Tri Nations Game 3 New Zealand v Australia - Saturday 6 August 2011 - 3N2011

[Blue]

Need to know who the ref is

Can't see what that's got to do with playing for 80 minutes by anyway.

Can't see the Australian pack living with this All Black one. With Thorne and the good Franks back this week it's a scary monster. Read also likely back which adds another tentacle. The Wallaby 8 will have to work like machines because to me this is strting to look like the best AB pack in years. They combine power and pace more than any pack Iin black that I can remember.

Going to have to come with a plan to nullify them an I am not sure trying to meet fire with fire is it.

 

[spectator]

are there any reports on how Giteau went for University yesterday

Check the Brisbane Club rugby thread.

 

[TOCC]

The way I heard it souths didn't honour the agreement they made. That is why ant and saia moved.

Theres obviously two sides to the story, ive heard a different one from my Souths roots, youve head another version again via your GPS contacts.
I guess only a few people will really know the true version, either way this isnt exactly the thread to be discussing such matters.

 

[RedsHappy]

It will be damn tough for Aus to get near the ABs this week, they played pretty well for the 80 minutes....Aus struggles to play well for 60

The fluency, low error rate, speed and fast realignment of their back line was also very impressive. Wallabies' defence will need to be exceptional for all of 80 to deal with it. And QC (Quade Cooper) will need be far more disciplined this time around. ABs looked very well coached in all departments. That simply cannot be said of the Wallabies, especially the forwards, where 'the power of X-factor talent' seems to be the guiding theory underpinning the basis for hope.

 

[Reddy!]

eh I dunno

The Wallabies ran through tries just as easily as the All Blacks did last night.
Hard to say at this point.
McCaw is going to have a tough day at the office and won't be able to cheat as easily as he did against the Boks.
Pocock monsters all before him.
Expect the strong tacklers in this Wallabies team to put a few bone jolting tackles in that the All Blacks didn't come across against the Boks.
I dunno, it was a settled All Blacks team that came up against a soft Boks team at the cake tin, no surprises that they won well.
The Wallabies won well against the Boks with more experimentation on show.

 

[Groucho]

eh I dunno

The Wallabies ran through tries just as easily as the All Blacks did last night.
Hard to say at this point.
McCaw is going to have a tough day at the office and won't be able to cheat as easily as he did against the Boks.
Pocock monsters all before him.
Expect the strong tacklers in this Wallabies team to put a few bone jolting tackles in that the All Blacks didn't come across against the Boks.
I dunno, it was a settled All Blacks team that came up against a soft Boks team at the cake tin, no surprises that they won well.
The Wallabies won well against the Boks with more experimentation on show.

Everyone (well, many people) tends towards a default assumption of All Black invincibility before a big game. Statistically it has always been a safe move, and I can see why people do it. Not that I approve of the legs waving in the air approach myself.

One could alternatively look at some of the weaknesses on display yesterday. In the second half the Saffa forwards made very easy yards up the middle, but lacked the skills to finish it off. The Wallabies coaching staff will have noted this. The All Blacks weren't tested at all defensively out wide, and next Saturday they will be. Carter also had an off day with the boot. One might argue that this must be a one-off (it being Carter) (and me with my legs waving ironically in the air) but every run of bad kicking form starts with a single game.

 

[fatprop]

Everyone (well, many people) tends towards a default assumption of All Black invincibility before a big game. Statistically it has always been a safe move, and I can see why people do it. Not that I approve of the legs waving in the air approach myself.

One could alternatively look at some of the weaknesses on display yesterday. In the second half the Saffa forwards made very easy yards up the middle, but lacked the skills to finish it off. The Wallabies coaching staff will have noted this. The All Blacks weren't tested at all defensively out wide, and next Saturday they will be. Carter also had an off day with the boot. One might argue that this must be a one-off (it being Carter) (and me with my legs waving ironically in the air) but every run of bad kicking form starts with a single game.

The ABs have weaknesses that Aus can exploit, it is more Aus's ability to match the ABs for the whole game .

We can play some really great rugby that matches the ABs in talent, speed and execution, but we haven't been able to keep our shape for 80 minutes at the intensity needed yet, against lessor sides that is OK, against the ABs it isn't enough.

 

[TOCC]

It needs to be rememberd that the All Blacks have had a extra week together by the time they played the springboks(compared to the Wallabies)... not an increidble amount of time, but when you consider its 33% longer then what the Wallabies had prior to the first game its sure to have an impact on combinations and team patterns.

 

[Stickybeak]

So - just who are the strong (by which I assume you mean dominant, decisive tacklers) in the Australian team?
Everything's easier if the pigs are holding their own or going forward, pressuring phase ball and giving the backs half chance of moving forward when the ball emerges.

 

[BDA]

I think the Wallabies can give the Blecks a run for their money next weekend.

I'm finding it hard to pick my preferred backrow for the game. I think I'd like to see Samo starting at 8. He'll be more dominant in the tackle than McCalman. I was impressed with how he played against the New Zealand sides in the super 15 and he works well with Simo/Horwill. He also has a surprisingly high work rate for a man his size, albeit only for about 50 minutes. I take him off at the 50 minute mark and throw Higgers or McCalman on. Not sure which of those guys i would leave out.

I still have reservations about starting higgers because i don't think his work rate is as good as McCalman's.

I'd probably pick Robinson ahead of Hodgson. Also I agree with others of this post that we should give Sharpe's bench spot to Vickerman. He is one of our few forwards the gets out there and looks to smash players.

