My Wallaby Ratings - V All Blacks Chrischurch 07/08/2010

[Gnostic]

1. Robinson - 7 getting back to full fitness. Started to show his linking around the park. Scrum work still down a bit but grip strength in binding arm may still be down a bit.
2. S. Fainga'a - 5 Good defensively around the park. Lineout was good. Caught out defensively on one massive occassion for Woodcock's run down the sideline. Needs a lot of scrum work (Please step up Foley).
3. Ma'afu - 3 Weak in the scrum in first half. Caught out at least three times in defence. Again no impact at Breakdown.
4. Mumm - 7 Lineout & re-starts solid. Carried solidly and defended well. Solid work against Opp. lineout. Where was this effort in all previous tests?
5. Sharpe - 8 Ditto Mumm. Carried the ball with real power and went past the gain line everytime. Tackle against Thorn was an excellent marker for his game.
6. Elsom - 7 Much better from Elsom. No swanning around in the centres. His assist with Pocock for a penalty should prove how he needs to play. Back three need to move and work as a unit.
7. Pocock - 9 Again without Pocock the Oz forward pack would not match it with the ABs. His tackle rate and effectiveness is amazing. He was unfairly penalised twice.
8. Brown - 5 Even under pressure a test eight must be able to clear the ball. A test eight must also break the gain line when carrying. Made one terrific turnover after the ABs break up the centre in first half, after that it was business as usual.
9. Genia - 6 Is he fit? Slipped of a couple of tackles he would usually make, showed little of his tackle breaking ability and some of his service was tortuously slow (please read Bob Dwyers comments about moving the ball - though I will concede this was not a problem with Cooper at 10).
10 Giteau - 4 He is not a Flyhalf's foreskin. Two weeks running he has either kicked dead or missed touch with important kicks. Contrast this to Carter who I have seen make that mistake once in his career. Defence good, Attack nothing as usual from 10. No threat either passing or running with the ball.
12. A. Fainga'a - 5 Fell back into bad habits and rushed up on defence and failed to make the tackle. Went high on Nonu and got palmed off. Went in for the big hit and fell off. Showed enough to start again.
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) - 5 Does he pass the ball? This was probably one of the worst games I have seen from him. Defensively he was OK and needs time to settle back into the 13 spot with its difficult defensive issues. Needs to be told to set up his outside runners and PASS.
11. Mitchell - 7 the best back for Oz. Defensively strong and was a constant threat that the ABs moved very quickly on in numbers.
14. JOC (James O'Connor) - 5 Is getting picked off now because he has stopped moving forward which is what we saw of him from fullback. Two tries scored on his wing and he was specifically targetted all night. Obviously had been identified as a weak link positionally by the ABs and they exploited.
15. Beale - 7 Just behind Mitchell as best back (even though I give both 7). His positioning all night was excelent as was his defence. He pace and step to get away for the try was superb.

16. Moore - Again Deans doesn't go to the bench. with the scrum struggling so badly in the 1st half why didn't Moore get 40 min?
17. Slipper - 6 for the time he spent on the field the scrum was solid, lifted well in the Lineout (the couple there were) and was solid defensively.
18. Simmons - 6 real pressure on Sharpe and Mumm.
19. Hodgeson - 6 can anybody come up with a genuine reason why Brown gets a start in front of him. Hodgeson gets over the advantage line, supports Pocock extremely well and is what 3 Kg lighter than Brown.
20. Burgess - Again Deans doesn't use the bench. Burgess will take over from Whitaker as the team mascot called Splinters.
21. Barnes - Not used. should be playing 10. Yes he is more conservative than Giteau but read Giteau's review and every one this year when he played 10.
22. Shepherd - Not used. Should be on at 14 ahead of JOC (James O'Connor) come the Bok tests if only because he is a genuine winger but also because he will run forward.

Overall a 150% improvement on last week. Enough to save Deans skin, but not the assistants.

 

[Scarfman]

Hodgson immediately looked capable at this level.

You're tough on Saia - he was on my screen more than any other player, I reckon

Agree about Mitchell - if the piggies had created a tiny bit more space, he'd have got through it

Was screaming for Burgess - Genia was having a very flat night and we needed to try something

 

[Brumbies Guy]

Tough on Giteau and S Fainga'a. Saia far from a 5.

Beale pushing for an 8 imo.

