2012 Rugby Championship Game 2 New Zealand vs Australia - 25 August

[TOCC]

Translation : a guy who can't pass.

go on then... provide your alternative

 

[Schadenfreude]

go on then. provide your alternative

The list of 13s who can pass and defend isn't really very short.

That said - Deans doesn't ask his centres to pass - in which case I guess AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is fine.

Personally if I were going to move a winger, I'd move Digby.

 

[TOCC]

Digby isn't a good enough defender at 13, he doesn't read the play well enough

 

[No4918]

The list of 13s who can pass and defend isn't really very short.

That said - Deans doesn't ask his centres to pass - in which case I guess AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is fine.

Personally if I were going to move a winger, I'd move Digby.

But then we lose Digby's ability close to the ruck where he almost always gets over the ad line and is at his best. Counter-attack opportunities will also be few and far between. He needs his hands on the ball more. At 13 he will get half the touches he currently does with Deans current use of the centres.

 

[Badger]

Hope he's wrong about this.

Wallabies won't win Bledisloe for another 10 years, says Ella
August 22, 2012 - 5:14PM SMH.com.au

Adrian Proszenko
Rugby legend Mark Ella has made the stunning prediction that the Wallabies won't hold the Bledisloe Cup for another decade.
Australia will need to beat the All Blacks at Eden Park, a venue they haven't won at since 1986, on Saturday night to keep the series alive. But as they try to prize back the Cup for the first time in ten years, Ella predicted another decade of dominance for the New Zealanders.
"We haven't won the Bledisloe Cup for 10 years - and I think it's going to be another 10 years before we get there," Ella said.
"Rugby to me has been terrific, which makes me cringe a little bit when I watch the current crop.
"A lot of people in rugby will say that rugby is in crisis - we're not in crisis, we're just having a bad time.
"It's almost like the depression. It's been for three or four years since we've been in depression and we need to get out of it.
"The performance by the Wallabies against the All Blacks last week wasn't terrific.
"Again, we talked up a good game. It's an interesting side. Two backs on the bench rather than three was always going to pull up a little short.
"Not having Quade Cooper - whether you love him or hate him - at least on the bench he'll give you options and can be the X-factor you need in a game."
Ella made the comments at 'Two-Handers', the first of a series of luncheon talks involving some of sport's biggest stars. Today's session, held at MUMU Grill and also attended by NRL star Benji Marshall, gave punters an opportunity to grill the former Wallaby five-eighth about the state of Australian rugby. He said it was imperative the maligned Cooper played to have any chance of springing an upset on Saturday night.
"Robbie [Deans] obviously picked a team that was very defensive oriented," Ella said of the first game of the series.
"[Berrick] Barnes is a steady player at No.10 and obviously plays field position very well.
"But to win a game you've got to score more points and you need someone like Quade and Kurtley Beale, that's for sure."
Asked if he thought the New Zealand press and fans would get to Cooper, as appeared to be the case prior to the World Cup, Ella said: "Unfortunately for Quade, that's just the way it turned out.
"He tried to knee or elbow Richie McCaw a couple of times leading up to the World Cup.
"They gave him hell over there and if he's playing over there, you better believe it, every time he touches the ball he's going to get booed and harassed.
"I think Quade will play and it will be a real test of his endurance and mental toughness.
"Playing against New Zealand anywhere in the world is a pretty difficult task but playing them at home is even more so."
Ella also backed another besieged playmaker, Kurtley Beale, to bounce back after a forgettable outing at ANZ Stadium.
"Kurtley is a gifted footballer and he had one of those bad days. Well, he had a shocker, really.
"That's the way it goes. I've got no doubt Deans will give him another opportunity at Eden Park on Saturday. Kurtley is strong enough to bounce back, which I'm sure he will."

 

[Schadenfreude]

But then we lose Digby's ability close to the ruck where he almost always gets over the ad line and is at his best. Counter-attack opportunities will also be few and far between. He needs his hands on the ball more. At 13 he will get half the touches he currently does with Deans current use of the centres.

What I would actually have is:
10 Cooper
11 Digby
12 JOC (James O'Connor)
13 FTA
14 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15 Beale

It's no point wishing for that though. That's a team for running rugby, and Deans doesn't have a play book for that.

