Wallabies v France 3rd Test - 21 June Sydney

[Braveheart81]

Disappointing to see Jones dropped for the sake of giving Skelton a run now the series is over. If Jones was good enough to try when the series was on the line, surely he would be more deserving of a start now.

Good to see Sio come in, Cowan didn't have a lot of impact.

A shame McCabe has to drop out for Horne to be able to come in though I'm not sure on his injury status.

Horne comes in for Pat McCabe, who has suffered a nerve compression injury to his shoulder, making him unavailable for selection this week.

Maybe Skelton getting a crack was part of the plan all along. Hard thing for Jones was the closeness of the test meant he didn't get on until fairly late in the piece. He didn't really do much in his time off the bench to say that he had to get another crack right away.

 

[Pfitzy]

Maybe Skelton getting a crack was part of the plan all along.

Hmmm... game moves to Melbourne and Jones is picked.

Game moves to Sydney and Skelton is picked.

#justsayin

 

[Braveheart81]

Hmmm. game moves to Melbourne and Jones is picked.

Game moves to Sydney and Skelton is picked.

#justsayin

If you're trying to give most of your squad a run then it does make sense to play them in their home test.

Maybe Hodgson will get a crack against South Africa in Perth if he's in the squad for the Rugby Championship.

 

[Fowi]

Disappointing to see Jones dropped for the sake of giving Skelton a run now the series is over. If Jones was good enough to try when the series was on the line, surely he would be more deserving of a start now.

Good to see Sio come in, Cowan didn't have a lot of impact.

A shame McCabe has to drop out for Horne to be able to come in though I'm not sure on his injury status.

I think the plan all along was probably to give all of the new locks a chance at one point considering Douglas is leaving, and Horwill not playing like he was 2 years ago. Link probably wanted to test all of the locks out to see what they are capable off.

I have no doubt that Carter will partner Simmons, Horwill will be the bench lock and then Jones and then Skelton will be after all of them. Im not fussed and am glad to see that Link is willing to give each player a chance to impress.

Im am very happy to see Sio come onto the bench. Hopefully he gets a good run out.

Yeh it is a shame for McCabe but like the locks, its good to see what all the players are capable of.

 

[A mutterer]

I am encouraged that the players are being rotated - it will create the depth of competition for each position and make the players hungry. They can't exactly argue that they've been hard done by.

 

[Fowi]

“During the series we’ve already benefited from giving two other locks, Sam Carter and Luke Jones, their first opportunities for Australia. The experience they gained will prove invaluable in the long-run and now it’s Will’s turn to show us what he has got,” McKenzie said.
“I’ve been really impressed with his attitude and the contribution he’s made to this team since the beginning of the series. He’s obviously got impressive metrics but he also has a big motor and is particularly skillful, so we’re looking forward to seeing how he will impose himself on the game.
“He’s worked really hard over the past 12 months at the Waratahs on improving his match conditioning and we believe he is ready for the step-up to Test Rugby.”
From the Roar: http://www.theroar.com.au/2014/06/17/wallabies-team-play-france-third-test-skelton-debut/

I think this just confirms that Link wanted to have a look at all the locks.

 

[oztimmay]

Hmmm. game moves to Melbourne and Jones is picked.

Game moves to Sydney and Skelton is picked.

#justsayin

I said some thing very similar in the Game 1 thread, can't be arsed trying to find it.

Game 2 - Pick the Rebels boys
Game 3 - Pick the Waratah's boys

Guess what happened?

Not saying the Game 2 selection were without merit, but it seems strange to drop Jones after one relatively successful debut test. Higgers was probably going to drop out after Palu got over his injury. Skelton and Horne will put some more hometown bums on seats. Sio is a good pick.

 

[Train Without a Station]

The bastards could have picked a few more Reds boys in Brisbane then!

EDIT: Bit too rude

 

[Deputy Van Halen]

Interesting that Carter and Big Willy got a start to prove themselves and Jones only got a 15 minute cameo in snooze fest. Still, fair enough they want to try them all out and it's safer to keep Horwill around for experience.

Hopefully Skelton fronts up and does some damage to the french forwards, some front foot ball would be nice again this test. I'll be interested to see how long he lasts before he's hooked.

If it's going well hopefully Sio and Weeks get a bit of time on the field too.

 

[A mutterer]

The bastards could have picked a few more Reds boys in Brisbane then!

EDIT: Bit too rude

who could have been included that wasn't?

 

[oztimmay]

Interesting that Carter and Big Willy got a start to prove themselves and Jones only got a 15 minute cameo in snooze fest. Still, fair enough they want to try them all out and it's safer to keep Horwill around for experience.

Perhaps since the series is won Link is more willing to take some risks? Dunnno really. If that were the criteria for selection you'd look to rest JH.

 

[Braveheart81]

Interesting that Carter and Big Willy got a start to prove themselves and Jones only got a 15 minute cameo in snooze fest. Still, fair enough they want to try them all out and it's safer to keep Horwill around for experience.

I think it's potentially an indication that Jones is competing more with Simmons whereas Carter and Skelton are competing with Horwill.

Jones has stiffer comptetition in that Simmons is currently the first choice lock.

 

[Train Without a Station]

A mutterer I wasn't complaining. Just jokingly responding to Oztimmay's observation.

 

[qwerty51]

Who's the ref for this weekend?

 

[Braveheart81]

Who's the ref for this weekend?

Australia vs France at Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Chris Pollock
Assistant referees: Wayne Barnes (England), George Clancy (Ireland)
Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Assessor: Donal Courtney (Ireland)

 

[TahDan]

Disappointing to see Jones dropped for the sake of giving Skelton a run now the series is over. If Jones was good enough to try when the series was on the line, surely he would be more deserving of a start now.

Good to see Sio come in, Cowan didn't have a lot of impact.

A shame McCabe has to drop out for Horne to be able to come in though I'm not sure on his injury status.

Skelton offers something different to Jones, and I suspect it's got more to do with how McKenzie expects the game in Sydney to play out - more running and less field position you'd think. Jones has a great work rate, but doesn't have Skelton's effectiveness as a runner. Although that said, I'd have kept him for the bench and pushed Horwill out of the squad.

As for Horne, he's been on fire this season for the Tahs, and I think he's more than earned a shot. A similar player to McCabe in a lot of ways, but he's got better footwork to compliment those hard runs.

 

[Joe Blow]

Skelton is definitely a starter. He can have a big influence in the opening exchanges rather than provide speed late in a game.
Most of the time your bench locks are 5/6 type players.
This is a great opportunity for the big fella. Hope he kills it.

 

[Deputy Van Halen]

French might have a crack at the lineout this week too as they're all going to Simmons again.

 

[Richo]

French might have a crack at the lineout this week too as they're all going to Simmons again.

Yep, the line out is a bit more limited in options with Skelton and Palu both starting. But Skelton does make a good short throw target and Palu is not useless in the line out.

 

[A mutterer]

A mutterer I wasn't complaining. Just jokingly responding to Oztimmay's observation.

i know - but letting it slide given the peppery nature of recent posts wasn't going to happen