Japan vs Wallabies, Nissan Stadium, Yokohama, Sat 4th Nov 4.40pm AEST
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KOB1987
John Eales (66)
That's just crap. The locks who were being rotated, and thus the subjects of the criticism directed at Cheika, are now the incumbents in the 23. Those that aren't are satisfactory replacements when the others are unavailable. That's called creating depth. It's a similar situation for the wings. Phillip, who's only on tour due to the unavailability of Arnold and Rodda (and Tui for the first part of the tour) was only seriously discussed recently but as a candidate for 6 until the emergence of Dempsey. Enever's name might have been thrown in the mix by some Brumbies supporters but he hasn't seriously been considered until now for the same reasons. Dempsey is another case in point, he was written off by you lot in the June tests when he was selected on the bench v Scotland.
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
Refer above.
T
TOCC
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No it’s not crap, Douglas being dropped from the squad at the expense of guys like Phillips is exactly what us ‘armchair’ critics were calling for months ago. Simmons had a crap Super Rugby year, and his hot/cold form at test reflects that, I said in September and I still believe today that Carter should be in the squad ahead of him.
As for wing, how’s Eto Nabulis test career going? He is about the only player that is armchair critics disputed the selection of.
None of this needed to be revisited though, your initial comment was an unnecessary.
Viking
Mark Ella (57)
Coleman the prime example. How many posters were calling for him to get a shot? it took a series of major injuries before he got any game time. Lucky for us he absolutely took his chance and dominated. I don't think anyone can fully give credit to Cheika for discovering or unearthing his talents, should have happened much earlier and might not have happened at all if it wasn't for injuries.
He started playing pretty consistently from the first series after the RWC.
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KOB1987
John Eales (66)
BH beat me to it. Coleman got his debut in the 3rd test v England (off the bench), which incidentally was the third test after the RWC, and he had been in the squad the whole time. It had nothing to do with injuries either that's when all the locks were being rotated. Seb, here's your quote immediately after the announcement of the side "Front Row: yeah alright, Moore is Captain I suppose can't really drop him Locks: Yeah alright they all suck why not try something new Backrow: Fardy, Hooper - yeh alright, McMahon - WTF. Halves: Getting another shot, I can live with that Centre pairing - Great to see To'omua back but hard to see Kerevi dropped. Back three - yeah, nah Bench: Where's Gill? Coleman - yeah why not - lets try all the locks out." (sorry about the shit formatting). TOCC did provide some foresight before the team was selected "Carter, long term critic, he shouldn't have been in the team to start with and played to the level I expected him to, promote Coleman instead.". The match thread is a good read, there's a lot of discussion about the locks. http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/co...england-sydney-3rd-test-25-june-8-00pm.16850/
BarneySF
Bob Loudon (25)
I call him Michael Rappaport’s doppelgänger
Rugbynutter39
Michael Lynagh (62)
I was one of the armchair critics calling for Simmons removal but 'some' (no not all) of his recent performances has proved he still perhaps has some place in the wallabies. Look I am not saying they the coaches have got it all right but they have also along the way made changes when realised got it wrong and their most recent performances and improvement of the players generally means I am grateful for one for the coaches they have in place for the Wallabies. I don't think anybody seriously at this point would be asking for any of the coaches at Wallaby level being removed which in itself highlights how they have performed as that would not have been the case 6 months ago.
Rugbynutter39
Michael Lynagh (62)
I get in some ways why Cheika persisted with Douglas as when he first came back from overseas he was immense.....but yes I reckon he gave Douglas too many chances and his star has faded.....too many young good options coming through. I mean you only have to look at Richie Arnold's performance for Perth Spirit over the weekend as lot of good locks rising to the fore at the moment.
Rugbynutter39
Michael Lynagh (62)
Yep good example - everyone here was writing Dempsey off (including me) after June series but Cheika persisted and with that one got it right. Ok he will get some wrong but really is that not to be expected.......I guess some on here expect every selection to work out perfectly but miss the fact he is rotating and persisting with looking at different combinations which to my mind as been part of the positives of building depth and uncovering more players who can play test standard rugby. Again would anybody seriously be saying we should be changing any of the coaches at Wallaby level at this point? Think seriously before responding to that. And then think back and ask if that response would have been the same 6 months ago...
