RWC 2015 Semi Final 2 - Australia v Argentina Twickenham, Monday 19 October, 2:45 AEDT

[cyclopath]

Do you think chieka will play Pocock if he can. like even if he is 90% recovered he can still play half a game, It's knock out rugby we are talking

I think he would have played him last week if he could, so yes, if he can, he will.

 

[pjm]

If Pocock can't play then McMahon needs to start in place of McCalman. McCalman is a good player but he shares traits with both Fardy and Hooper and we lose that presence over the ball.

 

[emuarse]

Cheika remarked that Pocock was running freely on Sunday, but was restricting his training to prevent the injury from recurring this week. So in my books, he's a goer.

 

[Viking]

If Pocock can't play then McMahon needs to start in place of McCalman. McCalman is a good player but he shares traits with both Fardy and Hooper and we lose that presence over the ball.

I disagree there. McMahon doesn't have much of a presence over the ball at all. He plays a lot like Hooper only less dominating. I think McCalman is the more solid option.

 

[Straith]

At the start of the world cup it was apparent that Gill was third in the pecking order behind Hooper and Pocock in the 7 position.
But now, we have realized that Hooper isn't a substitute for Pocock because of how much we miss what Pococks is bringing to the table and we really needed Gill against Scotland more or less.
Funny how after playing the Pooper it has opened our eyes to a new combination of the back 3 because originally it was either going to be Hoops or Pockock in the 7 position and the other on the bench.

 

[cyclopath]

I disagree there. McMahon doesn't have much of a presence over the ball at all. He plays a lot like Hooper only less dominating. I think McCalman is the more solid option.

Yeah, if we really wanted a like-for-like replacement, it would be Gill or Smith, with Hodgson closer to them in style too. All theoretical, as not in the mix.

 

[Marcelo]

I think this is a game for Matt To'omua. A strong ball carrier who can run straight, gain meters and a solid defender. Also I would to pick Tomane at the wing. I know Gits is playing in good level, but don't forget To'omua was the starter #12 for most of users before the WC and he's a fresh player with little minutes of game. Gits will be important in the last 20 mins with his experiencie

I would like to surprise the Argies with them

 

[Braveheart81]

At the start of the world cup it was apparent that Gill was third in the pecking order behind Hooper and Pocock in the 7 position.
But now, we have realized that Hooper isn't a substitute for Pocock because of how much we miss what Pococks is bringing to the table and we really needed Gill against Scotland more or less.
Funny how after playing the Pooper it has opened our eyes to a new combination of the back 3 because originally it was either going to be Hoops or Pockock in the 7 position and the other on the bench.

Would Gill or any pilfering 7 have had that much success against Scotland?

Our biggest issue preventing us from competing at the breakdown was that our defensive line was too passive and we didn't win the collisions when defending. Scotland got over the advantage line easily meaning they had easy clean outs to retain their ball.

You could watch Hooper and Fardy scouring round the breakdowns looking for opportunities to attack the ball but they rarely ever came because Scotland were going forward. Clearly Pocock would have had more impact because he's arguably the best in the world at that, but there would have been nowhere near the opportunities that were present against England or Wales where we were dominating the tackle zone far more.

I think it was less the composition of the forward pack and more our defence which stifled our breakdown work.

 

[pjm]

I disagree there. McMahon doesn't have much of a presence over the ball at all. He plays a lot like Hooper only less dominating. I think McCalman is the more solid option.

He has more than McCalman and he is the only other backrower we can choose.

 

[Viking]

He has more than McCalman and he is the only other backrower we can choose.

Slightly better at the breakdown. But I think he lacks dominance in contact - mainly due to his body height. He runs with a lot of intensity which looks great against the minnows but against Wales he nearly got held up a few times and was very slow to recycle. Other then his 2 good hits in defence I didn't think much of him.

McCalman is much more solid into contact and he has proved to be a workhorse in defence - was outstanding against Wales.

