Reds vs Sharks Rnd 4 2012

[Ruggo]

Off to the shark tank we go. Africa has been a happy place for us in the last couple of years.

Just need to stiffen up our scrum, keep the discipline and we should go alright in this game.

Do we have the squad they sent to SA?

 

[tigerland12]

The squad sent is the 22 from last night plus Albert Anae, Nick Frisby, Ed Quirk and Dallan Murphy.

Ben Daley cannot start.

 

[twenty seven]

St.George Queensland Reds Touring Squad – South Africa
Forwards
Backs
Albert Anae
Ben Daley
Saia Fainga'a
Liam Gill
James Hanson
Scott Higginbotham
Greg Holmes
James Horwill (c)
Van Humphries
Eddie Quirk
Beau Robinson
Radike Samo
Jake Schatz
Rob Simmons
James Slipper
Rod Davies
Nick Frisby
Will Genia (vc)
Mike Harris
Digby Ioane
Jono Lance
Ben Lucas
Luke Morahan
Dallan Murphy
Dom Shipperley
Ben Tapuai
St.George Queensland Reds Schedule – South Africa
St.George Queensland Reds v Sharks
Sunday 18 March in Durban
Kickoff 1:05am Queensland time

St.George Queensland Reds v Bulls
Sunday 25 March in Pretoria
Kickoff 1:05am Queensland time
New blood in there.

 

[Ruggo]

I would like to see a 5:2 split on the bench for this game.

 

[TOCC]

Too much of a over reaction with Ben Daley.... He is out of form, but held his own against rsa super rugby teams last year.. Let's not vilify him after that performance

 

[tigerland12]

Too much of a over reaction with Ben Daley.... He is out of form, but held his own against rsa super rugby teams last year.. Let's not vilify him after that performance

If the Rebels front row can dominate him, what chance does he have against the Du Plessis brothers and co?

We really need front foot ball for our backs without Cooper, and right now he is not helping.

 

[Sandpit Fan]

Not looking forward to this SA tour. The way the boys have been playing doesn't inspire me with confidence at the moment.

Hopefully Saturdays game where the spooners almost rolled us will inject a bit of urgency into the troops. Got to agree with tigerland12, if the rebels front row can get over Daly, the SA teams will be lining up to have a crack at the scrum. With A Fainga'a out, I'm hoping (as are plenty of others I think!) for a Genia-Lucas-Harris-Taps grouping in midfield.

 

[Scotty]

It really depends on where Link wants to play Harris when QC (Quade Cooper) comes back. Lance and Morahan are probably our two weakest performing backs at the moment, so there is a case for either of them to go to the bench. Does Link want Harris at fullback or inside centre?

Throwing another option out there, we could see:

10 Lucas
11 Morahan
12 Taps
13 Ioane
14 Shipps
15 Harris

This gives us a kicker at the back, better utilises Morahan's skills, and an extremely strong running centre combination. I feel we are going to need either Lucas or Harris at the back for kicking out of hand skills very soon - don't wait until Quade comes back for that option.

 

[suckerforred]

It really depends on where Link wants to play Harris when QC (Quade Cooper) comes back. Lance and Morahan are probably our two weakest performing backs at the moment, so there is a case for either of them to go to the bench. Does Link want Harris at fullback or inside centre?

Throwing another option out there, we could see:

10 Lucas
11 Morahan
12 Taps
13 Ioane
14 Shipps
15 Harris

This gives us a kicker at the back, better utilises Morahan's skills, and an extremely strong running centre combination. I feel we are going to need either Lucas or Harris at the back for kicking out of hand skills very soon - don't wait until Quade comes back for that option.

Not 100% sure about that option Scotty, but agree that we need to try something. Morahan is not performing well at 15, so needs to move, but not sure Harris would be best there either. Even when QC (Quade Cooper) is back. I would prefer Lucas at fullback and Harris at 12, butwith out QC (Quade Cooper) who do you play 10? Bit of a conundrum.

 

[Jets]

It will be an interesting game. 2 teams that both aren't playing good rugby at the moment, except the Reds are 3-0 and the Sharks are 1-2. Qld always seem to like Durban as a place to play. I hope it's no different this week

 

[Ignoto]

10 Lucas
11 Morahan
12 Taps
13 Ioane
14 Shipps
15 Harris

In the second half against the Rebels, Link moved to
10 Lucas
11 Diggers
12 Harris
13 Taps
14 Shipperley
15 Morahan - then Davies around the 60 minute mark.

I'm not entirely sure Harris is capable of passing more than 5 metres from left to right. It was extremely noticeable the cut out balls that Lucas was able to pull off that Harris wasn't doing and it created more room for both Digby and Ship's.

Playing in the Republic, Harris needs to be there as we need to keep the scoreboard ticking over to help take the crowd out of the equation, but I'd much prefer to see Lucas at 10 than Harris.

 

[tigerland12]

I think it's fairly certain Link will select that backline Ignoto posted above. Lucas does seem to have a better passing game and more attacking awareness, along with arguably the best defence in the backline. Harris can be used more directly as he does have a strong running game. With Harris at 10 that leaves us with only one ball distributor. I was suprised Lance didn't get involved more, he has been a fly half for most of his career, yet he has seemingly adopted this straight running defensive style of game you'd see from players like McCabe and Fainga'a. I'm not sure if Link has told him to play that game, but it definatly left us a few options short in regards to creating attacking opportunities.

