Wallabies v England

[Jets]

Qantas Wallabies named to play England
November 05, 2009 - 10:42pm
Story by: ARU

Digby Ioane will start at outside centre against England.
The return of George Smith to the starting XV, and the selection of an entirely new midfield combination featuring Digby Ioane and Quade Cooper, are the key changes to the Qantas Wallabies starting line-up that has been named today for Saturday’s Cook Cup Test against England in London. (Sunday morning 1.30AM AEDT)



Smith, the game’s fifth most capped player, has swapped roles with the Western Force 21-year-old David Pocock from last week. He will play in his 107th Test.



Ioane plays his sixth Test match, but his first at centre, after making a successful return from injury on the wing last weekend against the All Blacks.



The powerful 24-year-old converted to the midfield for the Queensland Reds this year, making 10 appearances at centre before his efforts were curtailed by a shoulder injury that required surgery to correct.



He teams up with his state colleague Cooper, who has won selection for his eighth Test, but just his second at inside centre, after starring with 16 points from the flyhalf position during Tuesday night’s 36-5 win over Gloucester.



The 21-year-old features in the run on side for just the second time, and both have been in the number 12 jersey, after he started from that position during Australia’s 34-12 win over Italy at Melbourne in June.



Cooper also played inside centre during the Queensland Reds’ final match of this year’s Investec Super 14, scoring a try against the Hurricanes at Suncorp Stadium.



The re-positioning of Ioane in the number 13 jersey has opened the way for Drew Mitchell, who scored two tries on Tuesday night at Kingsholm, to return on the wing after he was unused from the bench in Tokyo.



Cooper’s elevation from last week’s Test reserves allows Adam Ashley Cooper to return to fullback – the position he was originally selected for last week, before the injury to team vice captain Berrick Barnes prompted a late backline reshuffle.



Ashley-Cooper scored Australia’s try, from fullback, during the Wallabies’ most recent visit to Twickenham last year.



While the selection of Smith is the only change from last week’s starting forward pack against the All Blacks; there are three changes in the backline as well as Ashley-Cooper’s relocation, with fullback James O’Connor and centre Ryan Cross dropping back to the bench.



Hooker Stephen Moore, who was originally named on the bench last week before being drafted into the run on side when injury troubled Tatafu Polota-Nau, has retained his place, with Polota-Nau selected to back him up.



Moore was the man of the match during the Cook Cup Test 12 months ago.



Australia’s 28-14 win over England last year was just its second success from its five most recent visits to London.



However, such is the level of the transition that has taken place within the Wallabies; just eight of that starting side will be back again in the run on team this Saturday.



Four are backs: Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Mitchell and Matt Giteau, while Smith, lock Mark Chisholm, Moore and prop Benn Robinson remain from the starting forward combination.



The match will be refereed by Bryce Lawrence of New Zealand.



The Qantas Wallabies team to play England in the Cook Cup Test at Twickenham Stadium, London, on Saturday 7 November, 2.30pm kick off (1.30am, Sun 8 Nov, AEDT), is:


15. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies)

14. Peter Hynes (Queensland Reds)

13. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds)

12. Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds)

11. Drew Mitchell (NSW Waratahs)

10. Matt Giteau (Brumbies)

9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds)

8. Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs)

7. George Smith (Brumbies)

6. Rocky Elsom (Brumbies, captain)

5. Mark Chisholm (Brumbies)

4. James Horwill (Queensland Reds)

3. Ben Alexander (Brumbies)

2. Stephen Moore (Brumbies)

1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs)



Run on reserves:

16. Tatafu Polota Nau (NSW Waratahs)

17. Matt Dunning (Western Force)

18. Dean Mumm (NSW Waratahs)

19. David Pocock (Western Force)

20. Luke Burgess (NSW Waratahs)

21. Ryan Cross (Western Force)

22. James O’Connor (Western Force)






Australia v England – Historical Notes


•This is the 37th Test match between Australia and England. Australia has won 21 and England 14 while the 1997 contest in London resulted in a 15-15 draw.
•England holds a narrow 10 wins to eight advantage with one drawn, from the 19 matches played on English soil. This includes victories in three of the last five matches played.
•Flanker George Smith will advance ahead of Chris Latham, with 12, as the second most capped Australian player against England, behind George Gregan who featured on 16 occasions.
•The two teams compete for the Cook Cup, which was established in 1997. The cup is named after Captain James Cook and is currently held by Australia.
•Although the links between the countries are undoubtedly close, the intensity of the rivalry between the two is a relatively modern phenomenon. This is evidenced by the fact that only six Tests had been played prior to the 1970s. Australia and England have twice met in Rugby World Cup finals, sharing the spoils one apiece, each having prevailed on the other’s home turf.

