DPK
Peter Sullivan (51)
When was the last time the Wallabies fielded a side that featured a 6 that really put the fear of God into opposition sides?
For a while, the Wallabies have had Openside flankers that are "World class", guys who can change the game on their own. But I struggle to remember the last blindside who was as talented or in form as good as any of the great opensides.
The RWC final had two awesome blindside flankers going head to head- Dusautoir and Kaino. Both of these guys were part of great, balanced backrows, but were also serious individual threats: gamechangers. The Springboks have Burger, and when fit, Juan Smith, both examples of the same.
We've persisted with Rocky, playing solidly without raising the bar, long enough. The Wallabies can't afford to keep waiting for Rocky to hit form: surely after two Test seasons, even the most passionate of his supporters would have to admit it isn't going to happen.
For mine, the two main contenders to blow the dust off the 6 jersey for Australia are Scott Higginbotham and Dave Dennis. Both have toured, so they've experienced the Test squad environment. They have slightly different playing styles, enough that there is scope to pick both in one squad.
Obviously, everything will be illuminated after the 2012 SupeRugby, but I've written this to suggest where Australian rugby fans and indeed coaches should be focussing their attention. There is a great push among the members of this site to direct all efforts towards building the team from the forwards up; as a part of this, there should be a priority focus on finding the blindside flanker the Wallabies desperately need.
For a while, the Wallabies have had Openside flankers that are "World class", guys who can change the game on their own. But I struggle to remember the last blindside who was as talented or in form as good as any of the great opensides.
The RWC final had two awesome blindside flankers going head to head- Dusautoir and Kaino. Both of these guys were part of great, balanced backrows, but were also serious individual threats: gamechangers. The Springboks have Burger, and when fit, Juan Smith, both examples of the same.
We've persisted with Rocky, playing solidly without raising the bar, long enough. The Wallabies can't afford to keep waiting for Rocky to hit form: surely after two Test seasons, even the most passionate of his supporters would have to admit it isn't going to happen.
For mine, the two main contenders to blow the dust off the 6 jersey for Australia are Scott Higginbotham and Dave Dennis. Both have toured, so they've experienced the Test squad environment. They have slightly different playing styles, enough that there is scope to pick both in one squad.
Obviously, everything will be illuminated after the 2012 SupeRugby, but I've written this to suggest where Australian rugby fans and indeed coaches should be focussing their attention. There is a great push among the members of this site to direct all efforts towards building the team from the forwards up; as a part of this, there should be a priority focus on finding the blindside flanker the Wallabies desperately need.