 

[Aussie D]

Robbo 6 - he is not having the same impact at the breakdown as he had last year - may be his injury
S Finger - 8 was everywhere tonight
Maafu - agree with Gnostic
Mumm 5 - tried harder tonight but still not test match standard
Sharpe 8 fantastic game tonight. Made up for his lineout mistake with a huge tackle (the thought of thing that would lift a non-Wallaby team)
Elsom 5 - agree with Gnostic but deducted 2 points for limp-dick captaincy
Pocock 9 though could have given him 10 as he kept up his workrate and effectiveness when playing hurt which most in this Wallabies team wouldn't have done
Brown 3 - fell off fewer tackles and made one great steal but other than that may as well not have been there
Genia 4 - is he playing injured? His failure to clear the ball from the breakdown and passing AT the forwards helped to blunt the Wallaby attack
Gitts 4 - one kick too deep and a couple of mis-directed passes at crucial times typified the Wallabies of the past few years
Mitchell 7 - tried hard to make up for the red card from last week. Didn't get enough ball
A Finger 5 - solid on debut. Was a bit overawed early but settled well and brought a new dimension to the Wallabies presence at the breakdown which had been lacking. Should have been replaced with 20 to go.
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) 6 - passed the ball once by my count but had a good dig with ball in hand. Hopefully he and Ant will have an opportunity to play together for the remainder of the 3N as they have the potential to form a fantastic centre combination.
O'Connor 3 - can someone take the tarzan grip out of his kit before the next game as he won't pass the ball and the opposition know it.
Beale 8 - thought he was Oz' best back. Looked for involvement and to create something in attack (unfortunately most of the time his teammates didn't have the same thought pattern / work ethic)

Reserves worth mentioning
Slipper 6 - the scrum seemed to be more solid when he came on.
Simmons 7 - why isn't he starting?
Hodgson 7 - ditto Simmons

 

[disco]

I actually thought Beale was our best back followed by Mitchell.

 

[liquor box]

My adjustments to your points

2. S. Fainga'a - 8 Line out throw was almost perfect, one error in a game, this must be close to the best throw in the Wallabies have had for a few years, always worked hard in defence. Full of energy and put in an effort which others could do well to follow.
6. Elsom - 5 Every scrum in which we struggled Rocky did not seem to be trying to push and his side went back, his shoulder ends up resting on the props lower back. We learnt early in the season that the flankers shoulders should be coming out the props mouth before they start to think about lifting their heads
9. Genia - 4 From 60minutes onwards he slowly jogged to the breakdown and did not seem to put in the effort the jersey deserves, the worst game I have seen him play
14. JOC (James O'Connor) - 4 too small, and no idea on the wing. go and put on 10-15kgs and a few years and then comeback a champion, we need an older head and a fully fit Shepard makes more sense to me
15. Beale - 8 continued on from his threatening form from last weeks performance, looks at home and should stay in 15
16. Moore - I was glad to see him miss a run, it will build some hunger. Moore's role in the team is assumed to be safe by too many and this will focus his energy on proving he should be there, this should be used on other senior members in the squad in my opinion

 

[TOCC]

Beale was very good tonight, very composed...

Genia had a off night, his passing was pretty poor at times, didnt provide the direction from halfback which was needed
Giteau, is a cut out ball to AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) the only pass he knows?
A. Fainga'a, was caught out positionally a couple of times, would have liked to see more of him running
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), it was obviously the game plan, but they should have highlighted that his running game wasnt exactly working, needed variety in attack

 

[rsea]

I'm sorry but liquor box
"14. JOC (James O'Connor) - 4 too small, and no idea on the wing. go and put on 10-15kgs and a few years and then comeback a champion, we need an older head and a fully fit Shepard makes more sense to me"
ffs get a grip some of the calls here are stupid at best but this? get out

 

[liquor box]

I'm sorry but liquor box
"14. JOC (James O'Connor) - 4 too small, and no idea on the wing. go and put on 10-15kgs and a few years and then comeback a champion, we need an older head and a fully fit Shepard makes more sense to me"
ffs get a grip some of the calls here are stupid at best but this? get out

Just my point of view, that what this place is for??? I do think he is too small for his position and could do with putting on some size. I might be wrong, but so be it

 

[rsea]

He's out of position and thats all their is to it. Size has no bearing except that if he was 10-15kg bigger all his current agility would be lost leaving him worse off

 

[Brumbies Guy]

