Wallabies 2012 Championship Squad

[Richo]

So Cooper has no responsibility for his own performance? I totally agree with you about the shit selections and game plan, but the players have to come and play at their best too.

 

[waratahjesus]

OH bollocks.


A series of shit selections and bizarre policies, in addition to Deans' apparent inability to come up with a game plan is what failed Cooper.

Sorry what part of it is bollocks? Deans game plan or lack there of may have cost us games, but cooper reacted to the pressure he found himself under in a negative fashion. As I said, if he managers to play within himself and we can take pressure off him by having Barnes next to him doing a lot of the phase to phase running. Then it will allow cooper to inject himself and have greater impact.

 

[fatprop]

New book reveals how All Blacks targeted Quade Cooper in rugby world cup semi-final

• Iain Payten
• August 08, 2012 12:00AM

IT wasn't just Kiwi crowds who didn't rate Quade Cooper at the 2011 World Cup.
The All Blacks didn't either, with former coach Graham Henry revealing Cooper was identified and exploited as the Wallabies' "glaring weakness" in their World Cup semi-final.
The stinging revelation comes in Henry's biography Final Word, the release of which in Australia this week coincides with Cooper's return to the Wallabies' squad for the first time since injuring a knee at the World Cup.
Cooper was named in the Wallabies 30-man Rugby Championship squad yesterday and he will vie with Berrick Barnes for the No.10 jersey against the All Blacks in the tournament opener on August 18 in Sydney.



Though unlikely to take tips from arch-rival Henry, insight into the All Blacks' tactical appraisal of Cooper could make interesting reading for coach Robbie Deans.
Henry's biographer says a strength of the ex-All Black coach was analysing opponents and formulating game plans that exploit natural weaknesses.
Leading up to the World Cup semi-final in Auckland, Henry was surprised a team that has made it so far "just might have a glaring weakness ... hmmm, he definitely needed to be exploited."
The plan was to nullify Australia's "standout player" David Pocock by keeping him busy, and to expose Cooper by doing likewise.

"If Pocock represented the greatest threat, then Quade Cooper was plainly the weakest link. Coach Robbie Deans had taken him out of the front line, as had the Queensland Reds, because he was a suspect tackler. He doesn't lack heart but defending is not his area of strength," the book says.
"Dropping him back produced a weakness in Australia's back three, not only on aerial skills but in a positional sense as well. The Irish took advantage of that; New Zealand could, too. When the All Blacks attacked, they looked for areas of natural weakness among the opposition. They didn't need to employ the world's greatest detective to identify this one."
Kick pressure on Cooper, strong defence and stifling the Wallabies' aerial tactics that had worked in Brisbane earned the All Blacks a place in the World Cup final.
The Wallabies were played off the park, according to Henry. "Tactically and physically, Graham would rank it the best performance by the All Blacks in his eight years as head coach," the book says.
Wallaby great Tim Horan believes Cooper must start in the opening Bledisloe Cup game but Deans said yesterday he'd lean towards incumbency - indicating Barnes would get the nod.
But Cooper is firmly on the comeback trail. Assistant coach Tony McGahan said the Reds star was strong in both attack and defence in an 80-minute hit out for Souths in Brisbane club rugby.
Asked yesterday if Cooper would be keen to restore his reputation as a class Test player, Deans said: "That will be high on his mind.

"

 

[Scotty]

Cooper has looked more of a test player since coming back from injury. Significantly improving his defense and playing within himself in attack. He has made these changes while in rehab - how much of a leap forward can he make while playing?

I feel the worst thing to do would be to have him on the bench. If he is on the bench he will only be used if they are trying to chase a game or if there is an injury. If the wallabies are trying to chase a game and bring cooper on to do so, then how can we expect this progression of 'playing within' himself to continue?

 

[Richo]

I really think Quade should start with Berrick at 12. The silver lining in the McCabe injury is that this can happen without anyone getting snubbed.

 

[fatprop]

Cooper has looked more of a test player since coming back from injury. Significantly improving his defense and playing within himself in attack. He has made these changes while in rehab - how much of a leap forward can he make while playing?

I feel the worst thing to do would be to have him on the bench. If he is on the bench he will only be used if they are trying to chase a game or if there is an injury. If the wallabies are trying to chase a game and bring cooper on to do so, then how can we expect this progression of 'playing within' himself to continue?

I thought the article highlighted the difference between S15 & test rugby with the incessant blaming of Deans for Coopers success just inaccurate.

Players weaknesses can be hidden in S15 rugby, in test rugby they are exploited. I still remember seeing Cooper being shuffled to the wing in that RWC semi, so the ABs just sent a near perfect kick at Cooper with Kahui absolutely nailing him. The just put pressure on pressure

Cooper is a potential liability, but still worth the gamble/compromise because of what he can offer. But I still want to see him bend his back and drive in defense.

 

[mark_s]

I really think Quade should start with Berrick at 12. The silver lining in the McCabe injury is that this can happen without anyone getting snubbed.

I agree. I can't see Barnes leading us to 2 wins against the ABs so Cooper is a risk worth taking. No more hiding him in defence though.

 

[Braveheart81]

I love it how if Quade Cooper makes a mistake it's Robbie Deans' fault but if a player people don't like makes a mistake it is totally their fault and they should never play for the Wallabies again.

 

[biggsy]

Genia Cooper Barnes combo with there quick and long passing can stretch the defence of the opposition. And with Ben Alexander TPN always sniffing around the wing in these situation can get some points. And with Harris kicking from the sideline its a no brainer. Fuck it's all coming together for me. Unless we play the ALL BLACKS where Every player on that field can tackle and has the ability to turn over the ball.
A win against the blacks would give the boost the wobb's need. (downside deans will get his contract extended another 3 years) but a thumping would be even better. Likely for that I don't think so at the moment.

