2012 Rugby Championship Round 3 Game 1 Australia vs South Africa - 8 Sep

[PaarlBok]

Paarl whilst I completely agree with you please tell me what changes Snor made?

Anyway Vermeulen and Goosen are in the squad and there is a surprise recall for openside Francois Louw from Bath. I have no problem with that. Thank goodness it's not Stegman.

Juan de Jongh is recalled and I don't know what Kirchner is still doing there. We are stuck with Bekker and M Steyn as well.

Springbok squad – Willem Alberts, Andries Bekker, Craig Burden, Pat Cilliers, Marcell Coetzee, Juan de Jongh, Jean de Villiers (c), Jannie du Plessis, Eben Etzebeth, Johan Goosen, Dean Greyling, Bryan Habana, Francois Hougaard, Zane Kirchner, Juandré Kruger, Pat Lambie, Tiaan Liebenberg, Francois Louw, Tendai Mtawarira, Lwazi Mvovo, Ruan Pienaar, Jacques Potgieter, Frans Steyn, Morné Steyn, Adriaan Strauss, Flip van der Merwe, Jano Vermaak, Duane Vermeulen.

Out of this squad my starting 15 would be:

F Steyn, Hougaard, J de Jongh, JdV, Habana
Lambie, Pienaar
Vermeulen
Coetzee, Alberts
Kruger, Etsebeth
Cilliers, Strauss, Beast

Louw plays off the bench.

But I am bloody dreaming. It's going to be exactly the same team.

feeling a bit better now. We need Flo to start Boet, he is the missing link. I am still a bit upset after the Puma test to pick a whole team. We need a strong pack first up. I wont swop Hougaard for Pienaar.

Regarding Snor, at least he dropped his love childs like Rose and Januarie. Do the name Brussouw ring a bell? He did not pick him at first and just had to pick him after some great performances. Anyway I hope Meyer use rassie more in his thinking approach, Laubser and kie dont give me much faith, hope they prove me wrong.

 

[Brisbok]

Interesting that he dropped Jantjies and Engelbrecht with little or no game time. I'm not too disappointed as he has a clear preference for Goosen/Lambie over Jantjies which is fine, and Engelbrecht didn't deserve to be there from the beginning. Also dropped Daniel which is partly understandable after his performance in the first test. Flo and Vermuelen bring a lot more balance to the back row. Hopefully this will leave Jacques Potgieter on the outer.

Also interesting that he only has two specialist wingers in the 28 man squad, which possibly suggests he is starting to see Hougaard is more of a winger. Perhaps we will see Pienaar given a chance to start at 9 with Hougaard on the bench covering 9/11/14?

I can't see him starting Goosen next weekend after playing 50 mins of CC rugby since his return from injury. Do you have room on the bench then for a player who only covers 10? If he keeps his blind faith with Kirchner at 15, you'd have to think Lambie would be on the bench to cover 10/15 rather than Goosen.

I would like to see this team start next weekend:

1 - Beast
2 - Strauss
3 - Jannie
4 - Etzebeth
5 - Kruger
6 - Coetzee
7 - Alberts
8 - Vermuelen
9 - Pienaar
10 - Steyn (not really, but I don't think there's any chance of this not happening at this stage)
11 - Habana
12 - Steyn
13 - JdV
14 - Mvovo
15 - Lambie

16 - Liebenberg, 17 - Cilliers, 18 - Bekker, 19 - Francois Louw, 20 - Hougaard, 21 - Goosen, 22 - Juan de Jongh.

 

[Groucho]

Without Drew Shipperly should come in. We need 2 good finishers on the wing.
Also, KB (Kurtley Beale) should play. He is not going to get fit on the sideline.

Surely that's the only place to become fit enough to play.

 

[Joe Blow]

Surely that's the only place to become fit enough to play.

He's not broken, he is just fat out of shape.

 

[Groucho]

He's not broken, he is just fat out of shape.

Beale has two problems.

One, he couldn't run on his hamstring, which impeded his fitness. This meant he missed most of the SupeRugby training season that the national squad relies on.

Two, he has the aboriginal body shape that many indigenous sportsmen struggle with when they don't train. For Beale, this is an unfortunate combination of circumstances that he is likely to struggle with for his career. The fact he's got fat may not be a result of pies or getting on ths piss.

