Australia A (aka Barbarians) v England II, Gosford

[daz]

I assume you are referring to Kafer and Cannon wanging on? Absolutely appalling and offered absolutely zero insight to what was going on. Took them 10 mins to realise that TPN had been subbed off even though it happened right under their nose. Massive #fail.

I'll put my 2 cents in and say that I actually enjoyed the informal chat Canno and Kafe provided. They made it very clear they were not commenting on the game but were there in a B grade "Roy and HG" capacity to answer fan questions and general banter.

I heard more honest comments and genuine thoughts from both those guys than I have in 20 "official" commentary telecasts with Kearns and Marto....

In all honesty, what the hell was there on the pitch worth commenting on anyway?

 

[Epi]

+1 They weren't at the game and were seeing what we were seeing and they made it clear they were about as impressed as I was with the quality of the footy.

 

[DPK]

It was fine. Only thing that would have improved the telecast would have been a ref's mic feed. I saw TPN and Hoiles both gave Walsh spray at one point, we'll never know what they said now.

 

[daz]

I saw TPN and Hoiles both gave Walsh spray at one point, we'll never know what they said now.

That was a rubbish call, again, sir.

 

[en_force_er]

I heard more honest comments and genuine thoughts from both those guys than I have in 20 "official" commentary telecasts with Kearns and Marto....

Kafe is an absolute pleasure to listen to as a commentator, even Canno has his charms.

Kearnsy has his moments but he needs to be paired with a knowledgeable bloke like Kafe permanently. It seems sometimes that even Kafe has more insight to offer at scrumtime then Kearns, and that just is NOT right.

As a side note, Marto is just awful.

 

[daz]

Kafe is an absolute pleasure to listen to as a commentator, even Canno has his charms.

You know, I have always thought Kafe was a bit stuffed-shirt and conservative on the Rugby Club, even though he is clearly articulate and knows what he is talking about.

But on the strength of last nights chat, I wish we could see these guys a bit looser and more open during the real thing. Kafe was relaxed and Canno was like a mate at a BBQ where political correctness is more a guideline than a rule. Add Clarke/Bray to keep things on track and I'd say there was a winning combo in the making.

More please, Foxsports.

 

[Ash]

Thought I would try to find a few positives from that big steaming mess.

I was impressed with the half Simmons got and thougt he accounted for himself well in the half he got. Chapman also got involved at times.

Beale made some nice runs but he needs to cut the chip kicks. I think that once he learns to underplay his hand a little more, like Cooper had to, then Beale will look great.

A. Finger was very good in defence.

I also thought that McCutcheon also accounted for himself well.

Cummins had a better game than last week.

 

[Lee Grant]

The defence of the whole team was good. Oz players from both groups are hitting harder this year; not only trying to stop opponents, but also to put them on their backsides. Goal line defence to date has taken a quantum step up. Sometimes at Gosford I thought I was watching a league match.

The Pom defence was good in Gosford also. It was allowed to be because unlike the Wallaby forwards in the first 20 minutes of the Perth test, the Oz A forwards were not able to produce the combo of getting over the gain line then obtaining quick ball afterwards.

You could see at the ground that the Pom backline defence was aligned correctly most of the night because their forwards were doing their job at the collisions. The Oz A backs were on a hiding to nothing to produce a break in that environment and they often tried too hard to prove their merit.

 

[rsea]

I'll put my 2 cents in and say that I actually enjoyed the informal chat Canno and Kafe provided. They made it very clear they were not commenting on the game but were there in a B grade "Roy and HG" capacity to answer fan questions and general banter.

I heard more honest comments and genuine thoughts from both those guys than I have in 20 "official" commentary telecasts with Kearns and Marto....

In all honesty, what the hell was there on the pitch worth commenting on anyway?

+1 I reckon the boffins at Foxsports should figure out more options for viewers. I enjoyed the change in commentary style (although a bit more focus on the game would've been good) and I also didn't mind the camera angle because it allowed you to see more of the off the balls stuff

 

[ACT Crusader]

I'm bemused as to why some are whinging about Kafe and Cannon's comments. I think it was appropriate for the online broadcast. It was a nice change, and fitting given the lack of any sort of flow to the play.

Cannon's a bit of an idiot, but there was at least a good balance there with Kafer. If it had been Cannon and Kearns, I think it would have denigrated fairly quickly.....

As others have noted, there was little to commentate on so who cares!

 

[naza]

You could see at the ground that the Pom backline defence was aligned correctly most of the night because their forwards were doing their job at the collisions. The Oz A backs were on a hiding to nothing to produce a break in that environment and they often tried too hard to prove their merit.

The defence was pretty stout by the English, and they got good results with our guys losing the ball in contact often. I thought our backs turned to the kick a bit too often - too many Kurtley Beale type miracle chip kick options taken - rather than working harder as a unit to unlock the defence.

 

[Aussie D]

My view on the game (went down to Gosford to watch it live - no internet or time to post until now sorry)...

The game actually started well with both sides throwing the ball around a bit, then Chambers went off and Barnes came on and it turned into a kick-a-thon.

Walsh had no idea at scrum time. A lot of the penalties against Oz A should have gone the other way as a few scrums set in front of where I was sitting the English TH hit, rolled his shoulder down and went straight to ground - result penalty England.... Touchie should have said something to Walsh about it - or the Oz A captain! A wag in the crowd did shout it out to him - the wag seemed to have more of an idea of the rules than Walsh did (no the wag wasn't me - though I spotted it from the first scrum also).

I didn't understand why Williams (he was coach NOT Deans) didn't re-jig his backline with Barnes at flyhalf, Beale at fullback, Turner to wing (he was playing fullback with 14 on his back) and Cummins to centre - where he played for Randwick. Why didn't local boy Hodgson (nice touch wearing his junior club's socks when he came on by the way) start?

Barnes butchered a certain Oz try in the first half with a winger outside him 2-on-1-5m-out-dummy-and-get-smashed-play. Some big hits by TPN and Finger, too many seagulls in the forward pack for quick ball to be an option - everyone was standing out waiting for a run rather than hitting some rucks. Some imagination in the backs might have been nice such as a kick-pass when in the English 22 or at other times just to get the defence guessing. Some nice runs in the second half by Cummins, Hynes was very quiet and got himself isolated when returning kicks a number of times - though the Oz A team were in no hurry to get back and support the ball carrier like his Qld teammates had done all S14 which hampered things a bit. Oz A had a serious lack of urgency all round - a bit like the Brumbies this year in many ways, possibly Hoiles captaincy lends itself to this?

 

[Aussie D]

... can I just add kudos to the ARU for bringing the entire Wallaby squad up to Gosford and having them mix with the fans pre-game signing autographs. One of the highlights of the night for me as we don't get to see the stars up close very often. Hopefully next time the ARU promotes the game a little better so that we can get a bigger crowd.

 

[Nusadan]

The Maoris v Ireland game currently on TV is the polar opposite to this discussed game...despite Ireland's six penalties so far...