Scotland v Australia 12Nov16 Saturday

[Simon.]

I'm not saying the game was a debacle. The game was a near-miss. The debacle was that a mere week after dismantling Wales' rush defence, Scotland used the exact same tactics against us and we acted like stunned mullets.

We won by the width of a goal post, when Laidlaw missed the last conversion.

 

[KOB1987]

I'm not saying the game was a debacle. The game was a near-miss. The debacle was that a mere week after dismantling Wales' rush defence, Scotland used the exact same tactics against us and we acted like stunned mullets.

We won by the width of a goal post, when Laidlaw missed the last conversion.

Sliding doors. Because Laidlaw missed that conversion it allowed Foley to take a penalty goal attempt from the next opportunity to get within 7. If he had got it we probably would have gone to the corner to go for a try instead. So we might have won by more, or we might have lost, who knows!

 

[PeterK]

The bulk of the blame for this debacle and near-miss IMO goes to the coaching staff who found a way against Wales to deal effectively with the rush defence (albeit one many of us have been crying out for for months), and then proceeded to ignore it and let the Scots rush us safe in the knowledge the Wallabies weren't going to try anything except running rugby.

I don't think I've ever been so disillusioned with a Wallabies coach as I am now. Cheika has an exceptionally talented squad at his disposal and he insists in misusing it, both in terms of selections and in terms of game plans.

I agree it is mystifying why Foley did not kick more against the rushing defence.

However this is not an exceptionally talented squad.
Potentially it may be if the newer players keep improving.

Deans, Jones even Connolly had better squads.

 

[A mutterer]

i wish big willy would stop being a big willy tbh

 

[tragic]

I thought it was a terrific game.
It wasn't faultless.
I think there is room for improvement in selection, some decision making & accuracy,and use of the bench.
But not a debacle.
They were better than expected,and we still won.
A debacle would be losing to Japan in RWC

It was a terrific game.
But against the number 7 ranked team in the world. And there was nothing between the two sides.
It's still one step forwards 2 steps back.
Pleased to get the win but lots of improvement needed

 

[TOCC]

The bulk of the blame for this debacle and near-miss IMO goes to the coaching staff who found a way against Wales to deal effectively with the rush defence (albeit one many of us have been crying out for for months), and then proceeded to ignore it and let the Scots rush us safe in the knowledge the Wallabies weren't going to try anything except running rugby..

The June's series against England was worse, England rushed up all series and I think I saw one chip over the top in all 3 matches.

 

[Micheal]

I'm not saying the game was a debacle. The game was a near-miss. The debacle was that a mere week after dismantling Wales' rush defence, Scotland used the exact same tactics against us and we acted like stunned mullets.

We won by the width of a goal post, when Laidlaw missed the last conversion.

Sometimes thats just the way it is. We definitely played worse than we did against Wales, but Scotland played much better than Wales did as well and executed the game plan far better.

We lost a very key player in Coleman at the beginning of the match and if it were not for a bounce of the ball (Huw Jones' first try) or pathetic one-on-one tackle attempts (Huw Jones' second try) or an individual brainfart (Skelton - it shouldn't happen again as he shouldn't be selected again) the game could've been very different.

Even champion teams have off days and what defines them as a champion team is that they are able to find a way to win despite playing at 60-75% of their ability. We've seen this time and time again with the ABs.

Whilst we are not a champion team by any means, we are a team thats building and I think last nights performance wasn't horrific. I was very proud that the boys had the composure to steal it in the dying moments. I actually found the game very enjoyable.

Thats 2 wins on the trot now. We should be happy with that and optimistic but realistic about the future.

Carn the Wallabies.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

It was a terrific game.
But against the number 7 ranked team in the world. And there was nothing between the two sides.
It's still one step forwards 2 steps back.
Pleased to get the win but lots of improvement needed

When was the last time we really comprehensively beat Scotland? It's been a while. They seems to get up for games against us. and we seem to get a little anxious around them. No surprises it was tight.

 

[Pfitzy]

The June's series against England was worse, England rushed up all series and I think I saw one chip over the top in all 3 matches.

Maybe we're keeping that one in the bag until England?

Play ball-in-hand all year, then stun England with two quick tries using chip kicks. Best part about that? That gormless fucking hamster-molester, Mike "Shit-ears" Brown, looking like a complete bucket of arse as Hodge swerves past him on the way to the line.

 

[Pfitzy]

When was the last time we really comprehensively beat Scotland? It's been a while. They seems to get up for games against us. and we seem to get a little anxious around them. No surprises it was tight.

