Bledisloe #2 - AUS v NZL, Eden Park, Auckland, August 15th

[Dingleberry Hufflethwaite III]

Nah, at least White's passes were aimed at another player....

Eventually. . .

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[scott]

How many times has Nonu played 12 with Carter and Smith as his 10 and 13? Just guess, come up with any number (over 30 is my advice).

So him coming back in, combined with a forward pack that also had its combinations back (Whitelock + Retallick, McCaw + Read + any other) is a known quantity.

Cheika has had less than a year - and only about 9 Tests - with these guys to evaluate them. So just playing the same XV every game isn't going to do it, because you get injuries, you get form changes, you get other variables that you need to quantify before you go ahead.

Its called "coaching" and it happens at all levels. Nothing is set in concrete.

Well IMHO I would start with the team I lucked onto last week and make any small changes once the game was well in hand. Think what a boost to the team two wins in a row would have been for them going into the WC? Instead you have the opposite, a team thrashed. But if you say "good coaching"......

 

[Viking]

Cheika definitely tinkered, but were we really thinking that tonight's starting line up would be the line up for Wales, England, and (hopefully) beyond? We knew that a lot of these players were in the 'possibles' section, and some 'probables' were on the pine or wearing blazers tonight. It's disappointing to see a team capitulate like that, especially after our start was solid, but it's not all gloom and doom. If we get past England, I think we're a great chance to go deep beyond the quarters.

Except this game didn't really answer any questions in terms of team selections:

8. Higgers V McCalman V Palu - Poey will prob start but who's the backup?
9. Phipps V White - Who bloody knows
10. Cooper V Foley V To'omua V Gits - I dont know (is Lilo a chance?)
12. To'omua V Gits - don't know
14. Speight, Tomane, Horne - who ever misses out is pretty hard one by.

Is Skelton worth it? Douglas and Mumm didn't show much.

This game gave us more questions then answers.

 

[Train Without a Station]

I think the intelligence of some posters is shown by the vitriol aimed at the halves both this and last week.

Phipps had a very rare off night and Foley also had one. Despite this the team still won.

This week White had an off night, Quade was yellow carded and when we had 15 To'omua kicked down their throat:

Despite similar quality performances from halves we won one game and lost the other.

Clearly that's not where we won, and obviously not where we lost if we managed to win despite it. The problems still lie in numbers 1-8. Pocock didn't start whilst of the 6 who started both, only Horwill had a strong game, but still looked tired:

 

[tragic]

You fail to appreciate just how far off their game the ABs were last week. Tonight we got evidence of it, and we couldn't match it.

Maybe. Or maybe we were just as far off our game tonight.

 

[galumay]

Well the natural order of things was restored, sad as I am to see the Wobblies thrashed, there were a number of things I predicted, I thought the AB's would come back strongly and win this game - although I didnt pick such a huge margin, I warned that we could not keep expecting the bench to salvage wins in the last 20 minutes or so as had happened through the RC, I had also made the point that we were very lucky to win a couple of those games.

I think its simply ridiculous to critisise Cheika for the loss, equally its silly to critisise individual players, they were blown off the park by the world's best team playing at 100% for 80 minutes, a team that we annoyed into form by beating them last week. The wobblies were simply not allowed to play any better than they did. Its a credit to a superb team that has dominated a sport like no other I can think of.

No doubt the couch-coaches will now ring the changes and come up with a team that could beat the AB's when they are on song, at home, in the fortress - sorry, but you are wrong.

The critics of Shags and his team of worn out ancient heroes look rather silly tonight, those old, past it buggers took us apart comprehensively and it seems the coach was able to get a little bit more out of them this week!

Well dont AB's, you truly are a champion team, commiserations Wobblies, you werent actually that bad, you have a team that can beat most sides in the world at the moment and even the better ones if they are a little bit off their best. There are great signs coming into the RWC and at least we now know just how much the gap is between number 1 and the rest!

 

[TSR]

Ha ha - I hope so Mr Tabua.

Cheika rolled the dice and it sure but him in the arse tonight. But, before tonight I definitely thought he had us heading in the right direction. Only time will tell I guess - but he has a very tough job in front of us based on how the Wallabies have been going for the last 10 years. Expecting him to break through without any set backs is a touch unrealistic I feel.

