Wallabies 2024

[Linerunner2023]

It’s not the players are not good enough to play
It’s the coach, the gameplan or lack there of which is 2-3 phases then must kick
By the looks of the scoreline the players don’t want to be there or don’t have a clue in each other
That’s the beauty of rugby compared to league. You can’t just turn up and be a great athlete, you need time for a gameplan and a team to gel

jones for rugby champs wrong
Picked the wrong RWC squad leaving out experienced guys and taking guys not up to it
Selecting his 15
Selecting his 23 man squad and using his bench rotations
Only good thing jones will do this year if leave

 

[Tomthumb]

It’s not the players are not good enough to play

jones for rugby champs wrong
Picked the wrong RWC squad
Selecting his 15
Selecting his 23 man squad and using his bench rotations

So it's not the players, but it is the players?

I wonder what the "It's all Eddie's fault" crew will do next year when we have a different coach and still suck

 

[Linerunner2023]

So it's not the players, but it is the players?

I wonder what the "It's all Eddie's fault" crew will do next year when we have a different coach and still suck

Happy to call you out here Eddie jones - you were the biggest supporter or him and his new selection policy or anyone over 30 must go and quickly changed your tune after 2 big losses saying Eddie must be sacked
Phil Waugh mentioned it was the easiest pool in World Cup history which we were still backed to top pre World Cup and we didn’t
Even with some odd selections a good game plan should still get you wins, you obviously never played a game of rugby to know

 

[Tomthumb]

Happy to call you out here Eddie jones - you were the biggest supporter or him and his new selection policy or anyone over 30 must go and quickly changed your tune after 2 big losses saying Eddie must be sacked
Phil Waugh mentioned it was the easiest pool in World Cup history which we were still backed to top pre World Cup and we didn’t
Even with some odd selections a good game plan should still get you wins, you obviously never played a game of rugby to know

"Calling me out" for having the ability to change my views based on new evidence is hilarious

It's not even the easiest pool at this World Cup

"You've never played rugby" - Words only spoken by an assistant manger of a subbies team

 

[HooperPocockSmith]

- Move on from Porecki & Uelese
- Schoupp hasn't proved himself, although has only been given 5 minute cameos off the bench
- Skelton will be to old by the time of the next WC

I think we’ve got to pick the next few wallaby squads with blokes like Skelton in the mix. His leadership and experience in European rugby would be pretty valuable for young locks.

 

[Linerunner2023]

"Calling me out" for having the ability to change my views based on new evidence is hilarious

It's not even the easiest pool at this World Cup

"You've never played rugby" - Words only spoken by an assistant manger of a subbies team

I’m abit lost here
You contradict yourself a lot
Are you on Eddie’s side or off it?
you mentioned how good he would be, great dropping experience and brining in new young guys, and let’s not judge him on rugby champs we will wait to RWC
Then have gone to wanting him sacked that day to now bagging out wallabies supporters who want him gone?
he makes Rennie look like a master coach winning more and tight losses, while jones has only won against tier 2 side which hardly counts and loosing. By 40 to everyone else

 

[Tomthumb]

I’m abit lost here
You contradict yourself a lot
Are you on Eddie’s side or off it?
you mentioned how good he would be, great dropping experience and brining in new young guys, and let’s not judge him on rugby champs we will wait to RWC
Then have gone to wanting him sacked that day to now bagging out wallabies supporters who want him gone?
he makes Rennie look like a master coach winning more and tight losses, while jones has only won against tier 2 side which hardly counts and loosing. By 40 to everyone else

Yes you are a bit lost

I am indifferent to whether Eddie stays or goes. No doubt he has failed this year, but the "close losses" talk of last year conveniently ignores a 31 point loss to Argentina, a 16 point loss to South Africa and a 26 point loss to NZ

If Eddie gets the sack it's his own fault for doing a bad job, just the same as it was Rennie's fault for doing a bad job. But I'm not going to pretend that changing a head coach will be some silver bullet

 

[Tomikin]

Laugh all you like, we shall see

The old boys with the pitch forks .. what a crew. Taking Australia rugby back to 1970 for 50 years ..

 

[dru]

It is unlikely that the French clubs will release Skelton for Australia outside of the International window and are likely to pressure him within it. It is unlikely to work for tours in Australia, and will have limited value getting up to speed with no familiarity for European tours. It only really works for RWC.

