onwards and sidewards (???) - Italy

[Spook]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

Aussies need match fitness big time. Play our best XV.

 

[Scarfman]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

Mitchell? Ah, did you blokes just watch the highlights package on the news?

AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) threw him the pill a couple of times inside the 22 and he looked up at the 2-on-2 and just belted it upfield pointlessly. He hates getting tackled, partly because he can't hold onto the ball, so kicks or passes at the last second.

Turner is faster. SNK is smarter. Shepherd is stronger. Take your pick.

But whatever team we pick, can we not have 3 x 7s and 3 x 13s in the 22?

 

[the gambler]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

Was there anyone else we could have put on the bench?

I wasnt able to see any coverage in the week leading up to the game due to spending 60 hours straight at work (had obviously spent too much time here and not enough actually working) and then what seemed like another 60 hours drunk in Hong Kong but I was under the impression that the only fit forwards not in the squad were props.

 

[Ash]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

In regards to the 3 x 7s - no, there was no-one left. Mr Scarfy was being hopeful.

In regards to the 3 x 13s - yes, there are other options. I am hoping that normalcy will resume soon with Barnes / Gits interchangable at 10 / 12 and that Deans shunts AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) from fullbak.

 

[RugbyReg]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

well it seems as though Barnes will start at 10, with I think Tahu on the bench.

So that means, I think, that we will still have the 12 Mortlock 13 Cross combo?

Don't think they'll throw O'Connor or Cooper at 12. Perhaps they'll give AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) a go at 13, but I would have liked to see Tahu have a start.

 

[Scotty]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

I'm happy that Tahu is on the bench. If we are in control of the game at halftime we could expect to see him come on for Mortlock.

I'd like to see Ioane also get a run.

 

[RugbyReg]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

Berrick Barnes is not exactly fazed at being thrust into the hot seat for the Wallabies' European tour-opening Test against Italy on Saturday.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has confirmed Barnes would start at five-eighth for Australia for the first time since last year's forgettable Rugby World Cup quarter-final loss to England in Marseille.

Deputising for Matt Giteau, who is tipped to be named on the bench on Thursday after pulling up stiff and sore from last Saturday's tough loss to New Zealand in Hong Kong, Barnes hasn't started a Test - in any position - since suffering a shoulder injury against South Africa in Durban back in August.

But after impressing coach Deans with a 25-minute cameo off the bench against the All Blacks, Barnes says directing the Wallabies around the park at Padova's Stadio Euganeo on Saturday will be like any other day at the office.

"It's a good opportunity. It's not as though I haven't played there before," the laidback Queenslander said after Wallabies training.

"It's a new ground, they're going to be tough and physical. But I know what's coming."

Declaring his job as "hardly rocket science", the ball-playing Barnes says his chief roles will be to feed his hungry backline and fire up the pack.

"It's my job to give them the ball and then organise the forwards outside of that," he said.

"So all I'll be trying to do is keep it simple." he said. "The battle's going to be won up front."

While Deans won't officially announce his team until Thursday, he is likely to also hand wingers Lachie Turner and Digby Ioane a start against the Azzurri and spell Drew Mitchell and Peter Hynes, who has played 10 Test for the Wallabies in his rookie season.

Deans is also considering changes in the forwards, with Phil Waugh expected to replace George Smith at openside flanker and Hugh McMeniman tipped to start in the second row in place of Nathan Sharpe after recovering from an ankle injury.

So are we thinking from this its:

15 Adam Ashley-Cooper ?
14 Lachlan Turner
13 Ryan Cross ?
12 Stirling Mortlock ?
11 Digby Ione
10 Berrick Barnes
9 Luke Burgess ?
8 Wycliffe Palu ?
7 Phil Waugh
6 Dean Mumm ?
5 Hugh McMeniman
4 Mark Chisolm ?
3 Al Baxter ?
2 Stephen Moore ?
1 Benn Robinson ?

