KOB1987
John Eales (66)
12 Harris and 13 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is a bit better than 3rd string!
Scotland v Australia, Murrayfield, 5am 24 Nov 2013
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12 Harris and 13 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is a bit better than 3rd string!
Mr Doug
Dick Tooth (41)
A great opportunity for the fringe players to show their wares.
The 2013 Wallabies are losers on the field, and a percentage have proved they are also losers off the field (and it hurts me to say that). Is it not a fact that they are only one loss from being the worst Wallabies in history? When you have two regulars who run on to the field with their socks down, it's not hard to accept that there is a lack of respect for the Wallaby brand!
As a fan of "Aussie Mike", I'm pleased to see him in the run-on team.
I support the stance that Link has taken on discipline, (read commitment), and I'm surprised at some of the comments by members of this forum. They'd be flat out getting a job on my management team!
.
I think this squad will show the Scots how we can play Rugby, and will atone for the debacle at Newcastle, (a match in which M Harris scored all our points)!
The 2013 Wallabies are losers on the field, and a percentage have proved they are also losers off the field (and it hurts me to say that). Is it not a fact that they are only one loss from being the worst Wallabies in history? When you have two regulars who run on to the field with their socks down, it's not hard to accept that there is a lack of respect for the Wallaby brand!
As a fan of "Aussie Mike", I'm pleased to see him in the run-on team.
I support the stance that Link has taken on discipline, (read commitment), and I'm surprised at some of the comments by members of this forum. They'd be flat out getting a job on my management team!
.
I think this squad will show the Scots how we can play Rugby, and will atone for the debacle at Newcastle, (a match in which M Harris scored all our points)!
No4918
John Hipwell (52)
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) will be back so i would really hope not.
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
I thinking picking Harris at 12 is a good bit of forward thinking from Link. Although most would probably say Lilo is a better choice at 12 (for the Wales game), leaving him out of the run on side means he can provide cover from the bench for 10 & 12 (and now 13). Harris knows the Welsh well from the series last year, he won't let us down this week or next.
Footnote: I know I am already speculating on next week's choices, but by doing that I believe it sheds some light on this week's.
Footnote: I know I am already speculating on next week's choices, but by doing that I believe it sheds some light on this week's.
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
at 12??
No4918
John Hipwell (52)
12. Lilo
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
The positions they have spent pretty much the entire season training or covering for.
Have to spell everything out for the southern fans
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
12. Lilo
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
The positions they have spent pretty much the entire season training or covering for.
Have to spell everything out for the southern fans
Let me spell it out
the basis of this discussion is that if Link was planning to run Lilo at 12 next week he would have picked him there this week and Harris at 13.
I may be wrong and you are correct that they have been training/covering there all season, but To'omua, JOC (James O'Connor) and Beale were all around at various times.
GaffaCHinO
Peter Sullivan (51)
Not really at the start of the week To'omua was at 12 and lilo at 13 then To'omua pulls his hammy and instead more shuffeling he made a straight swap for harrisLet me spell it out
the basis of this discussion is that if Link was planning to run Lilo at 12 next week he would have picked him there this week and Harris at 13.
I may be wrong and you are correct that they have been training/covering there all season, but To'omua, JOC (James O'Connor) and Beale were all around at various times.
Sent from my GT-I9300T using Tapatalk 2
If Deans was still the coach you would be absolutely up in arms about these selection choices.
It's possible to still support the coach and the team whilst questioning what are pretty bizarre selection decisions.
Why did he fly Betham over there if he wasn't going to even put him on the bench? Particularly when you've put two halfbacks on the bench.
Why select Leali'ifano at 13 who has no experience there when you have a young up and comer who is a specialist 13 in the squad? Surely this was the match to give CFS a crack at the 13 jersey.
KOB1987
John Eales (66)
OK that puts a different spin on it but if the combination works (with Cooper) and/or Harris plays well he will probably stay there next week..to avoid more shuffling!!
Rob42
Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Link's talkin' straight this week: in this article, he says if you're an incumbent Wallaby and you decide to chase the money in Europe, you're dead to me. Dead. However, if you weren't an incumbent and leave for overseas, you'll still have a place in my heart.
http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby-...bies-thin-stocks/story-fndptke0-1226765394975
http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby-...bies-thin-stocks/story-fndptke0-1226765394975
The continued selection of Timani kind of makes a mockery of his comments.
Timani has been saying for most of the year that he is leaving and will leave regardless of whether the ARU lets him or not.
