Wallabies 2023

[stillmissit]

All this BS about Donaldson not in the 23
He will be if gorden gets injured and or may be as there is no other 10 cover so may get the 22 jersey

if I was a super rugby player and saw Donaldson and it Suli getting in I would be like wtf do I have to do to get in
They would be the least deserving players ever to make this squad
Jones is just keeping Suli there for the 1% chance he came good and could say see I made him into that
Wright although not a test 15 has done very well as a winger for the wallabies and is proven there
Samu and hooper as flankers while the new guys are not
Why has Gleeson not played?
what did Lonergan do wrong?
what has Donaldson and Suli done right? They can’t even start in super rugby

They were all told when Eddie came on board that if they put out the performances they would get a gig and almost non of them did, they have nothing to squeal about. It was in their hands and I bet they thought 'as the Wallabies are short on talent for my position I can get in without doing too much', a big mistake.
I've accepted this is our Wallaby team and although it strikes me as a bit weird I am all in favour of it, even if we end up out in the qtrs. I suspect our next 2 years will be a vastly different story.

Also, it is like having a brand new team to support.

 

[TSR]

There is no point trying to rationalise these decisions. He's just taking the piss because he can.

I dunno - it didn’t seem that mystical to me.

When interviewed his comments seemed to indicate that he was going to back himself to get more out of the next generation rather than persist with those who have been there and come up short before. He also made some comments which I took to indicate some of the people left out hadn’t been as hungry at training.

It is Eddie so I don’t think everything should be taken at face value - but I recall a brutal interview when he was not long into the Japanese job were he was painfully honest in his assessment on the squad there and, if I recall correctly, this was followed with a similiar upheaval of their playing roster.

Ideally he would’ve made some of these decisions earlier but he really hasn’t had much chance. On the flip side if he doesn’t think some of these guys were the right people to take the Wallabies forward - why wait.

Im not saying I agree with all the selections but I think Jones is pretty clear with his rationale.

 

[Rob42]

All this BS about Donaldson not in the 23
He will be if gorden gets injured and or may be as there is no other 10 cover so may get the 22 jersey

if I was a super rugby player and saw Donaldson and it Suli getting in I would be like wtf do I have to do to get in

From plenty of interviews with past players, if you want to know why you're not in the squad, give Eddie a call and he'll give it to you straight.

 

[Linerunner2023]

From plenty of interviews with past players, if you want to know why you're not in the squad, give Eddie a call and he'll give it to you straight.

And he will have a valid answer to why Donaldson and Suli got in?

 

[Tomthumb]

And he will have a valid answer to why Donaldson and Suli got in?

Because he likes them and no one else in their positions made themselves un-droppable

 

[Braveheart81]

And he will have a valid answer to why Donaldson and Suli got in?

That Jones thought they had more to offer to the squad that he was looking for than the player he left out.

There are players that can rate themselves hard done by in every squad selection by every country in the history of rugby.

 

[Linerunner2023]

They were all told when Eddie came on board that if they put out the performances they would get a gig and almost non of them did, they have nothing to squeal about. It was in their hands and I bet they thought 'as the Wallabies are short on talent for my position I can get in without doing too much', a big mistake.
I've accepted this is our Wallaby team and although it strikes me as a bit weird I am all in favour of it, even if we end up out in the qtrs. I suspect our next 2 years will be a vastly different story.

Also, it is like having a brand new team to support.

Make is make sense for all mate
Eddie has contradicted himself the whole time to cover himself
Players not deserving to be selected are
And we don’t even know if these guys are good enough
How did Suli manage to keep a spot despite doing nothing in super rugby, getting found out at test level conceding 3 tries
And Quade dropped for 1 drop ball?
Let’s see your comments in time if the wallabies get bundled out in the rounds and don’t perform over the next 2 years and see if you are still supporting them

 

[Linerunner2023]

Because he likes them and no one else in their positions made themselves un-droppable

Well none from 4 is a great start isn’t it
2 floggings
Read social media and all reports and everyone is bemused
He has no idea of what he wants
Only so often you can change a side every week

these 2 shouldn’t even be in contention

 

[Braveheart81]

Make is make sense for all mate
Eddie has contradicted himself the whole time to cover himself
Players not deserving to be selected are
And we don’t even know if these guys are good enough
How did Suli manage to keep a spot despite doing nothing in super rugby, getting found out at test level conceding 3 tries
And Quade dropped for 1 drop ball?
Let’s see your comments in time if the wallabies get bundled out in the rounds and don’t perform over the next 2 years and see if you are still supporting them

No one is arguing that Eddie has made all the right choices here or that they agree with him.

