Garryowen
Larry Dwyer (12)
SA beat us in the 95 world cup opener.
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SA beat us in the 95 world cup opener.
jollyswagman
Ron Walden (29)
As an eternally optimistic Wallabies supporter, I am predicting a fairy tale win for the Wallabies at this world cup. The greatest victories in sport always seem to be the ones with some dramatic backstory – david vs goliath type stories, great comebacks or tragic tales. (Kieran Perkins in Atlanta in 1996, Lance Armstrong coming back to win the TDF after battling cancer etc etc.)
I, like many others, had been waiting four long years for this tournament to come around. All the time buying into the "rebuilding the Wallabies for 2011" and swallowing all of the poor performances and inconsistencies since the last WC. As 2011 drew closer my optimism grew and I must admit that at the start of the WC, I believed that the boys would pull off the big one and it would finally be the dawn of another great era in Australian Rugby. The Trinations tournament was a great win was made a little sweeter by the boys rebounding back after the humiliating defeat by the AB's in the first round. I thought the boys were going to be out for the count after that loss, but they rallied and came back to prove me wrong and regain my faith. I want Australia to win TBJ just as much as any - I don't care who they have to beat to win, as long as they win. That said, we were supposedly the lucky ones with the easier run through the knock-out stages and meet NZ in the final. Many of us believed that it would play out this way and saw little validity in any argument to the contrary. Well, thanks to the performance against Ireland last week, it is looking like the Wallabies will be taking a different road should they make it to the final and win TBJ. What I find really exciting about the “new road to victory” is that they are going to have to beat SA & NZ to make the final. I like the idea of meeting NZ in the Semi as opposed to the Final as I think we would have a better chance of beating them in the Semi. Also, should we lose, I would rather go out to them in the Semi, rather than the final so we were not the one that they beat to win the TBJ. I think a loss to the NZ in the final will make it even harder in the coming years to get up and beat them. They will be buoyed by a WC win and the thought of having to put up the bollocking from my Kiwi mates for “four more years boys” would drive me nuts.
I am not too fussed who we face in the final, be it England, Ireland, France ???? If we met England in the final it would be a nice pay-back opportunity and we would definitely be able to say we beat the best to win TBJ, but a big part of me would love to see Ireland make the final. I think it would obviously be great for Irish rugby, the Irish fans and one that IMHO they would be truly deserving of. Add to that, the opportunity to make amends for the pool stage loss would be terrific. So my prediction ***knock on wood*** is that we see Australia really clicking next week and destroying Russia in a clinical fashion….get up comfortably over SA in the Quarters as I feel they are due for a brain fart game…..then in the Semi we would squeeze passed NZ in a very tight tactical match….eventually making the final to annihilate Ireland by 30 points. Is that too much to ask for???? I hope I don’t cop a spray from some other members nor be taken as arrogant. I am just sharing my dream for how I would love the rest of it all go down, after all, the topic of this thread is “keeping the faith” right?
I, like many others, had been waiting four long years for this tournament to come around. All the time buying into the "rebuilding the Wallabies for 2011" and swallowing all of the poor performances and inconsistencies since the last WC. As 2011 drew closer my optimism grew and I must admit that at the start of the WC, I believed that the boys would pull off the big one and it would finally be the dawn of another great era in Australian Rugby. The Trinations tournament was a great win was made a little sweeter by the boys rebounding back after the humiliating defeat by the AB's in the first round. I thought the boys were going to be out for the count after that loss, but they rallied and came back to prove me wrong and regain my faith. I want Australia to win TBJ just as much as any - I don't care who they have to beat to win, as long as they win. That said, we were supposedly the lucky ones with the easier run through the knock-out stages and meet NZ in the final. Many of us believed that it would play out this way and saw little validity in any argument to the contrary. Well, thanks to the performance against Ireland last week, it is looking like the Wallabies will be taking a different road should they make it to the final and win TBJ. What I find really exciting about the “new road to victory” is that they are going to have to beat SA & NZ to make the final. I like the idea of meeting NZ in the Semi as opposed to the Final as I think we would have a better chance of beating them in the Semi. Also, should we lose, I would rather go out to them in the Semi, rather than the final so we were not the one that they beat to win the TBJ. I think a loss to the NZ in the final will make it even harder in the coming years to get up and beat them. They will be buoyed by a WC win and the thought of having to put up the bollocking from my Kiwi mates for “four more years boys” would drive me nuts.
