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The obvious changes(to most of us) are Naivalu in for Henry Speight, Timani back at 8 with one of the Pooper on the bench and a possible switch for Folau and DHP. I would also play Fardy at 6. I wonder how Cheika sees it? If I have one criticism of his coaching it is that he is exceedingly...

I thought our scrum was excellent in the first half against Ireland, who have had a very good scrum for a while. There was one we got pushed off and penalized for when Mumm was in the bin but 2-3 others in the same period where we held solid and several where we put enormous pressure on them...

It was not a tip tackle. He was trying to clean him out from over the ball. It was reckless to go beyond the horizontal but as Simmons had a hold of his top end it just sort of happened. If his noggin was not held on the ground it probably would not have even been noticed. Fair yellow because of...

Thats a joke right? Best on the park.

There was some very enterprising play from our backs in the second half. Both DHP and Reece Hodge were dangerous with the ball in hand and made ground each time they touched the pill. Sefa showed that he is a step above Speight in attack and more than adequate defensively. The game was lost at...

Well I reckon if we had won that game then the wrong team would have come away with the spoils. I don't know what happened in the first half but for 37 minutes Ireland were totally dominant. We were bullied at the breakdown, the area where we were supposed to have dominance, and we lost the...

Folau too. He held on to the ball when we had a 2 on 1 outside him. A definite score bombed and we lost momentum after that.

Well our back row got schooled for the first 40 so you can thank your lucky stars that SOB was not there to make it even more dominant for them

If SOB does play we will have trouble containing him and the other big forward ball runners. Dropping Timani off the bench and going with all three 7s in the 23 is an odd decision, but one I am not surprised by. Cheika pushes towards playing all three 7s whenever possible. With Coleman not...

I don't think Fardy will come straight in next year. Maybe Timani goes to 6 and we bring in a wider running 8 like Higginbotham or Holloway. That will be a balanced back row with McMahon on the bench.

The Irish have a very strong lineout. Thats why Mumm is there but I thought Fardy showed enough in that regard last week to get the nudge if he wanted a taller 6. Got to have Timani on the bench to counter the rolling maul late in the piece and to carry the ball in traffic.

It's gotta be McMahon or Naivalu if he goes 6/2

Our ultimate bench back is KB (Kurtley Beale). He can pay every position except for 9 and I reckon he might give that a good nudge if required. Hope he's back on deck soon and can regain fitness while up north.

I think both Lance and Godwin are excellent bench cover, more so than Quade as they can play several positions and both offer excellent defense. We need two 10s in the squad but probably only one specialist in the 23 with an "inside back" on the pine.

3. Pocock 2. TK 1. Simmons

We left a couple of tries out there and there were a few decisions that could easily have gone to our advantage. I reckon the win was well deserved although it could have gone the other way. It's in the book!

A couple of blokes impressed tonight. Simmons is really putting in and is trying very hard to emulate Colemans recent form. He is the best bloke to replace the injured Tasmanian. Fardy was one of our best in the lineout and had a real presence at the breakdown. He should either start at 6 next...

Morohan

I reckon Simmons went pretty well the other night. He is trying to impose himself physically more than previously, most likely as requested by Cheika. Simmons and Arnold to start with Douglas on the bench. Also, Timani should start at 8 to add beef in those tight exchanges with no Coleman.

DHP probably deserves a rest or a run at 15 to give Izzy a break.