Of course I would prefer him not to draft in overseas players during this tour (which is against ARU rules anyway) and call up players from home, but it would be ridiculous if he didn't give the overseas players a fair crack if they returned to play Super Rugby in Australia.
Aside from JOC (James O'Connor) who left for different reasons, I find it hard to begrude Giteau, Mitchell and Barnes' decisions to go overseas. They've been great servants of Australian rugby, played a lot of tests and then decided to go overseas when they were becoming less of a fixture in the Wallabies. I really can't see anything wrong with that. It's not like any of them are suggesting they expect to be selected again.
en_force_er
Geoff Shaw (53)
BDA
Jim Lenehan (48)
I think its worth pointing out that most people generally gave Deans the benefit of the doubt regarding his selections for about 2 or 3 seasons. His selections at the world cup upset a lot of us, and by years 4 and 5, he was constantly lampooned.
There does appear to be some logic in the decisions made by Link. Firstly I like the fact that all of his squad will have had a run during the tour. This is no doubt brought about by necessity, more than design (one would imagine) but its a nice way to pay back the players that have sat in the stands all tour and have not played-up. Having White and Phipps on the bench is not a pretty sight, but I suspect Link does not plan on using Phipps unless the Wallabies get a healthy lead; and if they do throw him on the wing to perhaps be the benefactor of the meat pie in the dying stages of the game.
I don't have a problem with Betham not playing. He's only just arrived in the UK and has had no time with the team. If there is an injury to an outside back, before Saturday, Betham will be required and I assume that is why he was flown over.
The centre combo is a bit strange but you cant blame Link. He went on tour with two genuine inside centres (To'omua/Lilo) and two genuine 13s (Kuridrani/AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)) and he's lost all three in one week. If anything, choosing Lilo at 13 suggests to me that the Wallabies intend to go wide early and often. expect a lot of cut out balls from Cooper to Lilo and they'll look for Lilo to feed the ball to the likes of Folau and Tomane. I think that's the right move.
lewisr
Bill McLean (32)
Absolutely BH, because he had been in the job for 4 years and had shown on repeated occasions that he picked the wrong players in the wrong positions.
We are in a completely different situation here. It could very well fuck up but Mckenzie hasn't even finished his first year and on top of that, just had 5 backline members become unavailable for the match. With a selection like Matt To'omua at 12 coming off extremely well, I'm hoping he has seen something in lilo that sets him up better to be the 13 than Harris would be.
Harris is shockingly slow if you watched any of the reds matches where he played there and at test level it's pretty devastating if your 13 can't get around people, especially off of Quade's long balls.
All im saying is:
1) McKenzie has a bit of 'artistic licence' to do whatever he wants when he's caught in this situation, on the EOYT up against Scotland. Give him a chance?
2) If he pulls it off and we smash them, how can those selections still be considered wrong?
They are bizarre, I agree, but they are not outwardly stupid like picking a 23 year old winger at 10 for the Lions tour.
lewisr
Bill McLean (32)
The timani selection is simply mind boggling, can't argue with that. He's had every opportunity to prove that he's worth it, even though he's leaving, but he hasn't? He's still average at best. Kan Douglas is surely the more beneficial option to the wallabies in the long run.
RoffsChoice
Jim Lenehan (48)
I think we have Lilo at 13 because he shows better defencive positioning, ball running and footwork than Harris. When AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) and Cummins are back, I think the backline will go to
Genia Cooper Tomane Lilo AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) Cummins Folau
Genia Cooper Tomane Lilo AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) Cummins Folau
RoffsChoice
Jim Lenehan (48)
Greg Clarke made a good point on twitter:
Source: https://twitter.com/greg_clarkie/status/403652189257621504
I think Beale would have been Deans' first choice 10 if things hadn't fallen apart for him prior to that tour.
Deans had backed Cooper previously and been let down for a number of reasons (some of which were probably his own doing). I can certainly understand him not going down that route again.
In hindsight he should have picked To'omua or Foley. They were the two form Aussie 10s at the time. Both untested at test level but he should have taken that punt.
At the end of the day, Deans backed one of the best players in his team throughout his tenure to play in a reasonably unfamiliar position during that tour. It was a bad choice but nonetheless, he was presented with several less than optimal choices.
Arguably, if Leali'ifano hadn't been knocked out in the first 30 seconds of the first test we'd have probably won that game and potentially won the whole series. Losing our gun goalkicker and replacing him with a kicker who hadn't been kicking well all season was a huge blow.
Anyway, that is all ancient history now.
Brumbieman
Dick Tooth (41)
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