 

[Tomthumb]

Well none from 4 is a great start isn’t it
2 floggings
Read social media and all reports and everyone is bemused
He has no idea of what he wants
Only so often you can change a side every week

these 2 shouldn’t even be in contention

Yes, social media is world famous for it's well thought out and reasonable opinions on things

Donaldson played in none of the 4 losses and Suli played in 1 so what your point is exactly I'm buggered if I know

 

[Tomthumb]

Let’s see your comments in time if the wallabies get bundled out in the rounds and don’t perform over the next 2 years and see if you are still supporting them

We have sucked for the last 20 years, hardly think an extra 2 scares anyone here

 

[Wilson]

Donaldson has the no 22 jersey sewn on.

More likely 23 I think, taking a 'utility' instead of a backup 10 really sounds like we're going to be going for 6-2 more often than not.

 

[swingpass]

From the outside it seems like Eddie has got shot of more senior players - and whatever off-field "baggage" or agendas they may have - and picked the younger more malleable players who he hopes to convince to run through walls for him. He is quite good at that come RWC time. Did it for Aus before, then Japan, then even England.....

this we dont know how much resistance there was from some senior players as to what was being planned. i’m stunned at some of the selections like many others but Eddie will live or die with it

 

[Braveheart81]

More likely 23 I think, taking a 'utility' instead of a backup 10 really sounds like we're going to be going for 6-2 more often than not.

This is reasonable.

Even with a 5:3 bench the decision could be that Cooper wasn't providing impact so the desire is to leave Gordon on for 80 minutes.

Perese moves to 22 covering centre and wing. Donaldson in 23 covers 10 and 15.

I really don't think the core plan will be Donaldson playing a lot of minutes.

 

[stillmissit]

Make is make sense for all mate
Eddie has contradicted himself the whole time to cover himself
Players not deserving to be selected are
And we don’t even know if these guys are good enough
How did Suli manage to keep a spot despite doing nothing in super rugby, getting found out at test level conceding 3 tries
And Quade dropped for 1 drop ball?
Let’s see your comments in time if the wallabies get bundled out in the rounds and don’t perform over the next 2 years and see if you are still supporting them

I'm comfortable because I have the shits with all the heroic failures we have had ever since the 2015 RWC. I am no fan of Eddie and have watched him over the years do whatever was best for Eddie. This time he has gone 180 and not stuck with older players and is betting on a young team with limited history of failure. Actually, I love the idea and if you are right, remind me and I will happily do a Mea Culpa.

 

[Bullrush]

I didn't say all those were dodgy fake injuries, just that there were replacements for entirely different positions which says it all about squad make-up and the potential for getting rid of players for others.

So why cite them as examples of ‘sneaky replacement stuff’?

There is nothing sneaky about them and therefore nothing to so with what you were talking about.

 

[Mr Arie]

Still calling it.

6. Valetini
7. T Hooper
8. Gleeson

With Leota and Mcreight coming in and Valetini going back to 8 after half time

 

[Braveheart81]

This time he has gone 180 and not stuck with older players and is betting on a young team with limited history of failure.

We've also got by my count 11 players in the squad who have never played in a winning test side (3 are still uncapped).

 

[Dctarget]

Still calling it.

6. Valetini
7. T Hooper
8. Gleeson

With Leota and Mcreight coming in and Valetini going back to 8 after half time

Don't know what we gain from having Bobby at 6 when he's been our anchor at the back of the Wallabies scrum for the past few years. Have Gleeson at 6, technically less for him to do.

But yes I'm so ready for Gleeson. The people on here upset at his inclusion over Samu are nuts. Do we watch the same player? Gleeson is a freak and is sitting down so many players at the age of 22. Genuinely a player with a point of difference that Australia has been dying for. Get him, Skelton, Bell, Tupou and Bobby V on at the same time, Australia actually has some potential.

 

[Dctarget]

Also I hope nobody is serious about Ikitau being 'dropped'. He's one of the first names down in the squad when fit and will come back in if he can.

Alrighty, with all that said and done here's my team for Wales and Fiji and probably Georgia lol, no rests.

1. Bell
2. Porecki
3. Tupou
4. Frost
5. Skelton
6. Hooper
7. McReight
8. Valetini
9. McDermott
10. Gordon
11. Koroibete
12. Kerevi
13. Petaia
14. Nawaqanitawase
15. Kellaway
16. Faessler
17. Slipper
18. Fa'amausili
19. Arnold
20. Leota
21. White
22. Foketi
23. Donaldson

Or bring Gleeson onto the bench and go 6/2 with just White and Donaldson. But knowing Petaia's propensity for breaking down I think you need 5/3.

Any thought that one of the scrummies is 3rd choice flyhalf? Like the Springboks are doing? IFL or McDermott?