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Fingers crossed Pocock comes back fit and firing.

A year ago I would have agreed with you about his ability over the ball. but I think Hooper has progressed a lot this year. His strength and aggression is much better then it was say back when he played against the Lions. Sure he is no George Smith but his breakdown work is pretty bloody good...

Hooper did it last Test match. After To'omua's kick which didn't find touch - NZ heavy on counter-attack, Hooper breaks momentum with a crucial turn-over. He isn't Pocock standard but he is capable.

I agree with you here. But at least he has shown glimpses of whats needed. Much like Higgers. Whereas Carter and Simmons whilst good workers simply look out of their depth.

I think he finished pretty the season well. So it's hard to say he would be down the pecking order. He could have easily been first choice. Personally I think what we lacked, physicality, winning the collision, generally missing guys who are great in contact. A pack of with Douglas, TPN...

Agree Pilfers is not the problem. A lack of breakdown defence, Aggression at the breakdown, Accuracy at the breakdown all a problem. Hooper probably the wallabies best at this attributes - Everyone else needs to step up drastically.

That's true. I guess that's because once again we can't match them up front and that generally is because our forwards simply get out-played every game.

But Coopers had a MOTM performance against a top-ranked side and To'omua has had only one Test which he did pretty average.

Good team Pfitzy. Palu, Kepu, Simmons need to step up the physicality. Fingers crossed Horwill & Higgers are in form. Will TPN be available?

Completely agree. To'omua has made this mistake numerous times in the past. which makes it even more unforgivable. You would think he would have learned from past mistakes.

I rate Betham highly, he's already played a full Test against the AB's and did well. Tomane has had mixed results. Happy with either one until Speight becomes available.

As a Captain he needs some experience but as a player he hasn't put a foot wrong.

I have always thought of Pocock as being one of the most effective players on the team. However whether or not Pocock is effective these days is simply too hard to tell given his time out of the game. I think we can all agree Hooper has done well his last 2 games. a year ago I was not a...

That's not true. Pocock played his best game when the interpretations of the ruck were the same. Semi-final RWC. You are right to an extent but he was very effective for about 2 years with the new interpretations. I agree Pococks strength over the ball, and general breakdown defensive would...

Number 13 is by far the least worry position at the moment. The reason we lost had nothing to do with the 13. In the backline the halves are a problem. The back-3 can be better - but theirs injuries in that department. The whole forward pack apart from Hooper and Slipper is a mess. 13 is fine.

Moving Falou to 13 is crazy talk. 13 we already have 2 good options in AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) and Kuridrani. Having Falou at fullback means the AB's think twice before kicking it to him. Have you not noticed they will never kick it to Izzy on the full! As soon as Beale or To'omua drop back they kick it straight...

To be fair I think its a bit of both. Poor technique and lack of strength. Also poor alignment and distribution, we don't seem to be hitting the ball at pace - its no wonder we don't get over the advantage line when our forwards start from a static position. Amateur stuff really - which makes...

Higgers didn't look too bad when he came on. Other than that I completely agree.

I re-call Carter in an interview saying he wants to do more, be more physical, try and take some ball-running load off Palu. He is mentally in the right space but he just doesn't have the strength to make an impact.

How long have we been a "young team". We've been saying this from day 1 of the Dean's era and that was 5-6 years ago. Its time to step up.