Bledisloe 2 "Do or Die" Wallabies v Ab's in Sydney

[louie]

deans has to go, the Tahs could use him but he isnt international standard! maybe him and john mitchel can do a talking tour on inflated statistics!

can i ask why?
and who would you pick?

 

[Spook]

Bliksem I cant understand Henry& Deans dropping Nunu & Cross. :nta: I know one thing, Lee's rabbit is going to be tested with the high ones with Carter and Lucky Luke. Big tester for the young man. That Wallaby backline look thin defensive wise but then without Nunu the All Blacks loose one of the best attacking weapons.

Nothing wrong with AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)'s defense. He is playing in hist most effective position IMHO. Uoung "Punchmeplease" O'Connor punches well above his weight (drum roll). He made a tackle on Spies a lot of people would have missed.

I think AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is probably a better defender than Morty particularly after the tackle has been made (excellent at counter rucking and forcing turnovers) but he hasn't played much at 13 so that could be a worry.


Burgess's selection is baffling. The guy is a protected species.

Oh yeah, and play with a bit of bloody structure.

 

[louie]

here here spook

 

[the gambler]

I'm guessing Deans was worried about having both Palu and Elsom in the side from a fitness side of things. Personally I would have taken a bit of a gamble and put Palu on the bench in a 5-2 split. Would backfire if there was an injury to a back early on but I loved the impact Palu made against England at Twickers off the bench and would like to see that again.

As it is either Elsom or both 2nd rowers will have to play the full 80, and I worry that we wont have enough ball runners if Elsom is injured or struggles with the pace of the game.

Got some tickets today but not sure if I will be able to manage to get off work. If i do we will lose, if I dont go we will win.

 

[disco]

JOC (James O'Connor) is very good under the high ball & AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is a very good defender so I have no problems with those selections, pretty happy with the side I think Palu is a little unlucky to be dropped from the 22 but maybe his fitness is an issue.

I hope Burgess can lift even though I prefer Genia as we need a big game from our halves if we are going to win.

 

[Lee Grant]

If i do we will lose, if I dont go we will win.

Better change you username mate. That's a piss poor attitude if you like the punt.

But just in case - stay at work.

 

[OZGOD]

I hope Elsom puts the fear of God into them. We need a bit of mongrel in the side. :elsom:

 

[waratahjesus]

deans has to go, the Tahs could use him but he isnt international standard! maybe him and john mitchel can do a talking tour on inflated statistics!

can i ask why?
and who would you pick?

he shouldnt have got the job in the first place, he only has it cos a few people in power had massive hard ons for him. i see him as the same sort of coach as mitchell, without an awesome squad (and the crusaders had depth up the ying yang) he cant really do much. we have had a full year of this and that, the EOYT was good but realistically, the france game was won by the ref, we beat italy in the last ten via a shephard and if anyone cant beat england currently they should stop playing. the results dont lie and you can bang on about culture or eras, eddie jones had success untill the wheels fell off, we dont view him as speacial!,

i dont see why we keep making excuses for whats happening, the wallabies play without a plan b, we kick when we have no chase, we play giteau as if he is the chosen one and he hasnt delivered against a quality side for a long time, we drop one player from the squad in palu that when you check the stats has a higher workrate than his replacement, we have pocock on the bench like were building to the world cup when he wont drop sharpe to blood someone that might help in the tight. its inconsistant and the same as it ever was. he aint the messiah, he is a kiwi on a f'n huge contract!

the job should have gone to ewen or another aussie, there is plenty out there, we just went for marketing over substance!

 

[chriscullen]

I just cannot accept that Henry has once again chosen his love child Rokocoko who has yet to fire all season whilst Nonu has played a couple of average games and gets dropped. Cory Jane at the very least should have been a reserve , there is no point Donald being reserve as McAlistair can cover for Carter if needed.
I like the look of the Aussie forwards, Im not sure of OConnor at the back,Carter will test him all night.
Interestingly The Qld TAB has Wallabies Faves at $1.80.ABs $2.

 

[fatprop]

I just cannot accept that Henry has once again chosen his love child Rokocoko who has yet to fire all season whilst Nonu has played a couple of average games and gets dropped. Cory Jane at the very least should have been a reserve , there is no point Donald being reserve as McAlistair can cover for Carter if needed.
I like the look of the Aussie forwards, Im not sure of OConnor at the back,Carter will test him all night.
Interestingly The Qld TAB has Wallabies Faves at $1.80.ABs $2.

I think Cowen will be doing the testing. O'Conner will be box kicked to death

 

[RugbyReg]

I'm a fan of Kieran Read as a player. I think he's an immense talent. I don't see him as a test match #8 however.

The battle of the backrow really will be fascinating. The expectations on Rocky are massive.

