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He's probably got McCalman on the rack this week trying to stretch him out to lock length so as to run him instead.

Short short turnaround after two absolutely colossal games. The team is likely to select itself on the basis of who isn't broken and still has the legs to take a turn around the park again. I'm not really a believer in this test player "benchmark". If you pick the best available guys for the...

Nah. Even Henry said he had a better game, in his understated way post match. Cooper started nervously but looked the part after taking a high ball and being smashed by Ka hu hu, standing and protecting the ball while Genia picked it up at the start of the 2nd 1/4. Rakic and the SMH are out...

The fact he isn't playing (ie no ticket to NZ) for him may be part of that.

You're right, it isn't complicated. If Genia looks around and there isn't a forward pod lined up to hit the ball up and return it, and Quade has gone deep to indicate he doesn't want it, or Genia thinks that Quade is looking like fucking it up, Genias option is to run it (and get monstered) or...

We need composure and decision-making. Not just another round of exciting x-factor man-boys who can make all the same mistakes next time round. To use deans-speak, this round of rwc "learning" (= pain) is the sort of painful experience the younger 2/3 of the squad can really build on, with the...

Cooper had a pretty confident last hour. Be careful what you wish for.

Not good enough on the night ;) Big challenge, NZ at home at Eden Park. They were perfect for the first 20 and very fucking good for the rest. Wallabies tried hard but were not good enough on the night across the park. But kept trying throughout, even the wobbliest wobs ie Cooper.

Not one of his strengths. Biggest reason not to play him at 13, I would say, though usually in this backline, for whatever reason (Cooper? Deans? McCabe?) 13 doesn't have the ball in his hands very much.

I heard it but it's odd, when I try and type it there is nothing there.

It seemed like there were 18 of them on the field all night.

I think Jane and Dagg would have made Genia's box kicks look brilliant if they were chasing them in gold jerseys. Not that that was a reason to keep doing it, seeing they don't. And it's not just those two, ABs all over the place take them well. Great skill.

A bucket of young, long term wallabies now know how much it hurts to be knocked out of the world cup, and what sort of performance you need to win it, having just witnessed it in their opponents. Look out in 2015.

FFS. Samo's tackle? Honestly? Is that the best use of fucking electrons you can come up with?

Talk about taking one for the team!

Ewan McKenzie on QC (Quade Cooper), I think a not too subtle dig at Dingo (by his standards):

The balance of the bench ended up about right. It was not a game for Higgers, McCalman was the perfect sub. Fainga'a and Barnes were both needed with injuries to Beale and McCabe. I wonder if we'll see the same this weekend.

The plan seemed to be to kick at all times yesterday. Including 1st phase. Did Deans decide to look though the McKenzie playbook to the S15 final entry and reproduce it? The Boks aren't the Crusaders, the Wallabies aren't the Reds and RWC isn't S15. Talk about playing away from your...

Always a crack-up to read that the one team that can defeat the All Blacks isn't the one team that has recently beaten.... the All Blacks.

It is just as easy to argue that the wallabies won by winning the breakdown, and that the lineout wasn't (as) important. And that it didn't get any better with Sharpe.