Australia v. France 10 Nov 2012 Stade de France, Paris

[Richo]

Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but the inability of the Wallabies to create opportunities, let alone score tries, seems to suggest that we have a problem in attack. Multiple problems, I would say, so I'm not laying the blame exclusively on McCabe by any means. But I do think he's being played out of position, which is exacerbating an already bad situation.

I wouldn't pursue this debate. We're pretty sure that Slim293 is McCabe's dad.

 

[Moono75]

Terrible effort by the Wallaby 'collective' cause they can't and shouldn't be referred to as a team. That would indicate that these guys are all moving in the same direction with a common purpose and that is far from the case.

Just a horrendous f@arking nightmare Australian Rugby has been turned into and no one wants to make the hard call and pull the trigger on a restart. Deans isn't working, hasn't worked and doesn't look like working. The basic skills of the team are terrible. And any coach that plays Phipps for the entire game when he is obviously shit is just signalling to the wallabies management 'please fire me'.

 

[Antony]

I've got the replay on now, and to be fair to us.....

That first French try did come from a fair bit of cheating.

Dennis put himself in that position though. He initiated the contact, needlessly, which made an otherwise very blatant hold-back look far less suspicious.

I really rate him usually, but that was one forgettable game.

 

[Slim 293]

I wouldn't pursue this debate. We're pretty sure that Slim293 is McCabe's dad.

If I were fathering children at that age I would be a medical wonder.

 

[Mr Doug]

Please keep Cummins in the side, that man is built for test rugby. Once JOC (James O'Connor) comes back into #10 and he gets world class service he will be a try machine.

Only if he learns to hold onto the ball.

 

[Richo]

A few random observations from the match:

• The French were awesome. When I saw the tears during La Marseillaise I thought, "This is going to be ugly. I wish I could change my pick." Their defensive line was very disciplined - it rarely looked like there were any gaps, and they realigned rapidly.
• Our forwards were good early, with Palu and TPN getting over the gain line consistently off short ball. Pretty quickly, however, things deteriorated and we stopped making those consistent metres around the ruck. After that, there was very little pressure.
• Very poor from the backs. It wasn't just Phipps who struggled. Harris threw a couple of terrible passes, Beale's struggles have been well-documented, and both centres were anonymous. Cummins can hold his head up, however. He hit the line with pace, got himself involved, and was good under the high ball. Much better than AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), I thought.
• Back line organization is woeful. Of all the aspects of Deans' tenure, his insistence on coaching the backs himself is the most bizarre. The utter reliance on x-factor magic becomes clear when that magic isn't around. We've been shown up badly in this regard with the injuries this season. If Deans had more of a system and more established structure, we'd see the second tier guys slotting in much more smoothly.
• Barnes added a lot when he came on. I'd like to see him replace Harris.
• It's a shame that Hooper and Poey will likely be contesting for the 7 jersey. Even if Poey provides an upside (debatable on return from injury), it will be marginal.
• A very rough time to debut for Paddy Ryan. It seemed like he suffered for the sins of his predecessors, and the ground was pretty torn up and slippery.
• Not Owens' best game. Touchies were even worse. Missing Gill's number was atrocious. Surprised that there wasn't even a warning on the dangerous tackle on AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). First French try was dubious. Overall, I don't think his reffing favoured one side or the other. But with the Wallabies playing very poorly, the tough calls that went against them hurt a lot more.

After Quadegate, I said that he'd sealed the deal: Deans would be around until after the Lions. If the Wallabies put in another performance like that against the Poms, I could well be proven wrong.

 

[Scarfman]

Not true in fact. Still about half a dozen behind Dwyer.

That's the best news I've had all day. C'mon ARU, don't let that happen.

 

[Richo]

If I were fathering children at that age I would be a medical wonder.

Uncle?

 

[TOCC]

how many times is that the Wallabies have been held try-less in 2012?
3 or 4?

