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England v Wallabies, Twickenham, Sun 10th Nov 2:10AEDT / 1:10AEST

molman

Jim Lenehan (48)
In hindsight I agree - although admit I was pretty frustrated initially. But a couple of Englands tries were very well taken and sometimes you just cant stop everything.

Really pleasing to see our defensive maul stand up. I thought we were excellent in that respective.

Probably the biggest work on for me is our box kick & chase. The new rules really put a lot of pressure on the defensive team but we kicked most/all of ours too long.
We have a genuine Folau style weapon with Sua’ali’i and these new anti-blocker laws. I think we will see some continued improvement in this area. Loved how they used him on the start offs.

I agree though. The chases off McDermott's box kicks in particular were not great. We should be getting more pay from that as the team has time to set that up - who are the chases etc. It's probably an area where I missed seeing a player like Koroibete who flew at the reciever like a bullet such that even if we didn't collect you knew they were making no gain in return and likely felt a little ginger afterwards :)
 

TSR

Andrew Slack (58)
I think if I was pushed to pick one it would have to be Ikitau. He cleaned up a few things, made fantastic gainline, setup a number of things and was generally just fantastic in transistion plays. I think his involvements can't be understated. But yes, it was one of those great games where so many stood up. You could easily add Wilson, Williams, Frost, Kellaway and a number of others to the list. Even McDermott comes on for Gordon and makes an impact when he's off in the blood bin. Thats what we need, all players adding to the collective.
My pick was Valetini. But thought Ikitau was terrrific and I think that’s really a big plus in the bigger picture that she showed he is a great option at 12 and we aren’t losing anything at 13.

Not many bad games though. Tupou had a couple of lapses of his discipline as he often does. I thought Pietsch was pretty solid but I can see Jorgensen coming into that wing spot at some stage.
 

stillmissit

Peter Johnson (47)
Valetini was huge as was Ikitau. JS was the most impressive start in a very long time. So much for being too young!!!
A fabulous win, is there any smart bastard here who knows where this will take us in world rankings?

There is still work to do in the forwards, at the breakdown where we lost 4 to Eng counter from memory. Our lineout needs more work but the scrum looked good.

The biggest change which shocked me was the defence phenomenal change from last game.
 

molman

Jim Lenehan (48)
My pick was Valetini. But thought Ikitau was terrrific and I think that’s really a big plus in the bigger picture that she showed he is a great option at 12 and we aren’t losing anything at 13.

Not many bad games though. Tupou had a couple of lapses of his discipline as he often does. I thought Pietsch was pretty solid but I can see Jorgensen coming into that wing spot at some stage.
I agree. Tupou is so far off his best atm which is a real shame. I just get this vibe that his heart isn't entirely in it (though maybe thats unfair, just how it appears). Not the same as it was a couple of years back anyway. I look at the hunger when Bell carries and the impact he makes and Tupou in comparison just seems a bit passive. Add in some inaccuracy (messiness) and the odd silly transgression and he just isn't where you want him to be. Even his scrummaging I have question marks over.

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the recent injuries play on him more than we give it credit. Maybe it's just that transistion into being a Dad. Maybe it's just all the life changes with moving around the country and different clubs. Maybe it's something else. I really do hope he finds his mojo again and starts working towards his full potential because if he was we'd have a formidable forward pack.
 
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Sir Arthur Higgins

Dick Tooth (41)
I was really impressed by I think all but one restart and for the most part our lineout worked very well.
Scrum held up.
Penalty count was low
I loved the endeavour as well. Tom wright for me was superb. Kept them guessing all night.
I thought Noah was fading a bit and so sub timing was great.
A kerevi and paisami we have a good roster of centers at the moment
Suallii would be wasted on the wing. He’s 12,13,15 and I think getting that ball a bit sooner with someone like wright flying off him in fullback. Looks very sharp.

Marcus smith was sensational. For me he was man of the match.
 

Sir Arthur Higgins

Dick Tooth (41)
I agree. Tupou is so far off his best atm which is a real shame. I just get this vibe that his heart isn't entirely in it (though maybe thats unfair, just how it appears). Not the same as it was a couple of years back anyway. I look at the hunger when Bell carries and the impact he makes and Tupou in comparison just seems a bit passive. Add is some inaccuracy (messiness) and the odd silly transgression and he just isn't where you want him to be. Even his scrummaging I have question marks over.

