Wallabies # 10/12 . Quade, O'connor, Beale, Sook .....Hooo haaaa !

[OLDDOG]

What a nice dilemma for Deans to have ! which pairing does he choose? I reckon Quade for creativity, but who partners him? it does look promising tho, always nice to have two playmakers/kickers at 10/12...........:thumb

 

[Richard D. James]

9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Mitchell
12. JOC (James O'Connor)
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
14. Ioane
15. Beale

If midfield defence wasn't an issue that would be the dream team I think. So much creativity with Cooper, Beale, JOC (James O'Connor) and power and pace with Mitchell, Ioane and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper).

Three able kickers as well.

 

[wamberal]

Three able kickers as well.

I assume you mean out of hand kickers. We have a huge weakness in our goal kicking. If we are to have any chance at all at the RWC, we just have to find/develop a consistent kicker.

 

[Bruce Ross]

If midfield defence wasn't an issue that would be the dream team I think. So much creativity with Cooper, Beale, JOC (James O'Connor) and power and pace with Mitchell, Ioane and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper).

But of course midfield defence isn't "an issue". Together with the break down it is "the issue". Last time at Twickenham the English clearly targetted our defensive fragility. And how would Cooper and O'Connor go coping with the All Black centres; or if you hide Cooper away, Beale and O'Connor? That's before you even think of rampaging forwards running amok through that channel.

You don't get far in the World Cup leaking tries or having the opposition breach your defensive wall at will.

I think we need to forget how flash our backs can be in attack and focus on the monumental tasks of constructing a brick wall defence and winning the break down.

 

[Victorian Reds Fan]

I assume you mean out of hand kickers. We have a huge weakness in our goal kicking. If we are to have any chance at all at the RWC, we just have to find/develop a consistent kicker.

Mike Harris?

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

The midfield defensive issue is why I still think we need Barnes in the mix. He is a very solid at 12 and has a good rugby brain. On the other hand, there is really nothing wrong with JOC (James O'Connor)'s defence at present.

 

[James Buchanan]

I'd like to see how the individuals named handle SBW really. He's the most significant danger in the midfield running around at the moment. After more of the teams have played the Crusaders, we can get a better idea.

 

[aussie1st]

That backline is worth a try, JOC (James O'Connor) is more solid in defence than Cooper while offering still offering a lot in attack so if that doesn't work moving JOC (James O'Connor) to 10 is an option.

 

[waratahjesus]

I'm calling JOC (James O'Connor) 10, Barnes 12, Beale 15 to start. Quade can come on and impact the last 30.
Beale is a world class 15 so you don't want to hide quade there as it would take away from our best available. Any hiding for that matter takes away from our back three and what they do well.
JOC (James O'Connor) would have to be our first choice kicker currently to, so he has to start, diggers comes onto the wing, everyone is capable of attack and defense, isn't that what we want from international players?

 

[Bowside]

At the moment the only way I see barnes starting is if he can start slotting kicks from all over the park.

 

[Ruggo]

Morty to 13 and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to the bench. Form is currently dictating that. JOC (James O'Connor) at 12, Ionae and Mitchell on the wings.

 

[WB3]

I'm calling JOC (James O'Connor) 10, Barnes 12, Beale 15 to start. Quade can come on and impact the last 30.

On principle I agree. I would sacrifice some of Quade's attacking brilliance for the far more solid defense that pair offers. However, Barnes
recent form has been average. I would love him to really kick because unless he all of a sudden becomes a great defender having Quade in the is like painting a target for the likes of SBW, Nonu and any number of large loose forwards to try and crash through.

 

[Groucho]

I'd like to see how the individuals named handle SBW really. He's the most significant danger in the midfield running around at the moment. After more of the teams have played the Crusaders, we can get a better idea.

There are two sides to 'handling' SBW. One side is neutralising his dangerous offloading skills. The other is exploiting his defensive (rugby) inexperience.

 

[kiap]

I assume you mean out of hand kickers. We have a huge weakness in our goal kicking. If we are to have any chance at all at the RWC, we just have to find/develop a consistent kicker.

Mike Harris?

JOC (James O'Connor) would seem to be be our best goal kicker in the side right now - has a good temperament too.

Mike Harris is a bit of a smokey though. I reckon he's an even better sharpshooter at goal. Seems like a decent player overall as well but still has to prove himself a lot more. Not really a wing or fullback though, I'd guess - and wasn't great under the high ball yesterday (but then again Beale's not perfect in that department either and JOC (James O'Connor) spilled a few costly high balls against the ABs in earlier days).

 

[I like to watch]

There are two sides to 'handling' SBW. One side is neutralising his dangerous offloading skills. The other is exploiting his defensive (rugby) inexperience.

Really?
How many line breaks/offloads/try assists has SBW completed thus far?
How many tries has he let in?
What 12 is in better form than him?

 

[Groucho]

Really?
How many line breaks/offloads/try assists has SBW completed thus far?
How many tries has he let in?
What 12 is in better form than him?

How many tries he lets in Super 15 may or may not be related to how many he lets in against Tri-Nations opposition. We shall see. What we do know is that high-profile mungoes have always struggled defensively for a season or two, and Sunni Bill played league in the forwards. Opposition teams will certainly be looking to exploit that at test level. If the New Zealand Rugby Team coaches discount that possibility, all the better.

 

[I like to watch]

Who cares how other players adapted. What have you seen him do/not do that would suggest he is a weakness defensively?
Looks to me like he knows what he is doing (apart from the shoulder charges).
Heaven help us all, Looks like he is their new Jonah.

 

[Groucho]

Who cares how other players adapted. What have you seen him do/not do that would suggest he is a weakness defensively?
Looks to me like he knows what he is doing (apart from the shoulder charges).
Heaven help us all, Looks like he is their new Jonah.

I don't share your hard-on, not yet.

He's never played a Tri-Nations team. If they can't work him out, then I'll concede you have a point.

As a more technical response though, it is known to take time to learn the defensive requirements of centre in rugby. Many leaguies' weaknesses in this regard have only become apparent in test football. That is why history is important in this case: not because of any 'weakness' on Sunni's part, but because of his relative inexperience.

 

[Brumbieman]

Precisely. Its not his ability to tackle. Its his ability to read attacking patterns that don't always come from the simple, clean breakdown, that you get in League. However, he's been playing Rugby for several years now, so it would require a particularly skilled attacking combination to be able to get through him.

Barnes is simply not in the same league as O'Connor is in attack, though defensively he has the wood on O'Connor, simply because he's far more of an 'offensive' defender. Cooper is the problem./ Sure he can be hidden in defence, but who comes into the line for him? Ioane?

Defensively, Ioane at 10, and Beiber at 12 could work, though I don't know how long Diggers' shoulders would last with that arrangement. However, it would also leave Quade out the back, ready for a rapid counter-attack as he wouldn't be buried at the bottom of a ruck.

 

[I like to watch]

As a more technical response though, it is known to take time to learn the defensive requirements of centre in rugby. Many leaguies' weaknesses in this regard have only become apparent in test football. That is why history is important in this case: not because of any 'weakness' on Sunni's part, but because of his relative inexperience.

I think you will find that most if not all of the mungoes you refer to
a) played wider where you have to make more decisions.
b) were rushed into test teams with little or no background in the game.
You are forgetting that he played in France & will have a full super season behind him.
How do you determine that the attacking lines/moves in tests are more complex than the much faster Super 15 games?