2010 Wallabies End of Year Tour (EOYT)

[MrTimms]

I can't find the article now but apparently Palu, Horwill, Polata-Nau and Alexander are all now looking like being possibly available for the EOYT...

I kind of hope they dont tour, come back after a full pre-season hungry again.


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[Bruce Ross]

No love for Weeks? I'd like to see him get a run.

What exactly has he done to be so obviously totally excluded from consideration at a time when tight head prop has been arguably our most vulnerable position? I was overseas when the misnamed Barbarians games were played so I didn't see how he went when switched to the loosehead side. He is so obviously a 3 that switching him to the other side against a renowned scrummaging pack should only have been done in an emergency, and his failure there should be held against whoever made that call rather than the player.

Or is there a general consensus that Ma'afu and Slipper are clearly better players?

 

[Ignoto]

I can't find the article now but apparently Horwill looking like being possibly available for the EOYT...

Big Kev confirmed on Twitter today when asked whether he'll be right for the EOYT that he wont be going and is aiming for a full preseason.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Hunger is very important.

Let the injured blokes know that we can do OK without them, and they will be highly motivated to bash their way back into the team next season.

Make it too easy for them to come back, and not only do you risk a recurrance of the injury because of returning too quickly, but they could become complacent.

The Men in Gold need to get players competing for each and every position in the squad like a pack of rabid hyenas compete for tucker on the African grasslands.

 

[en_force_er]

I can't find the article now but apparently Palu, Horwill, Polata-Nau and Alexander are all now looking like being possibly available for the EOYT...

I read somewhere than Palu, Horwill and TPN were all certainly out but Alexander was in.

I'd be happy to be proved wrong but also I think that recovering players could use a good long pre-season rather than international game time.

 

[Eyes and Ears]

I read somewhere than Palu, Horwill and TPN were all certainly out but Alexander was in.

I'd be happy to be proved wrong but also I think that recovering players could use a good long pre-season rather than international game time.

Ben Alexander has played parts of the last 2 Eastwood games and we will see him on TV next weekend when Eastwood will most likely face Uni (assuming Uni and Manly win this weekend). I heard TPN is a long shot as he has not started running yet and Cliffy is out.

 

[farva]

What exactly has he done to be so obviously totally excluded from consideration at a time when tight head prop has been arguably our most vulnerable position? I was overseas when the misnamed Barbarians games were played so I didn't see how he went when switched to the loosehead side. He is so obviously a 3 that switching him to the other side against a renowned scrummaging pack should only have been done in an emergency, and his failure there should be held against whoever made that call rather than the player.

Or is there a general consensus that Ma'afu and Slipper are clearly better players?

Id have preferred to see Weeks given the starts that Ma'afu has been getting, as Ma'afu is not a long term prospect, Weeks is.
However, given the investment made in Ma'afu, he has come along. He is now reaching a higher level than I think Weeks would.
So I think the option to take Ma'afu now is sound.

 

[fatprop]

NSW and Randwick prop Sekope Kepu keeps his name on Robbie Deans' radar

* Bret Harris
* From: The Australian
* September 20, 2010 12:00AM

AT the start of the international rugby season Wallabies coach Robbie Deans was scratching around for props.

Injuries to established front-rowers Ben Alexander and Benn Robinson had reduced his options.

Instead of turning to veterans Al Baxter and Matt Dunning, Deans blooded young props Salesi Ma'afu, Ben Daley and James Slipper in the inbound Tests against England and Ireland, building Australia's depth in the front row.

While the scrum wobbled initially, the young props eventually managed to stabilise the set piece.

With Robinson already back in the Wallabies fold and Alexander on the comeback trail with Sydney club Eastwood, competition for front row places in the Australian squad for the end of season tour to Hong Kong and Europe will be fierce.

But NSW Waratahs prop Sekope Kepu has not given up hope of forcing his way back into the squad for the tour.

Twice a Wallaby tourist, Kepu has played three Tests since making his debut against Italy in 2008.

Deans may have looked to Kepu when Robinson and Alexander were sidelined.

Unfortunately, Kepu was also injured at the start of the Test season, having torn his calf muscle in the Waratahs' win against the Brumbies in Sydney last April.

"Things were going well and then the injury," Kepu said after playing in Randwick's upset 29-25 win against Manly in the Sydney club rugby elimination final at T.G Milner Field yesterday.

"I guess that opens the opportunity for other guys to flourish. Good on them. They did well during the season. There is always competition and that's what is good about rugby. You compete for spots and at the end of the day they pick the best.

"I had an injury at the back end of the Super rugby season. I had to get it right. I've been happy since I've been back from injury.

"There is an aspiration and a burning desire to get on the spring tour, but at the moment it's just playing well for the Wicks."