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the recent injuries play on him more than we give it credit. Maybe it's just that transistion into being a Dad. Maybe it's just all the life changes with moving around the country and different clubs. Maybe it's something else. I really do hope he finds his mojo again and starts working towards his full potential because if he was we'd have a formidable forward pack.
He’s in terrible shape. He needs to drop 10kg all day of fat
 

wamberal99

Jim Clark (26)
I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the recent injuries play on him more than we give it credit. Maybe it's just that transistion into being a Dad. Maybe it's something else. I really do hope he finds his mojo again and starts working towards his full potential because if he was we'd have a formidable forward pack.
Tupou will have to get it together pretty soon, there are a couple of good kids coming through.
 

stillmissit

Peter Johnson (47)
I agree. Tupou is so far off his best atm which is a real shame. I just get this vibe that his heart isn't entirely in it (though maybe thats unfair, just how it appears). Not the same as it was a couple of years back anyway. I look at the hunger when Bell carries and the impact he makes and Tupou in comparison just seems a bit passive. Add is some inaccuracy (messiness) and the odd silly transgression and he just isn't where you want him to be. Even his scrummaging I have question marks over.

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the recent injuries play on him more than we give it credit. Maybe it's just that transistion into being a Dad. Maybe it's just all the life changes with moving around the country and different clubs. Maybe it's something else. I really do hope he finds his mojo again and starts working towards his full potential because if he was we'd have a formidable forward pack.
I think his injury issues are not behind him and he is overweight. Would still have him starting every time.
 

KiwiM

Arch Winning (36)
What's there to say that hasn't already been said?

Amazing game. Glad I decided to watch it live.

Congrats Wallabies fans. You are really building something. The turnaround in 12 months is quite something

Sua'ali'i terrific - thought it was the right call to have him start and boy did it pay off. Has transformed the whole backline.

I thought was the best front row performance in a long time by Wallabies (including bench) - being able to have Bell play 70 minutes and then have Slipper come off the bench - that's ideal.
 

molman

Jim Lenehan (48)
Tupou will have to get it together pretty soon, there are a couple of good kids coming through.
Which is good. Competition makes everyone better.

I think his injury issues are not behind him and he is overweight. Would still have him starting every time.
Agree that I'd still have him even off his best atm. I'm hopeful that a season at the Tahs working with Bell will be a postive. I never felt like he really settled into the Rebels.
 

Spamnoodle

Ward Prentice (10)
Jorgensen showing the value of pace on the wing at the end play.
Like Pietch's efforts, but he had a couple of opportunities in the first half but was too slow to capitalise.
Kellaway increasing his lead with 4 fast poms on his tail for his try surprised me a little.
 

dillyboy

Colin Windon (37)
Yeh or wright or ikitua.. there were 4 or 5 guys that clearly had a bigger impact on the game. But given its his debut im ok with it. Also its probably the best thing rugby australia could ask for. All my league mates were discussing it this morningand asking me how they can find a replay
Yeah I'm thinking it'd be the best marketing Aus rugby could do and either release it for free on 9 now or YouTube.

Average joe Aussie needs to see that!
 

dru

David Wilson (68)
Valetini was huge as was Ikitau. JS was the most impressive start in a very long time. So much for being too young!!!
A fabulous win, is there any smart bastard here who knows where this will take us in world rankings?

There is still work to do in the forwards, at the breakdown where we lost 4 to Eng counter from memory. Our lineout needs more work but the scrum looked good.

The biggest change which shocked me was the defence phenomenal change from last game.

Sully already mentioned it - but here are the changes from the calculator (not the official World Rugby site). I've blanked changes from other game results.

#TeamPoints
1
2
3
4
5
6
7(↓5)England82.62(-1.81)
8(↑9)Australia81.14(+1.81)
9
10
 

TSR

Andrew Slack (58)
I agree. Tupou is so far off his best atm which is a real shame. I just get this vibe that his heart isn't entirely in it (though maybe thats unfair, just how it appears). Not the same as it was a couple of years back anyway. I look at the hunger when Bell carries and the impact he makes and Tupou in comparison just seems a bit passive. Add in some inaccuracy (messiness) and the odd silly transgression and he just isn't where you want him to be. Even his scrummaging I have question marks over.

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the recent injuries play on him more than we give it credit. Maybe it's just that transistion into being a Dad. Maybe it's just all the life changes with moving around the country and different clubs. Maybe it's something else. I really do hope he finds his mojo again and starts working towards his full potential because if he was we'd have a formidable forward pack.
I agree Tupou’s below his best but, if anything, I think he’s often guilty of trying to do too much around the breakdown. He needs to be more patient at times. Then again he often gets away with it when’s he’s disrupting the ball so I can see why he still goes for it.

He’s still comfortably our best scrummager.

I did think Ala'alatoa did his job well off the bench which is good as he has been below his best this year.

Even old man Slipper did his job but it is a bit of a worry they didn’t bring him on until about the 70 minute mark. Or maybe that’s just a big tick to what a great game Bell had.

Anyway, I’ve type as much negativity as I’m going to about the game in the couple of posts I’ve made. We just beat England in a game that I feared we might get pumped in and it was a great team performance with expansive play, execution under pressure and stolen from the jaws of defeat. I’ll leave Schmidt & Co to tinker away with the works ons.
 
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