I am very happy with the team. I think we might see some good things on the weekend.

 

[Blue]

There's a team I'm incredibly happy with. Well except for Stephen Moore.

Yeah but TPN has an apparently incurable fade on his throws. Already strigglign at lineout time so can't afford losing ball because of crooked throwing. Can't believe he hasnlt fixed it by now.

 

[RugbyReg]

I LOVE this team.

Very excited about this game now.

I shall struggle to get to sleep between now and then.

 

[Scotty]

I hope Giteau isn't continually being named at 10 just to stroke his ego. Because it is obviously to everyone that Cooper should be at 10 and Giteau at 12, both for attacking and defense reasons.

I'd prefer to see Cooper defend at 10 than 15, because that could be his long term position for the Wallabies. Although I see the benefits of having his superior kicking and linking game at 15 (in comparison to Ashley-Cooper).

 

[Moses]

I too am far more excited than is perhaps acceptable for the workplace.

 

[Ash]

Ewwww, Bryce Lawrence. Maybe he'll be evenly bad for both teams.

Mumm? After reading reports on how he played midweek, and struggled at lineout time there too, no surprise he's not recalled. Neither Horwill or Chisholm are specialist lineout men, so I guess it will be more ball to Rocky again. I think that Rocky is easier to lift and could maybe get up higher than the taller Horwill anyway.

To be fair to Horwill and Chisholm, though, the struggling lineout on our throw in the Tokyo game was largely down to the thrower. The ballsed up defensive jumping, though, is their fault.

I also love this team. Smith and Pocock being rotated - exactly what was suggested outside of the media knee-jerk reaction too.

The only thing I'd change, like most here, is Cooper to 10 and Gits to 12. At least with Cooper closer to the ruck defensively you can have a flanker handy, instead of maybe switching Cooper to fullback defensively. Don't think that Cooper will do any worse than J'OC did defensively in the last match, anyway.

Regarding ball to Ioane, he will get more than Cross for two reasons - Ioane goes looking for it more than Cross, and this game we have two distributors at 10 and 12, instead of just Giteau at 10.

Am I alone in thinking that Ioane makes a better winger though? He's very good at hunting for the ball and injecting himself, but Ioane does not yet have the ability to set up his winger and his passing game as a whole is rather average.

 

[Scotty]

I have lost a lot of confidence in Deans. If he had this in mind, why not run Cooper on against the ABs? Why not run Cooper at 10 in this game?

His shit isn't making sense and it is starting to piss me off.

 

[Scotty]

Agree with Ash that Ioane is a better winger, however I also think he will have more impact at 13 than Cross.

 

[RugbyReg]

and I think his passing (and kicking) game is much improved. He did some very good stuff for his wingers this year.

 

[Jets]

I was going to record the game and watch it on Sunday morning but I am to excited and will have to watch it live.

I so inappropriately excited to be at work. Not going to get much done today.

 

[Moses]

So excited am I by this team that I produced this image of how our set piece might look. Note the complete lack of purple jerseys. Robbie's seen the light

 

[Blue]

I was going to record the game and watch it on Sunday morning but I am to excited and will have to watch it live.

I so inappropriately excited to be at work. Not going to get much done today.

I hope you don't work for an organization funded by all our tax money.

 

[Ash]

I hope you don't work for an organization funded by all our tax money.

By the sounds of it, he does.

 

[Scarfman]

Moses, I think you should have made a 2009-contract version.

Purple - 2
Red - 5
Sky Blue - 2
Computer Associates - 5
Leinster - 1

[resentment mode]Coming last in the Super14 is obviously no hinderance.[/rm]

 

[Scotty]

Which of the Reds would you drop, Scarfie?