After missing two weeks with a bruised heel, Kepu performed strongly for Randwick, who had suffered a 32 point loss to Manly at Coogee Oval the previous Saturday. Kepu was outstanding around the field and also scrummaged well against Manly tighthead Tim Fairbrother, who left the field midway through the second half with a leg injury.

Fairbrother, a New Zealander who is eligible to play for the Wallabies, is one of the best scrummagers in Super rugby and would also be an outside chance to make the tour.

Manly demolished the Randwick scrum the previous week, but Kepu helped to the Greens put the Marlins under pressure at the set-piece yesterday.

"He is a quality scrummager," Kepu said of Fairbrother, who plays for Western Force. "We had a Super rugby props scrum camp during the week with Pato Noriega (Wallabies scrum coach). Today was a tough one, but I was really happy with our scrum."

Do we know who was at the Super rugby props scrum camp and how many times a year it happens?

 

[topo]

Do we know who was at the Super rugby props scrum camp and how many times a year it happens?

I think it is a relatively new thing and has only been going for a couple of weeks, usually on a Weds. Players are flying in to Sydney for it, though, so the ARU are obviously serious about developing some good young props. I understand that most of the contracted props outside of the regular S14 starters and some the of the Academy players are involved.

 

[Gnostic]

Leave Brown at home take McCalman as No8 and put Kepu on bench as an extra Prop and No8 cover. He has all the skills of an 8 and the speed and he gets over the gain line better than Brown ever has. His scrummaging against Tim Fairbrother on the weekend was very impressive and Fairbrother was fairly well dominated by Kepu. There is no video of Kepu on the Weekend but just to refresh those who may have forgotten attached is his efforts against Manly last year. Last weekend he made the same sort of metres in the tight against his opposite pigs and not just against backs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja_lYAcGQTw

 

[farva]

Gnostic, Brown has been performing quite well off of the bench in the last two tests.
While he is not up to scratch as a test starter, I feel he has something to offer from the bench.

Having said that if his coming means either McCalman or Hodgson get left at home, then leave Brown.

 

[Gnostic]

Farva the often repeated complaint has been that Brown fails to get over the gain line. Yes he has a huge work rate but has very little impact.

I see an opportunity to get somebody like Kepu into the game with his strong running and defence for the last 15 minutes as an 8 and he can very effectively cover LHP and (a bit less ably) THP.

I must say I was somewhat disappointed with Hodgeson's effort on the weekend. He didn't have a lot of chances or time but had negligible impact in a club game.

 

[farva]

Thats interesting (Hodgson that is). He made a huge impact on the S14s. Lets hope that his efforts in clubland were more just about coming back from injury than anything else.

And yes, I agree that Brown will not get over the gainline. And we cant afford to go in with essentially another fetcher like we would if Brown was playing. But he does add a lot off the bench in the last 20 or so when the opposition are tired. But like I said, if bringing him means leaving another better option at home, then that is not a good move.
Re Kepu, yes, it would be a good opportunity, to bring him and drop a flanker. But dont bring him as a replacement backrower unless he has experience there before? We have an expanded squad, someone was talking about 37 players. I think we could make room for Kepu if he is good enough (I havent watched any club games so dont know how he is going).

 

[Jnor]

Thats interesting (Hodgson that is). H
Re Kepu, yes, it would be a good opportunity, to bring him and drop a flanker. But dont bring him as a replacement backrower unless he has experience there before? We have an expanded squad, someone was talking about 37 players. I think we could make room for Kepu if he is good enough (I havent watched any club games so dont know how he is going).

That would have been Robbe Deans. Apparently he's yet to finalise numbers with JON but that's his ideal number of blokes

 

[Lee Grant]

Re Kepu, yes, it would be a good opportunity, to bring him and drop a flanker. But dont bring him as a replacement backrower unless he has experience there before?

He played as no.8 as a schoolboy player then switched to prop as a school leaver. I don't know if that counts and I'd like to see him play 8, at the very least from the bench, in some other kind of rugby before he was thought of as an alternative 8 for the Wallabies, even on the EOYT.

Maybe Hickey can do us all a favour. You'd like Palu on the park for much of the game in the S15 but with the longer season in 2011 there would be a case for reducing his workload and using him less per game. Enter Kepu to play a bit at no.8 and more so if Palu and Mowen have niggles.

Or, maybe he goes on the EOYT as no. 2 LHP. He starts as LHP for a dirt-tracker game but Deans tinkers and switches him to no. 8 during a game.

 

[Spewn]

Kepu could be good at 8 if his fitness improves. One run out wide on the weekend was brilliant. Not sure about his defence.

