Wallabies team for next week?

[rugbyfan]

1. Robinson
2. S. Fainga'a
3. Slipper
4. Mumm
5. Sharpe
6. Elsom
7. Pocock (c)
8. Higginbotham
9. Genia
10. Giteau
11. McCabe
12. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
13. Horne
14. Mitchell
15. James O'Connor

- My team is GUN

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Pat McCabe is a selection I like. He was a real goer for the Brumbies all season. Get him in there.

 

[Newb]

Pat McCabe is a selection I like. He was a real goer for the Brumbies all season. Get him in there.

agreed there. i don't know how he would go in the in internationals, but i love his potential. seems like a no-nonsense kind of guy that knows his role and generally does it. but it's rare that anyone jumps in and can handle the heat right away. genia and pocock have been some exceptions.

 

[spectator]

If the props aren't going so well, why isn't Greg Holmes an option?

Also Brown just doesn't look big enough for No. 8 duties. In Palu's absence I reckon Houston would be worth a go.

 

[MrMouse]

1. Robinson
2. Fainga'a (Moore isn't fit, no 'bang' from start)
3. Ma'afu (I'm generous)
4. Simmons
5. Sharpe
6. Elsom
7. Pocock
8. Hodgson
9. Genia
10. Barnes
11. Mitchell
12. Fainga'a
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
14. Shepherd
15. JOC (James O'Connor)

16. Moore - on @~50min
17. Slipper - on early, then one of them has an injury around 60min
18. Mumm - on @half time
19. Brown
20. Giteau
21. Burgess
22. Beale - on @50min

Now, I've tried to be fairly realistic. He's unlikely to call in Turner so I didn't consider him.
I have Giteau on the bench because he IS NOT A FIVE EIGHTH! I like the idea of a punchy, hard defending inside with Horne working off him ala S14. The back row balance needs to change, and few players showed more grit, desire, work rate and determination than Hodgo. Sure he's undersized, but no more so than Brown, and he's more use at the breakdown. I'm giving Simmons a chance to prove his hardness early, with Mumm to come on and go through/around them later. JOC (James O'Connor) is not a wing, which didn't matter much vs Boks but was painfully obvious against ABs. So he gets a rest.

 

[MrMouse]

Pat McCabe is a selection I like.

The issue with McCabe, or Houston or any new players drawn from outside the squad is they don't know the system, their team-mates, or the game plan. They also probably (particularly in Houston's case) don't have the conditioning.
I like McCabe at club level, and what I've seen from him at S14. But he's not a realistic option during this 3N. Wish he'd had a look in at Aus A level though.

 

[fatprop]

MCCabe is Lote lite. Solid dependable, sucks in defenders without beating them

 

[Tangawizi]

Horne is gone for the season. Time to come up with a new answer at 13. I think AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is the man for the job.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,27491106-5016959,00.html

 

[Reddy!]

Horne is gone for the season. Time to come up with a new answer at 13. I think AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) is the man for the job.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,27491106-5016959,00.html

Shepherd to fullback then.

 

[Reddy!]

I think it is also important that the selectors begin to identify what exactly is our strongest team we can put out, and put every effort into trying to get those players on the field and not tinkering with it too much.

 

[Reddy!]

Another thought: would a fit Mortlock be able to make a come back at outside centre? Or is he well and truly expired?

I think it is so important that we beat the All Blacks, it should be the Wallabies no. 1 focus, and should be thinking about it every waking 2nd. He is one man who knows how to beat them, has beaten them single handedly, and has huge experience. Outside centre is also a major problem for the Wallabies. So is fullback, which is why AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) doesn't know if he is coming or going.

 

[farva]

Who comes into the squad to cover Horne then? Turner? Inman?

We are going to be sorely tested at 13 now with Horne, Ioane, Chambers and Mortlock all out.

 

[Brumbies Guy]

Who comes into the squad to cover Horne then? Turner? Inman?

We are going to be sorely tested at 13 now with Horne, Ioane, Chambers and Mortlock all out.

Hopefully McCabe... Hopefully not Cross

 

[RugbyReg]

15 Beale
14 Turner
13 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
12 Fainga'a
11 Shepherd
10 To'omua
9 Burgess
8 Higgers
7 Pocock
6 Hodgo
5 Simmons
4 McCalman
3 Fairbrother
2 Fainga'a
1 Slipper

Fuck the lot of them (except 2)

 

[WB3]

Who comes into the squad to cover Horne then? Turner? Inman?

We are going to be sorely tested at 13 now with Horne, Ioane, Chambers and Mortlock all out.

Sign Greg Inglis REALLY QUICKLY....

Convince SBW that he is Australian at heart....

We're in strife. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to 13, Shephard (JOC (James O'Connor) in a pinch) to fullback - we need a solid defender and Beale ain't it.

Or put Giteau at fullback and play 9 Genia 10 Barnes, 12 Fainga'a, 13 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), JOC (James O'Connor)/Mitchell/Shep on wings. That solves 2 problems - Giteau gets ball in hand in space AND he doesn't get to do any playmaking.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

So our problems appear to be at tighthead, lock, eight, 5/8, OC, fullback and wing.

