Brumby Jack
Steve Williams (59)
A good game considering the motivation, despite what some say, wasn't quite as high. Fair play to both teams for trying to have a go and especially to Wales for that mammoth 30+ phase effort towards the end when Leigh Halfpenny scored his try.
Once again a good game was marred by inept refereeing and I'm not sure it can go on much longer with these alleged professional referees allowed to ruin the biggest tournament in Rugby. I have some 'on the fence' friends curious at what this Rugby caper is about, and they are questioning whether to continue their interest if this rubbish persists. How Barnes, and Poite for that matter, missed the forward pass for Williams' try and then called the one from O'Connor moments later is ridiculous. There needs to be transparency from the IRB and explain in person, not via some BS media release, why or why not certain referees have been appointed to matches.
Now on to the match itself. Obviously the injuries played their part, but I particularly liked the way Berrick Barnes went about his work. It is a case for Robbie of 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' on his non selection in the semi-final.
Tatafu Polota-Nau needs to be a bit more careful if he wants to continue his career because his kamikaze style tackling, whilst spectacular is going to bring about an early end if one goes horribly wrong in the future and we need to have a solid backup to Stephen Moore.
David Pocock was at his usual best, so I don't think much more needs to be said there.
Nathan Sharpe showed real passion in his 100th match and carried on even after suffering that knee injury and it just proves what commitment the man has and there should be more like him.
I though the rest of the backs were ok, without being too flashy. One thing that concerns me is Adam Ashley-Coopers lack of passing when he get's in certain situations on the field. Not only have I noticed this at Test level, but also at SupeRugby level. The one time he didn't need to pass, it got knocked out of his hand and could have been quite embarrassing. The outside backs are being wasted and I think Digby Ioane was an innocent victim of all this. I even agreed with Phil Kearns when he said to give it to Digby, and I don't normally agree with Kearns!
Even though we didn't make the Final, 3rd is nothing to sneeze at, especially if it means finishing higher than England and South Africa....
Once again a good game was marred by inept refereeing and I'm not sure it can go on much longer with these alleged professional referees allowed to ruin the biggest tournament in Rugby. I have some 'on the fence' friends curious at what this Rugby caper is about, and they are questioning whether to continue their interest if this rubbish persists. How Barnes, and Poite for that matter, missed the forward pass for Williams' try and then called the one from O'Connor moments later is ridiculous. There needs to be transparency from the IRB and explain in person, not via some BS media release, why or why not certain referees have been appointed to matches.
Now on to the match itself. Obviously the injuries played their part, but I particularly liked the way Berrick Barnes went about his work. It is a case for Robbie of 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' on his non selection in the semi-final.
Tatafu Polota-Nau needs to be a bit more careful if he wants to continue his career because his kamikaze style tackling, whilst spectacular is going to bring about an early end if one goes horribly wrong in the future and we need to have a solid backup to Stephen Moore.
David Pocock was at his usual best, so I don't think much more needs to be said there.
Nathan Sharpe showed real passion in his 100th match and carried on even after suffering that knee injury and it just proves what commitment the man has and there should be more like him.
I though the rest of the backs were ok, without being too flashy. One thing that concerns me is Adam Ashley-Coopers lack of passing when he get's in certain situations on the field. Not only have I noticed this at Test level, but also at SupeRugby level. The one time he didn't need to pass, it got knocked out of his hand and could have been quite embarrassing. The outside backs are being wasted and I think Digby Ioane was an innocent victim of all this. I even agreed with Phil Kearns when he said to give it to Digby, and I don't normally agree with Kearns!
Even though we didn't make the Final, 3rd is nothing to sneeze at, especially if it means finishing higher than England and South Africa....
yep we need to know how to manage a game. rabbit in the headlights comes to mind, as I mentioned earlier we need to control tight games, I also think we have a good 15 but 3-4 injuries and we suffer, do we have the structure back home to put it right, i wonder.
