2012 Rugby Championship Round 6 Game 2 Argentina vs Australia - 6 Oct

[barbarian]

I think we can all agree Phipps is rubbish.

I don't, thought he was good enough. For a 3rd string halfback in a 3rd string side.

 

[Sully]

Yeh I also don't think he was 'rubbish'.

 

[vidiot]

I wasn't going to get into this shitfight, because I don't feel strongly either way. But Tapui has the useful knack of breaking tackles/beating defenders. It's a useful thing to bring to 12/13.

I think Deans should bring Higginbotham on early in the the 1st half all the time, that was quite the performance. Could it be he is going to live up to the hype after all? Sadly, though, time for Samo to hang up his yellow golden boots.

WTF Digby with his handling? The amount of possession he lost was amazing, I was calling RD to yank him immediately before he scored.

 

[kiap]

That is a fair enough call. However, the reason I and others (I suspect) rate Taps is because he isn't the traditional 'bash it up' style of centre. He generally has a good ball playing aspect of his play, and will look to set up his outside man. I suppose this is why he is considered a better 12 than 13. He has an all round skill set.

Taps is not such a big fellow either at 14½ stone. On a good day he might be 5'11".

 

[Sully]

He's a little shorter, but about the same weight as the other centres running around Australian rugby. We are definitely short a good 105-110 Kg centre

 

[Hugh Jarse]

He's a little shorter, but about the same weight as the other centres running around Australian rugby. We are definitely short a good 105-110 Kg centre

In the olden days, you used to be happy if you could find a fat prop who was > 100kg!

Running, passing, tackling, catching was not part of the job description for a 100 kg lad back then.

 

[Schadenfreude]

I don't, thought he was good enough. For a 3rd string halfback in a 3rd string side.

His pass is consistently off the mark, usually behind the player.

Most glaringly poor is he has no rhythm. It's very hard for the players to tell when he's going to let the ball go, so you get a lot of stilted play, and what looks like poor timing.

Once the ball is gone its a fast pass, before that its all a horrible mess.

Oh and his work at the back of the scrum with Samo is poor.

 

[Groucho]

And the acceptance of mediocracy in Australian Rugby continues..

How is applauding the team for grinding out a tough win in exceptionally difficult circumstances, the same as accepting mediocrity? It was a poor game, but the Wallabies were far from mediocre.

If you could afford to give your country just a small part of the adulation you have for your franchise, then you wouldn't sound quite so ridiculous.

 

[tranquility]

Tapuai just isnt a 13, its pretty simple stuff. He is however a very classy 12.

 

[Sully]

Has Tapaui play 12 at all this year?

 

[AngrySeahorse]

The issue with Taps bombing the try is that setting up the man outside is the 'bread and butter ' of the traditional outside centre.

I have observed that in the grassroots of rugby that many coaches have the tendency to play hard running centres rather than those kids with good hands who have the ability to set up their outside man. One of the reasons for this is that fast, young islander kids are so effective running in the centres where they are given a bit of space. But the problem is that they are there for their running and not for their passing skills and in many youth teams the tactics revolve around getting these big blokes the ball.

These kids are impressive and make all the rep squads. But at a certain point the size advantage that these kids have is diminished and they are required to do more than just run, so they are coached to develop their passing game, but deep down you can see that they are at heart and at the crucial moments, just runners.The kids that match these guys have to be tough buggers too, so what we end up with is a pool of centres who are tough defenders and hard runners with very poor handling skills. I give you AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), McCabe, Taps, Carter, Apo, CFN and Cummins.

It is so important that the 13 can convert the situation that Taps was in this morning as they are rare try scoring and game breaking moments, particularly when you think about the quality of our back three. In the Shute Shield GF at the 65th minute Cummins had a two on one situation 10 metres from the line but went on his own, only to be tackled, bomb the try and then lose the ball with which SUni scored shortly afterwards. This was a 14 point turnaround and Cummins' team only lost by only 1 point!

Haven't seen a lot of Taps, but for me he failed the most important test for an outside centre.

Agree with the "job description" you gave of the outside centre & about players who can run but don't seem to have great ball skills. Ultimately though I'll have to watch the replay (slept in & missed it live). I had Taps in my fantasy team, I thought he was going to make a big impact. It will be interesting to see how he went.

At the moment I found out we won on the news this morning I was just really glad that with everything going on we were able to win. Thought Argies were going to beat us TBH.

 

[Dumbledore]

I don't think Phipps was horrendous, but I don't think he's up to test level. He's too inconsistent, too erratic, with his passing and decision making. The point made above about the lack of rhythm in his game is a good one, it makes life harder for the players around him - Beale in particular.

 

[TSR]

The issue with Taps bombing the try is that setting up the man outside is the 'bread and butter ' of the traditional outside centre.

I do agree with this - I thought it was a bad mistake. But from my observation he actually normally has good hands and has demonstrated a that on a number of occaisons with the Reds. I'm sure he'll learn from the mistake.

 

[ChargerWA]

I don't think Phipps was horrendous, but I don't think he's up to test level. He's too inconsistent, too erratic, with his passing and decision making. The point made above about the lack of rhythm in his game is a good one, it makes life harder for the players around him - Beale in particular.

Yeah, he's not international level. But Dean's man management skills now leaves us in this position.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Tapanui had a bad day at the office. We all have them. It didn't cost us the test.

I am sure that he is not that stupid as to think that he had a good day and there is nothing he needs to do to "lift his game".

Cut him some slack. He will be better for the experience of this match.

If he continues to have bad ones, then rexamine his worth.

We won. Wouldn't think so on the basis of some comments here.

 

[Ruggo]

Lots of bitchy comments here. FFS we won when we were facing an up hill battle. It was never going to be pretty but shit all the boys dug deep and played with plenty of guts.

Well done Wallabies.

 

[Dumbledore]

I'm just happy Beale is looking fit and getting back to his best. Still got a way to go, but it looks like he'll get there.

 

[Mr Doug]

Tapanui had a bad day at the office. We all have them. It didn't cost us the test.

I am sure that he is not that stupid as to think that he had a good day and there is nothing he needs to do to "lift his game".

Cut him some slack. He will be better for the experience of this match.

If he continues to have bad ones, then rexamine his worth.

We won. Wouldn't think so on the basis of some comments here.

HJ, I've worked it out after watching 10, 7 and 9 news tonight: It's the loss of 1 hour's sleep for you poor bastards subject to Daylight Saving!! Everyone is agro, frustrated, tired and emmotional!

I agree, Taps has alot to learn, eg when a player crosses the line with ball in hand, try and roll him on his back, or get underneath him. (Much easier for a fat forward than a speedy back, I know), to prevent a try!

We have plenty to work with in the upcoming months.

I'm proud of their effort.

 

[Jiggles]

How is applauding the team for grinding out a tough win in exceptionally difficult circumstances, the same as accepting mediocrity? It was a poor game, but the Wallabies were far from mediocre.

If you could afford to give your country just a small part of the adulation you have for your franchise, then you wouldn't sound quite so ridiculous.

Deans scrapes a win to save his skin. The team has not improved one bit this year with regards to skills and execution, let alone over the last 5 years. Yep just put your head back in the sand chanting "WE'RE NUMBER 2! WE'RE NUMBER 2! WE'RE NUMBER 2!"

All is well in Australian Rugby.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Mr Doug,

Daylight savings can get a bit confusing at this time of year. Was trying to explain it to a Scottish mate who came over to Chez Jarse for the Wobs game. He reckons that they are lucky over there as there is only one time zone and they all change at once.