Australia v England @ Twickers 17 Nov 2012

[qwerty51]

KB (Kurtley Beale) was huge in defence, I put the defensive effort mainly down to him.

 

[rugbyisfun]

Tatafu is ordinary (apologies if this is a repeat)

 

[thierry dusautoir]

KB (Kurtley Beale) was huge in defence, I put the defensive effort mainly down to him.

He didn't miss any but which is huge for him but wasn't really more than can be asked of him....they aimed at him and he did want any pro footballer should be able to do......make the tackle

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Last night also disproved the theory that our backline defence would fall to pieces without McCabe. I haven't seen the stats but from what I saw Taps was incredibly solid, with a few dominant hits thrown in.

I dare say that was our best backline defensive effort for a looooong time- between KB (Kurtley Beale)'s incredible consistency, Cummins' bell-ringers and Taps and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) in the centers we had the poms covered almost everywhere- did they even make a line break?
.

They made one I think. Agreed that the defence was very solid and they had plenty of practice out there. The skill level seemed higher than it's been for a few games too. That's encouraging.

 

[dasduke]

Great to get the win. Was out at the ground and would have been awful to be surrounded by 80,000 gloating English fans.

My humble observations:

• The chip kicks worked today. Will they work next time?
• The scrum was immense. There weren't a lot of them, but given the poms thought they would smash us here, it really made them drop their heads.
• Timani gave some steel to the attack. A few people have commented he was lazy. I haven't watched the replay, but from what I saw, he provided some real go-forward.
• Cummins is the answer. He finished well, and made the right decisions. He knew when to run and when to come back inside to look for support.

A good win, but not sure it was a performance that would beat the all blacks

 

[Bairdy]

Great to get the win. Was out at the ground and would have been awful to be surrounded by 80,000 gloating English fans.

My humble observations:

• The chip kicks worked today. Will they work next time?
• The scrum was immense. There weren't a lot of them, but given the poms thought they would smash us here, it really made them drop their heads.
• Timani gave some steel to the attack. A few people have commented he was lazy. I haven't watched the replay, but from what I saw, he provided some real go-forward.
• Cummins is the answer. He finished well, and made the right decisions. He knew when to run and when to come back inside to look for support.

A good win, but not sure it was a performance that would beat the all blacks

It's not often said that Digby was overshadowed by his other teammate on the other wing. You have to think his knee is still giving him problems.

 

[bryce]

The only thing I'd say about Cummins is that he just needs an extra yard of pace

 

[Penguin]

Attribute it to the players themselves I think.

So when they lose it's the coaches fault and when they win it's the players? Who'd want to be a coach! Always on a hiding to nothing.

 

[Braveheart81]

My thoughts on the game:

1. Even in my drunken, delirious state at 3am on Sunday morning, that was far too stressful. The last twenty minutes when we were holding on close to our own line were agonising. What an exciting match!

2. Dave Dennis played his best game as a Wallaby. Muscled up well, ran the ball strongly and got through plenty of work. He can compete at international level. He just needs to make it consistent.

3. TPN should have been replaced inside 20 minutes. As soon as he got bashed in the head and then stuffed up a couple of lineouts it was clear that he was crocked. It was stupid leaving him on until halftime.

4. Huge return to form from our scrum. Benny A is surely our most improved scrummager. He has gone from being a complete liability at scrumtime to a member of our best scrum. Well done to him. Benn Robinson had a really strong game and was huge in the scrum. Sitaleki Timani is a powerhouse and seemingly makes a massive difference.

5. The backline looked great. Offloads from everyone (including AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)!), good support play and everyone did their part.I would suggest that when McCabe comes back he should be competing with AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) for the 13 jersey. As solid as AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is, this looks like our weakest backline position currently. Barnes was tremendous at 15. His ownership of the high balls was great to see and his execution was solid.

6. Nick Phipps had a much better game. There were still some issues with his passing, but he set up our only try with a great run and perfectly executed pass to Cummins.

7. We beat the dirty Soap Dodgers. Sensational!

 

[barbarian]

It's not often said that Digby was overshadowed by his other teammate on the other wing. You have to think his knee is still giving him problems.

Cummins actually reminds me a lot of Digby circa 2010. Almost always breaking the first tackle, pulling off big hits, finding space every time.

 

[barbarian]

• The chip kicks worked today. Will they work next time?

That was another thing I really liked about the game. We found a tactic that WORKED, and we KEPT DOING IT, and lo and behold it KEPT WORKING!!!

I think we made 4 or 5 chip kicks, and on the 2 or 3 we didn't regather we still put England under a heap of pressure and from memory should have had at least one turnover from the ensuing ruck.

