Cheika has gone 6:2 because of the likely conditions: wet, rainy, windy, boggy. (Just another day in paradise). The props sort themselves after Slippers off-colour performance last week, Simmons is there in case a lock gets injured, Mumm is there to replace Pocock if our lineout is getting dished, Skelton is there to supply grunt and maul destruction if required and to give our second lock a rest in the last 20, when I expect Simmons and Mumm will already be on. Barring injury, Timani will play 80. After last week I would have kept Fardy but I'm not unduly distressed. McMahon is more likely to get a run in France where it might be drier and harder. With the flexibility in our backline we can cover injuries in any position.
Makes enough sense to me to be reasonable, even if its not what I would have done.
Not what I would've done either but I suppose I can see method in the madness. I'd say Skelton is a Super XV season off Wallaby form, and I'm sure you all already know my opinions of Simmons and Mumm.
I can see an argument for Simmons on the bench as he's probably next cab off the rank in terms of the 2nd row, Mumm as he's Mr. Lineout and provides some qualities Cheika likes (old experienced head, aggression, mobility, maul-disruption?? - I'm grasping at straws here). I also think Cheika's trying to play Skelton into fitness.
He's been rotating the 2nd row as he's said he wants to build depth there, which indicates to me he thinks its a vital role going forward. We're already seeing the fruits of this with Arnold and Coleman coming out of nowhere as a world-class lock pairing, and with capable replacements in Douglas, Simmons and Mumm. If we can get Skelton to join the pack and provide a different profile to the others then thats fantastic. If all of the above continue to grow, the 2nd row could become a real strength of the Wallabies moving forward. Who would've thought we would ever be able to say that?
To me, Cheika's always got one eye on his major goal and that seems to be to build a squad that will win the 2019 RWC.
When he came to the Tahs he said he didn't care about how we went in 2013. Throughout the entire season he even maintained that he'd never checked the competition ladder (probably just a bit of rhetoric). Instead he said he wanted to build a squad that had belief (we've heard that recently), an identity (and that) and who played they way they wanted to despite the pressures posed by the other team (and who could execute this plan - heard that).
He was fairly successful in doing that I'd say. The Tahs of 2014 were a delight to watch.
He's said similar, although toned down sentiments (understandable as expectations as a national coach are considerably higher) this year. He wants to test combinations, build both depth and an attacking rugby identity as a squad (and country).
Its easy to often get dismiss all this as rhetoric and pandering, but Michael ("Mr. Intensity / Psychology") Cheika actually buys into this "bull shit"*. He's shown he's willing to sacrifice the short-term for the long-term and whilst I don't think hes necessarily doing so, I can see long-term thinking when he plays individuals like Skelton, whom he clearly sees as having enormous potential. The use of squad apprentices is another clear indication of this.
Perhaps this 'building for the future' explains the exclusion of Fardy - although to carry Mumm in his place defies that logic. Maybe he sees Fardy as over the hill and not central to the Wallabies moving forward, and Mumm as a superior role player as a stop-gap. We really need a 6 to put their hand up this Super season (Higs, Dempsey, RHP, Holloway erm leckin at yew).
Why did I type all that out? Go to fucking bed Micheal you're getting off-topic.
Oh yeah. The team. I'm very happy with the starting XV, less so with the forward reserves but I have faith in Cheik and am at least deluding myself into seeing the logic behind it.
Wallabies by 13. Carn.
* some of the team bonding and psychological stunts he pulled at the Tahs were mind-boggling from what I've heard from mates of mates that are squad members.
