Personally, I thought Foley played well and did all that was required of him. He took the ball into contact a fair amount, but he's done that for the past two seasons at the Tahs, and I think its probably from instruction. As a playmaker, he can get over the advantage line easier than others as there's uncertainty regarding what he'll do with the ball, and then with a fast recycle, we should have Giteau reading to do the phase two play-making. Thats at least how it worked with Kurtley at the Tahs.
As I've said previously, I don't think Moore had the worlds best game. Fell over a lot, ineffective and weak in contact and lost the pill a few times. Other than that, the starting front row played well.
Simmons was industrious, as always. I thought Kane was too. People said they didn't see him much around the paddock, but I felt like I noticed him a lot. No huge hits or barnstorming runs, but just consistent effort across the park. As such, I reckon we had serviceable performances from our second row.
The Pooper - not much to mention. Long may they reign. Only thing to note was that Hooper took a fair few of the Wallabies line outs in the first half (I wasn't concentrating as much in the 2nd). So its good to see him being developed as a line out option.
Fardy didn't have his greatest game. I wonder whether he is the lock-in he used to be.
Genia had his best game in Gold for a long time, which was great to see as he has a much higher ceiling than other halfs in Australia.
Giteau was solid. He has a bit of goodwill about it. An old head. Knows what to do and when, and when he has to step up, he does (see his tackle on Nadolo and many like it in the RC). Really happy to have him in the camp.
Kuridrani was quiet, which is a shame because outside of AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), we don't have many options at 13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) and Horne were solid, Izzy was excellent as always and I thought that he played with some great confidence and assertiveness (trying new things he normally hasn't - the pilfer, an attempt at a chip and regather etc. He looked dangerous).
It was a shame to see Slipper go down, but of all the weeks that it could have happened, this was the best. Apart from that, the bench didn't make much impact, but the game had already gone to shit by then. Skelton made a few good tackles, everyone else had a few good moments and a few fuckups.
Last thing to note in this rambling stream of consciousness:
- We looked dangerous in the 1st half, in control and assertive. I liked it, but it all fell apart. We'll need to improve a great deal.
- The boys looked fit. KB (Kurtley Beale) looks lean, as do the rest of them. In the last quarter of the game, this fitness really showed when Fiji had 15+ phases in our 22 and the boys fought tooth and nail to keep them out. It was good to see.
All in all, it was scrappy and rusty, but that was a performance that excited me. Bring on Uruguay.