We'll be fine with Foley, five eighth is the least of our worries.
I suppose Donald doesn't qualify as world class: maybe that's why they were lucky to win! Crude I think might have been at the time.
I don't see Foley as being a barrier to winning the cup.
He can't play that badly again and if the team can play that badly and win things must be better than they feel.
Time to face up to one fact: no one has ever won the RWC without a world class 10 - can we be the first?
Just making the point that if Scots want to complain about being dudded and unlucky because of one call in a game where they conceded 5 tries and scored only a couple through luck then it's worth remembering the luck that went their way too.Over the whole pool stages, we were a step above both Samoa and the States. We were a deserved third at bare minimum. Scheduling may have assisted us, but we had an identical draw to you guys in terms of breaks, which as many have commented on, was the shittest in the cup.
You can only play what's in front of you. And that's what we did. A tonne of luck is completely disengenious. Could argue that you had a tonne of luck as well, playing Fiji on their short break, then Wales having a butt tonne of injuries.
Could argue that you had a tonne of luck as well, playing Fiji on their short break, then Wales having a butt tonne of injuries.
You were better than the US, but Samoa played the better footy in their game in my view and only lost for being overly ambitious in the 22 gifting you a try (bit of a theme there). Australia had 2 other top tier sides on their pool and Scotland had 1, which thrashed them. Japan deserved that qtrs spot more in my view; they beat the boks in an incredible ambitious match and controlled both their games against the US and Samoa. The only game they lost was that one on a short turn around when they were still beat all to hell.
Yep good points Wallabies can will the RWC with Genia Foley and Giteau combo... but without Pocock I'm not so sure...The All Blacks won the final with a young Aaron Cruden and then Stephen Donald for more than half the match last time.
South Africa won with Butch James in 2007.
Clearly 10 is one of the positions we're struggling with for consistency but it's hardly a fact that all previous RWC winners have superstar fly halves.
I reckon you could make a better case that previous RWC winners have had world class back rows.
It seems strange that Cooper wasn't injected for Foley, given Foley's bad night. What the hell was the plan for him then? If he was only injury cover then we would have been better served with Speight or Tomane as outside back cover.
If Cheika didn't have faith in Cooper to replace a poor performing Foley, then he shouldn't have been picked on the bench.
Unless he only planned to give him game-time if we were well ahead, but then isn't it worse to sub players who are performing well? What the hell?
It seems strange that Cooper wasn't injected for Foley, given Foley's bad night. What the hell was the plan for him then? If he was only injury cover then we would have been better served with Speight or Tomane as outside back cover.
If Cheika didn't have faith in Cooper to replace a poor performing Foley, then he shouldn't have been picked on the bench.
Unless he only planned to give him game-time if we were well ahead, but then isn't it worse to sub players who are performing well? What the hell?
Yep, without watching a replay I recall some indecisiveness on the other side.
That's really my point: KB (Kurtley Beale) did nothing wrong but when IF is there the others don't seem to get as many opportunities to make mistakes nor do they make as many mistakes.
It seems strange that Cooper wasn't injected for Foley, given Foley's bad night. What the hell was the plan for him then? If he was only injury cover then we would have been better served with Speight or Tomane as outside back cover.
If Cheika didn't have faith in Cooper to replace a poor performing Foley, then he shouldn't have been picked on the bench.
Unless he only planned to give him game-time if we were well ahead, but then isn't it worse to sub players who are performing well? What the hell?
Can someone explain to me the legality or otherwise of the try by the scottish 12? Was he a ruck participant? If so, was he allowed to use his hands at that point? If not, wasn't he offside?
Can someone explain to me the legality or otherwise of the try by the scottish 12? Was he a ruck participant? If so, was he allowed to use his hands at that point? If not, wasn't he offside?
What I'm confused about is that there was one earlier where AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)'s kick hit the Scottish bloke turning his back and a player in front picked it up and it's deemed accidental.
To a casual observer they probably look the same but in the eyes of the laws it isn't.