Wallabies v Baabaas

[Spook]

Great kicking game. Burgess a little erratic but a pretty good hit out first up. Too many fucking grubbers though fro Gits and others. Lachie Turner was good overall but often takes the wrong option.

Still think we need more muscle in the backrow . ie Palu and Rocky.

 

[Reddy!]

Great kicking game. Burgess a little erratic but a pretty good hit out first up. Too many fucking grubbers though fro Gits and others. Lachie Turner was good overall but often takes the wrong option.

Still think we need more muscle in the backrow . ie Palu and Rocky.

Be patient, Palu is injured and Rocky has only just signed with the ARU. Except changes come Tri-nations.

 

[cyclopath]

Back row will be better with Rocky at 6.
Thing that pleased me was the kicking from Gits (especially) and Barnes was accurate, and the relative lack of aimless kicking from the back 3.
Mortlock stepped up to remind us all he is not quite done (me very much included munching on humble pie).
Much better than expected except the standard 20 minute loss of transmission in the middle where everyone went a bit fuzzy.
Now next week I want to see the pack show some real mongrel and get into the Italian pack.
SBW (gotta put in a Sonny Bill rating) - B + for me. He is obviously skilled, and in the right hands could be quite a handful. Tough early international outing v Mortlock though.

PS - Nick must have loved G Smith's grubber, and B Alexander transferring the ball over the line then pointing before doing a standard Brumby dive. Lose that Ben.

 

[Pfitzy]

I was on my way out of the ground when Alexander scored - Little Aussie had been asking to leave for 20 minutes at that point and I thought it best to beat the traffic.

Our scrum looked to be getting pounded on the loosehead side, and guess who was locking that side? That's right - Seagull. The guy is fucked.

SBW copped some shit from the crowd which I thought was unwarranted. A small (and mean) part of me found it satisfying to see league's golden boy smashed a couple of times, but then the passes he got had "emergency ward" written all over them a lot of the time. I thought his support play was good, but putting him at outside centre was a mistake - you could see that when Turner burned him. He also didn't get enough ball to show his skills, but he'll be better for it, and I've got a more respect for the bloke now than I did a year ago.

 

[Gagger]

Agree, another year at Toulon should do him a world of good and build on the basics he obviously has.

However, he got pwned tonight. Looked to me that the Wobbs knew that with Rocky out, he was the other talisman of the team and never let him loose. When Burgo smashed him back from the line the BaaBaas knew it was going to be a long night.

To be fair to the BaaBaas, they looked cream crackered. Obviously pissing it up on a 24hr flight in the week of an international doesn't really cut it. Or for Waugh - twice in two weeks.

Cyclo - what are you doing on here? Shouldn't you be sunk to the nuts by now?

 

[Lee Grant]

Just back from the game. It was a great night at the ground - anytime you can see the Wallabies play live is enjoyable and to see so many famous players in the other team is a great bonus.

Oz got a bit loose as happens when you play the Baas but they got a bit of structure back in the 2nd half.

Pundits, including some in this forum, will go through individual performances with a fine tooth comb and it will be intersting to read what they come up with, but for me the following were pertinent matters:

- Big Kev is back. He's the best tight head lock in the country but never showed a lot in the Super14 after coming back from injury - until tonight, in my book. Well done big fella.

- The scrum when Ben Alexander came on at THP looked dominant.

- The combination of Giteau and Barnes is greater than its parts, as if we didn't know that before. We can ill afford to lose Barnes again this year and cannot contemplate Giteau getting crocked.

- AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) played well but the Rabbit looked like he can fit right in at fullback.

- We may not win the 2011 RWC but we will have better depth at that tournament than we ever had before.


Was great to be at the unveiling of the statue of Tubby Allen before the game. He was a great Wallaby despite having to go to rugby league in England to earn a crust when newly married in his early 20s, and with no real other job to speak of. Great to see old Wallabies like John Thornett and Ken Catchpole at the unveiling.

Talk about a night of stars. Unforgettable.

 

[louie]

i thought SBW as the best on ground for the baa baas. some really really nice touches. lots def work. covered lots of ground. he just had fuck all around him to make anything happen

 

[Langthorne]

In order, I want to see the following:

1. Dominant scrum;
2. Dominant and composed lineout;
3. Controlled and underplayed game from Burgess;
4. No aimless kicks;
5. Good field position from Barnes and Gits;
6. Wingers getting a glut of good ball in space from set piece and phase ball; and
7. A genuine willingness to run and counter attack from the back 3 and from turnover ball.

I expect as a minimum (and so havent listed):

1. Strong individual defence and defensive systems; and
2. Forwards to do the tight stuff before looking to run at SBW.

1. No (but not bad)
2. No (but not too bad)
3. Yes (had a great game)
4. Yes (except later on in the game)
5. Yes (awesome work from Gitaeu and Barnes)
6. Yes (well maybe not a glut)
7. Yes

Defence was generally good. In the future, the forwards may need to do a bit more of the tough stuff to set it up for the backs (no reason to do that in this game - the Baa Baas midfield defence was awful in the first half - and in the end they just tried to throw it around).