I think we should get behind him, instead of treating him with the utter contempt we usually do for Wallabies that are out of form for some reason.

 

[PaarlBok]

Interesting that he dropped Jantjies and Engelbrecht with little or no game time. I'm not too disappointed as he has a clear preference for Goosen/Lambie over Jantjies which is fine, and Engelbrecht didn't deserve to be there from the beginning. Also dropped Daniel which is partly understandable after his performance in the first test. Flo and Vermuelen bring a lot more balance to the back row. Hopefully this will leave Jacques Potgieter on the outer.

Also interesting that he only has two specialist wingers in the 28 man squad, which possibly suggests he is starting to see Hougaard is more of a winger. Perhaps we will see Pienaar given a chance to start at 9 with Hougaard on the bench covering 9/11/14?

I can't see him starting Goosen next weekend after playing 50 mins of CC rugby since his return from injury. Do you have room on the bench then for a player who only covers 10? If he keeps his blind faith with Kirchner at 15, you'd have to think Lambie would be on the bench to cover 10/15 rather than Goosen.

I would like to see this team start next weekend:

1 - Beast
2 - Strauss
3 - Jannie
4 - Etzebeth
5 - Kruger
6 - Coetzee
7 - Alberts
8 - Vermuelen
9 - Pienaar
10 - Steyn (not really, but I don't think there's any chance of this not happening at this stage)
11 - Habana
12 - Steyn
13 - JdV
14 - Mvovo
15 - Lambie

16 - Liebenberg, 17 - Cilliers, 18 - Bekker, 19 - Francois Louw, 20 - Hougaard, 21 - Goosen, 22 - Juan de Jongh.

Goosen must start, Lampie 15. Goosen is the one that cant change our gameplan completely. He can kick and ran and give the coach the platform to work from. If he is good enough, he is old enough and was by far the best 10 in S15 rugby this year.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Beale has two problems.

One, he couldn't run on his hamstring, which impeded his fitness. This meant he missed most of the SupeRugby training season that the national squad relies on.

Two, he has the aboriginal body shape that many indigenous sportsmen struggle with when they don't train. For Beale, this is an unfortunate combination of circumstances that he is likely to struggle with for his career. The fact he's got fat may not be a result of pies or getting on ths piss.

I think we should get behind him, instead of treating him with the utter contempt we usually do for Wallabies that are out of form for some reason.

Don't worry, I want him to trim down and come out an play like we know he can. He absolutely lit the place up last year and I want to see that Kurtley Beale again, because when he's really going he's one of the most exciting footballers we've seen in this country in a good long while.

 

[Joe Blow]

Groucho, I want to see him playing the same calibre of rugby that he was in 2010 and early 2011 as much as the next bloke. I just don't think he is going to get there by sitting on the bench or in the stands.
If he's fit he is good to go. If he is not then release him from the squad and give someone else a run. I thought the same with Cooper leading up to the Sydney test. It should be this way for all in the squad.
Leading up to the test last week TPN decided to pull himself from the test 22. What was that about? Shouldn't the management be making these decisions in conjunction with the medical staff?
If Beale is fit, he is fit. Simple as that.

 

[Brisbok]

Goosen must start, Lampie 15. Goosen is the one that cant change our gameplan completely. He can kick and ran and give the coach the platform to work from. If he is good enough, he is old enough and was by far the best 10 in S15 rugby this year.

Agree that he is probably the solution for us at 10 Paarl. However, he is 19/20 years old, has played a handful of Super Rugby games where he picked up a relatively serious shoulder injury. Since he's come back, he's played approx. 50 mins of Currie Cup rugby (and was understandably pretty rusty by all reports, including one from his CC coach). Now we are wanting to throw him straight into his test debut away against Australia and then possibly NZ, and expect him to solve all of our game plan problems.

Do you not think we might be putting a tiny bit too much pressure on him? At the very least, his injury needs to be managed properly so that it does not occur again.

 

[Braveheart81]

THE INSIDE BACK

ARU unimpressed as Cooper loses his mojo


In the words of Chopper Read, Quade Cooper looks to have done himself a mischief. After an ignorant eight-second media conference last week, the Wallabies No.10 neither talked the talk or walked the walk. And the Australian Rugby Union isn't impressed. Were it not for James O'Connor's injury, it's unlikely Cooper would have earned a recall against the All Blacks. And after his showing last week his contract negotiating power with the ARU is at an all-time low. Cooper has never performed on the game's biggest stages against the All Blacks and is fast running out of chances.

