Scotland v Australia 12Nov16 Saturday

[Highlander35]

Bit of irony in the fact that my mob lost a game against a Southern Hemisphere nation despite scoring more tries due to you kicking all your points and we didn't!!!

Still happy enough with that performance on that end. Jones looks quality and will be great competition for the 13 jersey for the foreseeable future. Gilchrist looked composed on his international return.

Nel and Dickinson come back in when fit to fix up the shaky front row, Seymour comes in to provide a more dynamic option than Visser, Wilson doesn't go down after 10 minutes, or Denton is fit or we have a genuine 6 or 8 on the bench.

Then we've got a team ready for a red hot crack at the 6 Nations and hopefully 8th spot on the World Rankings, as well as the BILs.

Just beat the French thanks.

Folau was trying too hard IMO, he doesn't need to make everything himself. DHP continues to improve.

Also, yah boo sucks to everyone who said that we'd play a kicking game.

 

[barbarian]

However, its interesting that Skelton got a yellow card for his actions this week, while Kepu did exactly the same last week and only got a penalty.

Consistency, refs. Just make up your minds.

Skelton's was after the whistle. Big difference for mine.

 

[Pfitzy]

Skelton's was after the whistle. Big difference for mine.

Fair enough. Highlights package didn't have ref's audio. I'm not flush to the point of pay TV.

I thought it was poor composure by the Wallabies tonight, too many forced passes when they should have held the ball and built pressure.. Genia and Foley did it once and Folau did it 2 or 3 times with the try line in sight, turning the ball over and relieving pressure on Scotland

Kuridrani did it with Folau standing - unmarked - right next to him. Thankfully his arms are long enough.


BUT from all reports we played ordinarily and STILL won. Good thing we got Scotland in their first game of the year, or we could have failed badly.

 

[barbarian]

I thought the Wallabies played pretty well, in what was a high quality test match.

Scotland threw everything at us, and probably should have won. They dominated the contact zone and rushed up out wide, it was a masterful defensive display. They only slipped off one tackle that I saw, and that was the one for TK's try.

I was impressed with our patience. We stuck with it, knowing it would get easier in the final 10 minutes. I liked how we varied our attack, and included some pick-and-drives in there too.

We just lacked that physical presence. Moore, Sio and Arnold tried, but this was a game where we needed a big effort from Timani and Kepu. Sadly they didn't provide.

Reece Hodge continues to get better, love his running lines and general game awareness. Folau was rocks and diamonds, his running ability is unparalleled but still takes the wrong option too frequently.

I'd give the Wallabies a 6.5/10 for that. Maybe I'm too generous, but Scotland are a bogey team who came to play. To steal it at the end was very nice indeed.
.

 

[Pfitzy]

Thanks for the summary barb.

I guess for most people, after dominating a rusty Wales last weekend, this wasn't good enough. You expect to get better the deeper you go into a tour BUT that doesn't take into account the quality of your opposition.

 

[Pfitzy]

Also, with Coleman out, we need someone like Douglas to step up.

 

[swingpass]

I reckon Skelton might even get a few weeks off for that one.

one can only hope so
One

 

[Pfitzy]

Fox Sports player ratings are up.

Christy Doran seems to be slightly at odds with what I'm hearing on GAGR, even after filtering the favouritism. Mostly talking backline:

ISRAEL FOLAU — 8.5
DANE HAYLETT-PETTY — 7.5 (note: says DHP was "faultless" but Folau still goes 1 point better)
TEVITA KURIDRANI — 8 (winning try but let one in as well - don't think that deserves an 8 unless the rest of his game was exceptional)
REECE HODGE — 6.5
HENRY SPEIGHT — 6
BERNARD FOLEY — 8
WILL GENIA — 7.5
LOPETI TIMANI — 6.5
MICHAEL HOOPER — 7
DAVID POCOCK — 8.5
ADAM COLEMAN — N/A
RORY ARNOLD — 6
SEKOPE KEPU — 7
STEPHEN MOORE — 8
SCOTT SIO — 8

ROB SIMMONS — 6.5 (is blamed for the Gray try, but Arnold was right there as well)
DEAN MUMM — 6
WILL SKELTON — 3
NICK PHIPPS — 6

 

[Brumby Runner]

almost muffed by holding on to the ball as usual with an unmarked folau a metre to his right! It was good to watch but it didn't give me confidence in TK or cement his place in the team in my eyes, but maybe a daytime viewing will convince me otherwise.

TK was unbalanced over the last 5m or so of his run and had he attempted a pass to Folau the chances are it would have gone astray. Then there would have been an unrelenting call for him to be dropped.

I have no doubt that Kerevi could also score tries in a similar situation, but there is no proof that he would have scored that one. TK did score and it ultimately won the game. We cannot be positive about any other hypothetical situation.

 

[Scoey]

I'm not meaning to harp on my clear disdain for what Skelton did last night but 3 is generous!

 

[the sabanator]

If we hadn't won this game it would have been due to own error - too many forced passes, dropped balls and stupid errors.

Australia dominated Scotland. The Scots were courageous in defence, but apart from a few moments the Wallabies really dominated the game.

Execution was a 3/10 though and it nearly cost us the test.