Probably Brown should start with Palu working his way back from the bench? At the same time, you just tell him to go flat out till he drops and then replace him.

 

[naza]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

Agree that Brown should start with Palu to wreak havoc with 30 minutes to go. With Waugh starting, we could do with Brown's superior linking and its important to develop loose forward depth with Elsom gone and Palu so injury prone.

Not exactly sure what Drew Mitchell needs a break from. Scoring tries ? Carving defences up ?

Dunning and Nau will probably see plenty of minutes. Deans has not played the bench enough for mine.

I'd much prefer to see Staniforth-Mortlock than Mortlock-Cross but that ship has sailed.

 

[Gagger]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

TIMANA Tahu has the chance to resurrect his international rugby career on Saturday after earning a surprise recall in the centres for the Wallabies' European tour-opening Test against Italy.

The rugby league convert will be reunited with skipper Stirling Mortlock in the midfield in Padova after proving to coach Robbie Deans he's picked up his defensive act following a nightmare starting debut against South Africa during the Tri Nations series.

Looking all at sea as the world champion Springboks piled on eight tries at Ellis Park, Tahu bore the brunt of the record-breaking 53-8 defeat at Ellis Park and was dropped altogether from the 22-man Wallabies squad for the ensuing Bledisloe Cup clash with the All Blacks in Brisbane.

"I think everyone knows that during that South African game my defence wasn't up to scratch," Tahu said today.

"It's just more communication on set plays and it's something I've worked on - reading their attack - and I think I now have it down pat and am 100 per cent confident going out there."

At the behest of Deans - one of the 28-year-old's greatest admirers - Tahu has spent the 10 weeks poring over DVDs of rival teams' attacking plays in order to get his defence in order.

The dual international will again line up at inside centre - with Mortlock reverting to outside centre and Ryan Cross rested - and fully expected the Azzurri to target him "if they see the last clip I played in".

"But it's probably something not worth watching now as I feel like I'm a different player as a defender," Tahu said.

"I feel a lot smarter and I'm looking forward to the game."

That wasn't always the case, though, with Tahu revealing that, after his Johannesburg ordeal, he wondered whether he'd made the right decision to leave NRL club Parramatta - and a certain place in the NSW State of Origin and Kangaroos Test sides - to switch codes this year.

"It was a massive blow. I doubted myself and was thinking 'am I good enough?" he said.

"It reminded me of when I first played league for Newcastle (in 1999). My first three games against Souths, Wests Tigers and Cronulla were probably the worst three in my whole life and I doubted myself back then.

"But I think as an older player, you learn from it. You live it and you've got to move on. And I've moved on."

In his own words, 2008 has been a "rollercoaster" rookie season for Tahu, who missed most of the NSW Waratahs' Super 14 campaign with a hamstring injury but bounced back to be Australia A's player of the tournament during the Pacific Nations competition.

"Then South Africa I hit another low," Tahu said.

"But Robbie had a talk to me and I'm over that now that I realise it was probably more inexperience."

Deans is an unabashed Tahu fan, having tried to lure the classy threequarter across to the Crusaders two years ago only for the New Zealand Rugby Union to thwart the move.

"His confidence is coming back already just through the work he's been doing at training," Deans said today.

"He's one of those blokes we'd like to give the opportunity to press on."

Tahu is not the only player to have won a recall to the Wallabies starting side, with Deans confirming that Berrick Barnes would be given a shot at five-eighth against Italy, the lowest-ranked of the four teams Australia will face in consecutive Tests this month.

While Deans will not officially name his side until Thursday, wingers Lachie Turner and Digby Ioane are also expected to get a run.

And Phil Waugh, Hugh McMeniman, who has recovered from an ankle injury, and Matt Dunning could be inclusions in the pack after missing a start in last Saturday's 19-14 loss to the All Blacks in Hong Kong.

Looks like Tahu's, Cross to bench.