A nice early hit out for the Wallabies. Got away with loads that won't work against NZ and SA. The tactical kicking was great - all we need now is stronger defensive line outs. The attacking line outs and scrums could be improved too. Only 1 No7 on the field at once - with big a 6 and 8 (at least one very strong in the lineout).

SBW played pretty well. There is definite talent, but room for improvement - he could start by running a bit lower when going for the line. Another year in France and he could be a real handful.

 

[RugbyReg]

Yeah, that was the blow out I expected.
I may be being harsh but I thought SBW was close to the worse on ground. Totally out of his depth. There is some potential I guess but don't see him as All Black potential.
I thought the two Baabaa fullbacks, Murphy and Blair, were their best.

For us I thought Burgess and Stirlo were our best. It was interesting to see the difference when Burgo went off. All of a sudden you had more forwards having to play scrumhalf. Burgo, however, is always there.

Great to see Big Kev back playing well. Smith, Brown, Moore, Gits, Barnes and the bacck three were all fine.

But, sorry whoever said it above, that performance was fine but what we need from next week is the pack, and moreso the tight 5, to ramp it up a few gears v the Italians next week.

 

[formeropenside]

It was a glorified opposed training run.

 

[Sully]

Our scrum looked to be getting pounded on the loosehead side, and guess who was locking that side? That's right - Seagull. The guy is fucked.

Actually he played Tighthead. Robinson was getting rogered on the loosehead.

 

[RugbyReg]

Oh and I should add that the bench did very well which is a good sign. JOC (James O'Connor) in particular.

 

[chriscullen]

Although he had a pass mark next to his name Sonny Bill is no All Black to me. Thought the BaaBaas really missed Elsom and didnt the samoan Mapasua have a shocker. I found it an interesting game to watch, hard to get a read on the Wallabies form but a good win first up.

 

[Scarfman]

I was on aimless-kicking watch all night. Gits and Barnes get A-, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) gets a B+, while the main offender was JOC (James O'Connor). Pity.

...munching on humble pie ...

I thought you were on a second honeymoon? I think you've ordered the wrong meal, son.

 

[cyclopath]

Cyclo - what are you doing on here? Shouldn't you be sunk to the nuts by now?

No comment there Gagger, but the typing skills held up remarkably well despite the wine! Slept well!! ;D

Noddy, it was me that wants the pack to really go up a gear on Italy (agree with you there).

Scarfy,no second honeymoon, just a weekend away, and apart from humble pie I will describe none other of the menu!!
JOC (James O'Connor) should have stopped kicking after his first wich was a peach - he borrowed AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)'s 2008 boots for a couple of up-and-almost backwards-unders which would have been better left in the sheds.

 

[Pfitzy]

Actually he played Tighthead. Robinson was getting rogered on the loosehead.

Dark blue headgear was on the left side from where I was sitting. Maybe he moved once Mumm came on.

The scrum improved notably once Yoda came on - he was more of an all-around player rather than a dominant scrummager so I'd expect that.

 

[Lindommer]

Cyclo - what are you doing on here? Shouldn't you be sunk to the nuts by now?

As Sir Les Patterson so delicately puts it, "I was up to me apricots". Well, why not, Pedallist?

 

[cyclopath]

Cyclo - what are you doing on here? Shouldn't you be sunk to the nuts by now?

As Sir Les Patterson so delicately puts it, "I was up to me apricots". Well, why not, Pedallist?

The image of Sir Les' apricots (or indeed shrunken prunes) disturbs me. uke:

 

[disco]

Not sure about the scrum but the only time we looked troubled was when Botha was boring in on Robinson but once Dickinson pinged him we were fine.

James Horwill had a dayout which was good to see as he needs to get back some confidence, tough to pick best 3 on ground as nobody had a bad game but if we were picking I'd have gone.

3.Giteau
2.Horwill
1.Mortlock

SBW may have a great offload but he needs to know when to use it as sometimes he'd offload to a player in a worse position than himself.

SBW may get better but who would you leave out of the AB's for him? They already have Kahui, Smuth & now with McAlistair coming back they may shift Nonu to 13 also.

 

[Scotty]

For us I thought Burgess and Stirlo were our best. It was interesting to see the difference when Burgo went off. All of a sudden you had more forwards having to play scrumhalf. Burgo, however, is always there.

I think I must have watched a different game to you guys because I thought Mortlock was pretty average. Missed first up tackle on SBW, and let him run straight past him another time. Ran a good line through a canyon sized hole in the first half, but any back worth his salt should have seen that. Followed up that particularly break by getting run down by Collins from behind and spilling the ball. Lost the ball over the line on one occasion, where all he had to do was fall on it (Murphy helped knock it out, but if it was any faster back they would have been there way before Murphy was there). Managed a couple of good hits on SBW, but both were hospital passes.

Only really good thing he did was his break leading up to Alexander's try. I actually thought he was our weakest back. See when Mitchell made his break and Mortlock was in support - Mitchell put on the gas, and was 10m ahead of Mortlock by the time Mortlock had taken 4 steps.

I thought the best on ground were Smith, Horwill, Burgess and Giteau.

The back three did ok, but need to learn how to look for support a bit better (or at least be aware of the support). I would love to see O'Connor at FB and AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at 13 - but it isn't going to happen as Deans has to try to get Mortlock back into form.