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
That's the thing RN, no-one is saying that mistakes haven't been made along the way - Nabuli and the enigmatic Hanigan included - but Cheika's rotational policy has ultimately led to combinations being tested and the creation of depth and we are close to settling on what our best 23 is due to this process. It's ludicrous for people to suggest that posters here are ahead of the coaches in identifying talent,. The reality here is that we can suggest a multitude of candidates for future consideration but the coach has to back himself on who the best candidates are and for uncapped players that can be a big punt. We know that Cheika places a lot of emphasis on how players train when making some selections on undecided positions, and that's entirely fair. When Richie Arnold imminently gets called into the squad its got nothing to do with armchair critics being ahead of the coaches in identifying him, it's because there are other players in the squad who the coaches think are more ready for test rugby than him right now. Every emerging super rugby player would be on Cheika's radar to some extent.
I think a lot of the enthusiasm about Hodge comes back to him performing duties he can do from the wing - hard defence, long clearance kicking, place kicking, kicking for touch on penalties. They are great to see, and he certainly put forward a strong case to take the kicking duties away from Foley (though it's worth noting with a larger sample size Foley kicked 81% in Super Rugby this year, while Hodge only managed 70%.)
But I'm still not convinced he has the distribution game to be a success as an international 10. Passing errors can be so costly, and it's one area of the game where Foley rarely makes a mistake. Against Japan Hodge made a number of errors under relatively little pressure.
Can he improve? Of course he can. But I'm not sure if we wouldn't be better having him focus on the other parts of his game and stay on the wing, or in the centres. He just reminded me of the time where we put Nathan Grey in to play 10 for the Wallabies. His credentials as a player are beyond doubt, but I'm just not sure he's a 10.
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But I'm still not convinced he has the distribution game to be a success as an international 10. Passing errors can be so costly, and it's one area of the game where Foley rarely makes a mistake. Against Japan Hodge made a number of errors under relatively little pressure.
Can he improve? Of course he can. But I'm not sure if we wouldn't be better having him focus on the other parts of his game and stay on the wing, or in the centres. He just reminded me of the time where we put Nathan Grey in to play 10 for the Wallabies. His credentials as a player are beyond doubt, but I'm just not sure he's a 10.
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Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
In Folau's absence, the outside backline in this test has a lot to like. It works because Beale is at 15 and can inject himself as a playmaker when needed. If Hodge is to be retained for his kicking game, we really don't lose much in the 10 spot if he plays there. He will improve his shortcomings with experience.
Derpus
Nathan Sharpe (72)
It's like gambling with someone else's money, piece of cake. Attitude and risk taking behavior changes when you are actually risking something.
Derpus
Nathan Sharpe (72)
We lose Foley's ability to run a backline, pass further than a meter accurately, and run square at the defensive line at first receiver when appropriate.
hyperbole
hʌɪˈpəːbəli/
noun
exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
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It was interesting that almost all the clearing kicks from inside our 22 were done by Beale.
Hodge should clearly retain the penalty kicks for touch.
I'd imagine the goal kicking duties will go back to Foley but certainly he has to keep a high standard to retain the role now.
When Hodge has been the full time kicker at the Rebels he had great days and then off days where he missed a whole heap so he isn't immune from getting the yips either. Certainly we can't say off the back of one performance that he is a more accurate goal kicker than Foley.
Hodge should clearly retain the penalty kicks for touch.
I'd imagine the goal kicking duties will go back to Foley but certainly he has to keep a high standard to retain the role now.
When Hodge has been the full time kicker at the Rebels he had great days and then off days where he missed a whole heap so he isn't immune from getting the yips either. Certainly we can't say off the back of one performance that he is a more accurate goal kicker than Foley.
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