Should Wallabies have pre-Lions training camp or Play S15 games

[Quick Hands]

I'd find it difficult to believe that the Lions test players wouldn't play a game until the 1st test. The normal process would be that the bulk of the test players would play the Saturday games and the lesser lights/fringe players would play the mid-week games. On that basis, you'd expect most of the test players to play v Reds on the 8 June and v Waratahs on 15 June. Dirt trackers to play Force, Brumbies, Rebels and Combined Country games. As TOCC says, many variables in play, but that is the normal way of things.

One assumes that the itinerary has been planned that way to draw big crowds to Brisbane for the Reds and Sydney for the Waratahs at the bigger venues.

 

[qwerty51]

They'll play beforehand but not as the best team.

 

[something]

Okay so full strength lions prob wont play brumbies because of a midweek game. I still reckon a near full strength lions will play the reds especially considering they were premiers two years ago.

In my honest opinion i reckon the reds are a better team than the wobs, not because of the players but because they play like a team and have effective game strategies. If the same lions team vs'd the reds & the wobs and the reds won (or put more points on the board) and wobs didn't that would prove A LOT. It would give a strong back up to the anti-deans campaigns at least.

 

[ACT Crusader]

Okay so full strength lions prob wont play brumbies because of a midweek game. I still reckon a near full strength lions will play the reds especially considering they were premiers two years ago.

In my honest opinion i reckon the reds are a better team than the wobs, not because of the players but because they play like a team and have effective game strategies. If the same lions team vs'd the reds & the wobs and the reds won (or put more points on the board) and wobs didn't that would prove A LOT. It would give a strong back up to the anti-deans campaigns at least.

Of course the Reds are a better team than the Wallabies....






at super rugby level

 

[emuarse]

Okay so full strength lions prob wont play brumbies because of a midweek game. I still reckon a near full strength lions will play the reds especially considering they were premiers two years ago.

In my honest opinion i reckon the reds are a better team than the wobs, not because of the players but because they play like a team and have effective game strategies. If the same lions team vs'd the reds & the wobs and the reds won (or put more points on the board) and wobs didn't that would prove A LOT. It would give a strong back up to the anti-deans campaigns at least.

And for that reason being a possibility, it won't happen. If it did, 'Dingo' Deans could cite "The Lion stole my baby".

 

[Slim 293]

BEWILDERED Brumbies coach Jake White believes the Wallabies' plans to strip Australian Super Rugby teams of their Test players for crucial penultimate-round matches are blatantly unfair.​

​

White has joined his Queensland and NSW counterparts - Ewen McKenzie and Michael Cheika - in opposing Robbie Deans's wish to put his Test squad into a three-week camp before the British and Irish Lions series starts in June.​

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/brumbies/white-worried-brumbies-will-be-thrown-to-lions-20130130-2dl6b.html#ixzz2JT42LNuL​

​

 

[The Red Baron]

So White, McKenzie and Cheika are up in arms about the Wallabies camp now, and fair enough too. I find the notion a bit nonsensical. Effectively, Robbie is planning to beat the Lions by wrapping the Wallabies up in wool. I don't think that is a sound strategy. Nothing conditions you more than playing.

At that point in the season, the teams are going to want all hands on deck, especially if they are duking it out for finals spots. Yes, there is the risk of injury, but for crying out loud, what the hell would a 3 week camp achieve? Is that how much time Deans needs to deprogram the boys from playing actual rugby to Robbie rugby?

 

[emuarse]

Has the ARU or Deans said anything definite about not allowing the selected Wallabies play for their respective Super 15 sides two weeks out from the first Lions test?

 

[Braveheart81]

I can certainly understand Jake White's frustration but at least it is fairly even between them and the Rebels. The Brumbies will surely lose more players to Wallabies duty but the Rebels without Beale, O'Connor and Higgers are also massively weakened.

 

[PaarlBok]

Dont understand Jake White view. When he was Springbok coach he argued the Deans way.

 

[JSRF10]

Dont understand Jake White view. When he was Springbok coach he argued the Deans way.

And it payed off for him, the Boks blitzed the Lions in the first test! Deans could be hoping for something similar

 

[PaarlBok]

And it payed off for him, the Boks blitzed the Lions in the first test! Deans could be hoping for something similar

I am not sure about that, Snor coached the Bokke last time. White had endless complains while Bok coach about the provincial coaches not working with him as national coach. Now that the shoe is on the other foot........ Anyways, just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Braveheart81]

I think there is an element of making more of a fuss than is probably required just to show that you're not overly happy about the national coach taking your players away and make sure they don't take additional liberties in the future.

I'm sure Cheika, White and McKenzie wouldn't have been too surprised when told they weren't going to have their players for these games.

 

[emuarse]

As reported in The Australian by Wayne Smith this morning:

"NEW Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver almost certainly will come down on Robbie Deans's side on the issue of player availability ahead of the British and Irish Lions series".

Bill Pulver, according to the article, says 'he could see valid reasons for giving Deans his wish', of extended player availability for preparation for the Wallabies prior to the first test.
Pulver includes amongst those valid reasons, " One is that the Wallabies are the most valuable asset in the Australian rugby product range and so we need to preserve that profit," Pulver said. "That's why they get some priority". Fair enough.
But he then goes on to include another valid reason as "the Lions will have nine matches they are playing together. They've just started the Six Nations tournament in Europe. They will be rock hard and battle ready. The Australian team gets a very limited period of time."
I think the key words here are 'rock hard and battle ready'.
Surely the best way to prepare for that is to allow your players an extra game rather than having three weeks away from match fitness.

Mr Pulver, over to you.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/spo...boss-bill-pulver/story-e6frg7o6-1226570331647

 

[Scoey]

As soon as I saw the ticket prices for the Lions vs Reds/Tahs etc games I knew that at the very least the key Wallabies wouldn't be playing for their provinces in the tour matches. You can get in to see the Reds game for $29. If they had the Lions lining up against the likes of Genia, Cooper, Ioane, Tapaui, Horwill, Samo, Gill etc etc I think they would up the prices a bit more. Sure still well below the Wallabies but $65 vs $295 for top tix to the respective games speak volumes.

I would really like to think that the ARU were just making the ticket prices more accessible to more people but if I'm honest, they always knew that the provincial sides would be far from full strength.