Bledisloe 2 - Wallabies vs All Blacks, Wellington, 27 August 2016

[KOB1987]

Working within the existing squad, if you construct a starting XV from from the players who were either no worse than average last weekend, or who outperformed by virtue of not being picked in the first place, you end up with something like this:

1. Slipper
2. TPN
3. Roberston
4. Mumm
5. Coleman
6. Timani
7. Hooper
8. Pocock
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Mitchell
12. Kerevi
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
14. Hodge
15. Folau

Probably worth a shot.

EDIT: by 'average' I mean you'd give a score of 5/10 or higher

 

[Viking]

Apparently the Accountant will not be starting in Wellington. Hype is building that Ioane will start on the wing, but I'd have thought that McKenzie would be the better like-for-like replacement. Either way, it seems as though there will be at least one young exciting back debuting of Saturday.

You'd imagine they'd have McKenzie on the bench before considering him as a starter purely for his impact off the bench - similar role to BB previously. Perfect way to inject him to test rugby

 

[ACT Crusader]

Hooper has been a good player and still is good but his performance on Saturday night was very poor. I thought he lacked any real impact on the game.

 

[tragic]

Hooper has been a good player and still is good but his performance on Saturday night was very poor. I thought he lacked any real impact on the game.

I thought he had a massive impact - especially in the lineout.

 

[Sully]

I thought no one had any impact on the game.

 

[KOB1987]

Hooper has been a good player and still is good but his performance on Saturday night was very poor. I thought he lacked any real impact on the game.

He was below his best just like everyone else, but I thought he was OK-ish. This is only for a bit of fun anyway so if you scrub him you go this way (I've rearranged the backs a bit too):

1. Slipper
2. TPN
3. Roberston
4. Skelton
5. Coleman
6. Mumm
7. Pocock
8. Timani
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Mitchell
12. Hodge
13. Kerevi
14. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15. Folau

 

[Rugbynutter39]

I tend to agree. I was only leaving judgement of ability out of the equation as it would sidetrack the real issue, being the long term damage done by the practice.

Unmm AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) was one of the better players from a poor crop last game - AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) also is there because we have fuck all experienced wing options - so what you would drop AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) and retain dhp - please.


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[Rugbynutter39]

Henry Speight is fit, available and will play in the NRC to try and get selection for the later stages of the RC.

Speight as been ordinary for years and never got back to the dazzle he showed years ago. Sad that people are looking to past wallaby failures to regurgitate


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[KOB1987]

Yeah I don't mind Genia and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) so much given the circumstances as they were among the first picked before they packed their bags less than a year ago, and more than likely would be selected in the 23 if they were still here. The Giteau one has sorted itself out and Mitchell falls in to the 'might be kinda useful' category..but I'd still rather see Hodge picked if only one of them can be. Let these 3 run their course then bush the practice barring exceptional circumstances.

 

[Slim 293]

Speight as been ordinary for years and never got back to the dazzle he showed years ago. Sad that people are looking to past wallaby failures to regurgitate


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Speight, if fit, will be a definite improvement on some of the options we have now..........

 

[Rugbynutter39]

I find it kind of amazing that one bad game and a lot of the blame is being pointed at the players returning from Europe as well as agreeing with a Spiro Zavos article.

Giteau got injured which did not help but AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) had a solid game and we are well and truly struggling for viable wing options right now and his versatility was valuable after three backline injuries.

I am sure when the 3-2-1 votes are added up, Genia will be the GAGR MOTM. When people are criticising the selection of the European players he gets conveniently left out because clearly we do need him.

There are certainly young players within this squad that deserve to play tests during the Rugby Championship and I'm sure they will but some of the suggestions about picking a whole bunch of players who've played a handful of Super Rugby games and have barely cemented a place in a Super Rugby matchday 23 because they might be a star by 2019 seems fraught with danger to me.

If we go back a few years on the forum, half the players touted as the next great Wallabies aren't even close to the mark now and that is sure to be the case again. It is notoriously hard to pick who will really take that step up to the next level a few years out.

Most sense I have read for a long time on here as the European players were not the problem on Saturday night so people should stop focussing on the side show and focus on the real problems.


