodge to the wing, or start Naivalu. Maddocks to stay on the bench, he had a good impact and I'd like to see that again. The trouble with Powell atm is that he plays at his best when he...

I refuse to rate a prop under 25. That's like requiring 10 years experience for an entry level position.

The biggest issue in my mind is that some key players (TPN, Tui, Genia, DHP) were lacking match fitness, and others (Hodge, Tui, Ainsley at LHP) are being played out of position. Rushing guys back and picking guys out of position just to fit the talent in isn't going to work against the best...

In that case, my gripe moves from the clubs themselves to ACTRU. If they keep it up, they'll build a nice little isolated community that nobody on the outside ever comes into, and being a rugby union supporter in the ACT will be more likely to be inherited than acquired.

Rugby wise, I feel as though Istanbul covered it all quite well in the above post. Royals' skill were not up to the task and they paid the price for poor ball retention and leaving themselves open to the counter; hoisted by their own petard. The concerning thing for me was that I was hanging...

3. Pocock 2. Koroibete 1. Hooper

Definitely agree, just saying that it's tough to measure the ability of a guy in the NRC. Anyway, I think he played his best NRC games at 12, and his best Super games on the wing, so he's clearly versatile. I think I'm on the record here as saying we should be retaining Dargaville as the second...

Source: https://www.canberratimes.com.au/sport/rugby-union/brumbies-hooker-connal-mcinerney-signs-deal-but-wallabies-snub-act-20180816-p4zxsu.html Great news. Definitely our second-best this year, deserves an opportunity to push for the starting jersey. It seems that with a few of our...