My adjustments to your points

2. S. Fainga'a - 8 Line out throw was almost perfect, one error in a game, this must be close to the best throw in the Wallabies have had for a few years, always worked hard in defence. Full of energy and put in an effort which others could do well to follow.
6. Elsom - 5 Every scrum in which we struggled Rocky did not seem to be trying to push and his side went back, his shoulder ends up resting on the props lower back. We learnt early in the season that the flankers shoulders should be coming out the props mouth before they start to think about lifting their heads
9. Genia - 4 From 60minutes onwards he slowly jogged to the breakdown and did not seem to put in the effort the jersey deserves, the worst game I have seen him play
14. JOC (James O'Connor) - 4 too small, and no idea on the wing. go and put on 10-15kgs and a few years and then comeback a champion, we need an older head and a fully fit Shepard makes more sense to me
15. Beale - 8 continued on from his threatening form from last weeks performance, looks at home and should stay in 15
16. Moore - I was glad to see him miss a run, it will build some hunger. Moore's role in the team is assumed to be safe by too many and this will focus his energy on proving he should be there, this should be used on other senior members in the squad in my opinion

If you take this part out I agree with the rest, nonsense

 

[Gnostic]

I don't agree with the too small bit. If JOC (James O'Connor) put on 10-15 Kegs he would be just like Tiquiri got and lose his pace and agility. He is out of position on the wing. At fullback he would receive the ball and move forward we aren't seeing that now and he is getting nailed early. On defence he has been caught out of position. 4 tries on his wing in 2 weeks says that he has been targetted. For this reason he goes to the bench and Shepherd gets to start. IMO a fit Shepherd offers a lot more from either 15 or wing in any case.

 

[fatprop]

JOC (James O'Connor) is just too selfish, he needs to stop trying to do the wonder play and learn to be part of a team.

 

[JJJ]

JOC (James O'Connor) looks more like an inside centre with his quick stepping and good acceleration. He's looking much better at getting through traffic these days than Gits, though that isn't saying much. Personally I think Rod Davies should be brought into the squad as a winger for his pure pace. He's fit again isn't he? The problem is that we have too many small, steppy backs trying to fit into the side. Cooper, Giteau, Beale, JOC (James O'Connor) and Barnes (though he's not that steppy). We can afford two of them in the backline at a time probably.

 

[cyclopath]

I know I harp on about this, but AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is becoming a problem. If he just about NEVER passes, then how does he give the defence anything to wonder about? When he passed that ball to no-one , without even looking, and the movement broke down (just after FatCat stole the lineout ball) I was ropeable - that was a great opportunity butchered. He is a huge asset, but needs to become more than one-dimensional with ball in hand. Somebody in the coaching set-up needs to teach / instruct / suggest how or when to pass. Sometimes it is necessary. JO'C can watch that masterclass too. What Gnostic said.

 

[dobduff11]

JOC (James O'Connor) is currently between 86 and 88 kgs if he put on 10-15 kgs he would be from 96-103 kgs. Seeing as he is a around 1.8m tall he would be ridiculously built, slow and not as agile or fast as he is now ie a smaller version of tom carter.

liquor box i think your username says it all maybe ease up on the liquor also you should learn that bulk increases tend to lead to bad things. Campo, tuqiri, horan not so much, phil waugh, jonny wilkinson, matt tait, rupeni caucanibuca, joe rokocoko the list is endless mate and its not for good viewing.

As gnostic says he is out of position he is naturally a 12 or 10 and being shoved to 15 is still not his favourable for him. And then due to being fast he is shoved on the wing with no oppurtunites for creative input and out of position oh and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) doesn't pass from left to right.

 

[Hawko]

Saia should have been a 7 or 8. He played really well.
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) should get at least 6, his defence was good and he suffered a bit because AF couldn't set him up well in attack.
AF didn't have a great debut but he should stay on the bench and develop. He is definitely not a write-off.
Genia barely earned a 4. IMO he is injured (right knee I think) and he has lost all his spark.
Beale deserved an 8, I thought he had a great game. Mitchell was very dangerous and should get 7+.
Hodgson deserved a 7, especially as he has been rotting on the bench for so long rigor mortis could easily have set in.

 

[disco]

JOC (James O'Connor) is the same size as Corey Jane in height & weight, I think he is a fullback or 12.

 

[Sully]

I know I harp on about this, but AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is becoming a problem. If he just about NEVER passes, then how does he give the defence anything to wonder about? When he passed that ball to no-one , without even looking, and the movement broke down (just after FatCat stole the lineout ball) I was ropeable - that was a great opportunity butchered. He is a huge asset, but needs to become more than one-dimensional with ball in hand. Somebody in the coaching set-up needs to teach / instruct / suggest how or when to pass. Sometimes it is necessary. JO'C can watch that masterclass too. What Gnostic said.

Yes yes yes!!! Pass the BALL!!!!!