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[tragic]

He was below his best just like everyone else, but I thought he was OK-ish. This is only for a bit of fun anyway so if you scrub him you go this way (I've rearranged the backs a bit too):

1. Slipper
2. TPN
3. Roberston
4. Skelton
5. Coleman
6. Mumm
7. Pocock
8. Timani
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Mitchell
12. Hodge
13. Kerevi
14. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15. Folau

Douglas for Skelton and Kepu for Robertson and you're on to something.

 

[dru]

To his credit he put his hand up straight after the match and took responsibility.

Yes he did, got to give him credit. But I look at this new meek understated Cheika and pine after the fire breather. For god's sake Check, smash a glass door or something.

 

[Lorenzo]

Most sense I have read for a long time on here as the European players were not the problem on Saturday night so people should stop focussing on the side show and focus on the real problems.


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Giteau was certainly part of the problem. He kicked a line drive (completely uncontestable) kick to dagg in the opening minutes that allowed that ABs to set up for their first try. We were in the match at that point, up 3-0. He was under zero pressure, so it was quite simply an error, and as much an error as anyone else made in the match. He's a 100 test pro, if he can't either get more than 40 metres on it or get it into touch, he ought not to be kicking.

People want to give Giteau a pass because he only played 9 minutes, but they ignore that he managed to suck during those 9 minutes like half of the rest of them sucked for the entire match.

Sorry, but as many on here have been noting for years, shit kicking is a big part of the 'real problem'. If you're brought back to play 2nd five - essentially as a second 'playmaker' to take the pressure off Foley, and you can't kick the fucking thing into touch so the defence can reset upfield, you have failed.

 

[zer0]

Source??

The caption to the video in a story about Kaino.

"Ian Foster says Ben Smith will not start against Australia in Wellington, leaving the door wide open for Rieko Ioane, Seta Tamanivalu and Anton Lienert-Brown."

Haven't found anything more so far. But if there's anything to it I'd imagine that there'd be a story soon.

EDIT: So I actually managed to watch the video now and, to me, it seemed as though Foster was saying that Smith isn't an option to start in the midfield.

 

[HoldingOn]

Giteau was certainly part of the problem. He kicked a line drive (completely uncontestable) kick to dagg in the opening minutes that allowed that ABs to set up for their first try. We were in the match at tahat point, up 3-0. He was under zero pressure, so it was quite simply an error, and as much an error as anyone else made in the match. He's a 100 test pro, if he can't either get more than 40 metres on it or get it into touch, he ought not to be kicking.

People want to give Giteau a pass because he only played 9 minutes, but they ignore that he managed to suck during those 9 minutes like half of the rest of them sucked for the entire match.

Sorry, but as many on here have been noting for years, shit kicking is a big part of the 'real problem'. If you're brought back to play 2nd five, and you can't kick the fucking thing into touch so the defence can reset upfield, you have failed.

Agreed. But we have even more of a problem when our 1st five is still stuck out at Homebush searching for the sideline...

 

[KOB1987]

I thought no one had any impact on the game.

Barrett had a bit

 

[KOB1987]

They are putting the bait out there, Cooper is going to start by the sounds of it. They're talking at 12 but that's just media garble.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/b...d/news-story/d440c1f42e9108f4dfbcd6e528e9b3a5

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

The caption to the video in a story about Kaino.

"Ian Foster says Ben Smith will not start against Australia in Wellington, leaving the door wide open for Rieko Ioane, Seta Tamanivalu and Anton Lienert-Brown."

Haven't found anything more so far. But if there's anything to it I'd imagine that there'd be a story soon.

EDIT: So I actually managed to watch the video now and, to me, it seemed as though Foster was saying that Smith isn't an option to start in the midfield.

Everything I've seen & read suggests to me it'll be 12. Fekitoa & 13. Tamanivalu with probably 22. Cruden & 23. more likely Ioane than Lienert-Brown.

 

[The torpedo]

They are putting the bait out there, Cooper is going to start by the sounds of it. They're talking at 12 but that's just media garble.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/b...d/news-story/d440c1f42e9108f4dfbcd6e528e9b3a5

Please not 12. Last time he played there he was shit (Argentina TRC 2015)
Its 10 or nothing (except maybe fullback)