Australia v England @ Twickers 17 Nov 2012

[Hugh Jarse]

I'd rather not, Was counting on Poey at least coming back on the bench and Douglas was one of about three you'd feed after the weekend's debacle.

Not looking forward to Saturday, I think it's gonna be the first Tests in a long time I don't watch live.

You'll watch it live. You know you will, and when you do you will have bragging rights over all the Fair Weather Fans when we win.

 

[Brumby Jack]

Higgers should be on the plane NOW!

They won't send Higgers until after Rob Simmons's judiciary hearing on Wednesday

 

[disco]

They won't send Higgers until after Rob Simmons's judiciary hearing on Wednesday

Another reason to send MMM, can cover lock/6 & 8 which is perfect cover for Simmons & Pocock.
The ARU can save on on wages, hang on that's why they've kept Deans on for so long. No win bonus to pay out each week.

 

[rugbyisfun]

Sharpie talking today in the press about how they will bounce back, Aussie spirit , underdog ... Blah blah blah FUCKING BLAH!!!! How many times do we have to hear this shit this season. The Wallabies have got more bounce back in them then a 12 inch rubber dildo....

 

[Slim 293]

Another reason to send MMM, can cover lock/6 & 8 which is perfect cover for Simmons & Pocock.
The ARU can save on on wages, hang on that's why they've kept Deans on for so long. No win bonus to pay out each week.

MMM?

I'm sure we've got players who have played at a super rugby level in the past few years.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Sharpie talking today in the press about how they will bounce back, Aussie spirit , underdog . Blah blah blah FUCKING BLAH!!!! How many times do we have to hear this shit this season. The Wallabies have got more bounce back in them then a 12 inch rubber dildo..

I'll have to defer to you on that one, rif.
.

 

[Lior]

I intend on staying awake to watch this game but I just feel incensed by Australian rugby. How did we get to this point where we have a backline with no ideas and no forward direction (both literally and figuratively)? We have a CEO who boasts that Deans took us to number 2 yet after this spring tour we aren't even going to be in the top 5.

I mean it's one thing to have no talent on the field as Nick Phipps, Sekope Kepu and Dave Dennis constantly remind us. But it's another to have no talent in the coaching box. Now I know this is about Australia v England and not Robbie Deans but how the fuck did we get to this point? We are going to be comprehensively beaten this Saturday and not many people can deny it. Even if in the odd chance we manage to lose by a few, I feel Wayne Smith's article on Monday is the starting point from where to assess. It's a thing called fucking reality. Something which the Wallabies under the stewardship of Robbie Deans have been so far divorced from.

The players are in denial, the board is in denial, the CEO is in denial. It's just like the happy couple (Deans and O'Neil) are enjoying the thrill of the rose garden while the in-laws (anyone with a clue) are saying they just aren't right for each other.

 

[Joe Blow]

MMM was a borderline selection for the Wobs before he went to Japan. He will have to prove himself in Super rugby before he even gets a look in at test level again.
Hopefully his temperament and body height in contact have been drastically reformed while playing backyard footy in Japan.
There are many in front of him to play at 6 or in the second row for the Wallabies.

 

[Joe Blow]

So with Pocock and Douglas not available I assume we will have something like this

Robinson
Moore
Alexander
Sharpe
Timani
Samo
Hooper
Palu
Sheehan
KB (Kurtley Beale)
Ioane
McCabe
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
Cummins
Barnes

Kepu
Slipper
TPN
Dennis(no-one else with Simmons most likely on the plane)
Gill
Phipps
Tapuai
Harris

Higgers should be on the plane to be available for Italy along with a second rower who has been involved with the squad this year

 

[barbarian]

Just deleted a few off-topic posts- let's stick to rugby please guys.

 

[Tigger]

Thought that Mark Reason article was pretty much on point...

 

[Scotty]

Now we have to apparently rely on Barnes to spark our attack. It is like we are living in Bizarro world.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/wallabies-bet-on-barnes-to-spark-attack-20121114-29b4s.html

Berrick Barnes will be key to sparking the Wallabies attack when he is named in the starting line up to take on England at Twickenham this weekend.
Barnes ran at fullback during Australia's first full training session in London on Tuesday and appears to be coach Robbie Deans's preferred option over Mike Harris for Saturday's Test match

 

[Braveheart81]

Now we have to apparently rely on Barnes to spark our attack. It is like we are living in Bizarro world.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/wallabies-bet-on-barnes-to-spark-attack-20121114-29b4s.html

We did look more threatening in the last 20 or so minutes after Barnes came on at fullback.

What other options do we have?

 

[Richo]

We did look more threatening in the last 20 or so minutes after Barnes came on at fullback.

What other options do we have?

We did. But he's not the Messiah, he's just a bit better than the other guy.

 

[Jnor]

None, unfortunately.

 

[Braveheart81]

At least we're almost guaranteed that Phipps will play better than he did against the French.

It would be hard not to.

 

[vidiot]

At least Barnes showed some propensity to interact with other players in his own team. I think I saw him trying to position himself for offloads and in turn give them, and in the process running with intent.

KB (Kurtley Beale), AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) take note.

 

[Braveheart81]

Part of what we need is for the fullback to routinely make themselves an option for a cutout pass from Beale. That in itself should give McCabe a bit more space.

McCabe was very ineffective against the French but his situation wasn't helped by him being such an obvious ball runner. There was never any appearance that he may pass the ball or that other players might receive the ball when he did.

Our support play and work off the ball is horrendous.

The All Blacks have been masters of support play for several years and work tirelessly off the ball to re-align and to provide options to playmakers and ball runners.

The French destroyed us by running multiple players through the same channel and through a string of offloads made numerous breaks.

It is critically important for the Wallabies to provide multiple options so the defence isn't certain of what is going to happen. McCabe will make it over the advantage line if we can commit the other defenders not to gang tackle him. On Sunday morning, it was so painfully obvious that no one aside from McCabe was going to take the ball into contact, the French could commit multiple defenders to smash him.

 

[Scotty]

.

I would posit that his low stats are due to a rather fucking terrible shortage of pill for anyone wearing a jersey number > 12. I would agree with you though about that isolated instance where he should have thrown it to Harris, indeed I was yelling manically at my TV for him to do so.

BUT, I wholeheartedly disagree with you about him performing poorly at super rugby and Test level consistently. In fact I think that he has been by and large one of the better performing backs in a season of poor performances by backs (and consistently good for 3-4 years now). He seems to be our best at picking holes/angles to run and he is an excellent defender (particularly from 13), can kick the seed a fair way and is goodish under the high ball.

See the following

In short, he is indispensably solid but with enough X-factor to make him a consistent team selection.

He should be starting, and now that diggers is healthy, he should be starting at 13 with Mccabe and taps competing for the 12 spot (though I personally think in a backline without cooper, having the noted excellent short passing of tapuai right next to the 10 makes more sense, McCabes best spot is 13).

See that is where I am using the 'myth' term. Sure, he is a good tackler, good hard runner and good under the high ball in general, but he plays an individual game and not a team game. There are several examples of this in 2012 alone, not to mention his whole career.

The example both of us mentioned was so bad that I could only conclude one of two things 1) he just wanted to run himself and ignore others in better positions 2) his decision making is appalling.

Either way we can't build our team around players like that (he certainly shouldnt be put back in the centres).

 

[Scotty]

We did look more threatening in the last 20 or so minutes after Barnes came on at fullback.

What other options do we have?

Barnes came on and played 10 an 12 in attack. Not fullback.

I suspect we looked more threatening because he added energy and a little direction and it will be completely different when he starts.