IMHO, Tomane is fucking lucky to be anywhere near that team.
The front rowers must have been training with the new scrum laws. perhaps this is the reason Benn was dropped out of the squad?
By removing the hit the scrum surely would favour a scrummager like Sio?
I had the same thought - but as looseheads both of them do their best work after the ball has gone in. The hit has very little to do with it unless you have trouble staying up (i.e. Alexander). Robinson wasn't quite as dominant as he had been in the last month of Super Rugby, but its still a pretty big call.
I would suggest Alexander. I was more referring to using the Lions to judge both Benns on how they would go at 1 is silly
You are correct, because Alexander didn't play at loosehead. But what he HAS done is play at THP all year. He was picked there to do a job, and got snotted by the Lions, putting our whole set piece at a disadvantage for the rest of the game when we couldn't get a penalty despite Kepu pooching Corbisiero at various points and failing to get joy out of Twoite.
Therefore Robinson @ 1 > Alexander @ 3
Kepu @ 3 > Alexander @ 3
As a motivational technique you would ordinarily expect this ploy to wear thin very quickly.
Especially as its not like Robinson will be around the Wallabies environment like he was at the Tahs, where Cheika could readily call him up in the probably event Tilse would fail.
I really really want to see Fardy starting!
So do I, but not in the second row. I want him free to smash people off the side of the scrum and harass the fuck out of halfbacks in tandem with Mowen.
Then, and ONLY then, we can discuss and debate his selection decisions.
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SHUT DOWN THE FORUM FOR TWO YEARS!!!
What we haven't discussed yet is the game plan this all points to. The obvious one is speed, speed, and more speed. By having the props as Sio, Alexander, Slipper, and Kepu, it is clear McKenzie wants his Reds blueprint as the base plan for the team, but in this case has the happy coincidence of at least two players who can scrum to a decent level.
Getting around the park and running the smash and grab at set piece time is what its about, to try and keep the All Blacks off balance like, say, the Waratahs did to the Crusaders in the first half this year.
Expect the back row to be Fardy, Hooper/Gill, and Mowen, with toss of a coin between Douglas or Simmons partnering Big Kev.
Back line picks itself: Genia, Cooper, Cummins, Lilo, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Folau, Mogg. Need big boots and fast hands to keep the ball moving, with Lilo playing the straight man to Cooper's zany antics.
But Genia and Cooper had want to find some form, and quickly, if this is to come off.
