Wallabies v All Blacks, Saturday 19th August, ANZ Stadium Sydney

[Blue]

Hanigan? WTF?

What's the deal with this guy? No way.

He has shown nothing. Wow.

Up against Liam Squire. Good luck son.

 

[Blue]

Finally McM starts at eight but then Cheika picks a lightweight blindside.

Don't get it.

WTF.

 

[Tex]

Finally McM starts at eight but then Cheika picks a lightweight blindside.

Don't get it.

WTF.

They'll get chewed up by the ABs.

 

[Derpus]

Finally McM starts at eight but then Cheika picks a lightweight blindside.

Don't get it.

WTF.

It's presumably because Cheika wants a viable 3rd lineout option. Liam Squire is really not that great.

McMahon's ankle will probably cack it after 20 minutes anyway.

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

21/24.

I'd be amazed if anyone can get all 24. A couple are very obscure.

23/24, apparently I'd successfully erased the venue of Rodney's brain fart(s) from my hard drive.

Thanks for reminding me........

 

[Brumby Runner]

Too many questionable selections for my liking.

McMahon is great at Super Rugby level, but has been nowhere near as effective at test level. Remember also that he is not long back from serious injury. He is a big gamble v the ABs, and I think would much better suit a bench spot than a starting position.

Hanigan is there essentially for his lineout capabilities. His play around the ground is not yet at test standard.

Beale/Kerevi centre combination could well be a disaster in the making. Neither is reknown for their tackling abilities and defensively will likely have a detrimental impact on the team structures. SBW and Crotty will have a field day.

Phipps on the bench is a bad bet. He is sorely out of form and despite what some posters go on about, he was not back to form at the end of the Super Rugby season. Remind me how he/the Tahs went in their last outing against the Force?

Those concerns aside, most of the players selected are at least competitive with their one-on-one opponents, but the whole offered by the ABs is very likely to be far greater than that of the Wallabies. I think this match has the hallmarks of a very embarrassing outing by the Wallabies.

 

[zer0]

23/24, apparently I'd successfully erased the venue of Rodney's brain fart(s) from my hard drive.

Rustenberg, right? The OG attempt at the consecutive wins record (might've even been the actual world record at this time, as opposed to the "amongst tier one nations" malarkey) when Henry rolled out a hodgepodge XV to kick off the rest & rotation policy.

 

[KOB1987]

Beale's poor defence is 2013's story, don't people remember his more recent defensive efforts in gold, aka the RWC in 2015?? His tackling has improved immeasurably, as has his read. That said, I think we can expect Speight and/or Hooper to defend in the channel at times but that's a lot to do with Beale being able to drop back for the kick return.

Kerevi will be fine at 13, he's not the best defender in the team but Crotty isn't their best either.

 

[Micheal]

Kerevi will be fine at 13, he's not the best defender in the team but Crotty isn't their best either.

Either is Smith, ALB, Ioane (!!!!) or McKenzie.

Julian Savea had the worst defensive stats in the 2015 or 2016 Super Rugby comp (can't remember) yet he was consistently an All Black.

Defence is about commitment at both the personal level and the team level.

If the team's mentally right on the weekend I'm not too worried about our defence.

Beale and Foley will defend at wing, Folau at fullback. It's not exactly 'musical chairs' is it? Two changes.

 

[Ignoto]

That said, I think we can expect Speight and/or Hooper to defend in the channel at times but that's a lot to do with Beale being able to drop back for the kick return.

I just want to point out, that when we shifted Digby into the 10 channel and had Cooper move to the wing it was the worst idea ever (even if the Darkness shifted Carter out similarly). Now, we're being sold on the idea that the team is better off shifting players around to accommodate Beale?

(That wasn't a call for Quade to be picked).

Speight in gold has also had issues defending in the inside channels, he's had a number of instances where he's been beaten. Beale may very well be able to tackle SBW if he goes for the legs, the problem will be, SBW's offloading game.

