liquor box
Peter Sullivan (51)
Who gets credited with the crowd at a double header?
Do the men and women get credited with a 36k crowd?
Do the men and women get credited with a 36k crowd?
Wallabies v Wales, 6 July
- Thread starter Wallabies
- Start date
Rugrat
Darby Loudon (17)
We won. Awesome. Congrats to all the team and especially the debutants, all delivered what they were asked to do. Win.
It’s not about planning to win against the All Blacks or Lions, it’s just win the next game. South Africa are the bench mark and then daylight. we are a long way off getting to that level yet so just enjoy the wins when they come folks.
It’s not about planning to win against the All Blacks or Lions, it’s just win the next game. South Africa are the bench mark and then daylight. we are a long way off getting to that level yet so just enjoy the wins when they come folks.
Wilson
Phil Kearns (64)
Surprised to see some of the negatitivity on here after that game - new coach, fairly new team, first game after a horrid world cup and Eddie pissing all over the game and we come away with our biggest win against Wales since 2016, what more could you want? There was definitely some rust out there and a lot of work still to be done but not a single player played poorly.
Tupou was a beast in the scrum and that's a huge asset. Come the rugby championship we're probably going to need more from him around the ground, but he's got a bit of time to build that back into his game.
Faessler has been an absolute gem of a find, nothing flashy but really reliable getting through his work and nailing his core roll. So nice to see a wallabies hooker nailing his throws consistently. With BPA hopefully coming in later this season I'm starting to feel more confident about our hooking stocks.
Slipper held up well after a shaky end to the super season, but that knee looks like a bit of a worry. Hopefully that game will give Schmidt confidence in the rest of the team to manage his minutes this season.
I thought Slakaia-Loto started well and gave us some noticeable size and thrust, but he did fall away a bit towards the end of the first half. Schmidt mentioned after the match that he had been ill early this week so they were expecting it and the sub for Blyth was more or less planned.
Williams was the best of the debutants for mine, seemed to be heavily involved and doing a lot at pace and with Force. There will probably be question marks over his size going forward, but he did look like he could hang at 6 rather than lock if needed.
Wright had a great debut captaincy. Excellent in the lineout and well involved at the ruck. Not to tested as far as decision making goes, but I was at leas pleased to see him take the early points on offer. It's a mistake plenty of other Wallaby captains have made.
McReight was unlucky with the yellow at the maul but otherwise had an industrious if quiet (for him) game. His steal at the end was great to see, effectively shut the door on the Welsh with a few minutes to go.
I thought Valetini started a little bit quiet but was massive in the second half. Really lifted the team with some strong carries and big hits in defence. Probably could use a bit more support in the carry, could need selection changes but I think it's more about us building a bit more fluency into our attacking structures at this stage - we were generally taking the ball a bit flat footed and there are only so many players who can reliable generate go forward like that.
I was impressed with Gordon, that was easily his best game in gold and the first time he's looked like he can cope at this level. I'm still not entirely convinced he can ratchet up the pace or stick with the game when the opposition does (which is where he has been caught out at this level previously) but on the evidence of last night he has absolutely earned more time to prove it.
Lolesio had an up and down game, but I was happy to see him play with confidence to try things and not retreat into his shell. It's always going to be a bit harder for the playmakers as we bring in new players and new structures all at once. The cross field kicks were a mixed bag but they were clearly an intentional strategy for the team.
Daugunu was solid if a bit erratic. His kick chase was excellent and he generally ran with pace and power doing a good job winning the contact area. I agree his clearing kicks weren't great, but he was generally making them because he had to. With Wright and Kellaway in the back 3 I don't think the plan is for him to take exits. More time together should help there.
Paisami seems to have been the target of a lot of ire here but I thought he was pretty solid overall. The early use of dual playmakers with him and Lolesio was looking good but the Welsh defence really focused on shutting that down and closing off the outside options. He generally carried strongly and recycled well when he did, as we get our forwards better integrated into the attacking structure he'll have a lot more opportunity to break the line and out people away. The kicking is the same as for Noah and I think he was probably another victim of us generally playing to shallow and flat footed. Was also one of our better defenders.
A quiet game for Flook, not to unexpected as we build into new structures, particularly with a Welsh defence really keen to shut the passing lanes down. He was solid in defence and really good on kick chase though.
Kellaway was pretty reliable if not spectacular (although he was fingertips away from a screamer of a try). Very busy in the first half and provided a really good counterpoint to Wright. Keen to see them develop that back three connection further.
Wright had a bit of trademark rocks and diamonds game, but the one big shiny diamond definitely outweighed the rocks here. Just a brilliantly taken try that will likely be playing on repeat in the heads of the Welsh defence all week. A few of the rocks too were down to the team rust and new combinations too, he should hopefully settle a bit into the role after a confidence building win.
