Australia v South Africa - Perth - 6 September 2014

[Hugh Jarse]

Well the less said about our round 2 match v The Darkness, the better.

A tweak or two may be needed to out tactics, preparation, or selections before we take on the Bokke and Bob's your uncle.

It can't it get any worse can it?

 

[Tangawizi]

Well the South Africans haven't been overly impressive either so hopefully last night was the Wallabies lowest point of the next decade. Or more.

I thought Palu had a barry crocker last night. The knock on 2 mins in and then knocking out AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). But with our options at lacking I can't see him losing his spot.

Hope TPN is back as we need to man the fuck up in the forward battles in these next 2 matches.

Bring back Horwill. We could've done with more experienced heads out there at Eden Park.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Imo the necessary changes are Foley to 10, Phipps to 9, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to wing, Kuridrani to 13, and Horwill to 5 to replace Simmons.

The backline changes just reinstate the combinations and structure that were developing nicely before Link had his brainfarts coming into the Bledisloes.

Can't see the pack being changed much mainly because of lack of options. If TPN is fit, he comes in. If Charles is injured and TPN not yet fit, Saia would be next on the bench. Toss up between Kepu and Alexander so I'd stay with Kepu. Palu had a very ordinary game yesterday but probably a bit harsh to discard him after his best season in years. But Higgers looked good in his late cameo. Pity Jones wasn't persevered with. He can cover 5,6 and 8 and plays with a bit of 'mongrel'.

Saffas and Argies will be a much different foe to the ABs. A settled Wallabies will be competitive against both.

 

[Blue]

Two teams with big question marks in lots of areas.

That will make for a cracker of a game I'd say.

 

[Braveheart81]

Team for this test:

Slipper, Hansen, Kepu (assuming TPN is still unavailable)
Simmons, Skelton
Higginbotham, Palu, Hooper
Phipps
Foley
Horne
To'omua, Kuridrani
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
Folau

Bench: Fainga'a, Cowan, Alexander, Carter/Horwill, Fardy, White, Beale, McCabe

TPN can't come back fast enough. We really need him.

Locks are a huge problem. Both Carter and Simmons were rubbish. Simmons at least made some tackles but his discipline was poor again. Both gave away a couple of penalties.

We need much more from Palu although he still topped the tackle count for the Wallabies despite only playing 55 minutes. Fardy should drop to the bench because Higgers has provided some impact. The aura around Fardy from last year is fading. He's no longer providing anywhere near that consistent effectiveness.

Phipps is the most obvious person to put into the starting team. He's added pace to our play and been far more effective than White. White has had two shockers in a row and he can't blame the weather for last night.

Foley needs to start at 10. Beale's defence is a bigger issue than anything else in his play. He's still important to our attack and I think creates more than Foley and To'omua but he needs to do that as a second playmaker and I don't think we can carry him in the starting side at 12. Beale has to come off the bench.

To'omua needs to do much more. At the moment the only good aspect of his play is his defence. He's providing nothing in attack and his passing has been consistently poor for two tests.

AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) had his worst game in a long time last night with some uncharacteristic mistakes. McCabe isn't providing much on the wing though and I think we need to bring Kuridrani in and move AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) out to 14. Maybe after the shoulder surgeries McCabe just can't hit like he used to. He still makes his tackles but he's no longer a dominant tackler.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Now is not the time for panic and wholesale changes, so I would favour keeping most of the match day 23 intact. With that said, there are some positions that need looking at: lock, half back and five-eighth in particular. The Bokke pack is every bit as powerful as the AB's, so we are going to have to find some starch there. I don't know where we're going to get it in the next two weeks, but we haven't got a hope of winning unless the pigs really front up. Also, can we please, once and for all, bin the idea of KB (Kurtley Beale) starting at 10? He's just not test class there and because it's such a pivotal position in terms of field position and alignment we need someone else to do the job. Foley is that guy for the moment. Phipps should also get an opportunity to start as well. I've been critical of him in the past but he's a much improved player this season. We need quick service at the breakdown to execute our game plan and he's the best candidate right now.

I don't advocate too many other changes, firstly because a lot of these blokes have done a good job in the last 12 months and also because there are no obvious replacements for them anyway. We aren't just going to magic up half a dozen mongrel tight forwards in a few weeks.

 

[Quick Hands]

Phipps, Foley, Toumua and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is the sort of solid mid-field needed against the Boks. Folau at fullback.

I'd like to see some genuine speed on the wings.

 

[barbarian]

I agree with Braveheart's team, but I would have Horwill in for Simmons as well. Clean out the second row completely. I might give Fardy one more chance though, needs to show he is still an effective carrier.

I thought TPN was 50/50 for the second Bled, so surely he should be right in two weeks time?
.

 

[Quick Hands]

To'omua needs to do much more. At the moment the only good aspect of his play is his defence. He's providing nothing in attack and his passing has been consistently poor for two tests.

AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) had his worst game in a long time last night with some uncharacteristic mistakes. McCabe isn't providing much on the wing though and I think we need to bring Kuridrani in and move AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) out to 14. Maybe after the shoulder surgeries McCabe just can't hit like he used to. He still makes his tackles but he's no longer a dominant tackler.

To'omua's lack of contribution in attack may be a function of playing outside Beale - they're just not a good 10/12 combination.

I'd forgive AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) as well, he's been our most consistent back for a long time - one of the few that could hold his head high during the Deans era. I'd prefer AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at outside and Kuridrani on the wing.