 

[What2040]

Genia Cooper Barnes combo with there quick and long passing can stretch the defence of the opposition. And with Ben Alexander TPN always sniffing around the wing in these situation can get some points. And with Harris kicking from the sideline its a no brainer. Fuck it's all coming together for me. Unless we play the ALL BLACKS where Every player on that field can tackle and has the ability to turn over the ball.
A win against the blacks would give the boost the wobb's need. (downside deans will get his contract extended another 3 years) but a thumping would be even better. Likely for that I don't think so at the moment.

What scares me Biggsy is when the AB's get the ball - with Alexander and TPN guarding the wings the Blacks might attack up the middle - love ya work !!!!

 

[Bowside]

Barnes is just as much of a weak link as cooper. Get in his face and disrupt his outside runners and he sinks back into the pocket and starts kicking. Wait for a bad kick and then attack all out on the counter and you start to see cracks in his kicking game.

 

[biggsy]

What scares me Biggsy is when the AB's get the ball - with Alexander and TPN guarding the wings the Blacks might attack up the middle - love ya work !!!!

All good super cooper has the middle covered. If doesn't get the tackle he will atleast dislodge the ball.

 

[Scoey]

Barnes is just as much of a weak link as cooper. Get in his face and disrupt his outside runners and he sinks back into the pocket and starts kicking. Wait for a bad kick and then attack all out on the counter and you start to see cracks in his kicking game.

I'm not so sure. I think it used to be the case but I think he's taking the ball to the line a lot more under Deans. We make the correlation between Cooper having a bad run at RWC to Dean's gameplan/coaching/whatever but how much of what Barnes does at the Tahs was due to Foley's gameplan/coaching/etc?

I think Barnes has made clear advances in his overall game that could be seen against the Welsh. He took the ball to the line a lot more, drew defenders, hit his runners flat and put them through holes. No he's not perfect but to say what you did, is akin to saying that Cooper can't tackle. He's not great at it, but he's made solid advances of late.

 

[fatprop]

Barnes is just as much of a weak link as cooper. Get in his face and disrupt his outside runners and he sinks back into the pocket and starts kicking. Wait for a bad kick and then attack all out on the counter and you start to see cracks in his kicking game.

that is exactly the same for every 10 in the world, off back foot ball they all look average. Those players with single digits on their back are the key.

 

[Braveheart81]

In many ways, I think Genia is the key to our chances.

When he is at his best everything seems to work and we look good. Our 10 and outside backs have more space if his passing is good and the opposition are worried about whether or not he will run himself which again gives our outside backs more space.

When he is poor, we really struggle. He had a poor RWC and had a shocker against Scotland and we lost. He then turned it around in the first Wales test and played close to his best test match and we looked great.

 

[Scott Allen]

In many ways, I think Genia is the key to our chances.

When he is at his best everything seems to work and we look good. Our 10 and outside backs have more space if his passing is good and the opposition are worried about whether or not he will run himself which again gives our outside backs more space.

When he is poor, we really struggle. He had a poor RWC and had a shocker against Scotland and we lost. He then turned it around in the first Wales test and played close to his best test match and we looked great.

BH - agree Genia is the key regardless of who's at #10 and the key to Genia playing well is the forwards performance.

If any team drives our forwards back in defence or can slow our ball at the breakdown, Genia's performance will be down.

If our forwards are slow to re-align, Genia won't have the options he needs to deliver fast ball and will have to slow the ball down which will mean his own performance will be down.

 

[Braveheart81]

I agree with that Scott but I don't think Genia has been great in every game where our forwards have been reasonable. There were games in the RWC where our forwards were fine and Genia still was way below his best. I think Genia really struggled in the RWC on the back of a very long season and was just overdone. The contrast when Burgess came on each time was stark. Considering Genia is a far better player than Burgess, I feel this showed how much Genia was off his best.

Against Scotland he clearly couldn't handle the conditions and should have been replaced. Our forwards were fine and we had a huge amount of ball but Genia made many errors and his passing was atrocious.

 

[TOCC]

The question is, given our forwards we are going to have limited clean ball on the front foot, so does our backline have the efficiency to capitalize on what we do get?

I say it's possible, but it's not going to be pretty..

 

[Braveheart81]

Our whole team are going to have to play out of their skins, that's for sure.

I don't think we are so outclassed that we don't have a chance, particularly at home.

Our forwards have to focus on accuracy at the breakdown and keeping errors to a minimum. Without Palu we are going to have to find some go forward and will need Sharpey, TPN (or Moore), Dennis and Higgers to have huge games.

Field position will be very important. Very few tries are scored between top teams just by running through each others backline. We need to play field position and sustained pressure and look for counterattacking opportunities.

Impact from KB (Kurtley Beale) and Digby on the counterattack will be crucial and smart decisions from turnover ball. We can't fall into the trap of every time we win a turnover we just kick it downfield.

 

[Scott Allen]

If you're correct TOCC and we have limited clean ball on the front foot, our backline won't be able to function.

Genia's running game will be nullified and the defensive line will be moving forward pressuring our #10.

If it's Barnes at #10 working off back foot ball, he'll drop back into the pocket and kick, whereas if it's Cooper at #10 working off back foot ball he won't be able to use his flat, long pass to set up wide opportunities.

Either way the outside backs won't get many opportunities.

So what type of tactics can we use in the forwards to get front foot ball?