I am not too fussed who we face in the final, be it England, Ireland, France ???? If we met England in the final it would be a nice pay-back opportunity and we would definitely be able to say we beat the best to win TBJ, but a big part of me would love to see Ireland make the final. I think it would obviously be great for Irish rugby, the Irish fans and one that IMHO they would be truly deserving of. Add to that, the opportunity to make amends for the pool stage loss would be terrific. So my prediction ***knock on wood*** is that we see Australia really clicking next week and destroying Russia in a clinical fashion….get up comfortably over SA in the Quarters as I feel they are due for a brain fart game…..then in the Semi we would squeeze passed NZ in a very tight tactical match….eventually making the final to annihilate Ireland by 30 points. Is that too much to ask for???? I hope I don’t cop a spray from some other members nor be taken as arrogant. I am just sharing my dream for how I would love the rest of it all go down, after all, the topic of this thread is “keeping the faith” right?
Not anymore. But, the last time we won the World Cup, we conceded one try all tournament and that was against... the USA. Coincidence? I don't believe in coincidences.
disco
Chilla Wilson (44)
Yeah but we beat Ireland in 99.
This team just shits me ATM or is it just Deans & Williams. How shit is Deans that he doesn't take a a back up openside what a fuckwit this has to be an NZRU hatchet job, surely he's got another bank account in Switzerland.
If he doesn't replace McCabe or Horne with an openside he should be sacked immediately, we didn't win won breakdown turnover last night against the USA so no wonder we got spanked by the Irish.I hope we do go on and win because if we do get bundled out in the quarters Robbie & Jim won't get sacked anyway so it's just double the misery.
Here is a good article from Eddie Jones about Robbie Deans.
Formber Australia coach Eddie Jones on why Robbie Deans needs to give Reds coach Ewen McKenzie a call
The inadequacies of the Wallabies when they crashed at their first big hurdle of Rugby World Cup 2011 emphasised to me that Robbie Deans may be an excellent coach but his tactical nous is limited.
The key difference between the Queensland game plan and the Wallabies game plan is that the title-winning Reds each week had a specific tactical focus to expose a weakness of the opposition or to nullify a strength.
The Wallabies game plan lacks this detail.
The Wallabies play the base game plan without the frills. The Reds shop at David Jones while Australia shop at Target. Just the basics for the Wallabies.
My advice to Robbie Deans is to swallow a little bit of pride and pick up the phone to call Reds coach Ewen McKenzie for some outside help to become tactically sharper. They need to be. The Wallabies fire when the game is fast and continuous, the tempo high and decision-making relatively easy.
In the game I watched from the stands at Eden Park last weekend. The tempo was slow, Ireland ran, kicked and clapped while the Wallabies still tried to pass their way out of trouble on a slippery pitch.
It was trench warfare verus individual flair and in World Cups, with the pressure on, the Wallabies are severely exposed tactically.
We were so dumb. We missed Matt Giteau at inside centre last week and his left-foot kick. Pat McCabe, who did play, was found to be short of pace, power and skill.
The non-selection of a second fetcher-style flanker in the 30-man Rugby World Cup 2011 squad to cover any injury to David Pocock proved costly and the use of the bench was poor.
Does Deans need to address his tactics? Are injuries going to force him to change the game plan anyway? Have your say below.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney was proactive by bringing on five-eighth Ronan O'Gara with 30 minutes to go. He bought on goalkicking expertise, tactical kicking and a wise head of over 100 Tests as the rain tumbled in at Eden Park.
Where to now for the Wallabies? Friday's 67-5 win over the USA and another one against a poor Russian team in Nelson next Saturday will not help other than to give the likes of Wycliff Palu, James Slipper, Rob Horne, Drew Mitchell and Tatafu Polota-Nau, dreadfully out of sorts against Ireland, a chance to get match fit.
I would try Rocky Elsom in the openside role to force his hand to be proactive and because a back-up fetcher has to be found. He is a world-class player but against Ireland he was missing in action.