 

[Scarfman]

Horwill and Hynes to bench for Mumm (defintely) and Turner (60/40 call). No big deal, though, this is my favourite team of the year, which isn't saying much.

I agree with you in losing confidence with Deans. It feels like he is throwing shit to see what sticks. He is getting closer and closer to the kind of side that we would have picked 8 games ago. With a bit of luck, we will smash England and he can stick with something like this lineup.

 

[Ash]

Scarfman, still can't understand the insistence of pushing Mumm. He had his chance to push for a starting spot in the midweeker, and failed. And why you'd bench Horwill ahead of Chisholm is a hard call too, as Horwill's stats and involvement were better in Tokyo than Chisholm's. Mumm either needs to show some form to get selected, or Chisholm or Horwill need to do something drastic to get dropped for it to change.

Not one of Hynes, Turner or Mitchell have played well enough to demand inclusion on the wing in the Tri-Nations. Whichever two of the three gets selected should count themselves lucky (or the other unlucky, however you look at it). That being said, Hynes is more the type that Deans prefers to have on at least on one wing, a hard worker and decent all round player. Remember Deans and Caleb Ralph?

Only 1 of the 12 forwards from the 22 is from the 2009 Reds - I think that's pretty close to a fair representation based on how the Reds forwards went. Five of the 12 forwards are 2009 Tahs, 4 Brumbies, 1 Force, 1 Leinster. 1 of the 10 backs (a reserve) is from the 2009 Tahs - a fair representation I'd say based on how the Tahs backs went in the Super 14. :fishing

 

[Scarfman]

Actually, fair enough. Horwill > Chis in their last outing, although Chis > Horwill prior to that.

Here's the argument: Mumm is best lock in the air (BY FAR) that we have available. He is the best lineout caller (BY FAR) that we have available. Our lineout is costing us games.

I don't know what else I have to say? Have a look at the lineout analysis on the blog page for more details.

 

[Biffo]

I LOVE this team.

Very excited about this game now.

I shall struggle to get to sleep between now and then.

Agreed - totally.

Only one more sleep to go.

 

[Ash]

Here's the argument: Mumm is best lock in the air (BY FAR) that we have available. He is the best lineout caller (BY FAR) that we have available. Our lineout is costing us games.

I don't know what else I have to say? Have a look at the lineout analysis on the blog page for more details.

I did look at the analysis actually, which made me do a reversal on my thinking that Mumm needed to be there. Prior to that I was thinking that the problem was a lack of a specialist like Mumm. I'd say the three main problems were the throwing, calling (variation) and the jumper at 2 - positioning and timing. The aim of a defending lineout at 2 is to get up quickly and in front - and the ABs did this very well.

From the analysis:
- Three lost in second half, all due to bad throwing. Rest won (apart from the silly Mumm penalty)
- 4 lost in first half, one due to bad throwing to 4 (over)
- 3 others lost due to the AB #2 getting in front of his man
- 5 of the 7 balls in the first half were thrown to 2, or a variation of 2. Poor calling, especially when the ABs were competing very well at 2. Inexperience on behalf of the caller, or a lack of faith of throwing to 4 or 6. Just 1 throw went to 4 (or a variation of), and 1 went to the prop. This is the sort of stuff defending lineouts dream of - contesting at 2 all day.

So 7 lost, 4 due to throwing. 3 lost at 2.

It shouldn't be too hard to improve.

Get the 2 jumper to watch out where his opposing player is, and to jump slightly forward and get a quick, hard throw as he goes up - timing and position. Practice the hell out of it at training to drum it into the silly brains of a pro rugby played. Hell, good subbies teams get this right.

Get more variation - and I don't mean more variation of 2 balls, of which the Wallabies used several.

I don't think that Mumm is required for either of these fixes - assuming they are fixed. If the lineout still struggles against the Poms apart from poor throwing, then I'll eat my words and admit Mumm should be there to try something else. Really, I think that the two best jumpers at 2 in the tour team would be Mumm and Chapman, but both of them were part of a misfiring midweek lineout, but plenty of that looked to be TPN's fault.