RWC - Wallabies v Ireland - 17th September 2011

[Sir Arthur Higgins]

wasn't there, but on the tube it didnt look too bad! fair bit of rain at the start but cleared up reasonably quickly.

 

[Richo]

The tube is not a good indicator of rain. If you can see it, it's usually pretty bad.

 

[rsea]

Maybe Palu isn't ready yet? Can't see any other reason for excluding him
Sharpe, Waugh and Baxter were all on the Deans shit list from day 1 so it's no surprise Sharpes cooling his heels while other options exist

 

[Lee Grant]

The bookies will be shortening the Ireland price if heavy rain is forecast. They'll remember that match a few years ago when they beat us 7 penalty kicks to 2 at home - or something like that.

Truth be told though: Ireland were ordinary in the rain for much of the USA game.

 

[Ash]

Cooper went pretty well in the Reds v Chiefs game in awful conditions in NZ (Waikato?) too, but to be fair, the Reds forwards smashed the Chiefs forwards in that game and made his life easy.

I was pleasantly surprised with Simmons off the bench last game. He has a different impact from Sharpe, and I was also wondering if Sharpe's running/mobility and aerial skills might be better end-game, but Simmons is a lot more hard-nosed and will do more hard work in the tight than Sharpe. Simmons had a great counter-ruck to turn over the ball vs Italy when he came off the bench, and was also involved in hitting a lot of rucks hard and attempted counter-rucks. Around the park, Simmons is a like-for-like replacement for Vickerman, whereas Sharpe is different. I guess I can see why Simmons remains.

Zero surprises in that team, too. Wonder if Slipper and TPN will get more time, and if we'll see Ant subbed at 45 mins again for Mitchell?

 

[Ash]

And I'm a supporter of backrow balance as well. You can play the 3 best 6s in the world at 7, 6 and 8 and you will get outplayed at the breakdown by a team with a balanced backrow of Super-level players. And as we painfully know as Wallaby supporters, if you are going to get outplayed at the breakdown, you are close to conceding the game before you even start.

 

[fatprop]

A little surprised that Palu and Barnes still aren't being given a crack off the bench.

It would seem hard to justify dropping players from the current 22 based solely on performances by players like Barnes, Palu and Sharpe against USA and Russia.

They were all too late for starting spots without injuries, the reality is that there will be more injuries and it is damn nice to have good units in the wings

 

[Worldcupnut]

When will Drew Mitchell come on. Ideally OZ would want to be at least 10pts ahead. So? 60 min mark. Will JOC (James O'Connor) then go to defend the number 10 alley or will he be the one replaced?

 

[Worldcupnut]

Hey, if Wallabies win this, does that qualify as breaking the Eden Park Hoodoo?

 

[jay-c]

When will Drew Mitchell come on. Ideally OZ would want to be at least 10pts ahead. So? 60 min mark. Will JOC (James O'Connor) then go to defend the number 10 alley or will he be the one replaced?

i expect australia to be 10 points up at the 10 minute mark... and if drew comes on then id expect us to be 60 points up by the 60 min mark

 

[Lee Grant]

I have no idea of Palu's injury status but foresaw that the match form teams world be chosen for the Italy and Ireland games; so I never expected him to play in either. If Palu is fit he should start in the USA and Russia games, and play the whole of the Russia game.

If he is not fit to play against the USA one wonders why he was in the squad to start with. If he is fit he will have to prove that he can play at the top level after coming back from injury. He has never done this in the past, but you never know. Only then can we talk about if he can play in a matchday 22 after the pool stages.

 

[Braveheart81]

There was a quote from somone about the intensity of training last week which said that Palu was fired up and smashing everyone and that it confirmed he was fully fit and raring to go.

 

[rugbyskier]

The tube is not a good indicator of rain. If you can see it, it's usually pretty bad.

There were a couple of occasions on Sunday where the rain showed up on TV. I was checking the NZ Met Service website for the Auckland forecast and it stated that Auckland received over 30mm of rain on Sunday.

Forecast for Saturday is showers in the afternoon.

 

[Ruggo]

So who will be defending in the 10 channel? Do you think AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) will take over Digby's role or will QC (Quade Cooper) be left there?

They should just shift the backline in one position and it will be fine.

 

[thedubs]

I thinks the Aussie front five have developed quite nicely this past year and have all the attributes (size, athleticism, mobility, mongrel, worth rate and smarts) to more than hold their own against this Irish front five in which there is only one real ball carrier of note in Healy. O'Connell has been a fine player for many years, but his partner hasn't fronted up consistently for a long time and he will not get much support either from his TH prop who cannot move his feet anywhere outside the scrum. And then who have the Irish coming off the bench to replace tired legs? Cronin, Court, Ryan and Leamy will offer precious little impact and are a substantial step down from the players they might replace. In contrast, the Wallaby bench has real impact and punch. I do not expect the game to be that close around the 60-65 minute mark and I expect that the Wallabies will pull further away when the bench is unleashed.

As an Irish fan I agree with this. The step down from a Heaslip one of our backrow bench players is quite fascinating. The only player of serious impact on the bench is either Trimble or O'Gara. Trimble as he's one of our most underrated wingers, and O'gara as he brings a whole gameplan with him.

The Irish front five should survive, and in typical Irish or French in rugby terms, style, they can be phenonmenal on 'their' day. Then again I think that 'their' day phrase belongs to any team. Heres to both packs finally having a solid pack anyway.

 

[No4918]

When will Barnes come back into the mix? Only reason i ask is that i have real concerns about Coopers cover if he goes down (its ok, just touched every piece of wood i can find). Beale is ok at 10 but coming into a WC semi or final and QC (Quade Cooper) goes down early i'd be a lot happier with Barnes running things. This game Mitchell is right in the 22 jersey but continuing with a 5/2 split might no be so good in the long run.

Hope Fainga'a has a blinder and actually gets some ball. Could see him coming in running off QC (Quade Cooper) in place of Ioane maybe as AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) and JOC (James O'Connor) don't really play that style.

 

[Ash]

There was a quote from somone about the intensity of training last week which said that Palu was fired up and smashing everyone and that it confirmed he was fully fit and raring to go.

Doesn't matter how well or hard you train, match fitness is key. Without getting significant (well, any) game time before the World Cup, you can't expect Palu to make the main 22. He'll need to have a complete blinder and either McCalman or Higgers to be poor to make the bench from here. Like Lee, I am surprised they took Palu, but as FP said, it's good having good units in reserve for injuries.

 

[Braveheart81]

All I was saying is that from comments regarding training, Palu is definitely ready and available for selection.

I agree that with Higgers and McCalman both playing decently off the bench, it is hard to justify the inclusion of Palu in the 22 at this stage.

I guess it's giving a fairly good indication that barring injury, it will be very hard for Barnes and Palu to make the 22 at the business end of the tournament.

 

[The Burner]

This bloke seems to be hyped up so much. I will be pleased when Pocock completely outplays him

Pocock will completely outplay him at 7, So you will be pleased!

 

[Richo]

I guess it's giving a fairly good indication that barring injury, it will be very hard for Barnes and Palu to make the 22 at the business end of the tournament.

I'm surprised that Barnes didn't get a run against Italy or Ireland, but I guess that's what happens when your competition is playing to a high standard and with few mistakes. McCabe has done a very solid job so far, especially in defense.

If it ain't broke...