France v Australia, Saturday 19 November

[TOCC]

Foley certainly out on the right wing and beaten by the French winger in the lead up to the second try. Both wingers otherwise have been swapping sides very regularly.

No.. Foley was behind the line as a sweeper in defence in the second try, Speight was on the right wing..

That try was caused firstly by Godwin missing his man, TK then slide in to take that player, at that stage Speight either needed to rush up or slide, instead he turned and started running towards his own line. By the time it reached Foley it was 3 on 1.

I've said it a few times, Speight is too passive in defence

 

[KOB1987]

I'll confess to being a bit exuberant train and task was the word I was looking for not schedule. But it's fun winding you up anyway

 

[Scotty]

Too many easy breaks getting made down Speights wing, he is too passive in defence, likes to rush out of the line but then stands off the player, it's leaving holes in the defensive line.. if you rush out of the line you need to make the tackle

I think it is rough to blame it all on him though. Looks like he has been asked to defend in about 3 different spots!

No idea why the coaches think that putting a bunch of new blokes together then get them to defend in a convoluted structure is a good idea.

 

[KOB1987]

What's the feeling on the 4 & 6 from here? Do we go mumm/fardy with Douglas or pocock with Simmons?

 

[Scotty]

Regardless of what happens from here, who still now doesn't think this is a much more beneficial tour experience for the genuine B graders than somewhere 0 and 20 minutes off the bench?

I completely stand by my opinion that it would have been better to rotate say 3 players per game in each of the first three rather than 11 in one game.

Better for continuity and better for the new players coming in while achieving a similar result in resting key players.

 

[Tex]

Exciting match. Great to see Godwin and Morahan put in a good shift, same with Naivalu. Sefa nailed two critical tackles, including chopping that monster Fijian wing. Speight looks great when he's on his wing; as soon as he's called on to make a defensive read in the 13 channel he cooks it. Liability might be a bit strong, but he's been consistently shaky out there.

 

[A mutterer]

great win for the team and for the flower mafia!

 

[Merrow]

Wing tackles - Sefa 4 with 3 missed, Henry with 7 and 1 missed. Tell me again how his defence was.

 

[Merrow]

Here's another thing. We've just won a test that not many of you thought we'd win. Our second stringers have for the most part acquitted themselves very well. I fail to see how some of you can still be frickin negative.

 

[I like to watch]

Let's not quibble about the margin, I'll send you my bank details, Iltw. Unless you'd rather pay cash.

That's not quibbling,that's ignoring the fundamentals of the transaction.
I'll give you a month to get your stuff out of my house

 

[disco]

Great Game I though the French were magic some great offloading and looked really good in attack.
I think we had Jackson onside tonight which helped but that is a very good victory considering all the Changes and we were the underdogs away in Paris.

Morahan was the most dangerous ball runner and would like to see him start against the Irish next week at Speight's exspense.
Not that Speight was bad I just think Morahan looked the goods.

 

[Lindommer]

An excellent win against a talented French side who wanted to play. And a good game of rugby to boot.

Initial thoughts;

• The dirt-trackers played well, Morahan extremely well. McMahon did a few good things until his ankle played up, Godwin was solid without being spectacular, Naivalu adds to our embarrassing riches on the wings. Latu was excellent.
• As a Tah'd-fer-life tragic I say Skelton shouldn't play for Australia for quite some time (you reading this, TWaS?). Those two last scrums were entirely his fault, OK there was a bit of Frog skullduggery at the second last one as we were terrified of shoving early after the previous scrum but there was NOTHING coming from the TH side. Big Willie has a lot of physical and metal preparation to do before next year's Super Rugby.
• Speight put in magnificently in attack, however, he was shown up for his frailties and indecision in defence. Time for someone else to start.
• Genia should be threatened with amputation if he ever box-kicks again.
• Slipper's skills may be waning but I felt he was hard done by a few times: the French THP was not only boring in but also boring down. This should've been picked up when Jackson changed sides. As has been noted earlier, when they had to scrummage on their line the French pushed straight and level, and went backwards. A ref with a better understanding of scrums would've/should've taken a mental note of that instance.
• The running lines, backing up and handling from the French backs were a joy to watch.
• Penalties continue to dog us. A lot were coughed up going hard for the ball, but there were still a few silly ones. Dunno how to eradicate this stifling practice.
• I fail to see what Mumm offers over Fardy at blindside breakaway (note TWaS), Scott's so much more competitive at the breakdown, and the tackle.
• Cheika must be congratulated for taking this chance to give those 10 players hovering around the first choice XV an opportunity, it'll stand us in very good stead in the next few years.
• It was delightful listening to Robbie Nock and David Lyons rather than the boofheadery of Martin and Kearns. If Foxtel are trying to prove their boofheads are better boofheads than the league lot, or the Nine cricket crew, they've got no hope. The sad thing is Martin and Kearns drag Kafer down to their level even when he has something instructive to add. Horan and Eales don't bring much to the party, either, with their bland comments and weak voices. Harrison, Horwill and Lyons were illuminating.

