Australia vs British and Irish Lions - 1st Test (Brisbane)

[I like to watch]

Re boots/studs & kickers slipping.

The teams have unfettered access to 1/2 the pitch for 45 minutes before kick off.

The kickers and others can test the surface then to confirm if they have made the correct decision regarding which boot/stud combination is optimal.

Given you see turf come up,it would appear the boots did their job and the turf didn't hold up?

 

[FrankLind]

You are going to be without your captain next week if there is any fairness to the citing procedure. At 3.00 mins. Nowhere near the ball and intentional. That is just filth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=...=fLg8VCLddoI&feature=player_detailpage#t=255s

 

[Brumby Runner]

Meh. Disappointing loss. We should have won that game by 7 or 8 points.

I don't think there was any great issue with JOC (James O'Connor) at 10. The backline with ball in hand looked fine. His errors were in his goalkicking which is slightly forgiveable if Lealiifano was the first choice kicker.

Missing 14 points versus their 3 is what cost us the game. A 7 or 8 point win from hitting most of our kicks and no one would be questioning JOC (James O'Connor) at 10 or any other selections.

The injury toll from this week is the biggest worry for the Wallabies. The most worrying is AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) because 13 is our hardest position to fill.

I expect that Barnes will be on the bench next week if he is fit enough to be in the team. Beale either needs to start at 10 or 15 (if Beale is at 10, JOC (James O'Connor) at 14 and Folau at 15 which has always been my most favoured selection option).

Our forward pack were excellent. No issues there at all. I expect we'll select the same pack next week if they're all available.

Folau's debut was all time. Two tries and several excellent plays including saving a try. If there was ever a doubt how valuable he could be to Australian rugby, it was extinguished tonight. The guy is incredible.

It has been mentioned many times in the past (perhaps even by yourself) that if an unsuccessful kick for goal had otherwise succeeded, the rest of the game would unravel somewhat differently. I don't think it can be said that we would have won had those 14 points been taken because the game would not have progressed the same as it did last night. But I do think it can be said that the Wallabies' backline play was not up to scratch because JOC (James O'Connor) was disappointing at 10. I would be fairly confident that with a more effective 10, the result could have been different.

Covering for the injuries will be a challenge. I hope that Berrick will now call it a day. He cannot continue to suffer head knocks if he wants to keep his health. If not, I sincerely hope he is not again selected at this level.

I said before the game that I wouldn't have selected KB (Kurtley Beale) for disciplinary reasons, but he did have some very good moments when he came on. I think his best position is 15, but I still would like to see Izzy play at 15 rather than on the wing. I think a few of Sexton's kicks behind the line would have been much better handled by Folau than they were by others who found themselves in that firing line last night. KB (Kurtley Beale) to the bench imo if he keeps his shit together after last night's disappointment.

10 needs to be filled by a proper 10, viz Cooper or To'omua. And I don't hold with the mantra that the Lions' test is no place for a debutant. Folau and Mowen answered that bit of misplaced conventional wisdom last night!

 

[gel]

Horwill making a strange habit of these accidental stampings at ruck/maul time.

I really rate Horwill as a player, but he is not superman and does not have x-ray vision.

There is physically no way he can possibly see where that guys head is given there are two bodies between his face and the player on the ground.

Not a stomp.

 

[Brisbok]

I really rate Horwill as a player, but he is not superman and does not have x-ray vision.

There is physically no way he can possibly see where that guys head is given there are two bodies between his face and the player on the ground.

Not a stomp.

Typical comment from a Reds fan - defend, defend, defend! Regardless of whether he was going for the head or not (he most likely wasn't), it was a clear stomp with his foot aimed at the body of the player on the ground. What other possible reason would he have to place his foot down with that force at such an awkward angle? Placing his right foot outside his left leg for balance? Do me a favour.

I have no doubt that if that was an opposition player you would be calling for some sort of disciplinary action.