 

[TOCC]

Im actually glad Quade didn't play last week, if he had and we lost, everyone would have been blaming him again..

 

[GaffaCHinO]

What I would actually have is:
10 Cooper
11 Digby
12 JOC (James O'Connor)
13 FTA
14 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15 Beale

It's no point wishing for that though. That's a team for running rugby, and Deans doesn't have a play book for that.

FTA?

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk 2

 

[Schadenfreude]

FTA?

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk 2

Fainga'a Twin Anthony

 

[Sir Arthur Higgins]

he was worse than horne in bled 1

 

[Schadenfreude]

he was worse than horne in bled 1

He was standing next to a flat footed, crabbing Barnes the entire game, what did you expect of him?

It was pretty clear what his instructions were: shut down SBW. And lo - SBW did SFA.

 

[gel]

I am still not convinced that wholesale changes across the board and inexperienced players for the eden test match is the right way to go. Surely the wallabies throughout the wales tests (and training) have been working towards this and bled 1 was just a misapplication of the game plan. Throwing big changes in now is very risky and might yield a bloodbath. Sure some of the players performed sub par - but Deans had to have known what they were doing and training like. Consistency is what promotes success (usually).

I have mixed feelings about this game :S

 

[fatprop]

He was standing next to a flat footed, crabbing Barnes the entire game, what did you expect of him?

It was pretty clear what his instructions were: shut down SBW. And lo - SBW did SFA.

He didn't shut him down, they used SBW as a decoy and did us outwide. It was really smart rugby

 

[Schadenfreude]

He didn't shut him down, they used SBW as a decoy and did us outwide. It was really smart rugby

If the ABs think enough of his defence to not use one of the most dangerous ball runners in the world - I'm not inclined to disagree with them.

They actually know their rugby.

 

[fatprop]

They did use him, we double teamed him all night, and they just went elsewhere. They used his threat to create mis-matches elsewhere.

And Faainga's defence was pretty average on Saturday missing 4 tackles, rushing up and missing
http://www.rugbystats.com.au/matches/rugby/match17233.html

 

[Joe Blow]

Hopefully they go for Barnes at 12 and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at 13, but it sounds as though it will be Barnes and Horne.
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is more aggressive in attack and defense but it doesn't seem like AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at 13 is in the Deans plan at all.

 

[Joe Blow]

Crockett in for the myth

 

[kronic]

What I would actually have is:
10 Cooper
11 Digby
12 JOC (James O'Connor)
13 FTA
14 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15 Beale

It's no point wishing for that though. That's a team for running rugby, and Deans doesn't have a play book for that.

O'Connor isn't back until Perth (2 weeks).

The Australian has
10 Cooper
11 Ioane
12 Barnes
13 Horne
14 Mitchell
15 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)

With FTA, Phipps & Beale on the bench.

 

[Scotty]

They did use him, we double teamed him all night, and they just went elsewhere. They used his threat to create mis-matches elsewhere.

And Faainga's defence was pretty average on Saturday missing 4 tackles, rushing up and missing
http://www.rugbystats.com.au/matches/rugby/match17233.html

AF missed a few early, but I think he was good after that. He and Horne most definitely did shut down the NZ midfield, and in particular SBW. At times he was so pressured he looked around and just chucked the ball to no one.

The ABs were always going to go wide to use their fast men as well. Not sure what happened with the first try, could have been some blokes getting sucked in to the centres, but the second was a clear stuff up by Beale. Ioane and gone in a little, then read the situation and pushed back onto his man, where as Beale had his head in the clouds and didn't adjust at all.

 

[Scoey]

What I would actually have is:
10 Cooper
11 Digby
12 JOC (James O'Connor)
13 FTA
14 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15 Beale

It's no point wishing for that though. That's a team for running rugby, and Deans doesn't have a play book for that.

JOC (James O'Connor) is best suited to the bench (he's the perfect back's cover; can play 10,11,12,14 & 15 and is a goal kicker, and provides great impact later in the game against tiring defenders), particularly coming back from a long layoff. If we're introducing new players to the backline then Mitchell has to be first called up.