I'd probably go with Hanson rather than Saia. Hanson has spent the whole season in the impact player role for the reds.

 

[ChargerWA]

When is our team announced?

I am hopeful that we can win, but not in any way confident. I believe we may have over come the mental barrier, but I still think we will struggle with the skills consistency and decision making we need to get the upper hand between the two teams.

To my mind, the difference between the Wobs and the AB's in the Vs Boks games just gone was composure. The Wallabies switched off after 60 minutes where as the AB's didn't, and the Wallabies had too many forwards throwing miracle balls when they should have just held on and recycled. AB's by less than a try.

 

[Richo]

To my mind, the difference between the Wobs and the AB's in the Vs Boks games just gone was composure. The Wallabies switched off after 60 minutes where as the AB's didn't, and the Wallabies had too many forwards throwing miracle balls when they should have just held on and recycled. AB's by less than a try.

Completely agree with this. A big problem last year and if it remains one this year the Wallabies will struggle come the Cup elimination rounds.

 

[cyclopath]

I suspect a NZ win by 10 or so. I think our mediocre bench input will be shaded by the ABs, who seem to finish better. A lot of those 10 in a row we lost saw a competitive Wallaby team for 55-60 minutes, and I expect much the same this time. Unfortunately. If and when we consistently close games out, we will be a much bigger force with which to be reckoned.

 

[Gagger]

The ABs have weaknesses that Aus can exploit, it is more Aus's ability to match the ABs for the whole game .

We can play some really great rugby that matches the ABs in talent, speed and execution, but we haven't been able to keep our shape for 80 minutes at the intensity needed yet, against lessor sides that is OK, against the ABs it isn't enough.

Well, there were a couple of good signs last year - Honkers most notably, but a couple of things give me a little more hope this year -
a) The Reds could match the Saders for 80 (no other team could)
b) The impact of some of our bench players when/should we get them back. Particularly Taf - oppo coaches have him as a game changer. A Palu and Samo for the last 20-30 would be interesting as well (unsure as to latest on fitness here...)

 

[RedsHappy]

I suspect a NZ win by 10 or so. I think our mediocre bench input will be shaded by the ABs, who seem to finish better. A lot of those 10 in a row we lost saw a competitive Wallaby team for 55-60 minutes, and I expect much the same this time. Unfortunately. If and when we consistently close games out, we will be a much bigger force with which to be reckoned.

Agree Cyclo. But it has to be said: after multiple years of the above deficiency of, either, fitness, mindset, team cohesion, culture, weak bench, whatever, it's appalling that we are still all here, saying and observing and worrying about the same ol' syndrome and anxiously anticipating its recurrence in a big game. This syndrome can be fixed, it's not some unique virus with no cures known to man, other top national teams have achieved it, as we have in times past. As I've said before, if Aus S15 teams can deploy the required intensity of application and desire and good-enough bench quality against top S15 teams for all of 80 and win time and again this way, then it's absolutely possible to replicate that with the national team.

And surely it's a fair fans' expectation that, after a number of years of 'investment', 'rebuilding' and 'development' within the whole Wallabies infrastructure, we can ensure an occasional Wallaby win on NZ soil, surely this is a reasonable demand FFS!

 

[Bullrush]

Guys....I think history has proven that Super Rugby form often counts for not a hell of a lot. Despite NZ having won most of the Super trophies, we haven't won a RWC in that time and in the late '90's/early 2000's, struggled in Tri-Nations and Bledisloes.

 

[Athilnaur]

I'm not so worried about our last 20. Deans subbed out the whole leadership group in the name of giving people a run - Elsom, Horwill, then Genia, Pocock, by the time Sharp has it hes 3rd Captain, to the point it really was a FFA. Henry didn't do that and you could see McCaw and Carter really upping the comms in their last 20 as the bench came on.

On the bright side the ABs got held out in the last ten. You could see Smit's immense determination as he amped his crew after Slade scored.

I agree 100% tho - until we see killer instinct in the last twenty from our guys we don't know they have it and more to the point neither do they.

 

[chief]

Who is back from injury this game? Wycliff Palu? TPN? Anyone?

I think it is worth playing Radike Samo off the bench, I'm honestly stuck with the 2nd row selection of Vickerman, Sharpe, Horwill and Simmons, it is just so difficult to pick the three best 2nd rowers. It can only be good for competition. Simmons can only get better, Vickerman and Sharpe could get back to their best. No one including Horwill should be an automatic starter shoo in. I think this next few weeks is very exciting for the outlook of the Wallabies RWC team.

However, I just can't see the Wallabies winning this game, they never play well two games in a row.

 

[Groucho]

So - just who are the strong (by which I assume you mean dominant, decisive tacklers) in the Australian team?
Everything's easier if the pigs are holding their own or going forward, pressuring phase ball and giving the backs half chance of moving forward when the ball emerges.

Sadly our two strongest tacklers are injured: Nau and Palu. Of the current players, Pocock, Horwill and Kepu can all put on dominant tackles. Moore and Elsom are reasonably strong.

 

[Lee Grant]

If the forwards front up for 80 minutes, or as for much of that period that is possible by human beings, they have every chance of winning.

For me that is the key. There will be discussion about the names of the players who are in the 15 and 22, and that this Oz back or that will be the difference, but that won't matter beans what the names of the backs are if the forwards don't stand up.