Wallabies 2021

[Tomikin]

How about a Wallabies (injury absent) strongest line-up?

1. Slipper
2. Paenga-Amosa
3. Ala'alatoa
4. Phillip
5. Swain
6. Swinton
7. Hooper (c)
8. Wilson
9. White
10. O'Conner
11. Koroibete
12. Paisami (ideally an 108kg Kerevi, with Hunter at 13..)
13. Wright (adds much needed size & defensive presence to midfield)
14. Vunivalu
15. Petaia
16. Uelese
17. Bell
18. Tupou
19. LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto)
20. Valetini
21. McDermott
22. Hodge/Lolesio
23. Perese (a genuine later match line-bending impact option..)

When has Wright been massive or a defensive presence .. his big enough.. but mostly his skill is speed and attack.. unless you mean Liam ..but that's just silly.. OC will be Ikitau or Perese if Hunters at 12. Wright's a winger fullback or 10 with 12 as a backup.

 

[rodha]

When has Wright been massive or a defensive presence .. his big enough.. but mostly his skill is speed and attack.. unless you mean Liam ..but that's just silly.. OC will be Ikitau or Perese if Hunters at 12. Wright's a winger fullback or 10 with 12 as a backup.

I'd play Kellaway at 13 then, mature player, and according to Rebels site he's currently 106kg.

Kellaway performed brilliantly against the Crusaders in the 13 jersey, particularly on defense.

Len Ikitau is too small, 89kg and doesn't offer enough defensive presence.

Ideal scenario would be Kerevi 12, Perese 13 - a larger midfield to match NZ, SA, but Rennie refuses to look overseas which is going to cost the Wallabies against top opposition as their depth has been severely compromised by the post-2019 exodus.

I watched the France series and based on the amount of unforced errors and just really poor decision making against a 3rd-string French side I simply cannot see the Wallabies winning any match against NZ and SA.

Judging on the standard of rugby I was seeing, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the All Blacks crossed 60 points in one of the Bledisloe matches this year. The impact of the 2019 exodus of players is quite staggering.

This current Wallabies side is very young, lacking size and physicality, especially in the backline. Kerevi, Rodda, Arnold alone would make a significant difference to the balance of this team.

 

[Adam84]

Andrew Kellaway would barely be 95kg dripping wet, certainly not 106kg

 

[rodha]

Andrew Kellaway would barely be 95kg dripping wet, certainly not 106kg

must've put on some weight since he's been overseas:

https://melbournerebels.rugby/players/andrew kellaway

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Kellaway_(rugby_union)

 

[Adam84]

I just think those stats are made up or wrong.

106kg would make him equal to or bigger then guys like Kerevi, Kuridrani, Folau, George North and Reiko Ioane.

His UK stats had him at 93kg, which I think is closer to the mark

 

[Joe Blow]

Ideal scenario is Paisami at 12 and Petaia at 13. I think that Rennie will have a chat with Kerevi if the dates align. When does the Olympic sevens tournament end?

Vunivalu, JOC (James O'Connor), Petaia, White all straight back into the 23 when fit.

 

[Tomikin]

I'd play Kellaway at 13 then, mature player, and according to Rebels site he's currently 106kg.

Kellaway performed brilliantly against the Crusaders in the 13 jersey, particularly on defense.

Len Ikitau is too small, 89kg and doesn't offer enough defensive presence.

Ideal scenario would be Kerevi 12, Perese 13 - a larger midfield to match NZ, SA, but Rennie refuses to look overseas which is going to cost the Wallabies against top opposition as their depth has been severely compromised by the post-2019 exodus.

I watched the France series and based on the amount of unforced errors and just really poor decision making against a 3rd-string French side I simply cannot see the Wallabies winning any match against NZ and SA.

Judging on the standard of rugby I was seeing, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the All Blacks crossed 60 points in one of the Bledisloe matches this year. The impact of the 2019 exodus of players is quite staggering.

This current Wallabies side is very young, lacking size and physicality, especially in the backline. Kerevi, Rodda, Arnold alone would make a significant difference to the balance of this team.

From what I can tell Kerevi, while a big guy, has become more of a blackhole in Japan no point having the wingers and pace outside if it dies in the middle.

Perese on wiki is sized at 91 Kg's and Ikitau at 95kg's so I think your wrong there as well.

I don't see where Rodda has ever had as much impact in all his tests as Swain did in the 3 test series against France. I hate that you call it a 3rd string side, as you really don't know exactly where the side fits and we didn't have all our players avaliable either (injury).

and other stuff that's irreverent, I wouldnt be surprised if we beat both the all blacks and the south africans at least once and maybe more during the RC. who from 2019 was there last year and not this year that made us have a 66 percent not losing team.. and who this year isn't there from 2019 we would want ? Aronld ? okay .. Kerevi maybe our midfield functions better now then with him in the team..

 

[Tomikin]

Ideal scenario is Paisami at 12 and Petaia at 13. I think that Rennie will have a chat with Kerevi if the dates align. When does the Olympic sevens tournament end?

Vunivalu, JOC (James O'Connor), Petaia, White all straight back into the 23 when fit.

Would you have them straight into the starting team ? what positions ?

 

[Braveheart81]

If Perese gets healthy for a reasonable stretch of the Rugby Championship he has to be a chance to feature in the midfield.