Bench as a whole was pretty solid and I was glad to see them largely all used. Kailea was probably the stand out of them once he settled his nerves, but it was also great to see Lynagh so composed at this level in his short stint.
Overall it was good to see a relatively organised Wallabies side playing to a plan. Patterns seemed a bit simple overall which is not too surprising and we were probably a too shallow and flat footed which let the Welsh defence really get in our face, but I get the feeling Schmidt is taking everything back to basics and building up brick by brick. Discipline needs work but there were green shoots there, lineout and scrum were excellent which is a joy to see and should make it that easier to build the foundations of the rest of our game.
Very happy we came out of that unscathed as far as injuries and bans are concerned.
It'll be interesting to see what Schmidt does next week. I'd be tempted to keep at least the starting 15 the same, but he does seem committed to a bit of experimentation, at least with the locks. I'm not sure Wales have a lot of quick improvement in them to worry about, compared to us at the very start of our international season, but running Costelow at 10 might give them a bit more bite in attack.
Tupou was a beast in the scrum and that's a huge asset. Come the rugby championship we're probably going to need more from him around the ground, but he's got a bit of time to build that back into his game.
Faessler has been an absolute gem of a find, nothing flashy but really reliable getting through his work and nailing his core roll. So nice to see a wallabies hooker nailing his throws consistently. With BPA hopefully coming in later this season I'm starting to feel more confident about our hooking stocks.
Slipper held up well after a shaky end to the super season, but that knee looks like a bit of a worry. Hopefully that game will give Schmidt confidence in the rest of the team to manage his minutes this season.
I thought Slakaia-Loto started well and gave us some noticeable size and thrust, but he did fall away a bit towards the end of the first half. Schmidt mentioned after the match that he had been ill early this week so they were expecting it and the sub for Blyth was more or less planned.
Williams was the best of the debutants for mine, seemed to be heavily involved and doing a lot at pace and with Force. There will probably be question marks over his size going forward, but he did look like he could hang at 6 rather than lock if needed.
Wright had a great debut captaincy. Excellent in the lineout and well involved at the ruck. Not to tested as far as decision making goes, but I was at leas pleased to see him take the early points on offer. It's a mistake plenty of other Wallaby captains have made.
McReight was unlucky with the yellow at the maul but otherwise had an industrious if quiet (for him) game. His steal at the end was great to see, effectively shut the door on the Welsh with a few minutes to go.
I thought Valetini started a little bit quiet but was massive in the second half. Really lifted the team with some strong carries and big hits in defence. Probably could use a bit more support in the carry, could need selection changes but I think it's more about us building a bit more fluency into our attacking structures at this stage - we were generally taking the ball a bit flat footed and there are only so many players who can reliable generate go forward like that.
I was impressed with Gordon, that was easily his best game in gold and the first time he's looked like he can cope at this level. I'm still not entirely convinced he can ratchet up the pace or stick with the game when the opposition does (which is where he has been caught out at this level previously) but on the evidence of last night he has absolutely earned more time to prove it.
Lolesio had an up and down game, but I was happy to see him play with confidence to try things and not retreat into his shell. It's always going to be a bit harder for the playmakers as we bring in new players and new structures all at once. The cross field kicks were a mixed bag but they were clearly an intentional strategy for the team.
Daugunu was solid if a bit erratic. His kick chase was excellent and he generally ran with pace and power doing a good job winning the contact area. I agree his clearing kicks weren't great, but he was generally making them because he had to. With Wright and Kellaway in the back 3 I don't think the plan is for him to take exits. More time together should help there.
Paisami seems to have been the target of a lot of ire here but I thought he was pretty solid overall. The early use of dual playmakers with him and Lolesio was looking good but the Welsh defence really focused on shutting that down and closing off the outside options. He generally carried strongly and recycled well when he did, as we get our forwards better integrated into the attacking structure he'll have a lot more opportunity to break the line and out people away. The kicking is the same as for Noah and I think he was probably another victim of us generally playing to shallow and flat footed. Was also one of our better defenders.
A quiet game for Flook, not to unexpected as we build into new structures, particularly with a Welsh defence really keen to shut the passing lanes down. He was solid in defence and really good on kick chase though.
Kellaway was pretty reliable if not spectacular (although he was fingertips away from a screamer of a try). Very busy in the first half and provided a really good counterpoint to Wright. Keen to see them develop that back three connection further.
Wright had a bit of trademark rocks and diamonds game, but the one big shiny diamond definitely outweighed the rocks here. Just a brilliantly taken try that will likely be playing on repeat in the heads of the Welsh defence all week. A few of the rocks too were down to the team rust and new combinations too, he should hopefully settle a bit into the role after a confidence building win.