 

[KOB1987]

The old boys with the pitch forks .. what a crew. Taking Australia rugby back to 1970 for 50 years ..

They aren't old boys. They are from the officiating arm of the game. Disregard my comments at your leisure, I was giving feeedback and will leave it at that.

 

[Members Section]

It is unlikely that the French clubs will release Skelton for Australia outside of the International window and are likely to pressure him within it. It is unlikely to work for tours in Australia, and will have limited value getting up to speed with no familiarity for European tours. It only really works for RWC.

Its only the extra test in nov that La Rochelle will say no to. July & the RC is protected. I can understand if he would miss July though after a big season in France to be fresh for the RC

 

[upthereds#!]

- Hookers - I'd have Porecki in there over Uelese. Although, as I'm typing that, I feel like I'll regret it.
- Props - I'll need to see consistent minutes from Pone. Agree with Nonggor. I've liked what I've seen of Schoupp, so would have him in there somewhere.
- Locks - Skelton is a lock for mine. Canham still has a way to go. At this stage, I'd have Swain over him (I know that'll ruffle some feathers). It'll be good to see LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) back in Super Rugby.
- Backrow - Picks itself, really. I'd include Holloway. He's a handy replacement to have and provides some leadership, especially around the lineout.
- Halfbacks - no arguments there
- Flyhalves - this makes for tough reading, as none of them at the moment really do it for me. It'll be good to see all the young 10s (Edmed, Lynagh, Donaldson, Lolesio & Gordon) go at it. Hopefully, one of them blows us away with their form.
Centres - I'd have Flook here over Petaia, with Jordy included in the outside back group.
Outside backs - Petaia for Wright and a toss of a coin between Wright and Suli.

Possible bolters:
- Pollard
- Potter - he looked the goods in their games vs the Cheetahs. He's very dependable and has a solid boot on him. Probably something we've lacked in our back three as of late.
- Lee-Warner - 29 this year. It might be a little late for him but he has a good work rate and a bit of starch to his game.
- Amatosero - this might be a shot in the dark but I wouldn't be surprised if he's brought into a few Wallaby camps.

Definitely think we will see amarosino.

FLW (Fergus Lee-Warner) is like another holloway- a 6. There are times when a holloway or FLW (Fergus Lee-Warner) would have been better then t.hoops who got caught out a few times and not so sure around set piece.

 

[dru]

Its only the extra test in nov that La Rochelle will say no to. July & the RC is protected. I can understand if he would miss July though after a big season in France to be fresh for the RC

He wont be cleared for the in-season training squads nor the squad preparation period running in to the tours. It means dropping in cold. Worse, while EJ (Eddie Jones) has actually dealt with it quite well, Skelton impacts squad selection and places restrictions on how to train and the game plan itself, in the row and back rowers. It will prove more difficult given there would be no training to overcome cohesiveness.

As good as he is, Big Will is a difficult guy to simply drop in cold into test rugby.

 

[Mick The Munch]

Morgan Turinui said he rang Decent to blast him for doing it at that time & TD gave him some pretty good answers back,

He sat on it for 3 days crossing every T & dotting ever I to make sure it was 100% correct
He gave Rugby Australia right of reply before he went with it & they completely brushed him
He then said this was the biggest story of his career & even if he was slightly wrong he looses any credibility & prob his job.

Say what you will about TD i personally dont think much of him he comes across a bit of an arrogant priv school kid but other than Dupont this is the biggest story in rugby around the world he had to break it before someone else did

Morgan Turinui said he rang Decent to blast him for doing it at that time & TD gave him some pretty good answers back,

He sat on it for 3 days crossing every T & dotting ever I to make sure it was 100% correct
He gave Rugby Australia right of reply before he went with it & they completely brushed him
He then said this was the biggest story of his career & even if he was slightly wrong he looses any credibility & prob his job.

Say what you will about TD i personally dont think much of him he comes across a bit of an arrogant priv school kid but other than Dupont this is the biggest story in rugby around the world he had to break it before someone else did

Yeah nah, The only person to benefit (albeit via clicks) is Tom Decent - that said, I wonder who in Australian rugby will give him any "off the record" info now.

Players say it didn't affect them, nonsense. Even if the affect is a 5% drop off, that's immense in international rugby.