Gallery: Wallabies At Rugby World Cup 2011
I'd also be advising that Quade Cooper defend on the wing, rather than fullback, to better use Kurtley Beale's counter-attacking ability and high-ball catching skills.
The tough path now outlines a potential quarter-final against the Springboks, a semi-final against the All Blacks and a final against the best of the northern hemisphere teams.
This is why teams which have won the World Cup have not lost a game. The Aussies now need to win three huge games in a row, something they have never done under Deans.
What was disturbing to me before Friday's game against the USA was the continued arrogance being shown by the Wallabies.
When the Aussie coaches were asked their thoughts on the USA picking a B team, the reply was that they did not know that.
This team just shits me ATM or is it just Deans & Williams. How shit is Deans that he doesn't take a a back up openside what a fuckwit this has to be an NZRU hatchet job, surely he's got another bank account in Switzerland.
If he doesn't replace McCabe or Horne with an openside he should be sacked immediately, we didn't win won breakdown turnover last night against the USA so no wonder we got spanked by the Irish.I hope we do go on and win because if we do get bundled out in the quarters Robbie & Jim won't get sacked anyway so it's just double the misery.
Here is a good article from Eddie Jones about Robbie Deans.
Formber Australia coach Eddie Jones on why Robbie Deans needs to give Reds coach Ewen McKenzie a call
The inadequacies of the Wallabies when they crashed at their first big hurdle of Rugby World Cup 2011 emphasised to me that Robbie Deans may be an excellent coach but his tactical nous is limited.
The key difference between the Queensland game plan and the Wallabies game plan is that the title-winning Reds each week had a specific tactical focus to expose a weakness of the opposition or to nullify a strength.
The Wallabies game plan lacks this detail.
The Wallabies play the base game plan without the frills. The Reds shop at David Jones while Australia shop at Target. Just the basics for the Wallabies.
My advice to Robbie Deans is to swallow a little bit of pride and pick up the phone to call Reds coach Ewen McKenzie for some outside help to become tactically sharper. They need to be. The Wallabies fire when the game is fast and continuous, the tempo high and decision-making relatively easy.
In the game I watched from the stands at Eden Park last weekend. The tempo was slow, Ireland ran, kicked and clapped while the Wallabies still tried to pass their way out of trouble on a slippery pitch.
It was trench warfare verus individual flair and in World Cups, with the pressure on, the Wallabies are severely exposed tactically.
We were so dumb. We missed Matt Giteau at inside centre last week and his left-foot kick. Pat McCabe, who did play, was found to be short of pace, power and skill.
The non-selection of a second fetcher-style flanker in the 30-man Rugby World Cup 2011 squad to cover any injury to David Pocock proved costly and the use of the bench was poor.
Does Deans need to address his tactics? Are injuries going to force him to change the game plan anyway? Have your say below.
Ireland coach Declan Kidney was proactive by bringing on five-eighth Ronan O'Gara with 30 minutes to go. He bought on goalkicking expertise, tactical kicking and a wise head of over 100 Tests as the rain tumbled in at Eden Park.
Where to now for the Wallabies? Friday's 67-5 win over the USA and another one against a poor Russian team in Nelson next Saturday will not help other than to give the likes of Wycliff Palu, James Slipper, Rob Horne, Drew Mitchell and Tatafu Polota-Nau, dreadfully out of sorts against Ireland, a chance to get match fit.
I would try Rocky Elsom in the openside role to force his hand to be proactive and because a back-up fetcher has to be found. He is a world-class player but against Ireland he was missing in action.
Gallery: Wallabies At Rugby World Cup 2011
I'd also be advising that Quade Cooper defend on the wing, rather than fullback, to better use Kurtley Beale's counter-attacking ability and high-ball catching skills.
The tough path now outlines a potential quarter-final against the Springboks, a semi-final against the All Blacks and a final against the best of the northern hemisphere teams.
This is why teams which have won the World Cup have not lost a game. The Aussies now need to win three huge games in a row, something they have never done under Deans.
What was disturbing to me before Friday's game against the USA was the continued arrogance being shown by the Wallabies.
When the Aussie coaches were asked their thoughts on the USA picking a B team, the reply was that they did not know that.
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