I agree with the Fainga'a/McCabe argument, and always have. But it would have to be at 13 and not 12, I'd much prefer a ball playing 12
Rob Horne...why not, the only time he has ever genuinely warranted Wallabies selection, HE DOES NOT GET IN THE SQUAD.
No idea RE the Butcher.
However, i'd much prefer the defensive back at 12. Two reasons.
1. Attack. There must be someone straightening the attack, and I think it's best for that at 12. Just look at NZ. They've been dominant with Nonu as a battering ram in the 12 channel. No one drifts off him, and that opens up space for Smith to use intelligently. Aus were at their best with nathan Grey at 12, and Herbert at 13, in exactly the same style of set up. NZ at the time had ball playing 12s and they paid for it, because they had to either straighten at 13 or run out of space.
After Grey, we went to Giteau with the battering ram at 13, and hey presto we failed to win anything for the following decade.
People give McCabe shit for his time in gold, but consider this: The Reds wont eh Super 14 with Fainga'a at 12, and then the Wallabies won the tri-nations with hard tackling, straight running centres.
2 Defence. If your 12 is the general, the 13's job is easier. If your 12 isn't an aggressive, dominant defender then the 13'sjob is much harder because there are more options to consider. If the opposition 12 is under pressure, his passing is going to be worse or he'll drop back a bit deeper and play behind the gainline. This allows the 13 to get up and make OFFENSIVE tackles, which create turnovers, the number one source of tries in rugby. A centre partnership of a McCabe/Fainga'a and then O'Connor at 13 is the best mix of players for this style. O'Connor was noticed as a 12, and moved to wing. I say combine them and let him attack the front line in the centres, but do it outside a 12 who runs like a panicked wilderbeast at his opposite and force the inside defenders to hold a bit before drifting. O'Connor hitting the opposition in their 13 channel, with the likes of Beale, Folau, Speight or Mogg running off his shoulder would cause any 13 in the world to wake up in a cold sweat.
However, it only works if the 12 is direct, as the opposition must stay tight, and if they drift early to try and cover the 13 and support runners, the flyhalf simply pops a short ball onto the 12's chest to just charge upfield and smash through and weak or prematurely-drifting defenders.
I'd also pick Lealiifano as the 10 for all this as he already has combinations with both Ant and Pat, and is the best all-round 10 we have. He also only truly steps up into his full potential when he's at 10 and forced to be the backlines leader, we saw that with the Brumbies scintillating form last year.