I would try Slipper at TH, Simmons at lock for either Sharpe or Mumm, Elsom to eight with Hodgson at blindside, Barnes to 5/8 until Cooper is back, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to outside centre, JOC (James O'Connor) to fullback and Shepherd or McCabe at wing.

 

[RugbyReg]

Who comes into the squad to cover Horne then? Turner? Inman?

We are going to be sorely tested at 13 now with Horne, Ioane, Chambers and Mortlock all out.

Higgers????

Qantas Wallabies centre Rob Horne has been ruled out of the remainder of the Bundaberg Red Tri Nations Series after scans in Melbourne today revealed a small fracture in his right elbow.



The 20-year-old, who last night appeared in his sixth Test, will return to Sydney tomorrow while the rest of the Qantas Wallabies squad heads to New Zealand to prepare for this weekend’s second Bledisloe Cup Test of the year against the All Blacks in Christchurch.



Horne will require surgery for the injury, which also includes ligament damage, and is expected to be sidelined for the remainder of the season.



“It’s bad luck for Rob, but he’s made an encouraging start to his international career, starting in every Test that we’ve played this year,” Qantas Wallabies coach Robbie Deans says.



“It’s very disappointing, especially to be leaving the team midway through the series, but my focus now has to be getting the surgery and beginning the rehabilitation,” Horne said.



“I feel very privileged to have been given the opportunity to wear the Wallaby jersey. Now having had that experience, I will be looking to work through the rehab and get back playing Super Rugby, to put myself in a position to get back into the Wallabies set up.”



Horne’s place among the 24-man party that is going to Christchurch has been taken by Queensland Reds loose forward Scott Higginbotham.



Higginbotham, Western Force loose forward Ben McCalman and Western Force winger Cameron Shepherd will all fly to New Zealand tomorrow to join the Wallabies after featuring for their clubs yesterday.



The Qantas Wallabies depart for Christchurch in the morning.

 

[Gnostic]

The team I think will get picked next week will be more of the same from Deans' no changes at all from Melbourne except for JOC (James O'Connor) to 15 and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to 13. Beale to the wing and Shep to the bench.

Higginbum even if he makes the bench will be like Hodgeson and will not get a run so he better pack his warm clothes.

ABs by 50+

 

[daz]

Sign Greg Inglis REALLY QUICKLY....

Convince SBW that he is Australian at heart....

We're in strife. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to 13, Shephard (JOC (James O'Connor) in a pinch) to fullback - we need a solid defender and Beale ain't it.

Or put Giteau at fullback and play 9 Genia 10 Barnes, 12 Fainga'a, 13 AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), JOC (James O'Connor)/Mitchell/Shep on wings. That solves 2 problems - Giteau gets ball in hand in space AND he doesn't get to do any playmaking.

Sorry WB3. I'm not having a go at you personally but I am going to use your post to highlight one of the main nonsensical arguments. Sack Mitchell. Sack Giteau. Sack Brown. Sack Barnes. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) needs to be at 13. JOC (James O'Connor) to the bench. Etc, etc, etc.

All I see in response to that is a whole lot of shifting the same cattle around the same paddock and bolstered with lots of guys who are not ready for the coalface. All these guys need to be sacked. Ok, good. Let's do it then. Now, who do we call to come into the squad? Cross, Shepherd, Higgenbotham, McCabe, Fairbrother, To'omua, etc. Excellent! Wonder why Deans hasn't thought of that?

What happens when they fail, as they surely will at this stage of their development? Do we call for their heads and start trolling the Dubbo U/12's for the next lot of cannon fodder? And yet, somehow this lack of cattle is Deans fault too.

Ah, well, that's ok then. Problem solved!

Maybe Deans isn't the right coach for the job. I really don't know what happens in ARU HQ on a day to day basis so who am I to judge. All I know is that while from a win/loss ratio we are shit, we are far better placed with cattle who have had a taste and the future looks good.

Gee, where have I seen that before? A coach identifies the talent and develops them, then gets the sack and the new coach is hailed as a genius. Let's ask Mooney if he can see any similarity.

 

[Gnostic]

Gee, where have I seen that before? A coach identifies the talent and develops them, then gets the sack and the new coach is hailed as a genius. Let's ask Mooney if he can see any similarity.

Yep but Mooney broke from the mold and selected players on form and potential. He also innovated and devised a brilliant game plan within his player's abilities to play. Link capitalised on this and with the addition of a couple of hard heads like Humphries instilled some consistancy in them. Two years from woe to go. Two years for Deans to get the same results from the alleged top players in Oz and nothing. No improvement in game play. Forget the results just focus on execution and the form of play. If we only concentrate on this we still find that this team has regressed from where it was two years ago. In two years he has blooded a few players but more often than not those blooded sit on the bench like Hodgeson while constant failures like Brown run out again and again. And to those who say Hodegson is too small as is Brown, well go and have a look at the stats, Reid is 2 Kg lighter and taller than Brown yet has a much greater impact.