Distracted Digby
Another Wallaby who did not perform on Saturday is winger Digby Ioane. While some of his counterparts shared a laugh with the opposition and prepared for a night on the town, The Inside Back understands Ioane was nearly in tears in the dressing room. Few players try harder than Ioane. Meanwhile, Ioane's awkward performance outside Kurtley Beale as he laughed with Sonny Bill Williams after the game conjured up memories of Ioane's foray into the music video world last year. Still viewable on good old YouTube tagged Digby Ioane in Come Close by Fortafy, the video is a perfect example of where Australian rugby has gone wrong. Can you imagine John Eales, George Gregan or Stephen Larkham starring in their own video clip?

Hammy Jimmy
James O'Connor's attempt at acting on those Swisse ads has not gone unnoticed, with Gruen Transfer host Wil Anderson nominating the playmaker for the show's inaugural Brown Logie in recognition of the worst performance by an athlete in a commercial. O'Connor is set to return for the South African and Argentinian leg of the Rugby Championship. Inside centre Pat McCabe is also expected to return with Sekope Kepu for the tour, while James Horwill is in line to join his teammates for the end-of-season spring tour.

http://www.smh.com.au/sport/aru-unimpressed-as-cooper-loses-his-mojo-20120829-2514m.html


Seems a bit of a stretch to segue into the bit about Digby by saying he also didn't perform on Saturday. He's one of the only players who has consistently performed.

 

[Richo]

These persistent rumours of JOC (James O'Connor) at 10 are worrying. I really think we need a bit more stability in the back line -- team needs to work on skills and combinations, not hunt for the silver bullet. And JOC (James O'Connor) ain't it, at least at flyhalf. We could really use his ability on the wing, however.

Edit: Point being, why fuck about with the backs so much when the pack is clearly farked?

 

[waratahjesus]

JOC (James O'Connor) isnt the best flyhalf at the rebels, why is he the solution for he wallabies.

 

[Braveheart81]

I would have argued he was the third best flyhalf at the Rebels last season.

 

[Richo]

JOC (James O'Connor) is the best flyhalf at the rebels, why is he the solution for he wallabies.

I feel like there was meant to be a negative in there somewhere, WJ.

 

[Brumby Jack]

One thing I'd like to see when the Wallabies go to Perth is to get someone over from one of the AFL clubs for a training session or two and help them with their high ball catching.

It's one area where they struggle the most and we have the sport where that happens the most on our own doorstep and yet we get toweled up by the All Blacks in that skill. The worst part about that? The All Blacks have employed an Aussie in that area and he's making them look good.

 

[GaffaCHinO]

One thing I'd like to see when the Wallabies go to Perth is to get someone over from one of the AFL clubs for a training session or two and help them with their high ball catching.

It's one area where they struggle the most and we have the sport where that happens the most on our own doorstep and yet we get toweled up by the All Blacks in that skill. The worst part about that? The All Blacks have employed an Aussie in that area and he's making them look good.

not sure that will happen as the AFL world over here has a bee in its bonnet ATM due to us playing on Saturday night With the Eagles and maybe Dockers to get a home final it has thrown them all onto a frenzy. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Lee Enfield]

What are peoples thoughts on Ryan from the Waratahs being called up to the squad to cover Kepu. Is he more deserving and a better choice than Holmes and Palmer.

 

[waratahjesus]

What are peoples thoughts on Ryan from the Waratahs being called up to the squad to cover Kepu.

Massive upside on him, bit early I would have thought though. Surprised by it. He is fantastic around the ground and has decent to very good technique. One for the future for sure, not sure abut next week though.

 

[Lee Enfield]

Massive upside on him, bit early I would have thought though. Surprised by it. He is fantastic around the ground and has decent to very good technique. One for the future for sure, not sure abut next week though.

Foxsports are saying he has been drafted into the squad for the clash against the Boks, so he will most likely be the only specialist tight head in the squad of 30. He might be worth the gamble if fit enough, as I doubt we will lose anything by playing him at 3 instead of Alexander.

 

[Braveheart81]

At this stage it would probably just be so they have four props and can do opposed scrum work.

You'd think he still isn't a chance to be in the 22 unless someone gets injured.