Wallabies v England, Sat 11th June, 8.00pm, Suncorp Brisbane

[Tahspark]

Hunt is a classy player. Class is permanent, form is temporary.



I would have him on the bench. In fact, he could start and it would not surprise me in the slightest.

Agreed and we've seen more than one player prove his class at national level during Cheika's reign and I suspect, if given the chance, Hunt will add to that record.

 

[USARugger]

If USARUGGER hops on here - will these tests be shown on Tv and if so what channel.
Just moving to Cali tomorrow and can't find info at the moment.
Hunt should play and Skelton should be cut.
I think it will be a cracking series.

Haven't heard anything about a domestic or North American broadcast but I haven't really been looking either.

Been getting spoiled silly by Super Rugby being available on ESPN3.com..

Still, it would take an act of God to prevent me from getting a link for the game. I'll do my best to remember to PM you something by kickoff.

 

[Sir Arthur Higgins]

Awesome. Thanks. Will look at VPNing as well and using Foxtel go account if can't find anything else

 

[Braveheart81]

Then if we look at the Reds, and having read the recent pages, they have one of the better forward packs, a 7 that would start in most other international sides, but they are 3 wins from 12 starts.

The Reds have an outstanding set piece but I don't think there forward pack is one of the better ones around the park.

They have one of the poorest advantage line success percentages in the comp and are ranked poorly on other attacking metrics such as offloads.

I'm not saying there aren't issues in the backline as well (and moreso than the forwards), but I don't see it as a team that has a brilliant forward pack and are only struggling because of the backs.

 

[No4918]

Hunt is a classy player. Class is permanent, form is temporary.



I would have him on the bench. In fact, he could start and it would not surprise me in the slightest.

Has he ever had the form to play for the Wallabies though? That statement would apply to a Pocock/Hooper/Folau but not sure it works in this case.

I understand why he is there and won't be surprised if he plays. Had Beale and To'omua both been fit I am not so sure he would be in the final squad. Hopefully it has been the fact that the Reds backs have generally been woeful and he is doing really well in camp.

 

[KOB1987]

I am struggling to think of an exception to the rule that whenever Cheika gets criticised on here for making a decision/selection he proves those people wrong!

 

[dru]

Has he ever had the form to play for the Wallabies though? That statement would apply to a Pocock/Hooper/Folau but not sure it works in this case.

I understand why he is there and won't be surprised if he plays. Had Beale and To'omua both been fit I am not so sure he would be in the final squad. Hopefully it has been the fact that the Reds backs have generally been woeful and he is doing really well in camp.

I'm completely with you on the Beale/To'omua thing opening an opportunity. FWIW I think Foley got his (deserved) chance with Quade injured.

My view is we are better with a second playmaker when running Foley at 10. I admit its an argument that is less persuasive against England, and if you choose a crash game Hunt has some strength but is less convincing.

Coming on as a "finisher" he offers some interest. Second playmaker can run from 15 or 12. He can plug there. At a pinch he can plug 11/14 and not as desired 10. He has big defence for an outside back and shouldnt have problems with Teo etc.

He is a natural leader (not ideal when raw at the Reds guided by RG, but coming into strength now.

With our injuries, this bloke is worth an experiment.

 

[Sword of Justice]

I am struggling to think of an exception to the rule that whenever Cheika gets criticised on here for making a decision/selection he proves those people wrong!

I would have to say Dean Mumm. I thought he really played poorly at the RWC. Absolutely stuffed our line out when he replaced Simmons off the bench as well.

Every other selection has been correct IMO and that becomes more obvious over time. Perhaps Mumm and Cheika will prove me wrong eventually but last year we only saw glimpses of what Mumm brings.

 

[KOB1987]

Yes, he didn't over achieve in the final however I'm pretty sure the intention wasn't to replace Douglas so early! He did play very well in the first Bledisloe however. With Skelton back and Arnold in good form it will be interesting to see if he keeps his spot in the 23.

 

[RedsHappy]

Ticket update for Suncorp Test 1: there have been a reasonable number of Platinum and Gold ticket 'returns' to Ticketek in the last few days (these come back unsold from travel agencies, group packages and so on).

So there are some decent seating positions still available for groups of 2-4.

Tell the world - we want a sell-out!

 

[Gnostic]

I would have to say Dean Mumm. I thought he really played poorly at the RWC. Absolutely stuffed our line out when he replaced Simmons off the bench as well.



Every other selection has been correct IMO and that becomes more obvious over time. Perhaps Mumm and Cheika will prove me wrong eventually but last year we only saw glimpses of what Mumm brings.

I was never a big fan of Mumm, and questioned his selection but humble pie I ate because I thought he played the best season he ever did last year in his whole career, far greater than what I thought he was capable of.

As for stuffing the lineout, in the final it was buggered from the start and unfortunately for some people they can't blame Skelton for it, so I suppose Mumm needs to take the blame.