 

[Lindommer]

While AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) isn't a crash baller, he has been more effective in making metres recently than Mortlock. What I like about him is that he normally beats the first defender and then keeps the legs pumping in tackles. I also think he his balance is one of the best in world rugby - very hard to knock him off his feet with a half tackle.

Forgive me for sounding like a broken record but I'll scratch away: for me AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)'s best performance the last couple of years was at 12 against the BaaBaas at Wembley last year. I though he was outstanding. Unfortunately for him that effort increased his versatility and reinforced coaches' view of him as a utility back. And inside centre is one position we seem to have covered with Barnes, JOC (James O'Connor) and Giteau ahead of AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). I'd say his best position is 13, followed by 15 and 12, in that order.

 

[Scotty]

You are right Lindommer, he was fantastic in that game at 12.

As it is either Elsom or both 2nd rowers will have to play the full 80, and I worry that we wont have enough ball runners if Elsom is injured or struggles with the pace of the game.

Gambler, there is a worse option than them playing the full 80. It could be that Deans sees Mumm as lock reserve and Pocock as loose forward reserve, meaning we will finish with a backrow of Smith, Pocock and Brown.

 

[louie]

he shouldnt have got the job in the first place, he only has it cos a few people in power had massive hard ons for him. i see him as the same sort of coach as mitchell, without an awesome squad (and the crusaders had depth up the ying yang) he cant really do much. we have had a full year of this and that, the EOYT was good but realistically, the france game was won by the ref, we beat italy in the last ten via a shephard and if anyone cant beat england currently they should stop playing. the results dont lie and you can bang on about culture or eras, eddie jones had success untill the wheels fell off, we dont view him as speacial!,

i dont see why we keep making excuses for whats happening, the wallabies play without a plan b, we kick when we have no chase, we play giteau as if he is the chosen one and he hasnt delivered against a quality side for a long time, we drop one player from the squad in palu that when you check the stats has a higher workrate than his replacement, we have pocock on the bench like were building to the world cup when he wont drop sharpe to blood someone that might help in the tight. its inconsistant and the same as it ever was. he aint the messiah, he is a kiwi on a f'n huge contract!

the job should have gone to ewen or another aussie, there is plenty out there, we just went for marketing over substance!

bullshit.
Deans got the job because he has an awesome record. 5 titles at super level is very impressive. yes he had a great but he also had a huge hand inm devloping them. To say that Ewen should have been picked is laughable. Ewen had great squads and couldn't win a title.
We don't view eddie jones as being special because he went from being the the Australia coach to reds and coached them to the most shameful years in their history.
The year before deans took over we had our equal worst result in any world cup. The next year we a had great EOYT. yes you can be be picky about how we won it. but if barnes had passed that ball you'd be talking differently about the whole thing. As for South Africa. This year we weren't beaten by 40+.
Palu has been dropped becaue he can only play one position. Brown, Smith and Pocock can play two each. it gives more cover. plus Palu has been awful when compaired to his form last year.

 

[louie]

Also I Agree with on the points abourt the tactics.
i'll be suprised if we see sharpe, baxter and mortlock next year.

 

[fatprop]

Also I Agree with on the points abourt the tactics.
i'll be suprised if we see sharpe, baxter and mortlock next year.

Sharpe will be there until Vickerman returns, none of the reserves are any better

Baxter will be there as well, Alexander will get little to no time at THP with the ponies, so until that happens I can't see him taking over. It will more likely be Weeks, Palmer, Fairbother, Dunning or if he gets his arse into gear Sheperdson as they will all get decent time at THP in the S14.

Mortlock needs to drop out of the November tour, properly rest his bones and see how he goes in the S14.

 

[Epi]

I just cannot accept that Henry has once again chosen his love child Rokocoko who has yet to fire all season whilst Nonu has played a couple of average games and gets dropped. Cory Jane at the very least should have been a reserve , there is no point Donald being reserve as McAlistair can cover for Carter if needed.
I like the look of the Aussie forwards, Im not sure of OConnor at the back,Carter will test him all night.
Interestingly The Qld TAB has Wallabies Faves at $1.80.ABs $2.

I'm sure the Wallabies are cheering there's no Nonu. Even when he is not playing well, he still does one or two things that turn a game. And I haven't seen Rokothoko do a thing in the last 12 months.

It's now or never...

 

[Scotty]

I don't think the Wallabies would be worried about Nonu either way. I don't ever remember him playing that well againsts us. In saying that McAllister is just as likely to make a game changing mistake as he is to do anything good.

 

[RugbyReg]

Agree Scotty. I'd almost prefer to have Nonu there. He limits their options. Wouldn't mind RoSo there as well.

 

[Gagger]

Totally agree - would prefer them in. These two have been major culprits within the All Black "brain void". If you put Nonu down - like Buns does - he's got nothing and loses his rag. I thought the Kiwis loved him. Damn.