And DUNNING. Subbed at half time for only start of tour?

 

[cyclopath]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

There is certainly a lot of potential danger in that back line. I posted elsewhere earlier i was not in favour of wholesale changes to the backs, rather getting combos to gel, but didn't really think it through that it was Italy. Forwards are the key. If that back line gets some good ball, they could cause some havoc. Tahu, Morty and Ioane could be a real handful. If...

 

[RugbyReg]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

Ok so we're looking at a backline of:

15 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
14 Turner
13 Morty
12 Tahu
11 Ione
10 Barnes
9 Burgess

Ace. Love it.

 

[Gagger]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

And according to the Grumbling Greg the Pieman, a pack of:

Richard Brown,
Phil Waugh,
Dean Mumm,
Hugh McMeniman,
Mark Chisholm,
Matt Dunning,
Stephen Moore,
Ben Alexander.

So no specialist lock, (although losing Sharpe's no blow), Dunning and a rookie prop.

I'm getting worried

 

[RugbyReg]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

And Cooper, O'Connor and Kepu all in line for a bench spot.

Very exciting.

 

[Pfitzy]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

Hugh McMeniman,
Mark Chisholm,

Fuck. Our scrum is gonna get mullered.

 

[Spook]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

Jism did ok in the scrums last week. 3M is not a lock.

 

[Ash]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

I think he has Mumm and 3M in the wrong positions - they should swap. Good to see Sharpie is out. Any word on how Kimlin is?

Would've liked to have seen someone else get a run at full back - Turner or Mitchell.

Will be exciting to see how Cooper and the Rabbit go in hopefully a 15 - 20 min cameo off the bench. I'd expect Tahu off for JOC (James O'Connor) maybe around 60 - 65 mins and Barnes or AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) off for Cooper around 65 - 70.

 

[RugbyReg]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

Hugh McMeniman,
Mark Chisholm,

Fuck. Our scrum is gonna get mullered.

:

yes, because of those two. Not because we are apparently going to pick Matt Dunning... :nta:

 

[RugbyReg]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

I think he has Mumm and 3M in the wrong positions - they should swap. Good to see Sharpie is out. Any word on how Kimlin is?

Would've liked to have seen someone else get a run at full back - Turner or Mitchell.

Will be exciting to see how Cooper and the Rabbit go in hopefully a 15 - 20 min cameo off the bench. I'd expect Tahu off for JOC (James O'Connor) maybe around 60 - 65 mins and Barnes or AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) off for Cooper around 65 - 70.

Injuries dependant, I reckon JOC (James O'Connor) will come on for AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) (or whomever is playing fullback) whilst Cooper will come on for either Tahu or Barnes. Possibly Tahu, allowing Barnes to go to 12 to shepherd him through and maintain the Reds link.

 

[fatprop]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

I think he has Mumm and 3M in the wrong positions - they should swap. Good to see Sharpie is out. Any word on how Kimlin is?

Would've liked to have seen someone else get a run at full back - Turner or Mitchell.

Will be exciting to see how Cooper and the Rabbit go in hopefully a 15 - 20 min cameo off the bench. I'd expect Tahu off for JOC (James O'Connor) maybe around 60 - 65 mins and Barnes or AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) off for Cooper around 65 - 70.

Agreed, I still have nightmares looking at the scrum shot from Twickers with MMM and Sharpe 2 feet away from eachother at lock.

Mumm can play the driving "worker" roll we need at lock.

Don't expect to see much of the bench, Deans has showed no evidence of using his bench

 

[Turban]

Re: onwards and upwards - Italy

I don't want to see many sub's, the team desperately needs match fitness for 80min's of hard rugby whe they continue further north. It's that last 20mins that has often cost us games in the past (well often it's been the last 40mins). I'd like it if we could one day be the fittest team in the last 20mins of a test match and put the opposition to the sword. Apart from the 1st Bledisloe it's been a while.