 

[ACT Crusader]

Izzy on the wing was a great decision. He had the space out wide to work his magic, he didn't have to be the primary ball receiver of opposition kicks, he didn't have to be concerned with kicking.

It's not that he's not good at those things, but that his most dangerous weapon - running and exposing single coverage defenders.

It's a bit like Ben Smith for the ABs. He has shone in the black jersey in the 3 tests because Dagg has had those other responsibilities.

 

[lewisr]

I see that as understandable, when is the last time you have seen so many backs injuries in one test?

How the f*ck could he plan for that?

I still think it was an exceptional effort from the team to be that close

Did JOC (James O'Connor) have the best game? Nup, but there were a few things happening around him that made his life a tad more "difficult".

Like losing Lilo in a minute, like losing his replacement McCabe and having Hooper put outside him, like losing the third playmaker in Barnes. Like having Digby hiding a shoulder for 30 minutes, like having our most experienced back, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), hiding a shoulder and then going off.

And no backup for the backup for the backup.
Deans is a stupid prick,everyone knows he needed to have at least 3 specialist 12's on the bench.
I was just looking for your post before the game on this very topic, it must have been deleted?

You can't keep blaming injuries for what were ultimately Deans' own risky decisions. McCabe and Barnes were both known injury liabilities before they took the field. We had numerous other options that have played super rugby most of the season with no issues but Deans insisted on going with his favorites and it backfired. Lilo and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) were unfortunate but two injuries in a match are hardly a rare occurrence. It is Deans own fault for chosing undercooked players who are not match fit and are known to be injury concerns whether it be on the long term (Barnes) or in the season leading up to the series (McCabe). He has to take responsibility there. It ahs been mentioned here on numerous occasions that that could cause an issue. And it did

 

[gel]

I was gutted for Beale on that last kick but he should have kicked the previous penalty - he choked there but not on the last one..all in all there were many positives when he came on and that run from him was classic beale. I keep thinking about that kick that won us the game on the velt.

I disagree on the run thing. It was a good run, granted, but he was not going to score with it and he clearly should have passed the ball out to Falou who was on the overlap and had a much higher probability of scoring.

It was a poor choice - a choice that a player who had been playing more often this season would not have made.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Given you see turf come up,it would appear the boots did their job and the turf didn't hold up?

The modern preoccupation with using sand rather than soil as the major ingredient in top-dressing almost guarantees turf instability. Another possible contributing factor was that Beale's approach was across a spray-on advertising sign. The incidence of players slipping on such surfaces is abnormally high.
.

 

[fatprop]

On this congenital Deans hate, why is it that we get him blamed for every error and not lauded for the building a team that could end up looking like a dogs breakfast through injury, but were still in a position to win the game.

That says to me the team culture is there and the coach has something to do with that.

 

[gold heart]

I disagree on the run thing. It was a good run, granted, but he was not going to score with it and he clearly should have passed the ball out to Falou who was on the overlap and had a much higher probability of scoring.

It was a poor choice - a choice that a player who had been playing more often this season would not have made.

Fair call

 

[ACT Crusader]

You can't keep blaming injuries for what were ultimately Deans' own risky decisions. McCabe and Barnes were both known injury liabilities before they took the field. We had numerous other options that have played super rugby most of the season with no issues but Deans insisted on going with his favorites and it backfired. Lilo and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) were unfortunate but two injuries in a match are hardly a rare occurrence. It is Deans own fault for chosing undercooked players who are not match fit and are known to be injury concerns whether it be on the long term (Barnes) or in the season leading up to the series (McCabe). He has to take responsibility there. It ahs been mentioned here on numerous occasions that that could cause an issue. And it did

What rubbish.

The Barnes injury was a freak of nature. It was an unexpected occurrence that happened after a Folau was pushed. Undercooked had absolutely nothing to do with it. He was running freely, he was kicking freely (and poorly) and passing fine. If he had pulled a hammy or done his shoulder ala Michelak last week by just throwing his arm out in a careless tackle then maybe. But you are reaching with this one.