On McCabe - you dn't necessarily pick a winger for his ability to make good hits in defence - it's a position for attacking match-winners and with the greatest respect to his attributes, he ain't a match-winning winger.

 

[Braveheart81]

To'omua's lack of contribution in attack may be a function of playing outside Beale - they're just not a good 10/12 combination.

I'd forgive AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) as well, he's been our most consistent back for a long time - one of the few that could hold his head high during the Deans era. I'd prefer AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at outside and Kuridrani on the wing.

On McCabe - you dn't necessarily pick a winger for his ability to make good hits in defence - it's a position for attacking match-winners and with the greatest respect to his attributes, he ain't a match-winning winger.

I think it's a cop out blaming Beale for To'omua's lack of contribution. He's made plenty of mistakes and his passing has been poor. I agree their combination hasn't worked but that isn't down to just one of them.

In regards to McCabe I completely agree that wingers aren't there to put in big hits but strong tackling has always been one of the key strengths of his game and now he's not doing that so it makes him a far less effective player.

 

[Quick Hands]

I think it's a cop out blaming Beale for To'omua's lack of contribution. He's made plenty of mistakes and his passing has been poor. I agree their combination hasn't worked but that isn't down to just one of them.

In regards to McCabe I completely agree that wingers aren't there to put in big hits but strong tackling has always been one of the key strengths of his game and now he's not doing that so it makes him a far less effective player.

I'm not absolving To'omua from any responsibility, just that a 12 depends a lot on his combination with his 10.

 

[lpd]

I think we now all see why Ewen persevered with kuridrani at 13 when AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) was playing so well, i think at test level adam just provides more from the wing

 

[Marcelo]

Hey, what about McCabe's neck??? I heard that he might have a third neck injury

 

[Pfitzy]

I think we now all see why Ewen persevered with kuridrani at 13 when AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) was playing so well, i think at test level adam just provides more from the wing

I think it's more that AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) was playing the house down all year for the Tahs. But the Wallaby back line is set up differently and he's getting no ball.

 

[Marcelo]

My team:

1 Slipper
2 TPN (Come back, please!)
3 Kepu
4 Simmons
5 Horwill
6 Higginbotham
7 Hooper
8 Palu
9 Phipps
10 Foley
11 Horne
12 To'omua
13 Kuridrani
14 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15 Folau

 

[lewisr]

I think it's a cop out blaming Beale for To'omua's lack of contribution. He's made plenty of mistakes and his passing has been poor. I agree their combination hasn't worked but that isn't down to just one of them.

In regards to McCabe I completely agree that wingers aren't there to put in big hits but strong tackling has always been one of the key strengths of his game and now he's not doing that so it makes him a far less effective player.

Sorry but I thought To'omua played pretty similarly to how he has in the past. His kicking was pretty bloody good bar one miss (which is bound to happen when you go for more meters off a penalty, and I admire kickers who are willing to take this risk!). He had a few (two?) crap passes in a team that had no direction and probably could've gone a different way once with his restarts.

In the grand scheme of things, he still ran straight and hard, distributed just the way we want him to, was a rock in defence (ask Ryan Crotty) and generally kept a cool head. This is the definition of Matt To'omua and I really don't think he was that bad.

So I guess I agree but also disagree with what you're saying. I don't think its fair to blame Beale for his centre's lack of contribution, but I also don't think To'omua deserves the criticism in the first place.

It really does remind you how brilliant he and Quade combined towards the end of last year, they had that perfect yin yang thing going.

So I seriously think we stick with Matt at 12, it will take a lot of pressure off of Foley who can try and ease back into the role.

MHCS has my pick for a team.

 

[ACT Crusader]

Yeah I think AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is a an excellent test winger. Safe defender, runs straight and can link well with a direct fullback.

I thought Link was on to something in the French series with the Brumbies midfield combo. I think there is huge upside with To'omua and Kurindrani.

Something needs to be done about the locks, far too loose and lacked impact, however I'm not sure Link see's Horwill as the answer to those questions. The 3 in the two Bled tests are very young and other than Simmons have not played much test footy. So he may rotate them for the first Bok test so see how they man up.

Hooper remains first pick and captain, and I think Fardy and Palu get another test together.

Hooker is a big concern and you got nothing in terms of ball carrying and ruck aggression for your tighthead, Kepu. But he is one of your experienced players that should know how to step up after a poor showing.

Boks were a funny beast vs the Argies. At times looked class but then drifted out of the contest and the Argies made the most of it. Good comeback though. Perth is a decent venue for them also.

I really enjoy a Wallabies v Boks clash, and I expect this will be a close one.

 

[Marcelo]

If Link reuses the combination of the 7 wins in a row (Foley at 10, Kuridrani at 13 and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) on the winger) and if TPN returns, no problems, Wallabies should win in Perth

 

[KOB1987]

I agree with most here that Horwill needs to come in at some level, probably for Carter..Simmons has to stay there due to a lack of alternatives and his experience is valuable.

Phipps is the other necessary change and Foley to start, which will result in some back line reshuffling but I'm not going to try to predict what..

 

[Train Without a Station]

What has changed that Horwill is better than Carter now without playing another game?

I was Horwill's biggest supporter on here. Still am.

But just don't agree saying he needs to replace Carter just because he hasn't had a chance to fuck up. If he plays for Brisbane and has an absolute blinder this weekend, that's another story.

But just going for an alternative that was inferior, though not by far in my opinion, and expecting them to be better is fucking stupid.