His form at the end of Super Rugby Au/TT was pretty irresistible. Not a big guy but runs angry, hits hard and has plenty of skills.

 

[eastman]

If Perese gets healthy for a reasonable stretch of the Rugby Championship he has to be a chance to feature in the midfield.

His form at the end of Super Rugby Au/TT was pretty irresistible. Not a big guy but runs angry, hits hard and has plenty of skills.

He's also got plenty of mistakes in him (in both offense and defence) that the top sides would definitely look to exploit. Australian rugby needs to focus on ensuring players like Petaia and Perese increase their accuracy before they are regularly starting in the 15 (at least in the centres).

 

[Adam84]

Yep Perese made plenty of defensive errors, i wouldn't be throwing him into the mid-field just yet.

 

[Joe Blow]

Would you have them straight into the starting team ? what positions ?

Petaia at 13 and Vunivalu on the wing. Most likely they go on to the bench for Bled 1 but both are an upgrade.
Rennie may play Petaia on the wing with a view to eventually moving him to fullback and down the line Vunivalu may become an option at 13.

 

[dru]

***

Len Ikitau is too small, 89kg and doesn't offer enough defensive presence.

***

This current Wallabies side is very young, lacking size and physicality, especially in the backline. Kerevi, Rodda, Arnold alone would make a significant difference to the balance of this team.

I saw little if anything in the France series to suggest that either Paisami or Ikitau were looking too small to do their jobs. Sure the ABs are a different matter but I thought France. I Ely matched to force a developing Wallaby team into improvement and cohesion.

Who was lamblasting Rennie for not selecting overseas players? Seems silly in that opening series with COVID. I much prefer Paisami, who uses the backline over Kerevi. Though a double backline with Karevi AND Options to go wide has its merits.

Rennie has the team yelling and improving. Yes it needs to continue and a 3 game Bledisloe is not an ideal competitor right now. It’s what we’ve got though, and I doubt any alternate coaching team or selections would have us better prepared.

Very happy with Rennie at this point. I’ve also little to moan about regarding the pilloried here - Banks, Ikitau, Kellaway, Wright even. Certainly bemused with complaints over Lolesio. And even Gordon - he needs form a is unlikely to climb quickly above our third 9 but he will provide service.

 

[Derpus]

I'd love to see Kerevi back. I think he definitely adds something to this squad. Paisami didn't really light the world on fire but that didn't seem to be because he lacked size or power in contact.

Ikitau looks solid if not spectacular. I thought he defended well.

Ideally Petaia can find some form at 13.

 

[Tomikin]

Petaia at 13 and Vunivalu on the wing. Most likely they go on to the bench for Bled 1 but both are an upgrade.
Rennie may play Petaia on the wing with a view to eventually moving him to fullback and down the line Vunivalu may become an option at 13.

Fair enough, not where I would select Petaia, I probably wouldnt see him as an upgrade in the midfield at the moment. But he is a talent, I would be bring him off the bench for now.

Vunivalu I'm not sure, willing to trust the coaching staff if they think his the best winger then sure.. I personally feel he maybe a super season away.

 

[Wilson]

Have deleted post- apologies for that - went off a bit quick. Full suspension is under consideration but not yet in place. NZ Herald carrying the story.

Wallabies might have to play all three in NZ if they do it.

Looks like you were on the money, bubble has just burst.

 

[Wilson]

According to Paul Cully the wallabies need to arrive in the next 7 days and can make a case to avoid MIQ. I'm guessing they'll probably fly out in the next 24 hours.

 

[Members Section]

According to Paul Cully the wallabies need to arrive in the next 7 days and can make a case to avoid MIQ. I'm guessing they'll probably fly out in the next 24 hours.

Play all 3 test in NZ & move the SCG test to Perth? I know its not a Bledisloe match but RSA have a lot of fans out west.

 

[Joe Blow]

According to Paul Cully the wallabies need to arrive in the next 7 days and can make a case to avoid MIQ. I'm guessing they'll probably fly out in the next 24 hours.

If its within 7 days then why wouldn’t they depart in 6?

 

[Up the Guts]

I'd play Kellaway at 13 then, mature player, and according to Rebels site he's currently 106kg.

Kellaway performed brilliantly against the Crusaders in the 13 jersey, particularly on defense.

Len Ikitau is too small, 89kg and doesn't offer enough defensive presence.

Ideal scenario would be Kerevi 12, Perese 13 - a larger midfield to match NZ, SA, but Rennie refuses to look overseas which is going to cost the Wallabies against top opposition as their depth has been severely compromised by the post-2019 exodus.

I watched the France series and based on the amount of unforced errors and just really poor decision making against a 3rd-string French side I simply cannot see the Wallabies winning any match against NZ and SA.

Judging on the standard of rugby I was seeing, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the All Blacks crossed 60 points in one of the Bledisloe matches this year. The impact of the 2019 exodus of players is quite staggering.

This current Wallabies side is very young, lacking size and physicality, especially in the backline. Kerevi, Rodda, Arnold alone would make a significant difference to the balance of this team.

Of those in the AB squad listed as centres for the Fiji and Tonga matches, only Rieko Ioane was above 95kg. So not sure a huge issue.