The lions tour showed that you need to be putting SBW on his back to make him less potent which is why I think TK at 12 is a better option.

 

[Micheal]

I just want to point out, that when we shifted Digby into the 10 channel and had Cooper move to the wing it was the worst idea ever (even if the Darkness shifted Carter out similarly). Now, we're being sold on the idea that the team is better off shifting players around to accommodate Beale?

People were up in arms about it because it was Quade (and he's polarising) and not because its a bad idea.

People still get angry about it re: Foley and Beale for the same reasons.

Almost every team in the world drops their 10 back in defence (Beaudan Barrett will field a lot of kicks from fullback this weekend). In our system, Beale is just as much the 10 as Foley is. They share the role.

I don't think its a problem at all.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Beale made a name for himself as a tough defender with one tackle in recent times. Unfortunately, it was high shot that went unpunished. He goes that high again in current times and it will be a yellow card most certainly.

I am unconvinced that he has been able to correct his tackling technique (or more accurately, his lack thereof) and wait with bated breath to see the second coming.

 

[Rebels3]

Out of the squad picked i believe this team is as good as we can put out. We could put out a few more defensive players and reduce the final scoreline from 35-18 to 22-9 but the team on paper gives us the best chance we have (minus Robertson on the bench???? just don't get it) of getting a very unlikely result.

 

[Braveheart81]

There's no doubt Beale needs to defend more in the midfield if he's going to play 12 for the Wallabies. Primarily I think that is going to be off All Blacks scrums though.

If the All Blacks think our midfield is suspect they will presumably go for 7 man lineouts a lot to try and isolate our backline. They will need to stand up in those moments.

 

[chasmac]

It's strong on attack though and hopefully they click. I think it's the most exciting backline we've named in a long time.[/quote]


Pity we are not taking them on in Oztag

 

[waiopehu oldboy]

Rustenberg, right? The OG attempt at the consecutive wins record (might've even been the actual world record at this time, as opposed to the "amongst tier one nations" malarkey) when Henry rolled out a hodgepodge XV to kick off the rest & rotation policy.

Defo not Bloemfontein, anyways TBF to Ted's "hodgepodge XV" we lost by a point at the death having had a few 50/50 calls go against us..........

 

[KOB1987]

It's strong on attack though and hopefully they click. I think it's the most exciting backline we've named in a long time.


Pity we are not taking them on in Oztag

We can pick a defensive backline with no attacking flair and try to stop them scoring, or we can pick an exciting backline that can attack and try to outscore them.

 

[Up the Guts]

Interesting backline in terms of attack. Plan might be that the bigger bodies in Kerevi and Rona can attract the attention of All Black defenders and space will be created for Beale to combine with Folau.

Also like the idea of using Rona and Kerevi to make the gain line before we go wide. The last few seasons I've noticed we've played a bit side to side without going forwards first and it hasn't been particularly effective.

Hopefully, Gray hasn't been himself lately and has actually come up with an effective defensive structure that doesn't involve too much chopping and changing. That said, Beale and Kerevi will need to stand up in the midfield if we're to be a chance. I've been waiting for it for a while but would love to see someone blindside Beauden when he runs sideways.

 

[Beer Baron]

It's strong on attack though and hopefully they click. I think it's the most exciting backline we've named in a long time.

Pity we are not taking them on in Oztag[/quote]Have you tried getting those fucking tags off...

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[ACT Crusader]

Beale's poor defence is 2013's story, don't people remember his more recent defensive efforts in gold, aka the RWC in 2015?? His tackling has improved immeasurably, as has his read. That said, I think we can expect Speight and/or Hooper to defend in the channel at times but that's a lot to do with Beale being able to drop back for the kick return.

Kerevi will be fine at 13, he's not the best defender in the team but Crotty isn't their best either.

KOB Crotty is the best defensive back the ABs have had since Conrad Smith. Watch him closely and he very rarely misses a tackle and his positioning is world class. That has been his strength for many years. Where he's improved since becoming an AB has been his support play and attacking game.