Wallabies - a changing of the guard

[Athilnaur]

I suspect we won't see Beale and JOC (James O'Connor) for a while. I have heard they both went out to late on Saturday and may have been involved in an incident which is being covered up. That is three issues in three weeks. Surely enough is enough?!

Jhfc

 

[Pfitzy]

I would love to see link groom cooper as a 15!

No, no, and thrice no! Have you learned nothing?!!!!!

Bloke plays 10 at club/provincial level, so he's picked as a 10 from there on in.

Stop fucking around with things ala Eddie fucking Jones and we might be in with a shot.


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I hate autocorrect ...

 

[Pfitzy]

Slipper and Kepu fighting for the THP spot, with Slipper starting on the back of a better work rate and consistent application.

The best scrummager of the two starts. Non negotiable. After years of watching things come undone, that is the holiest tenet of our rugby future moving forward.

Everyone repeat after me:

The Tight Head is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He maketh me to stand firm at set piece: he leadeth me to clean ball

He restoreth my nation's rugby pride: he leadeth me to scrum dominance

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the away ground, I will fear no opponent: for thou art with me; thy iron neck and thy impacted spine they comfort me.

Thou preparest a boat race before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with beer; my schooner runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Prop for ever.


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I hate autocorrect ...

 

[Gnostic]

I suspect we won't see Beale and JOC (James O'Connor) for a while. I have heard they both went out to late on Saturday and may have been involved in an incident which is being covered up. That is three issues in three weeks. Surely enough is enough?!

If this is true they should be terminated. Full stop. They can return when they have actually demonstrated a willingness to adhere to the required professional standards. If they cannot do that they do not get another chance.

 

[Tomikin]

When considering the new scrum laws coming in I think we can assume that Moore will remain first choice Hooker this year. But looking forward the skill set will change as to what is required and we may well see the old type Hooker make a come back. Somebody able to lift a foot and actually hook the ball. This will require a change in props as well.

When I think about the attributed that these changes might bring I consider that perhaps S. Fainga'a may well come into his own at 2 and that perhaps it is a pity that these changes come a few seasons too late for Adam Frier.

I can see Robinson retaining his spot backed up by Sio, and Slipper and Kepu fighting for the THP spot, with Slipper starting on the back of a better work rate and consistent application. I would also suggest that we may see comebacks from props like Holmes who I think are very under rated. Alexander in my opinion may well have seen his last game at THP and he is a long way down the pecking order at LHP.

Like being the 2nd best loose head in the country.. Who has been a better loose head prop then him in super this year ?

 

[Gnostic]

Pfitzy - I agree with the idea behind your post but a prop has other core duties, though the scrum is a primary. I have long been a Kepu supporter and you will see that from my posts over many years. However this year he has been inconsistent at scrum and his breakdown work has left a lot to be desired with too many inaccurate clean outs resulting in him getting penalised for diving over etc. Judging from my observation and the far more learned input from Scott Allen in his many articles Slipper is the form TH in Australia ATM I feel.

 

[Tomikin]

The best scrummager of the two starts. Non negotiable. After years of watching things come undone, that is the holiest tenet of our rugby future moving forward.

Everyone repeat after me:

The Tight Head is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He maketh me to stand firm at set piece: he leadeth me to clean ball

He restoreth my nation's rugby pride: he leadeth me to scrum dominance

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the away ground, I will fear no opponent: for thou art with me; thy iron neck and thy impacted spine they comfort me.

Thou preparest a boat race before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with beer; my schooner runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Prop for ever.


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I hate autocorrect .

Its sad palmers leaving but your right pick the best THP, and to be honest Alexander had been fairly good to Sat

 

[Gnostic]

Like being the 2nd best loose head in the country.. Who has been a better loose head prop then him in super this year ?

Sio, Holmes, and Cowan has been dominant also recently.

 

[Gnostic]

Its sad palmers leaving but your right pick the best THP, and to be honest Alexander had been fairly good to Sat

Really. He was 50:50 against Vunipola who has been shown to be an average scrummager at best, and the fact that he is still a test rookie up against Alexander a 50 test verteran. The issue I have with Alexander is that on too many occasion we see the same fundamental flaws in his set up . I see them before the engage and know what is going to happen. Saturday was a predicted train wreck, just go and have a look at the scrum series completed recently by Scott Allen, and several other articles that have been completed prior to that.

 

[No4918]

How long do we need to wait for the TRC squad?

 

[Bairdy]

Sio, Holmes, and Cowan has been dominant also recently.

Ha, no way would I like to see Cowan playing loosehead for the Wallabies. Holmes, maybe? But I don't envision Cowan playing any time soon; he struggles at super rugby level in scrummaging

 

[Athilnaur]

Halfback - Genia
Backup - White
Flyhalf - Cooper
Backup - To'omua
Inside Centre - Lealiifano
Backup - Horne
Outside Centre - AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
Backup - Inman
Left Wing - Cummins
Backup - Dom Shipperley.
Right Wing - Folau
Backup - Crawford.
Fullback - Mogg
Backup - Morahan.

