Wallabies 2023

[Braveheart81]

Let's be real. It's still his best position.

Is it? I don't think he's a high workrate player at all.

 

[Viking]

Is it? I don't think he's a high workrate player at all.

Yeh your probably right. But he certainly has been a high impact player this year. He has the turnovers and link-play of a traditional 7.

If he continues his form he probably has a mortgage on the bench as an impact player.

 

[RugbyReg]

Is it? I don't think he's a high workrate player at all.

yeah gees if Hooper cops flack for playing 'like a centre' you can't consider Samu in that position. He stands even wider (not that I think Hooper seagulls)

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Pete is a fantastic bench player across all three back row positions and for mine he's locked in there. He impacts games almost exactly how you want your subs to do and does it consistently. Is he a starting openside? I'm not so sure of that.

 

[qwerty51]

Samu started at 7 v Wales last year, are we forgetting that already. It was nothing special.

 

[Joe Blow]

Actually, I'd say based on last super XV season and his bench cameo's Samu is the form 7 this year. Or you could argue McReight had a better Super XV season. But both ahead of Hooper.

Hooper of coarse, has runs on the board at test level, but on current form, i hate to say it, but Samu and McReight are up there. You certainly can't say 'no-where, no-how' when both Samu and McReight had much better super XV seasons.

If Hooper regains form, then yeah, he's the best 7 by far. And by no means do I think he should be dropped, I don't agree he does not have a presence at the breakdown like BR does, I think he is still a menace at the breakdown. But I do acknowledge that Samu's form has been very good this year.

Samu has been great at 6 and 8 and injects a lot of energy into the game off the bench. He is not a 7, although he can cover it in a pinch if needed. I think McReight is getting closer to challenging for the 7 jersey but is not quite there yet. If, god forbid, Hooper was not available its likely he would slot straight in.

 

[Wallaby Man]

Any talk of Hooper is either nonsense, biased or uneducated. It was only 6months ago the bloke was nominated for world player of the year and 12months ago we were all saying he was in his best form ever.

 

[Braveheart81]

Yikes. This presumably means Gibbon is definitely in the 23.

 

[Slim 293]

That's shit luck for Sio... was in his best form since 2019 going into the English series.

 

[Wallaby Man]

View attachment 14277

Yikes. This presumably means Gibbon is definitely in the 23.

We need big Cobous to be eligible soon.

Id have more confidence with our dwindling stocks if he was available to play either side.

 

[Wallaby Man]

That's shit luck for Sio... was in his best form since 2019 going into the English series.

Hopefully him been involved in the squad will push him towards an Aus team in the coming year. Reds front row stocks could go from ordinary (minus Tupou) to pretty handy if he ended up there

 

[Viking]

Hopefully him been involved in the squad will push him towards an Aus team in the coming year. Reds front row stocks could go from ordinary (minus Tupou) to pretty handy if he ended up there

Would be a great buy for the Reds.

 

[swingpass]

The issue to me is the NH teams have a different approach to the breakdown. They commit bodies, we don’t. We are more concerned about not committing too many players on either side of the ball so we can have structured attack and more players in the defensive line. In attack the NH teams get faster ball and punch holes in the defense, in defense they slow down, steal and throw the timing off on our attacking plays. The refs have more to officiate at the breakdown and may well miss infringing. It seems that’s more effective at the moment, so we need to adopt that approach

not always the irish rarely committed many/any versus NZ and simply fanned out to cut off their runners, brilliant video analysis over on the NZ match thread

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

I hope your argument we're at disadvantage is purely on the fact we might be less exposed to playing under periods with 14 than the other argument.

Not sure what "the other argument" is so, yeah, except I'd say it's as much about being less exposed to the threat/ possibility of playing with 14 v 15 for extended periods.

 

[Brumby Runner]

If you went through who the first cleanout from our attacking rucks was I think you'd find Hooper generally tops the count.

Same got dropped in 2020 after one starting test against the All Blacks I would say principally on the back of several missed cleanouts.

I have no reason to accept a contention that Michael Hooper makes the first clean out more often than others. It just does not align in any way with my observations in test matches. When I've seen him with an early entry to a breakdown he is invariably ineffective. His strengths are related to his workload, pace and ability to make a break through a defensive line.

Why would you judge a player, in this case Pete Samu, on form over two years ago? You go to pains to convince others that Jed Holloway's previous form in the backrow at the Tahs is irrelevant to a consideration of him at 6 now for the Wallabies. And every year you deride posters who applaud early season form in Super with a sermon about late form being more relevant to Wallaby selection.

Samu simply plays bigger than Hooper and that one change would make an impact on the Wallabies performance as a team.

 

[Jimmyjam]

I have no reason to accept a contention that Michael Hooper makes the first clean out more often than others. It just does not align in any way with my observations in test matches. When I've seen him with an early entry to a breakdown he is invariably ineffective. His strengths are related to his workload, pace and ability to make a break through a defensive line.

Why would you judge a player, in this case Pete Samu, on form over two years ago? You go to pains to convince others that Jed Holloway's previous form in the backrow at the Tahs is irrelevant to a consideration of him at 6 now for the Wallabies. And every year you deride posters who applaud early season form in Super with a sermon about late form being more relevant to Wallaby selection.

Samu simply plays bigger than Hooper and that one change would make an impact on the Wallabies performance as a team.

Bit hard to be the first at the cleanout all the time when you're making the first tackle, first to chase the kicks, running the ball, running support lines etc. But ok, Pete Samu is better than Hooper if you like.... Who are those idiots that nominate plodders for WR (World Rugby) player of the year anyway?

 

[qwerty51]

Not sure what "the other argument" is so, yeah, except I'd say it's as much about being less exposed to the threat/ possibility of playing with 14 v 15 for extended periods.

The belief that player behaviour changes depending on the red card system in place.

 

[Derpus]

BH, Michael Hooper most often doesn't hit rucks. When he did against the Poms, they treated him with disdain, bodily throwing him out of the contest. I'm not saying drop him completely. The way the game is played these days and the way that Hooper plays, ie a hundred miles an hour energy bunny, imo he would be much more effective coming on for the last 25 - 30 minutes when his skills would shine through a lot more. A backrow of Leota/Wilson/Holloway (preferred), Samu, Valetini with Hooper to replace any one of them in the second half would be worth a shot. The others in the backrow are versatile enough to cover 6 and 8 when Hooper comes on.

It is time for a real change up, and I reckon the coaches will be failing us fans if they don't make some changes like I've proposed.

Drop it BR - you don't need to keep making your anti-Hoops post every year. We all already know you are thinking it.

 

[Viking]

Drop it BR - you don't need to keep making your anti-Hoops post every year. We all already know you are thinking it.

To be fair, I think this is one of Hoopers worst performing years in some time. Which is surprising given I think last year was one of his best.

 

[Eyes and Ears]

To be fair, I think this is one of Hoopers worst performing years in some time. Which is surprising given I think last year was one of his best.

He’s had the worst injury run of his professional career this year.