 

[JimboJoe1006]

I don't think that there should be too many uncapped, surprise, selections for the tour. This is considering that, due to injuries, many of the Wobs avaliable XV are second-choice anyway or are playing out of there position due to injuries. Second, I do not agree that there is enough time left before the WC to attempt to develop another round of youngsters, unless a player has a absoulte bolter (ala Genia 2009). Thus, the EOYT should be an attempt to give some of our young, although reasonably established, players some much needed test matches, and experience, under their belt. In addition, I believe that some of the recently 'discarded' players whom have a ton of experience should be given a re-call . I throughly concur with Eddie Jones' belief that experience is absouluty paramount to WC success - it is also a lack of experience which has cost Australia some close games in 2010.

For these reasons, this would be my EOYT 37-man squad:

Beale, JOC (James O'Connor), Shepherd
Mitchell, Turner, Hynes, McCabe
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Cross/Carter
Giteau, A.Faainga
Cooper, Barnes, Toouma
Genia, Burgess, Valentine
McCalman, Brown, Mowen
Pocock, Waugh, Hodgson
Elsom, Hinningbotham
Mumm, Simmons, Douglas, Sharpe
Alexander, Kepu
Moore, TPN, S.Faainga
Robinson, Baxter, Slipper

 

[nathan]

For these reasons, this would be my EOYT 37-man squad:

Beale, JOC (James O'Connor), Shepherd
Mitchell, Turner, Hynes, McCabe
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Cross/Carter
Giteau, A.Faainga
Cooper, Barnes, Toouma
Genia, Burgess, Valentine
McCalman, Brown, Mowen
Pocock, Waugh, Hodgson
Elsom, Hinningbotham
Mumm, Simmons, Douglas, Sharpe,
Alexander, Kepu
Moore, TPN, S.Faainga
Robinson, Baxter, Slipper

I honestly wouldn't bother with the likes of Waugh, Baxter, Cross and Shepherd. I believe we're more than capable of using our existing squad without needing to call back on these players, nor do I feel they add much other than experience. Waugh's/Angry/Shepherd have been injured and besides from Angry aren't at the top of their games. Cross has been playing rubbish and isn't worth it in the slightest. I'd be more inclined to blood Inman during mid-weeks or potentially try using Turner/Cummins there instead of wasting a spot on him.

I'd like to see McCabe be given a shot, at least on the mid-week games. As much as I don't agree with Deans, it's obvious he'll be taking Maa'fu so Weeks might be off the cards. Davies might be up for the call as well to fill in a spot if they decide to remove Shepherd.

You've got to be fucking kidding me about Carter. I'd rather have Richard Brown playing 13 than I would that retard.

 

[Gnostic]

I don't think that there should be too many uncapped, surprise, selections for the tour. This is considering that, due to injuries, many of the Wobs avaliable XV are second-choice anyway or are playing out of there position due to injuries. Second, I do not agree that there is enough time left before the WC to attempt to develop another round of youngsters, unless a player has a absoulte bolter (ala Genia 2009). Thus, the EOYT should be an attempt to give some of our young, although reasonably established, players some much needed test matches, and experience, under their belt. In addition, I believe that some of the recently 'discarded' players whom have a ton of experience should be given a re-call . I throughly concur with Eddie Jones' belief that experience is absouluty paramount to WC success - it is also a lack of experience which has cost Australia some close games in 2010.

For these reasons, this would be my EOYT 37-man squad:

Beale, JOC (James O'Connor), Shepherd
Mitchell, Turner, Hynes, McCabe
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Cross/Carter
Giteau, A.Faainga
Cooper, Barnes, Toouma
Genia, Burgess, Valentine
McCalman, Brown, Mowen
Pocock, Waugh, Hodgson
Elsom, Hinningbotham
Mumm, Simmons, Douglas, Sharpe
Alexander, Kepu
Moore, TPN, S.Faainga
Robinson, Baxter, Slipper

Waugh and Baxter are both injured and haven't played for months. TPN is out until nest year. To'omua was injurd in the last game for Easts but I am not aware how he pulled up (any Beastie boys got the goss).

Cross was fairly easily contained by all his club level rivals when playing for Easts in the Shute Shield. Doesn't deserve to tour on form.

Valentine is on the bench for the Wicks with Phibbs starting in front of him. Valentine almost got yellow carded for his attitude two weeks ago.

 

[Nanai]

Beale,
Giteau
Cooper, Barnes, Toouma
Genia, Burgess, Valentine

IMHO taking a 3rd 10 is overkill considering Barnes is far and above our 2nd choice, and we've got Beale and Giteau who can both slot into 10 if we hit dire straits.

Valentine is a sort of halfback but in the international arena among the best teams you're pretty much guaranteed to have the worst scrummy on the field if you play him. He'll land his passes, but there's not that much that attracts me in his game. I don't think going forward it's worth keeping him anymore. I'd like to see Richard Kingi get taken and given some time if possible. Kingi is a player with oodles of potential.