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Simmons' lineout work was very effective against the Irish. Hoping he continues that good work in his 50th, because the English lineout is strong - either that or Samoa's was a shambles.

Tuipulotu was up there in Super Rugby this year with lineout steals at the Blues. He is proficient at the lineout despite being 20/21. His ball skills are admirable too

Yeah, we're one injury away from playing one of our blindsides in the unfamiliar position of no. 8, where one has barely played if at all, and the other has played 8 at Shute Shield level. At 75 minutes when our scrum is on skates 5m out from our line, cleaning up the ball from the back of the...

I think it's pretty clear now that Cheika sees Skelton as his Potgieter/Elsom in the Wallabies. There's no other reason why he would carry an unbalanced bench with only one genuine 8 in the XXIII. Beale and Cooper are too alike to have both on the bench.

Cheiks trying to up the sky-blue quota in the Wallabies

Ah

I take it Tai McIsaac is the forwards head coach from next year, and Foley will take on a 'Director of Rugby' type role

Don't hold your breath, Shelts. Since you mentioned it, good to see 36 back.

Wales by 20.

I wonder when Cheika is going to name his bench. I really hope Alexander, Skelton or Beale are not a part of the eight yet to be divulged

8 pages of circle-jerking on both sides of the flyhalf debate......... Flyhalf is the least of our worries.

If that isn't a rhetorical question, I will say I don't have a clue

To refer to the OP, Cheika-Ball can work for the Wallabies, provided it makes the following modifications: The players are instilled with the same mindset which was present in the Tahs: increased physicality, working hard on and off the ball for 80 (85 minutes if defending a lead of 7 or less...

*replacing Nathan Harris you mean Always liked the look of Quentin McDonald when he played at Canterbury and was surprised he never broke through to the fringes of the ABs before he left for Munster. Hika's signing should bode well for the ABs hooker depth, provided he still isn't in exile?

The team I expect for the test (and my changes in brackets): Slipper Fainga'a Kepu Simmons Carter Jones Hooper McCalman Phibbs Foley Beale (Tomane) Ta'moo'ah ACC Speight Faloua Hanson, Robinson, Alexander (Faulkner), Skelton (Horwill), Horwill (Schatz), Ginea, Cooper, Horne

Garces most recently refereed the NZ v Argentina match in NZ, and apart from the chargedown/knock-on mistake, was reasonable.

Luke Jones is as big as Fardy. He needs to build strength not put on weight, and that comes with time. Agree that he should be persisted with though.

Nothing like a little balance to offset the idolatry surrounding The Great Cheika and his cult of personality.

or rose coloured glasses regarding The Great Cheika? The Wallabies' defence has certainly regressed. The Wallabies under Link were conceding 24 points on average across the 22 games Link was involved in; 37 points in his first 3 games in charge, against the ABs (2) and SA. Cheika's first...

The Great Cheika inherited a team that lost by 1 point against the All Blacks - their most comprehensive performance this year despite losing. Contrast that to the state of the Wallabies in 2013 when Link took over; they were a shambles.