 

[chiraag]

I think that this game was pretty much a fair reflection of where the wallabies are at this point in time, and probably for the last couple of years. We really don't deserve to be 2nd in the rankings, and seem to have just been lucky that our opposition hasn't brought their A game in a lot of our recent games in the rugby championship. We've eked out a few wins just through determination, luck and ugly rugby.

As much as I would change a few selections in the team (like obviously never letting Phipps near a Wallaby jersey ever again), I think it really comes down to there just being no actual game plan under Deans. This "play what's in front of you" excuse for a game plan is clearly just a poor disguise for not actually doing any proper coaching of game plans, set moves, etc. and is relying on our players being individually better skilled that our opposition, rather than having a smart tactical gameplan to defeat each opponent, like is the traditional Wallaby way. That and I think a lot of our players just seem a little lazy, which I am going to blame a lot on there being so many Waratahs in the team - they just don't seem to have the passion for the jersey. This is clearly exhibited by our kick chase, where we are only ever lucky to have 1 person properly chasing an up and under, and our line just meanders up, most of the time without any good structure, and 1 out of 4 times gets majorly found out resulting in a big line break or try to the opposition. It is also exhibited by our very poor support play and realignment - our forwards are always late to arrive at the breakdown, don't clean out well when they get there, and we end up needing to commit a large number of players just to secure our own ball, which is inevitably slow. Pocock and now Hooper have pretty much been playing a lone hand at the breakdown for a few years now and it's just not going to work for most games. Compare that to the French support play today, and you can see we are miles behind in that important aspect of the game.

Anyway, this has turned out to be quite a rant. Basically, we have no gameplan, not enough players trying their guts out (we need more Honey Badgers), and our basic skills aren't up to scratch either. It seem that the majority of rugby followers in Australia can see that most of this has to be the responsibility of the coaching staff and Deans needs to go, probably along with a few of his assistants. I'm almost hoping for a few similar results in the next few weeks just so this might actually happen, though I really can't stand losing to the Poms.

 

[Ignoto]

So, the last time the Wallabies scored a try was in the 65th minute against Argentina.

Since then, we've gone two games trying to get a five pointer. If you include the remaining time in the Argentina game, over 175 minutes without a try.

 

[RugbyReg]

how many times is that the Wallabies have been held try-less in 2012?
3 or 4?

4! In 5 other games we were only able to score 1 try.

 

[Joe Blow]

So what changes do we see next week?

Sheehan to 9?
Dennis to the bench, with Samo to 6, Pocock to 8 and Hooper at 7? Palu and Gill/Dennis take their spots on the pine?
Sita into the bench spot for Simmons that deservedly goes home?
Barnes replacing Harris at 15?
Digby back to 11 with AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) retained at 14?
Ryan starting at THP?
Fatcat retaining LHP or Slipper in his place?
Moore starting at 2 with TPN on the bench?

Sheehan to nine definitely
Timani to 6
Dennis out of the 22
Barnes to 15
Digby to 11
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to 13
Taps to 12
Ben Alexander to start at TH
Moore starting
Fat Cat retained at LH to give us a running chance at scrum time
Pocock, Mitchell and Samo on the bench with whoever is left

Simmons will be on his way home no doubt. Higgers on the plane to play in the final 2 tests.

 

[Moono75]

We should all rest comfortably in the knowledge that Australian Rugby at the minute is world class/leading in no area. Sadly despite our ramblings, tirades and banter on selections no one in authority seems to care. The focus seems to be have four years of shit rugby and then make sure your in a reasonable position to have a crack at the World Cup....then go back to sleep for another 4 years. Ho hum......

 

[Slim 293]

Sheehan to nine definitely
Timani to 6
Dennis out of the 22
Barnes to 15
Digby to 11
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to 13
Taps to 12
Ben Alexander to start at TH
Moore starting
Fat Cat retained at LH to give us a running chance at scrum time
Pocock, Mitchell and Samo on the bench with whoever is left

Simmons will be on his way home no doubt. Higgers on the plane to play in the final 2 tests.

There certainly doesn't need to be that much tinkering.