 

[Train Without a Station]

Patience Barbarian?

If anything our lack of patience is what caused us to repeatedly turn the ball over.

I think Folau was 3 times alone.

 

[Tomikin]

I was actually unimpressed, and his try was nothing Kerevi wouldnt have finished.

Yeah but TKs defence is better, although he had a shocking miss this game.

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[Pfitzy]

one can only hope so
One

If Skelton gets time for THAT, then World Rugby are going to run out of money for G&T running judiciaries around the clock.

It looked ugly, and was worth a yellow card, given the focus on it from World Rugby referees (who have conveniently forgotten their focus on feeding a scrum straight). But weeks off? You're dreaming.

Skelton might get a crack at France to see if he can use his physicality without his brain exploding.

Let's face it: Simmons isn't going to deliver the physicality we need against England. Arnold needs a rest. Douglas is the other option. Mumm isn't.

So next week is going to be very interesting for selections.

 

[Pfitzy]

Yeah but TKs defence is better, although he had a shocking miss this game.

Individually, as defenders, TK and Speight are fair-to-middling.

Together, particularly in terms of positioning, they can be utterly disastrous in some cases.

Wales didn't put us under pressure last week, so these deficiencies weren't noticable. Scotland clearly did, and at times we were found wanting.

Morahan for wing. Straight swap with Henry.

 

[Twoilms]

Australia played really well i thought. To come back and win, with 14 men in the final ten and hold on for 3 minutes after the buzzer. Showed real courage and commitment. I think our backline play really only looked ordinary because scottish defence was absolutely bloody outstanding.

The scots look the goods. Dominant at the breakdown with clever (read:illegal) tactics employed to slow down our attempts at front foot ball. Well executed rush defense.

Excellent game plan to counter with Hogg (BIL fullback?) and co attacking our loose exit clearing. Their pace and power on attack had us falling off tackles all over the place.

This showed how out of shape Wales really were.


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[notapatrioticboneinme]

... TK did score and it ultimately won the game. .....

Beg to differ, Hodge's try also " ultimately won the game" and Foley's kicking "ultimately won the game" .......... always have had a problem with a single incident 'winning a game' unless it is a game changing moment, yours truly, mark

 

[swingpass]

Pfitzy my point was not that the clean out deserves a spell, but that Skelton somehow needs to learn his lesson. It is not the first time he has done something stupod in the guise of trying to be hard and was pointed out above even after he came back on in the after siren period he did two or three really stupid things that could have cost Aust the game. I am not certain how he is ever going to learn, because he could be a fantastic asset for Australian rugby if he can harness his size and skill and stay fit and cut out the crap. Just no evidence so far he can and repay the faith Cheika has shown in him at the Tahs and Wobs

 

[TOCC]

Kuridrani did it with Folau standing - unmarked - right next to him. Thankfully his arms are long enough.


BUT from all reports we played ordinarily and STILL won. Good thing we got Scotland in their first game of the year, or we could have failed badly.

an unmarked player night next to him wouldn't be a forced or 50/50 pass.. there were 4 passes by Genia, Folau and Foley in the Scotland 22m on the attack where the players who passed weren't in a position to pass or the people they were passing too weren't in a position to catch.. 4 attacking opportunities ruined because of lack of composure or not having the skill to execute

 

[Brumby Runner]

Too much gloom and doom in the after match posts. The Wallabies played with the same intent as last week, but made a few more unforced errors on the cusp of scoring a try. That's a few more than they did last week. They really need to learn to take the tackle and recycle the ball is some of those situations.

It was noticeable, though, that they played largely in the backline. There was not so much forward play and dominance as there was last week. Certainly missed the power of Coleman, and things just got worse after Arnold came off early in the second half and Timani was replaced with 20 minutes to go.

Unlike many others, I think Genia and Foley worked just as good as Phipps/Foley. Some have complained about Will stepping sideways before passing, but that is simply incorrect. His passing from the scrum and breakdown was crisp and accurate. He takes a couple of sideways steps when he is going to box kick, but that really is all. His service to Foley allowed Berie to set up backline plays as effectively as he did against Wales, and the backline again looked very threatening and broke the Scottish line regularly.

TK's miss on Jones was very poor, but no-one has mentioned that DHP also missed Jones in that same movement. Both bad misses, but as it turned out not crucial to the outcome. DHP and TK both recovered to have very strong games overall. Won't be at all surprised if they feature in most meters gained stats along with Folau and Hodge.

I will have no issue if Naivalu replaces Henry next week, but I don't think Henry was poor at all. How many tries were scored down his wing against the Wallabies? In the second half particularly, the ball came to him on more occasions and he made ground over the gain line on most occasions. He had a solid game overall, not spectacular by any means.

Pocock showed just how valuable he is again in the tight stuff. Four or more turnovers won and a huge defensive effort all game.

On the poor side, Skelton didn't disappoint. He spent more time (deservedly so) on the sideline than on the field of play, and did nothing to enhance the Wallabies' efforts while he was on. I haven't changed my mind about him, and I believe if he continues to get selected there is something seriously awry with our national coach.

Simmons showed up at the lineout and made one steal at least, but his play in the open is a huge step down from our starting locks. And Dean Mumm did little to justify his continued selection too.