Also in the forwards, is anyone looking into why Samo wasn't used against the Rebels? I'm definatly a pro-Shatz fan, but I thought big Radike would of been valuable to inject some hard running during the last 10 or so minutes. It leads to the next situation that if Samo is not going to be used much, and with Gill and Robinson clearly an option to play in tandem during the last 25 minutes, is having an extra forward on the bench a waste? Right now it probably isn't as we have Fainga'a and Cooper out, but when they do return having 3 backs on the bench might prove beneficial, especially if Wallace-Harrison is fit and can cover 6 aswell.

For this week my ideal side would be.

1- Holmes
2- Fainga'a
3- Slipper
4- Simmons
5- Horwill
6- Higginbotham
7- Robinson
8- Shatz
9- Genia
10- Lucas
11- Ioane
12- Harris
13- Tapuai
14- Shipperely
15- Morahan

Bench: Hanson, Daley, Humphries, Samo, Gill, Lance, Davies

Hanson didn't really do anything against the Rebels, whilst I think Fainga'a's larger frame might come in handy during the early physical exchanges. The other changes have been explained by previous posters, whose opinions I agree with in regards to Lucas and Holmes.

 

[suckerforred]

Also in the forwards, is anyone looking into why Samo wasn't used against the Rebels? .

I noticed this as well. Don't know if it had anything to do with them leaving for SA at 5 the next morning perhaps.

 

[liquor box]

It leads to the next situation that if Samo is not going to be used much, and with Gill and Robinson clearly an option to play in tandem during the last 25 minutes, is having an extra forward on the bench a waste?

Unless he was left as an emergency, he could have come on at 11 or 14 if required and obviously can cover 4,5,6,7 and 8.

I wonder if he was rested to give Van a run, the previous week Van dod not get a run and was benched the whole game (I think)

 

[Jets]

I would say it was more a case of resting up his body before a long trip to the Republic. Also playing Gill and Robinson probably suited the game more against the Rebels.

 

[tigerland12]

Pacy strike weapon Rod Davies is being sized up for a new role at fullback for Queensland Reds on their tough two-match mission in South Africa.
Jim Tucker- Foxsports
The electrifying runner trained regularly at fullback during the off-season and his 15-minutes as the replacement for Luke Morahan against Melbourne Rebels is a sign of a bigger experiment to come.
Davies and Morahan flew out with the Reds for Durban on Sunday and their jousting for the No.15 jersey will be an intriguing selection for the clash against the Sharks early Sunday morning (Qld time).

Morahan has done plenty of positive things in his three matches at fullback apart from a wild pass against New South Wales Waratahs, a poor banana kick to touch and a missed tackle against Western Force, and his backhand flip pass into touch last Saturday night.
"It would be folly to have only one option at fullback because you can't expect one guy to play every game," coach Ewen McKenzie said.

"We played Ben Lucas and Jono Lance at fullback last year but this season we are looking at a different role there."
The Reds want more of an attacking, running fullback like Morahan or Davies while Quade Cooper is injured because that's essentially the role he played there when dropping back from fly half for counterattack in 2011.

McKenzie has been prepared to experiment at fullback more than any other position during his three seasons at the Reds.
It was in the first match of last year's trip to South Africa that McKenzie backed a one-off hunch on midfielder Mike Harris at fullback in Johannesburg with less-than-spectacular results under the floating high ball at high-altitude.

McKenzie has converted a winger (Peter Hynes) to fullback, he got good results from a utility (Lucas) playing there and a converted centre (Lance) won a Super Rugby title with No.15 on his back last July.

The fit-again Davies is too valuable a weapon to leave idling on the bench but young Dom Shipperley has performed so well that he is keeping him out of a wing spot right now.

The call the Reds should make is selecting Digby Ioane at outside centre to guarantee his hands are on the ball more often. Shipperley and Davies could play on the wing. Ioane is starving. The Reds just couldn't create good chances for him during the muddling, unimpressive first 50 minutes at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night when they dealt with the Rebels by just 11-6.

Thoughts? I definatly wouldn't have Rocket at 15, doesn't seem to have the skill under the high ball.

 

[What2040]

think that whilst Samo is a terrific impact player and can turn a game the simple fact that his workload in reality (not talking about the odd big run or tackle) is nowwhere near Schatz, Robinson, Gill, Horwill or Simmons and the Reds need "workers"

 

[What2040]

Tiger,
Agree re the Rocket - think he is limited to the wing - would rather see Ben Lucas at fullback but if Lucas runs on at 10 (and he should) then Lance is next best (at 15)

 

[St Peter]

I definatly wouldn't have Rocket at 15, doesn't seem to have the skill under the high ball.

He doesn't have the kicking game needed at 15 either.

 

[Scotty]

I would say it was more a case of resting up his body before a long trip to the Republic. Also playing Gill and Robinson probably suited the game more against the Rebels.

I suspect it was more to do with the game situation. Link saw more importance at the tackle and breakdown, rather than a big runner. I think it was the correct call - particularly when we had a small lead.