In my opinion no one really made a claim for the Wallaby squad as it wasn’t that type of game. JOC (James O'Connor) (James O'Connor) looked classy with the ball in hand but he’s playing twighlight years footy these days. No where near test footy. Just not the hard edge to it.
Uru was outstanding. Best game this year but that could be because of the opposition. But I don’t think he is seriously in contention for the wallabies.
Peitsch and Swinton were two who probably upped their credentials for a call up more than anyway because they did the unflashy things well.
Wright scored a brilliant try from a Lonergan chip but his game has fallen so much. It’s astounding. So many mistakes. Will be fascinating to see if Larkham can build him back up next year.
Hard to get a clear gauge on the players in a game like this, but Uru was causing them (The Saints) all kinds of issues and looked great in this game. I'm not sure he's International quality yet, but at Super/this level he looks really solid. Swinton carried well, hit his rucks and likewise looked very good. Like you said did a lot of the unflashy things well. As a player I still hold hope that he'll come good if he keeps putting in the work, curbs the agro.
All Aussie backs looked pretty good, Wright, Peitsch, Anderson. The JOC (James O'Connor) / Lonergan axis performed well for much of the game and both put in good performances whilst still having a good old throw around. Things started to break down a lot more when those two were finally off.
I'm not sure I entirely agree on Wright, it's the kind of game where mistakes will happen when the continuity breaks down and he does tend to push things a lot of the time. Even that poor pass in the Wallabies v Argentina game was as much about him expecting someone where they weren't and pushing things when the risk/reward wasn't worth it. It's really why people find him so rocks and diamonds which isn't what you want at International level.
The player I'm really enjoying watching is Daugunu and his move to the centers. I really like his shift in off the wing. He's a strong player, is tackling well and has the capacity to get himself through for an offload. Feel like he's a real loss to the Reds with his shift down to Melbourne.
Piasami also looked to be finding a little form which speaks well for his forthcoming season. Hasn't looked the same after his injuries.
Scrum and lineouts are a little hard to judge with a bunch of lads thrown together, but overall the forwards did well. The maul defense was pretty good. Can tell Fisher is in the coaching staff. Actually breakdown work in general was not too bad. Players like Neville did ok, but you can see why he's not over in France. Likewise players like Harry Johnson-Holmes are just not back to where they were, let alone kicked on from where he was, which is a shame. The injuries have really set him back. We need some more props coming through.
Anyway, fun to have something to tie us over until the RWC starts.
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