 

[Ballboy]

For what its worth i reckon Australia has been poor form this tournament overall, great wins v England and Wales a good scrum and some Foley magic but overall lots of mistakes and penalties . V Scotland they were a different team than i have seen before . Hope is it all comes together this weekend and we power up to peak in the Final

 

[the sabanator]

Would Gill or any pilfering 7 have had that much success against Scotland?

Our biggest issue preventing us from competing at the breakdown was that our defensive line was too passive and we didn't win the collisions when defending. Scotland got over the advantage line easily meaning they had easy clean outs to retain their ball.

You could watch Hooper and Fardy scouring round the breakdowns looking for opportunities to attack the ball but they rarely ever came because Scotland were going forward. Clearly Pocock would have had more impact because he's arguably the best in the world at that, but there would have been nowhere near the opportunities that were present against England or Wales where we were dominating the tackle zone far more.

I think it was less the composition of the forward pack and more our defence which stifled our breakdown work.

Gill is almost as good at Pocock over the ball, the rest of his game doesn't measure up though. He would have had a positive impact but we would have been carrying a very small backrow.

 

[Pedrolicus]

For what its worth i reckon Australia has been poor form this tournament overall, great wins v England and Wales a good scrum and some Foley magic but overall lots of mistakes and penalties . V Scotland they were a different team than i have seen before . Hope is it all comes together this weekend and we power up to peak in the Final

Beating England at Twickenham isn't something a team in poor form is capable of, even the all blacks.

 

[dru]

Pfitzy talking about Cheikas standing up to take responsibility.

One thing I appreciate about Cheik is how up front he is and it seems the players do too. Simple honesty is a very good trait for a manager to have. I certainly hope we're switched on from the first minute, because it could be a very long night if we're not.

After three years of improbable and disingenuous RG excuses at the Reds, the Cheika approach is a sea change. It isn't honesty, not really. It's ownership and a statement to the world that says, don't harass the players, you can and will hold me accountable.

He has my total support, even with the odd selection that I don't like. It's been said before, but:

IN CHEIKA WE TRUST.

 

[Viking]

For what its worth i reckon Australia has been poor form this tournament overall, great wins v England and Wales a good scrum and some Foley magic but overall lots of mistakes and penalties . V Scotland they were a different team than i have seen before . Hope is it all comes together this weekend and we power up to peak in the Final

I wouldn't say poor. But certainly over-rated.

It's realistically only 4 wins against opponents which we are expected to win against 99% of the time and a win against a poor England side.

I rate our Rugby Championship form over our current form.

 

[Groucho]

You don't know any but they still did. I've sat in the stands were Aus supporters booed him. Matt Rowley even had a laugh on a podcast back in 2013 (I think) when they booed him in Sydney.

I was there too, and in my recollection it was Kiwis booing him, not New South Welshmen. It's a myth. I've never seen an Australian rugby crowd boo a Wallaby player in that way. And I say that as a Queenslander.

But now we're getting back to the thousand-page Quade thread, so I'll stop.

 

[Groucho]

Very high heels and all?

Mate I'd need the very high heels. She's about eleven feet tall.

 

[EatSleepDrinkRuck]

But now we're getting back to the thousand-page Quade thread, so I'll stop.

You were continuing that conversation G-man... Akin to insisting someone else buy the last round just before calling out of a shout. Bad form.

All players have been given their final warning. I hope the Mods start with the yellow cards if any more #10 discussion; QC (Quade Cooper) cf. Foley occurs.

 

[fatprop]

Cheika remarked that Pocock was running freely on Sunday, but was restricting his training to prevent the injury from recurring this week. So in my books, he's a goer.

There is no point in holding him back

 

[Mr Doug]

Positive news on the injury front.....

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/r...rael-folau-and-scott-sio-20151020-gke64v.html

Thanks for posting that link,Slim. If you play the video clip, and stop it at about 26 seconds (17 mins 08 secs into the match), you will see why I said at the time that the Peter Horne (#12) try should be deemed a "no try", because Scotland had 18 players on the field when the ball was grounded!
IMO, this more than cancels out the calls that the Scots were "robbed" with the final penalty of the match.
Perhaps someone could get a still up of that moment, to illustrate my point!