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Well, the time is now. Palu --> Hodgson Slipper --> ? Mitchell --> Turner?

Cooper at least got his hands on the ball when taking the high kick.

He (Slipper) was pretty useful around the park today. Kepu hasn't been able to involve himself the same way, which is weird - at his best, Kepu is a damaging runner and an potent tackler. I was looking forward to having Slipper as a sub who did a lot of the grunt work around the ruck.

I think they work well together (Barnes/Cooper) when at 10 and 12 - they interchange or take either side of the ruck well. Burgess did a lot well in the first half, but his pass is loopy, inaccurate and cuts out the receivers options because it arrives at the same time as the defence.

At least the wallabies were so bad in the second half that they will not be overconfident in the QF.

One was a clear cut case of a side cheating to get an advantage over another, the other threatened the IRB's revenue stream in the most insignificant possible way. Pretty much shows the IRB's relevance.

Max Bania is max banial. That is breathtakingly audacious in its diritude. But great motivation for purveyors of the wallaby brand.

The problem is that Fainga'a is realistically the closest to 100%. Having the three all a bit broken but likely to be back in time for the big games - and all a tier above the alternatives (Giteau excluded but lets not revisit that) in terms of ability, experience or at least participation in...

Manifestation of chaos theory.

I have to say that I read Dwyers latest article with a wry grin. He was either being mischevious or moronic with some of his comments - on Horwill in particular. We seem to have players being picked or dropped on the basis of relatively small fluctuations in form from game to game with huge...

1st shoulder subluxation should be immobilised for 2 or 3 weeks in a sling to try and reduce risk of recurrence. If it happens again the benefit of immobilizing gets a bit dubious. Damage is done. In other words, if it's a recurrent problem McCabe is a real chance of continuing. Fainga'a is...

OK, here goes. Scrums - certainly had the measure of USA B but surprisingly little result for dominance and FFS it was USAB! As I saw it Rocky conceded the try. Line outs - cracked me up that Sharpe appeared to call himself it seemed 95% of the time. I said to my wife that he was polishing...

Tough, so many substitutions, and USA B lost their structure as the game went on. But you can only play whats in front of you, so: 3. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). I saw him pass the ball. Even left to right. Repeatedly and well. 2. Berrick Barnes. Classy, effective, what is taking so long? 1. Quade Cooper. Why not, he...

At least neither are at tighthead. Yet. It would appear pointless for any subterfuge over who is at 12 and 13, and the media may have even noticed if Horne was running at 13 at training. Can't help but think some variation at 12 would be more challenging for opposition defenders, for all that...

I agree and disagree. Fainga'a at 13 has been pissing me off because of handling errors (and struggling to get involved). AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at 13 would piss me because he doesn't pass (and struggles to get involved). They are different players, Fainga'a can apparently pass (or at least he did in the...

Wallabies need a good kick in the pants every 3-4 games to remember what it takes. This loss will do the trick nicely.

Apparently you're only as good as your last loss.

Meh, the threads all right, most posts are pretty balanced, the SMH article which is quoted in the OP is crap. No surprises there. Slow RWC news morning.

And, of course, attempting to influence what is happening on the park by actually using said reserves before the 75 minute chasing-the-game flurry of desperation.

(Self-evidently) any of the top 10 sides can beat the wallabies on their day, esp if the wallabies are complacent, sloppy and/or 'forget' to compete at the break down. It happens again and again. The all blacks are on their game - at least in the contests - > 90% of the time. Ireland pulled it...