It's a shame that Beale's kicking isn't more reliable so we could have AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at fullback.

Having to choose between Harris and Barnes is no fun.

Otherwise the only real changes should be Moore to start. Maybe Timani at 6 if fit.

And if Digby is good then bring him in for the expense of Cummins.

 

[Joe Blow]

There certainly doesn't need to be that much tinkering.

It's a shame that Beale's kicking isn't more reliable so we could have AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at fullback.

Having to choose between Harris and Barnes is no fun.

Otherwise the only real changes should be Moore to start. Maybe Timani at 6 if fit.

And if Digby is good then bring him in for the expense of Cummins.

There needs to be more than just a couple of changes Slim because if we roll that same team and (non)game plan out against the Poms we will be on the end of another similar hiding.

We again went into an important game yesterday with a solitary play maker. Most times we have done so in the past we have been slammed. For this reason Barnes must play at 12 or 15, probably 15. With Digby available, if he is, then AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) can be moved back to his favoured position 13. Cummins is about the only back who deserves to keep his place. Mitchell will hopefully be able to come on off the bench.
Our forwards were smashed by Les Bleus. Now, I know their pack played extremely well but we went into this game thinking we would be able to match them up front and chip away with Harris' goal kicking. It will not get any easier against the Poms in the set piece or at the breakdown.

 

[Slim 293]

Rotating the players around and playing the same tactics won't fix anything either.........

 

[ACR]

Watched the midday replay. Awful. Combine that with France playing rather well and you have a smacking. Did not see ONE SINGLE PRE-DETERMINED TACTIC. They still look like headless chicken with the ball in hand. Couldn't believe how bad Beale was at 10, part his fault, part mediocre half back, part terrible DEEP and STATIC back line.

I don't think it's very hard to come up with a conclusion on Australian rugby right now. The cattle are just not that good, it's difficult (when I can't be bothered thinking hard enough) to pinpoint the specific reasons for this. I found myself thinking this just into the second half, the Australian players just have no idea what it takes or where to penetrate or HOW TO ORGANISE THEMSELVES. They aren't "natural" test players, this ability should be ingrained WELL BEFORE TEST LEVEL. You could argue this should be fixed by the coach, and if he is telling his players to 'play what's in front of them', then he is telling them the wrong thing. It might work with the VERY BEST 15 eligible but outside of the top 15/22 Australian players they just don't have the talent, or 'rugby smarts' to make up the difference. I think I'm just repeating what everyone else has said but I am in total agreement. There is no reason why Australia (the lucky country) can't organise a world beating (minus AB's) team.

The problem is not completely Robbie Deans BUT he is a significant part. I said earlier in the year to just cut the losses and move on from Deans. Problem is, nobody wants to take the poisoned chalice. Particularly going straight into a Lions series. Mackenzie has even said this himself prior, saying "he doesn't feel ready yet". Bollocks, he just doesn't want to jump into a pile of shit. Honestly, while Quade Copper is not the smartest cookie, I couldn't help but agree with his earlier comments, aside from the manner in which he delivered them. The development pathways of players and coaches in Australia is a bit of a mess. Someone needs to grab hold of the ARU (like a dictator) and make sweeping changes. Flat out copy the NZRU system. Start the very week after the final test of the year. How you can be losing fans and players to an inferior (NRL) product I never know.

 

[KevinO]

The way England played last night the Wallabies will not be able to contain them. Forwards and backs worked as one massive unit and could have put 100 points on the board if they where playing with a dry ball.

I like how Nick Phipps is getting the blame, when he had 8 forwards who could not protect the ball. Would not matter who played 9 in this game, they wouldn't stand a chance when the support for the ball carrier was never present.

No trys in over 2 games, well you do have a side full of Tah's who only scored more tries than Force and Lions last season. They have no attacking mind set between the lot of them, shows how much you miss Pocock and Higgers in the forward line. At least they can threaten the line.

 

[Slim 293]

I don't think anyone is being harsh on Phipps.

He was rubbish. Again.

His passing technique in particular is very, very poor.