Australia v England: Match III, SCG, Sat 16th July 7.55pm AEST

[SteveWA]

I’m not as negative as others. We are heading in the right direction. Rennie does alright with the cattle available. Add Cooper and Rodda and we win the series. The problem is too many players are ineligible for selection and that is surely a topic for discussion going forward.

 

[Viking]

In rugby the possession and carry stats often favour the less dominant team. Rugby is primarily about territory and execution - which is why i felt like we played a very Cheika-esque game last night. All big carries and line-breaks for little end product.

And there was no one pivotal moment, we made a series of stupid mistakes. Death by a thousand cuts:
- Tupou's pass
- Hodge's pass
- Wilson's cleanout in the 22
- White's boxkick into Paisami
- White's inability to clear in 22
- Lineout/Lolesio contriving to give Smith a free run to the line
etc

I agree, failure to award dominance in play with points is very Cheika-esque. Although I believe Rennie is still much more dynamic and adaptive then Cheika.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Yes, Rennie is definitely more adaptable. Cheik had one game plan and stubbornly stuck to it in spite of all evidence to the contrary.

 

[KiwiM]

Absorbing test match.

English defence and kicking game was the difference.

Master decision for Eddie to change halfbacks in the first half - refreshing to see a coach make a brave call like that as opposed to wait until 60 minutes to sub a player.

Wallabies just lacking a bit of polish but considering all the injuries there's enough there to work with.

 

[stillmissit]

I love Valetini but he’s not strong enough across the ball, look at England they have Lawes, Ludlum, Vunipola (Itoje), all fantastic pilferers. Who else do we have beyond Hooper?

Agree re Valetini and that's part of why I think he should be a 6. Don't think we have Hooper, compare to Pocock, G.Smith. McCreight is better over the ball than Hooper will ever be.

 

[stillmissit]

I don’t want the TMO involved but you can’t have an overbearing TMO in the first two tests then a coward in the third

Maybe the officials thought we won't interfere unless the refs ask and see how people react! With some of the diving over the ball and not supporting their weight in the breakdown by England, I blame the ref, any ref worth their salt would pick those off.
We are still too far away in support of the runner. Did you see the Irish take down of Retalick? Two run out of the D, 1st one tackles him around the legs and second 2m behind is straight over the top of him - penalty TO every day.

 

[stillmissit]

Yeah cool but if you want 7 figures you can’t be struggling you need to perform. I hope he stays and I rate him as a player but if you want to demand that sort of money you have to stand up and be counted

Ditto Hooper, apart from last night, tests 1& 2 I thought he played poorly.

 

[stillmissit]

Leota played the 2 first tests at 6 and was OK. Wilson had the opportunity to impress the coach staff and poach the number 6 jersey but he was terrible.

International rugby is cruel, you have to take any chance you got. Now he's far far away of Valetini, Leota and Samu.

Marce: Didn't think much of Valetini in 1st half but he put in after the break. He still runs too upright into contact - easy target.

 

[stillmissit]

I’m not as down on this as some. We started the series at 6th and that’s where we have finished, playing against the 5th ranked team. Sure the higher ranked teams might have seen us go worse, but we weren’t playing against them. We have 11 first choice players unavailable, realistically 3 or 4 is the norm so you can literally say we had half the team out. We are clearly a team on the improve, building some good depth, but we just aren’t executing effectively. The RC will see us improve further I believe and hopefully climb a couple of places if we can snare a couple of wins against the darkness and the saffers.

KOB, I liked Tim Sheens approach to coaching a new team. When he took over Wests he had them passing all day, until one of the players said "When can we get into some moves coach" Sheens said "When you can pass and catch to my satisfaction" - Rennie should be doing the same thing with these Wallabies.

 

[Rebel man]

Ditto Hooper, apart from last night, tests 1& 2 I thought he played poorly.

He has the runs on the board

 

[Rebel man]

Maybe the officials thought we won't interfere unless the refs ask and see how people react! With some of the diving over the ball and not supporting their weight in the breakdown by England, I blame the ref, any ref worth their salt would pick those off.
We are still too far away in support of the runner. Did you see the Irish take down of Retalick? Two run out of the D, 1st one tackles him around the legs and second 2m behind is straight over the top of him - penalty TO every day.

You can’t chop and change mid series, if they come out at the start of the rugby championship and said this is how we are going to do it then I would support that

 

[stillmissit]

You can’t chop and change mid series, if they come out at the start of the rugby championship and said this is how we are going to do it then I would support that

Rebel, Agree but they are human and there were lots of complaints about test 2's tmo getting too involved. I don't have a problem with refs being slightly different in interpretation but I struggle with obvious penalties that get overlooked when it is right in front of them, England did plenty and we did a fair bit too. The old problem with refs they struggle with breakdowns and scrums, which seem obvious when you're on your arse in front of the TV.....

 

[Rebel man]

Rebel, Agree but they are human and there were lots of complaints about test 2's tmo getting too involved. I don't have a problem with refs being slightly different in interpretation but I struggle with obvious penalties that get overlooked when it is right in front of them, England did plenty and we did a fair bit too. The old problem with refs they struggle with breakdowns and scrums, which seem obvious when you're on your arse in front of the TV.....

It’s simply unacceptable happens too much in three test series that they just put the whistle away in the last

 

[stillmissit]

It’s simply unacceptable happens too much in three test series that they just put the whistle away in the last

I thought it was very strange and like going back 5 years...

 

[hifflepiff]

Sport's a funny one, if Smith's intercept didn't fall so nicely for him we win, it's a series victory and we're praising Rennie's amazing coaching. All our players ratings get bumped from 5 to 7, all on the fall of a ball. It's the best I've felt after a series loss in a while. I'm under no illusions we're a top 3 side but content in our top 6.

I thought we played well in light of how many injuries we had. (Speaking of, who tf runs S&C at Aus teams, absolutely rediculous the amount our players go down).

Main concern is that we haven't been able to put together an 80 min performance. The best teams control momentum and absorb pressure, however, when play slows down, we seem to turn off.

 

[Rebel man]

I thought we played well in light of how many injuries we had. (Speaking of, who tf runs S&C at Aus teams, absolutely reduciculous the amount our players go down).

Main concern is that we haven't been able to put together an 80 min performance. The best teams control momentum and absorb pressure, when play shows down, we seem to turn off.

I think this is a byproduct of lack of money in the sport

 

[Tomikin]

I’m not as negative as others. We are heading in the right direction. Rennie does alright with the cattle available. Add Cooper and Rodda and we win the series. The problem is too many players are ineligible for selection and that is surely a topic for discussion going forward.

You mean injured... Other then Arnold? And possibly Skelton. Who else was missing

 

[John S]

Wild night as Jones fires up at ‘traitor’ sledges, man climbs onto SCG roof

On a night where England coach Eddie Jones swore at Wallabies fans, another supporter was charged by police for climbing on top of the O’Reilly Stand at the SCG.

www.smh.com.au

Looks like we have a few loose units as fans too - not just the poms

 

[Rebel man]

Wild night as Jones fires up at ‘traitor’ sledges, man climbs onto SCG roof

On a night where England coach Eddie Jones swore at Wallabies fans, another supporter was charged by police for climbing on top of the O’Reilly Stand at the SCG.

www.smh.com.au

Looks like we have a few loose units as fans too - not just the poms

Jones let himself down. Absolutely embarrassing for a coach to carry on like that

 

[wamberal]

Isn’t that the opposite of what Ireland did?

Ireland arguably don't need a full blown domestic comp. They are surrounded by them, lots of money and opportunities on offer.