There appear to be some bizarre selections in the team for Tuesday but no doubt there is some logic to it.
When this extra test was announced and Deans said that he would use Qld and Force players predominantly yours truly said:
- the team against Scotland wouldn't be a real test team
- the Tuesday test would impact on the 1st test against Wales and some Qld players who had to front against Scotland could be disadvantaged by being rested, or not started, on Saturday.
- the real Wallaby team wouldn't play until the 2nd test against Wales
It wasn't rocket science and other folks said the same things.
Now we have actually picked the team it is good to see the the net has been cast wider: there is a fair blend of Brumbies, who played on Friday, and even a Rebel, plus some long-suffering Tahs who "played" last night.
It's a relief to see Squeaky Moore starting at 2, though I don't know why Deans persists with Fainga'a as the 3rd squad hooker. I hope that he gives him a warning not to be a penalty magnet at the breakdown, or else. Squeaky is not Snow White in that department, but Saia is often The Wicked Witch.
I have just realised that LHP Jacobsen is not touring for the Scots, though I'm not sure why; so Palmer shouldn't have too many problems directly against a LHP who is brand new himself - and besides: Palmer was rested on Friday night. Slipper will have a harder job against pot plant Murray, but the Scot is not the same scrummager without Jacobsen as the LHP. Often the forces generated on one side of the scrum works for the other side - and vice versa: when one guy is missing the other one suffers.
I was pleased to see the estimable Dennis named to start in his first test match, but he had a hard game against the Canes and I doubt if he will be 100% by Tuesday night. I am sure that Timani won't be, because he has a chronic shoulder problem. Deans is probably keeping Simmons fresh for Saturday and rolling the dice on Timani in his quest to find a TH lock for the Lions next year. Or he could just be balancing Sharpie's lack of grunt.
There will be enough good men for the Wobs lineout, but that is a strong point of the Scots and our hookers will have to practise some lob throws to get the ball over the hands of the young giant, Gray, if they hoist him at two as they do at Glasgow on defence.
Talking of Dennis: I would have been tempted to swap him with Higgers as I remember his pick up from the back of the scrum being cleaner for the Tahs last year than when Higgers has played 8 for the Reds.
Pocock is a no brainer. However I'm yet to be convinced of his ability as an on field captain except in the "follow me" style, though it's probably the only call they could have made with Sharpe a lame duck. Ideally the captain should be a captain-coach on game day: a Sharpie or Waugh type, but there is not a forward who fits that description in the expanded squad. Moore is closest and it's a pity that he is so abrasive as he could have been Brumbies and Wallabies captain now.
Deans must be saving Quade for later, which is a shame because I doubt that Barnes will be in any mood to run a backline on Tuesday night. The Oz midfield will not sparkle but neither will the Scots. It will be interesting to see Tomane start as a Wallaby winger after he was plucked out of league, after they plucked him out of the Oz Schoolboys rugby union team years ago and broke my heart. Morahan, who was the other Qld wing in that year when Tomane was the player of the Oz Schools tournament, deserves his fullback spot after his last two games for the Reds and we will all wish him well.
If the Wobs starting line up is experimental, its bench is damn strong. I know that I have given Alexander faint praise as a scrummager in the past, but he looks better this year, though more likely my original assessment was bunk.
I have a sense of deja vu writing this post. IIRR I said 12 months ago that the team versus Samoa was in no way the best one but it would be good to see some peripheral guys in action before the RWC squad was announced. However, I didn't expect them to perform so badly as individuals because they were new to each other. I hope that we don't have the same experience this year against Scotland.
PS There is one missing individual from last year that I wouldn't mind having in Newcastle come Tuesday. God knows he did not perform well in 2011 against Samoa, but the forecast for Tuesday is "windy and rain".
We should have Gerrard on the team bus.
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