Ironic that SMH is owned by Nine, who own Stan who will see the viewership plummet without the Wallabies being there.

 

[upthereds#!]

My opinion:

No to Uelese;
No to Pone and Hodgman, query about Eloff;
No to Rodda until he actually plays some games and shows the level of form required, query about LSL (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) (Lukhan Salakaia-Loto) and Canham;
No in spades to Donaldson, cannot lock in a starting spot at Super level - never a test player, no to JOC (James O'Connor) (James O'Connor);
No to Petaia in the centres, query about Paisami and Perese;
No to Vunivalu. Add Petaia.

Players I've marked with a query are those imo who have not established themselves at the required level.

I reckon you've got the half backs and backrow right. I am hoping that better players will come out of the woodwork over the next couple of years in those spots where we have deficiencies or issues, so that we can put up a good contest against the Lions and at the RWC in 27.

Alot of no's with just 'hope other players come out' as the alternative- considering they have 2 Super Rugby seasons to come out.

Considering how young so many of our Super Rugby squad players are, I find it highly unlikely you will be selecting a tight 5 player that isn't already playing Super Rugby.

 

[HooperPocockSmith]

He wont be cleared for the in-season training squads nor the squad preparation period running in to the tours. It means dropping in cold. Worse, while EJ (Eddie Jones) (Eddie Jones) has actually dealt with it quite well, Skelton impacts squad selection and places restrictions on how to train and the game plan itself, in the row and back rowers. It will prove more difficult given there would be no training to overcome cohesiveness.

As good as he is, Big Will is a difficult guy to simply drop in cold into test rugby.

Fair points. That causes some concern for me about our lock stocks. I hope Rodda can regain some of the form of earlier in his career.

How likely would we be to see someone like Harry Hockings back in Aussie rugby? Not sure how he's been tracking in Japan but I liked the look of him when he was at the Reds.

 

[HooperPocockSmith]

Wouldn't it be great if our rich benefactors stumped up some cash for some well-credentialed coaches? I wouldn't mind seeing Leo Cullen down at Moore Park or Graham Rowntree at Gosch's Paddock. Even if it's not possible to land some of these big names, surely we could cherry-pick some good assistants from Ireland, England and France. Guys that have been in decent setups. I'm not really sure what dream we'd be selling them though, apart from cold hard cash.

 

[Slim 293]

Yeah nah, The only person to benefit (albeit via clicks) is Tom Decent - that said, I wonder who in Australian rugby will give him any "off the record" info now.

Players say it didn't affect them, nonsense. Even if the affect is a 5% drop off, that's immense in international rugby.

Ironic that SMH is owned by Nine, who own Stan who will see the viewership plummet without the Wallabies being there.

 

[Lorenzo]

- Skelton will be to old by the time of the next WC

Havvent we long learned that this shouldn't matter?

There's 3 full years of rugby to play before 2027. In all likelihood, we won't win in 27 even if we focus exclusively on it for four fears. The field is too competitive. Every tournament there is least a couple of really good sides that don't win it becuase ultimately, only one side can.

How about we go back to just trying to win the next test we play?

 

[Joe Blow]

So it's not the players, but it is the players?

I wonder what the "It's all Eddie's fault" crew will do next year when we have a different coach and still suck

It’s 90% Eddie’s fault because during the RC he did not get the results he wanted or needed to stroke his ego and he turned around and dumped most of his senior players. Problem was that the replacements were not the equal or better of those dropped players. There is also no guarantee those young players will be better for being humiliated in the RWC. Some of them are just not up to it and others will be scarred from the experienced and discarded due to their tarnished reputations. It was a monumental fuck up, as was the last minute coaching team he put in place for the tournament. He also implemented a game plan for the group at the RWC that was either beyond them or just plain impotent, as the results illustrate. The theory of building for 2027 is just more trash talk from him to push his poor selections into the shade.
So, while you and others are running around saying it’s not Eddie’s fault, a lot of it is. Who could have faith in him from this point on?
Of course those who fired Rennie and hastily hired Eddie, signing him to a 5 year contract with no performance milestones are equally culpable and should fall on their swords.
The Eddie argument is going in circles. The fact that we have not been great the last 10 or so years does not relieve him of his many poor decisions and ridiculously bad results in his short tenure. No coach has ever been close to this bad and we have had a few poor ones.