 

[maxdacat]

I disagree on the run thing. It was a good run, granted, but he was not going to score with it and he clearly should have passed the ball out to Falou who was on the overlap and had a much higher probability of scoring.

It was a poor choice - a choice that a player who had been playing more often this season would not have made.

He certainly seemed to be doing the right thing and looking around for someone to pass to but I couldn't see anybody in the clear.

 

[No4918]

The injuries to Barnes and Lilo can hardly be blamed on Deans. The thing that I am coming back to is lack of match time. They were wrapped in cotton wool for 3 weeks then asked to play the most physical game since at least last August. Ioane has barely played in 6 weeks and it showed.

The Lions have had a long, tough tour and lost a few to injury along the way but that is easier to fix than on the fly in our most important test since the RWC semi.

 

[Garryowen]

If AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is out, Fainga'a into 13. .

Nooooooo

 

[Joe Blow]

And no backup for the backup for the backup.
Deans is a stupid prick,everyone knows he needed to have at least 3 specialist 12's on the bench.
I was just looking for your post before the game on this very topic, it must have been deleted?

My point was that they go in a new direction with Lilo at 12 as a second playmaker, and that is being very generous to JOC (James O'Connor), and then put McCabe into the game as soon as Lilo is injured.
The 2nd playmaker theory goes out the window in the first minute. Why not introduce KB (Kurtley Beale) and continue on with the game plan?
I never posted about 12 before the test except maybe to say I was in favour of Lealifano playing there.

 

[RedsHappy]

You can't keep blaming injuries for what were ultimately Deans' own risky decisions. McCabe and Barnes were both known injury liabilities before they took the field. We had numerous other options that have played super rugby most of the season with no issues but Deans insisted on going with his favorites and it backfired. Lilo and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) were unfortunate but two injuries in a match are hardly a rare occurrence. It is Deans own fault for chosing undercooked players who are not match fit and are known to be injury concerns whether it be on the long term (Barnes) or in the season leading up to the series (McCabe). He has to take responsibility there. It ahs been mentioned here on numerous occasions that that could cause an issue. And it did

IMO, the lack of a warm-up game over the 3 week pre-Test period - especially given the rookies chosen and the limited S15 time of many of Deans' core selections - was a major misjudgment (as I posted prior, this is not an afterthought comment).

Courage etc is a fabulous attribute that we're right to applaud in rugby or any endeavour, but the truth is that it's a necessary but by no means sufficient ingredient in securing sustained success in elite professional sport.

You need excellence in all aspects of management as well.

 

[Athilnaur]

I'm seeing a lot of bitching.

Were things screwed up? Sure. But there was a lot of superb rugby played on both sides, and guess what? Things get screwed up.

How about less hand wringing about our soap box issues and more time giving some credit for a stunning effort by the team in the face of a very strong opposition and a bizarre injury situation, especially our forwards who in my view were epic to a man.

 

[gold heart]

If howill is gone which he most likely will be I would bring kimlin into the second row and MMM on the bench as cover for 4/6.

 

[Brumby Runner]

I don't get this comment.

I think Lealiifano was the crucial injury because it happened so early and made such a huge difference to our ball playing ability in the backline and our overall structure.

Lilo has been bashing down the door for two seasons and would have played plenty of tests last year if he hadn't broken his leg. Selecting him this year was one of Deans' better selection calls in my opinion.

How is a guy who has had lower limb injuries in the past knocking himself out in the first minute of the game, the coach's fault?

If anything, Lilo's injury maybe showed that the backup 12 has to be a better ball player than McCabe. We've had the player everyone argues as the best ball player (Cooper) struggle at 10 with McCabe outside him and now JOC (James O'Connor) has also struggled to have an impact on the game in the same situation.

The selection error imo was to not initially have two ball players at 10 and 12. JOC (James O'Connor) was not the right selection at 10 in the first place. This error was compounded by not having a ball playing 10/12 on the bench. For these errors Deans must accept responsibiilty (and not just by mouthing the words, assuming they can be understood).