Bench as a whole was pretty solid and I was glad to see them largely all used. Kailea was probably the stand out of them once he settled his nerves, but it was also great to see Lynagh so composed at this level in his short stint.
Overall it was good to see a relatively organised Wallabies side playing to a plan. Patterns seemed a bit simple overall which is not too surprising and we were probably a too shallow and flat footed which let the Welsh defence really get in our face, but I get the feeling Schmidt is taking everything back to basics and building up brick by brick. Discipline needs work but there were green shoots there, lineout and scrum were excellent which is a joy to see and should make it that easier to build the foundations of the rest of our game.
Very happy we came out of that unscathed as far as injuries and bans are concerned.
It'll be interesting to see what Schmidt does next week. I'd be tempted to keep at least the starting 15 the same, but he does seem committed to a bit of experimentation, at least with the locks. I'm not sure Wales have a lot of quick improvement in them to worry about, compared to us at the very start of our international season, but running Costelow at 10 might give them a bit more bite in attack.
liquor box
Peter Sullivan (51)
I think he had some that I would not describe as a completed tackle, but just like his attitude he never gave up and held on to their feet long enough for help to arrive.
Wilson
Phil Kearns (64)
It wouldn't be half as annoying if they had properly looked at and prepared the footage, and interventions were actually relevant. As it stands there's a 30 second break while they cue it up, only for them to need to find another angle and still a good 50+% of them end in the ref saying nothing to see here, let's get on with the game.
House is on Fire
Frank Nicholson (4)
Pretty hard to take much out of that apart from commending the effort on the ball and in defence. They didn't have structures and shapes sorted yet which led to lots of disharmony in attack. I fully expect any team coached by Schmidt to develop these systems, but last night, as Laurie Fisher put it at half time, they just had to keep it tight and keep working up the guts. They were good enough to win just through their work on the ball, by winning the collisions and a little bit of individual brilliance at times.
Noah is a good 10 and Hunter is a good 12, but unless there are options and players in motion to put the defence into two minds it's almost impossible for a 10 / 12 to do much damage. Noah only had one option almost every time he got the ball, he was pushing his passes a bit looking for the space but any good defence is going to be able to read that attacking shape. And therefore Hunter (and Flook) were well closed down.
Jake Gordon is very slow at clearing the ball.
Still too many errors all across the park.
Obviously maul defence needs some work.
Thought Cale was impressive off the bench, he's a good man to bring on late. Kailea was awesome. Tom Lynagh is brave and did excellently on defence but didn't get any opportunity in attack.
Valetini MOTM
Noah is a good 10 and Hunter is a good 12, but unless there are options and players in motion to put the defence into two minds it's almost impossible for a 10 / 12 to do much damage. Noah only had one option almost every time he got the ball, he was pushing his passes a bit looking for the space but any good defence is going to be able to read that attacking shape. And therefore Hunter (and Flook) were well closed down.
Jake Gordon is very slow at clearing the ball.
Still too many errors all across the park.
Obviously maul defence needs some work.
Thought Cale was impressive off the bench, he's a good man to bring on late. Kailea was awesome. Tom Lynagh is brave and did excellently on defence but didn't get any opportunity in attack.
Valetini MOTM
Linerunner2023
Watty Friend (18)
Wouldn’t say daylight
ABs won easily against SA in rugby champs last year and France and Ireland are pretty level pegging beating SA recently and NZ still hold the rugby champs
SA beat all 3 by one point in the RWC play offs so they could have easily been sent home in the quarter finals
There is a genuine top 5 now with England improving to those standards
Aus on 8 beating an 11th ranked wales sides who has lost a huge amount of experience was a start
Lyall
Herbert Moran (7)
And did Liam only attempt three tackles in what, 60 minutes? Still, from a site that said McReight achieved zero turnovers...
Sword of Justice
Nev Cottrell (35)
Are we doing 321s this year? Would be many candidates without too many absolute superstars, ie the sign of a team effort.
Strewthcobber
Simon Poidevin (60)
For McReight, the one late was a neck roll foul play penalty. Was there any others?
KiwiM
Arch Winning (36)
What was that about negative comments?
whitefalcon
Alex Ross (28)
I haven't seen it mentioned yet, but as a Noah fan I did notice he seemed REALLY vocal with directing the plays, even if it seemed he didnt get the ball much which is interesting as the previous feedback to him seemed to be around his game management and "voice"
Interestingly Paisami seemed to be at first receiver a lot too.
Interestingly Paisami seemed to be at first receiver a lot too.
Strewthcobber
Simon Poidevin (60)
Liam Wright came off holding his shoulder. Will be interesting to see if anything comes of that
Strewthcobber
Simon Poidevin (60)