You get these situations in rugby where Team A beats Team B beats Team C beats Team A. Sometimes a particular style or combination of players just works against a particularly opponent.

Scotland's niggly ruck game (hear they're disappointed with the refereeing) slowed us down compared to Wales.

 

[KOB1987]

I agree it is mystifying why Foley did not kick more against the rushing defence.

However this is not an exceptionally talented squad.
Potentially it may be if the newer players keep improving.

Deans, Jones even Connolly had better squads.

I agree. We've got Hooper, Pocock, Genia and Folau that could be regarded as 'exceptionally talented', but even including those players you'd struggle to include too many of this lot in the 'best of the best since 2000'. Not right now anyway, more than happy to re-assess in 2 years time!

 

[tragic]

When was the last time we really comprehensively beat Scotland? It's been a while. They seems to get up for games against us. and we seem to get a little anxious around them. No surprises it was tight.

Other than the recent game against Wales, when was the last time we comprehensively beat anyone?
Even against the lower ranked sides our game usually lowers to the standard of the opposition.
Haven't seen us put a side to the sword in a long time.
It's why ones heart is always in ones mouth as a wallabies supporter.

 

[Pfitzy]

Connolly had the opportunity to pick a better squad, but quite often ignored it in favour of methods 10 years behind the curve.

Hence our early exit in RWC2007

 

[KOB1987]

Other than the recent game against Wales, when was the last time we comprehensively beat anyone?
Even against the lower ranked sides our game usually lowers to the standard of the opposition.
Haven't seen us put a side to the sword in a long time.
It's why ones heart is always in ones mouth as a wallabies supporter.

Doesn't the game against Wales count? Not counting Uruguay, we've pretty much put Argentina to the sword every time we've played them in the last couple of years. I think that's 4 times. Scotland are our bogey team and I agree we do tend to lower ourselves to the level of the opposition. Apart from all that we've only played NZ, England and South Africa and we've beaten all of them in the last 2 seasons.

 

[Tomikin]

Other than the recent game against Wales, when was the last time we comprehensively beat anyone?
Even against the lower ranked sides our game usually lowers to the standard of the opposition.
Haven't seen us put a side to the sword in a long time.
It's why ones heart is always in ones mouth as a wallabies supporter.

England WC so last year

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[TOCC]

Connolly had the opportunity to pick a better squad, but quite often ignored it in favour of methods 10 years behind the curve.

Hence our early exit in RWC2007

He also has the highest winning percentage of an Australian coach in the past 15years

 

[disco]

Happy to get the win, the Scots were definitely up for this and you could sense early that it was going to be one of those games.
They had been waiting 12 months for this so 1st game or not they were treating it like a grand final and some of our players hadn't switched on.

Just glad the grand slam is still alive and a scare like this will bring them back down to earth. Can probably make some changes for the Frogs and rest the A team.
I hope Coleman is OK I think we really missed him in this game. Good to see Pocock back to his best in a tight battle.

 

[disco]

Connolly had the opportunity to pick a better squad, but quite often ignored it in favour of methods 10 years behind the curve.

Hence our early exit in RWC2007

He was also handed the keys to a Datsun 120Y from that great English Coach Eddie Jones.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Far from a vintage performance from our blokes, but that would also undervalue how well the Scots played (the best I've seen them play for a long time). That first try was straight out of the top drawer though, classic Wallaby backline rugby. I think Hodge is becoming the answer at 12 and I would be playing him for the rest of the tour. He's got good hands, some pace, runs great angles and has a good boot. Those are all fine attributes for a centre.

The pack struggled to get some go forward but at the same time the Scots defence was excellent. Our set piece was pretty damn good though and our back row had a great battle at the breakdown. There is plenty of improvement left in this group, but I can see the skill levels increasing week by week. The trend is right, but we've got a couple of very tough games coming up, that will be the test.

 

[PeterK]

Maybe we're keeping that one in the bag until England?

Play ball-in-hand all year, then stun England with two quick tries using chip kicks. Best part about that? That gormless fucking hamster-molester, Mike "Shit-ears" Brown, looking like a complete bucket of arse as Hodge swerves past him on the way to the line.

My worry is Foley against rush defence won't kick, he will just play bal in hand again.

Unless Wallabies forwards dominate it seems Foley doesn't get the time he needs to kick. For other players it comes more natural so they can do it with less time and don't need front foot ball.