A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE GAME
-The forwards worked hard and certainly weren't bullied by the Argies pack. I good sign given that we have some of our best forwards on the sideline (Palu, Horwill, Timani, Pocock, Moore).
- The Argies did a great job of slowing down our ball. At every ruck there was the ubiquitous puma lining on the wallabies’ side. I actually thought Wayne Barnes should have policed this a bit better. Nevertheless this game was great experience for a guy like Phipps who will be all the better for the experience. He had to work very hard to get quick ball and he can only improve with experience. Guys like Dennis and Douglas would have also benefited.
- The lineout was ok and the scrum was pretty good. Considering the scrum was one area the Argies were hoping to have the advantage, we looked pretty decent, without being dominant. It’s important that our front row doesn’t switch off in the final 20 minutes as we often scrummage well until the end of the game and then all people remember is our pack getting pushed back in the final 10.
- Phipps had a few bad errors which I’m happy to put down to his inexperience. Otherwise did ok in tough conditions. His snipe to win the game is evidence that he can be an impact player in attack. He’ll get better with more match time.
- Douglas looks like a decent workhouse of a forward and our second row stocks for next year are starting to look better. It was one area of concern at the start of the season when only Horwill and Simmons looked like viable options, the latter not setting the world on fire this year. But now with Horwill, Timani, Douglas and Simmons looking like potential long term options (with Pyle and Neville also waiting to show us what they’ve got) that area is no longer looking like a weakness. I think the Wallabies coaching team has final cottoned on to the idea of playing specials TH LH locks to improve the scrum. The Pairing Horwill/Timani next year looks like a powerful locking combination and should be good competition for whatever lock pair the Lions go with.
- McCabe showed once again he is a test player. I think we can all agree, despite not agreeing on which position suits him best.
- Cooper had a crap game but that’s what you generally get from Quade. A mixed bag, sometime more good than bad, sometimes more bad than good. I’m still not sure he is the best long term option, but I think Deans worked that out last year. O’Connor will surely take over in the EOYT but for the meantime I’d keep Cooper there. IMO He’s our best 5/8 (with Liafano out injured).
- I really like use of Higgers as impact from the bench. Gill too. When the argies were attacking our line at the end of the game, Deans brought on Gill for the final moments and I thought that was a useful substitution as it would almost double our chances of turning over the ball in the final minutes. Sure enough it was some good work from Higger and Gill that got them the turnover.
My final comment is in relation to the Pumas. A lot of talk before the RC was about how much the Pumas would improve following their inclusion in the tournament. What wasn’t talked about was the fact that, in my view, having the Pumas in the tournament will make the other three sides (particularly Australia) better sides. I’m so happy that we’ll get to play these guys twice each year. They play a style which is similar to most of the Six Nations teams, in that there tactics against the Wallabies will generally be to slow the play down, stifle the rhythm of our team, and play from set piece to set piece. At the same time they offer a lot more in the way of attacking threats than a team like Italy or Scotland. The Wallabies will benefit enormously from playing a team like the Pumas as it will help them to improve the areas of their game in which the Wallabies traditionally struggle.
the reason I posted it was that it was from the Courier Mail, Jim Tucker ain't no Tahs supporter