That should be the blueprint on chips:

1. Do it well. Every kick was well executed with chasers all aware it was happening.
2. If it doesn't work well the first time, put the club back in the bag and don't pull it out again.
3. Never in our own 30.
4. If it does work, make sure you do it again. But refer back to #1, and don't get silly.
.

 

[fatprop]

The chip kicks were more effective because we had chasers with intent who knew they were on.

Like when Barnes chipped for Beale, Beale was flying at the kick and put good pressure on the receiver.

 

[Scotty]

Last night also disproved the theory that our backline defence would fall to pieces without McCabe. I haven't seen the stats but from what I saw Taps was incredibly solid, with a few dominant hits thrown in.

I dare say that was our best backline defensive effort for a looooong time- between KB (Kurtley Beale)'s incredible consistency, Cummins' bell-ringers and Taps and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) in the centers we had the poms covered almost everywhere- did they even make a line break?
.

It didn't fall to pieces, but there was a few instances where they seemed a bit confused. I think that we were lucky that the Poms stuffed their own attacking raids on most occasions.

However the confusion could be mostly down to the new defensive combination. We will see over the next few games.

 

[Scotty]

I also agree that while Taps wasn't our best player, or probably even in the top three individual performers his contribution to the fludity of our game was easily noticeable. Isn't it also interesting to note his efforts comparatively at 12 and 13?

12 is so much better for him, because it allows him to use to his skillset to create space for those around him. It is also fantastic to have a left footed kicking option in midfield. His footwork, ball-skills and strength in contact make him a very sound prospect at inside center.

There are three large differences between McCabe and Tapuai:

1. Tapuai uses his feet before the line to change the point of contact, and try and find the week spot in defense
2. Tapuai is much more likely to pass, or get an offload away in contact
3. Tapuai can kick

Who would you rather defend against?

 

[cyclopath]

I have quietly touted Tapuai for a while, and I really feel he has to be our long term plan at 12. A really good footballer, who has the potential to be a major thorn in the side for our opponents for years to come.
Scotty has nailed his attributes well. This is the type of 12 I want to see.
Please, please let Qld play him there next year.

 

[rugbyisfun]

I have quietly touted Tapuai for a while, and I really feel he has to be our long term plan at 12. A really good footballer, who has the potential to be a major thorn in the side for our opponents for years to come.
Scotty has nailed his attributes well. This is the type of 12 I want to see.
Please, please let Qld play him there next year.

Bloody oath

 

[rugbyisfun]

Was listening to the post match ABC Grandstand radio interview replay in the car yesterday. I can't stand the way Deans responds, he is so boring. Cummins' little excerpt was brilliant. Finally a bloke with some character. I was pissing myself listening to him talk about his try.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Dingo talks like a seasoned "Yes Minister" Bureaucrat or Politician.

Fearful of actually saying anything that could be held against him at a later date, he resorts to obfuscation, PC speak, and goobledegook to avoid any clear statements.

A standard technique used by Politicians to sound like they actually know what is going on when in fact they have absolutely no idea and are hoping like hell they they will be able to throw the Journo off the scent by sounding very intelligent with their tangential buzzword laden buzzword bingo speak.

Refreshing to hear Shag Hansen of the Darkness, and Lancaster of the Soap Dodgers actually using plain English.

 

[thierry dusautoir]

My thoughts on the game:

1. Even in my drunken, delirious state at 3am on Sunday morning, that was far too stressful.

Seems to be a big problem....yes we won but it was a close call and i think Engalnd can officially say they lost it for themselves....especially robshaw (what was he thinking Flood hadn't missed all night and he passed up 4 shots at goal.)

We don't seem to ever be in full control these days and even our players look like they think the same. I know we didn't have our big leader sin horwill, genia and pocock their but surely Beale and Barnes have enough experience to say "Hey Guys lets keep it calm, follow my lead and we will grind it out."

I recognise there was improvement, but when you 6 points up we shoudl be throwing as many hail mary offloads or chip kicks. We should be taking control and marching up the field (because lets be honest we looke dgood with ball in hand and didnt need to kick it for metres.)

Wasn't a new dawn just us looking at snapshots from the album named "Good Ole Times"

 

[Scotty]

I have quietly touted Tapuai for a while, and I really feel he has to be our long term plan at 12. A really good footballer, who has the potential to be a major thorn in the side for our opponents for years to come.
Scotty has nailed his attributes well. This is the type of 12 I want to see.
Please, please let Qld play him there next year.

The stark difference between nz and oz when it comes to how our stars are used at super level. They generally play theirs in the same position for all blacks and super sides. We swap and change with the wind - Beale, JOC (James O'Connor), Barnes, taps, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), McCabe etc etc.

There is hardly a wallaby back that hasn't played 3 positions!