This year the Reds lineout and scrum have been good but the stats say they are very poor in every other metric of forward play. Purely on the numbers a solid case can be made for leaving Simmons out of the side altogether. I do not advocate that as I think as Douglas, Mumm and others have shown Chieka has an ability to get players to new heights in terms of performance.

 

[Viking]

I would have to say Dean Mumm. I thought he really played poorly at the RWC. Absolutely stuffed our line out when he replaced Simmons off the bench as well.

Every other selection has been correct IMO and that becomes more obvious over time. Perhaps Mumm and Cheika will prove me wrong eventually but last year we only saw glimpses of what Mumm brings.

I agree he has done a very good job at selections and proving people wrong. but he hasn't always been 'correct'.

His selections are either justified at the time: For example Phipps over White, or Folau over Beale. Both in hindsight might have been the wrong decision (Phipps wayward passes nearly cost us at times, and Beale was in superb form with Folau obviously struggling with injury). But no-one at the time could have predicted that.

Or he selects players that might not be justified but seems to prove everyone wrong. Douglas the prime example. Mumm to a lesser extent.

Only selection I saw which I could say was "Wrong" was choosing Hooper over Pocock and starting Palu in the Rugby Championship. Poey proved he was more valuable then Hooper. But we all know a Hooper V Poey is a tough call. Can't blame him for that.

I certainly have confidence in Cheika's selections.

 

[Sword of Justice]

I was never a big fan of Mumm, and questioned his selection but humble pie I ate because I thought he played the best season he ever did last year in his whole career, far greater than what I thought he was capable of.

As for stuffing the lineout, in the final it was buggered from the start and unfortunately for some people they can't blame Skelton for it, so I suppose Mumm needs to take the blame.

This year the Reds lineout and scrum have been good but the stats say they are very poor in every other metric of forward play. Purely on the numbers a solid case can be made for leaving Simmons out of the side altogether. I do not advocate that as I think as Douglas, Mumm and others have shown Chieka has an ability to get players to new heights in terms of performance.

I wasn't thinking about that game at all actually, I was thinking about the quarter and the semi.

 

[Rugbynutter39]

Given what Cheika has achieved - I actually think people will cut him some slack for what ever decisions he makes at the moment. Sure you will get the arm chair critics still but I suspect not as vocal as in years past under Deans era etc.

I also like his initial bigger wallaby squads as about exposing wider numbers to wallaby camps as much as selection for the tests.

His regular catch ups with super rugby / potential candidates during the year equally been a positive for me.

 

[Dave Beat]

Given what Cheika has achieved - I actually think people will cut him some slack for what ever decisions he makes at the moment. Sure you will get the arm chair critics still but I suspect not as vocal as in years past under Deans era etc.

I also like his initial bigger wallaby squads as about exposing wider numbers to wallaby camps as much as selection for the tests.

His regular catch ups with super rugby / potential candidates during the year equally been a positive for me.

On the money - I also like that over the last 6 months he's had the passport out and traveled a bit.

 

[galumay]

Like all coaches, Chieka has never been 'proven' wrong with a selection - the armchair coaches have accused him and other coaches of being wrong, but of course as any sensible person knows, it cant be 'proven' because we never get to see the outcome of the specific game with a different selection. Until my time machine has the last few wrinkles ironed out we will have to rely on our ill informed online opinion instead of proof!

Like all of us, there are players I would like to see in the squad and others I would prefer not to, but I acknowledge that I cant possibly have enough information to make better decisions around selection than the coaching and management team.

Personally it looks like a pretty good squad to me, I suspect the depth in a few positions is going to be tested given the likely intensity of the tests this year.

 

[wamberal]

On the whole I agree with you about Chubby's record.


Dingo Deans was another kettle of fish. Just one name will suffice: Rod Davies.

 

[Tip]

Like all coaches, Chieka has never been 'proven' wrong with a selection - the armchair coaches have accused him and other coaches of being wrong, but of course as any sensible person knows, it cant be 'proven' because we never get to see the outcome of the specific game with a different selection

So Robbie Deans was never proven wrong with JOC (James O'Connor) at 10?

 

[Braveheart81]

I wasn't thinking about that game at all actually, I was thinking about the quarter and the semi.

Match stats suggest that we won all 10 of our lineout throws against Scotland in the quarter final (Mumm was only on the field for 15 minutes).

Against Argentina we won 12 of our 13 throws and Mumm played 13 minutes.

Are you sure you just don't like Mumm rather than actually having any particular evidence that he played poorly for the Wallabies last year?

 

[Braveheart81]

So Robbie Deans was never proven wrong with JOC (James O'Connor) at 10?

JOC (James O'Connor) was completely at fault for our scrum disintegrating in the third test and Lilo getting knocked out in the first minute of the first test.

Deans should have known better.

Clearly the punters thought Cooper should have been picked at 10 but if you put yourself in Deans' shoes as having your job on the line and whether or not he reverts to a player that really hadn't worked out for him in the past at 10 in that situation. I think most people wouldn't have selected Cooper if they'd been in Deans' position.