Mostly agree but my variation is;

who is Robinsons back up?? Is it Alexander? New scrummaging is gonna play mindgames...
Moore TPN daylight still but again new scrummaging
Pyle then Simmons far more utility still gets job done, inspirational player
Horwill, Douglas, Neville
Mowen, do we really need to lose Kimlin the bugger made me drool v Lions, longer term Luke Jones
Pocock when fit, god we missed him, daylight, Gill/Hooper
Higgers, Palu and I'm watching Quirk, Schatz closely; loved their work early in year
Cooper gets another go as I want to believe but thin ice, To'omua, Foley
JOC (James O'Connor), Lilo JOC (James O'Connor) is a huge talent but not a play creator ffs put him to 12 he defends very well and scares the crap out of defenses
AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), McCabe if he recovers I think he will inherit and shine, otherwise Cummins, Horne or potentially Folau, not sold on Kuridrani. Leaning the HB, right tude!
Beale, Folau, Speight wing
Mogg, Beale, Morahan liked the mozzer long time

Say what you like about Deans, the player stocks are pretty good except front row, we need to see the front row get a lot more glory and foster the hell out of em.

 

[Gnostic]

Ha, no way would I like to see Cowan playing loosehead for the Wallabies. Holmes, maybe? But I don't envision Cowan playing any time soon; he struggles at super rugby level in scrummaging

Better go and have a look at some recent performances. Foley has been long regarded as the best forwards coach in Oz for a reason. Also when looking at selections now you must consider the hit is mostly gone. The scrum will be a whole new dynamic.

 

[swingpass]

in most countries and especially europe, the first player picked in any team is the THP, the second the reserve THP !

 

[Tomikin]

Sio, Holmes, and Cowan has been dominant also recently.

I might give you Holmes but Alexander has been better the\an Cowan and Sio (and I rate Sio).

Just got to look at the strong set piece for the Brumbies Alexander 1 Moore 2 Palmer 3. They have been good and stuffed most teams.

 

[Tomikin]

Really. He was 50:50 against Vunipola who has been shown to be an average scrummager at best, and the fact that he is still a test rookie up against Alexander a 50 test verteran. The issue I have with Alexander is that on too many occasion we see the same fundamental flaws in his set up . I see them before the engage and know what is going to happen. Saturday was a predicted train wreck, just go and have a look at the scrum series completed recently by Scott Allen, and several other articles that have been completed prior to that.

Hence why he was a Loose Head and not a THP, I always thought Palmer should have been our 3 but he got injured and Robbie went with Benny A, He was good enough the first 2 test but was taken apart in the 3rd. But his a LHP not a THP, should be picked there. Like Slipper plays THP for the Reds why we play him as the LHP reserve is mind blowing to me..

 

[ChargerWA]

Looking to the EOYT, I would love to see something like

1. Robbo
2. Moore
3. Slipper
4. Pyle
5. Horwill
6. Higginbotham
7. Pocock
8. Mowen
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Folau
12. Lilo
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
14. Speight
15. Mogg

16. TPN
17. Sio
18. Kepu
19. MMM
20. Hooper
21. White
22. To'omua ( a real compromise as he only covers 10, but he needs the experience as he is our best prospect going forward)
23. Needs to be 13/wing cover. I want it to be Kuirindrani, but don't know if he covers wing?

 

[swingpass]

Looking to the EOYT, I would love to see something like

1. Robbo
2. Moore
3. Slipper
4. Pyle
5. Horwill
6. Higginbotham
7. Pocock
8. Mowen
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Folau
12. Lilo
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
14. Speight
15. Mogg

16. TPN
17. Sio
18. Kepu
19. MMM
20. Hooper
21. White
22. To'omua ( a real compromise as he only covers 10, but he needs the experience as he is our best prospect going forward)
23. Needs to be 13/wing cover. I want it to be Kuirindrani, but don't know if he covers wing?

neither higginbotham nor pocock will be fit for the tour, doesn't white also have an injury and i am not so sure they will discard phipps all that soon

 

[ChargerWA]

neither higginbotham nor pocock will be fit for the tour, doesn't white also have an injury and i am not so sure they will discard phipps all that soon

Wasn't sure if they would be. It's more of a wish list. But that's easy. Gill to 7, MMM to 6 (would love to experiment with Hooper at 6, but I slammed deans for doing similar things so I will shut up).

 

[Braveheart81]

I feel like MMM might play a few tests in the next couple of years but will struggle to achieve much more than that.

From what we've seen this year, he's very much the same player that left Australia a few years ago. He's skillful and abrasive but he gets injured frequently.

I feel like he's missed his real chance this year in that he got injured before the Lions series. Now he has one more Super Rugby game to prove he should be ahead of players who were all decent to very good against the Lions.

If anything, he probably needs a couple of injuries to other players to really give himself a chance of featuring strongly in the Rugby Championship or EOYT.