Ok, mine:
Same team. No rotation, we play our strongest team we have all three games against the Welsh. I'm sick of this 'ah fuck it we can drop a game here and there, we'll jsut concentrate on the big games' attitude. Mostly because we then are not accustomed to winning, and lose those big games.
Front row, the only decision to be made is tighthead. Fuck mobility, I want a rock solid scrum against the Welsh. There is a reputation about the Wallaby scrum we need to lose, NOW. Otherwise we will continue to get shafted by clueless refs and lose games because of it, eg Ireland at the WC.
Horwill is obvious, but for the other place i'd go Simmons. I know he's not been great against the Bulls and Force, but he was good in every other game, and is one of our best prospects. He needs to really up his game though, or he shouldn't be picked. Hugh Pyle has been superb though, and I want these two locks in the starting/bench role. Sharpe will never win us anything, Vickerman is just permanently broken.
Backrow, we have a 6 and 8 to choose. Higginbotham is still a total seagull, but he's a good seagull. He's fast and elusive running the ball, and pits in some big hits. However, he would need to be paired with a hard, tight working 8, who makes metres with the ball in contact, is good at the breakdown, and plays to his size. Vaea is that man. Palu is another Sharpe. Flat track bully, who just isn't a winner. In addition, he plays well below his weight, for the 4 games a year he manages to get onto the field. He's not performed to the level that everyone said he was capable of (6 years ago). He's getting old, and run down with injury, and will not be getting any better. Vaea most certainly will.
The halves are tough. Whoever we go with, should be playign together at Super rugby level. Genia and Cooper are the obvious front runners, as a pair, but Genia is playing very poorly without Cooper. If Quade comes back strongly, and Genia picks his shit up, then those two. Otherwise, on form it is Nic White and Christian Lealiifano. Barnes an obvious contender, but his tactical kicking is very, very average. He may land a few good one's each game, but as a percentage of how often he kicks it, he's poor. The games that he decides to run it, and pass, he's been great, eg the Sharks, so if he was ordered to never kick in general play, i'd be ok with him. (Yes yes he gave us the field position for the penalty against the Boks. How many times did he kick it? What did he do when he came off the bench against the AB's the next week? Kicked every fucking ball straight to Corey Jane, even though we were down, and looked far more dangerous when we ran it). Defense an obvious plus.
Centres are important. Justin Beiber is the 12, simple. Fuck off with your 'flyhalf' bollocks. Outside is tricky. I want someone to straighten the attack, organise the defensive line, and tackle himself to a standstill. This is either Fainga'a, McCabe, or AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) obviously the better attacker, but his utility value on the wing cant be forgotten about, especially with Mitchell and Turner both gone. I prefer Fainga'a, because of his breakdown work (topped the Reds for pilfers last year), and the fact that he at the very least will run at SPACE, if he goes for it. More often than not, he'll draw a defender and then offload to a better ball runner. However, he's injured and will need to prove his form before selection, so at this stage i'd be going with McCabe, who appears to have finally had the 'spaces not faces' motto punched into him.
The other very very important factor to think about with the centres, is how well they will work TOGETHER. Combinations like McCabe/Fainga'a will never work, because they play the same style of game. You pair a creative, elusive centre, with a hard running, hard defender, eg Giteau/Mortlock, Nonu/Smith. So because Beiber is the 12, you need a hard hitting defender, and a straight runner at 13. If McCabe is picked at 12, you would have to play a creative, elusive 13 to counter him. The combination must work together. No Rob Horne, just stop suggesting him. His defence has been terrible, his attack mediocre. He played 4-5 great games for the Tahs when he first came onto the scene and has done nothing special since. Like Palu, we keep hearing about his potential ability if he stayed in form/uninjured for long enough, but he never has. He should stay in Super rugby until he justifies selection with form over a full season of rugby.
1. Robinson
2. Moore
3. Palmer
4. Horwill
5. Simmons.
6. Higgnbotham
7. Pocock
8. Vaea
9. Genia/White
10. Cooper/Lealiifano/Barnes.
12. Beiber
13. McCabe (Fainga'a if he returns strongly)
11. Ioane
14. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
15. Beale.
16. Nau
17. Alexander
18. Simmons/Pyle
19. Mowen/Higginbotham
20. White/Genia
21. Barnes/Cooper/Lealiifano
22. Horses for courses. Perhaps another centre (Tapuai), or a winger (Shipperly/Kingston?)
WINNING EVERYTHING is the priority, over everything else. We need to establish a winning culture, or we won't win a game against the Lions, and be the first SH side to lose to them in 20 odd years. If we do, i'll shank Deans myself.