 

[TOCC]

Wing tackles - Sefa 4 with 3 missed, Henry with 7 and 1 missed. Tell me again how his defence was.

Stats paint the full picture don't they?

first French try, Godwin had a player marked and made the tackle, Speight also came in on the same player and left the outside man unmarked, ball was offloaded to the unmarked player and the French finish up 5m from the try line and go over in the next phase... Speight didn't miss a tackle, but made a defensive error by coming in and leaving his man unmarked.

Second French try, I've actually already explained this one.. Godwin was actually the main issue in the second try by getting beaten on the outside, which was exacerbated by Speight indecision and getting turned around.. Speight didn't actually lay a finger on anyone in the first line of defence so technically didn't miss a tackle, he eventually made a covering tackle 20m behind the advantage line but French went over anyway

 

[swingpass]

Wing tackles - Sefa 4 with 3 missed, Henry with 7 and 1 missed. Tell me again how his defence was.

Source ?

 

[Merrow]

Source ?

ESPN

 

[Tex]

Wing tackles - Sefa 4 with 3 missed, Henry with 7 and 1 missed. Tell me again how his defence was.

You can only "miss" tackles that you were in a position to attempt. My criticism of Speight is about his decision making in the 13 channel. On the wing he's been great and is unlucky not to have scored a couple tries.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

 

[BDA]

Im surprised that some poster continue to come to speights defence i thought he was average again. Id have to rewatch the game to see whether sefu was any better though. There definitely appeared to be somw defensive problems out wide.

Good game from mozza. Id consider playing him at wing next weekend.

Genia and pocock both excellent.

Skelton was rubbish. I dont want to see him in the side again until he improves his game.

Simmons and douglas both did some good things and bad things. Simmons was definitely the better of the two. Douglas was a bit sloppy at times but probably not surprising given that he hasnt played much rugby recently.

I thought fardy was good. Id prefer fardy over mumm for next week

 

[Merrow]

Im surprised that some poster continue to come to speights defence i thought he was average again. Id have to rewatch the game to see whether sefu was any better though. There definitely appeared to be somw defensive problems out wide.

Good game from mozza. Id consider playing him at wing next weekend.

Genia and pocock both excellent.

Skelton was rubbish. I dont want to see him in the side again until he improves his game.

Simmons and douglas both did some good things and bad things. Simmons was definitely the better of the two. Douglas was a bit sloppy at times but probably not surprising given that he hasnt played much rugby recently.

I thought fardy was good. Id prefer fardy over mumm for next week

I'm guessing some poster is me. We all have different views of the game. I just happen to think he played as badly as you......Forums are all about differing opinions aren't they?

 

[disco]

Naivalu impressive on first real opportunity, deserves to keep his starting spot in place of Speight who is still a liability in defence..

Morohan showed why he should have been in the touring party to start with..

TK gets two thumbs up purely on that scoring effort in the corner

Pocock and Genia were immense

Latu 1 crooked throws and a few defensive errors, but not too bad overall. McMahon and Godwin didn't offer much

I disagree on Mcmahon and Godwin I admit McMahon wasn't the all action flanker we are use to but a couple of good half breaks and two very good pilfers. I think McMahon is still injured and by the looks of it probably won't be see again on tour.
Godwin was good in defensive and had some good runs in the 2nd half.

I don't think there was a bad player for us at all and the French played really well also.

 

[disco]

Im surprised that some poster continue to come to speights defence i thought he was average again. Id have to rewatch the game to see whether sefu was any better though. There definitely appeared to be somw defensive problems out wide.

Good game from mozza. Id consider playing him at wing next weekend.

Genia and pocock both excellent.

Skelton was rubbish. I dont want to see him in the side again until he improves his game.

Simmons and douglas both did some good things and bad things. Simmons was definitely the better of the two. Douglas was a bit sloppy at times but probably not surprising given that he hasnt played much rugby recently.

I thought fardy was good. Id prefer fardy over mumm for next week

Agree on Skelton and Morahan.

Kane Douglas was great in defence he had his RWC line speed back and he is a very good ball and all tackler but he needs to improve his restarts.