 

[The Snout]

Drawn Series 1-1 so we don't get the cup this year.

Apart from a couple of good home games not real convinced NZ are the goods either. If a forward pack fronts up to them, which ours didn't tonight, they look beatable provided you sustain the effort, which SA didn't.

Happy with the way the Wallabies started. And the heart shown in the first half, only down by that Coles try.

It's that second half that needs a hard look.

For a guy like Check , who only got the team late last year, no 4 year period to mould the team , I'm happier with them than I was previously.

Australian rugby is just a few hard bastards short in the forwards, same problem as previous.

As for 9 and 10 ? No one stands out. Apart from trying Giteau at 10 it doesn't seem to matter who is picked.

 

[Teh Other Dave]

This game gave us more questions then answers.

You've forgotten Simmons at 4/5 who gives us a good option at the line out (sorely missed).

The only major headache is 10. Probably a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

 

[Pfitzy]

Well IMHO I would start with the team I lucked onto last week and make any small changes once the game was well in hand. Think what a boost to the team two wins in a row would have been for them going into the WC? Instead you have the opposite, a team thrashed. But if you say "good coaching"..

And if the game ends up the same way? Do you make your changes against the USA, thrash them, and say "yep, that's the team!"

 

[Upthenuts]

no doubt Richie McCaw is the GOAT!

 

[TahDan]

You've forgotten Simmons at 4/5 who gives us a good option at the line out (sorely missed).

The only major headache is 10. Probably a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Yeah, no one has stood up have they. To'omua did last week when we were dominating up front, but that's about all you can say.

 

[Pfitzy]

You've forgotten Simmons at 4/5 who gives us a good option at the line out (sorely missed).

Early lineout issues also hindered our start, but then we should have just stuck 5 man lineouts in all night and relied on speed.

 

[TOCC]

Yep, Simmons has secured himself a starting spot at the RWC by not playing during the TRC... Il be interested to see the stats for the Wallabies lineout success rate for the Rugby Championship, It won't be pretty.


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[The_Brown_Hornet]

I think it's important not to throw the baby out with the bath water after a loss like this. Some soul searching will be required, but at least we know where we're at now and have tested out some combinations across the four games. With that, we've found I reckon about 18 or so of our best 23 with a couple of positions up in the air. the scrum has been good, the lineout OK but needs work and the breakdown good when Hooper and Pocock on together. Our back play is still looking a little pedestrian for mine and that's a worry. We're standing too deep and not getting over the gain line. Somebody needs to flatten and then put some blokes through holes. On the upside, the defence has looked very good this international season and that will bode well next month.

 

[TOCC]

What about Kuridrani, he didn't do anything wrong but he was the Wallabies go to man for getting across the advantage line in 2014 and has hardly been sighted in 2015.


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[MrTabua]

You've forgotten Simmons at 4/5 who gives us a good option at the line out (sorely missed).

The only major headache is 10. Probably a subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Butch James says a little paracetamol will fix that usual structure fault.

 

[Pfitzy]

What about Kuridrani, he didn't do anything wrong but he was the Wallabies go to man for getting across the advantage line in 2014 and has hardly been sighted in 2015.

1) Because crabbing Giteau
2) Because poor Phipps/Foley in Sydney
3) Because poor White/Cooper in Auckland

I mean, you expect a guy to inject himself, and you'd think it would be easy to run an unders line when everyone else is drifting like a hippie with a fresh batch of LSD, but FFS every inside defender in the world is waiting for you.

 

[tragic]

Anyone else think Giteau looked pretty sharp again at 12 when he came on?
I think he's grabbed the starting 12 jersey.
Fardy looked pretty good again as well.
Not many others that did their chances any favours.

 

[blindsider]

Kiwis played negative rugby most of the time. The 10 minute period when QC (Quade Cooper) was binned was the difference in the end obviously. He should be goneski. Palu was terrible.
Maybe we have a clearer picture of the WC squad now. Hopefully without the aforementioned players.
Kiwis too good tonight, but very negative and the RWC2015 isn't played at Eden Park. The Northern hemisphere sides will out negative them for sure.


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