Wallaby 31 players for 2015 RWC
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Stirling Mortlock (74)
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Peter Sullivan (51)
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No reserve halfback?
You'd expect AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) to make the 23 every day of the week. His versitility, being able to play 11-15 at a pinch would make him more valuable to your team, whether at 14, 22 or 23.
As for McCabe, I'm jumping in Bob Dwyers boat (fuck me right!?). I'd love to see Lilo play the house down and force his way into the 12 jersey for the Brumbies in the hope that McCabe can play the rest of the season at 13. He's very Mortlock-esque, with newfound ball distributing skills to boot.
1. Slipper
2. Moore
3. Kepu
4. Fardy
5. Simmons
6. Higgers
7. Hooper
8. Palu
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Speight
12. To'omua
13. McCabe
14. JOC (James O'Connor)
15. Beale
Alexander, TPN, Sio, Horwill, McCalman, White, Beale, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
Bairdy
Peter Fenwicke (45)
He has been supplanted by Kurtley Beale to start.
Meanwhile we have his namesake K. Beale (as in Kay Beale, like Homer Jay Simpson) for the inside back bench spot.
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
You'd get more of the skills with Speight, Mogg, Folau imo. And much less disruption to team harmony and dynamics. Crawford also offers a huge kicking capability.
Viking
Mark Ella (57)
JOC (James O'Connor) has proven he is a world-class winger, he was one of the best performing wallabies at the last RWC. Probably even the form winger of the whole comp.
Mogg is too fresh for Test footy, he has a habit of cracking under the pressure and his defence is still questionable. His defence is rarely Tested at super xv level so you don't notice it as much. Falou will also have the 15 jersey this year so I don't think he will be getting much game-time before the RWC15.
Bairdy
Peter Fenwicke (45)
I would've thought you as Brumbies supporter would be championing Mogg for higher honours. Jokes aside, Link seems to rate Mogg, if his comments from 2013 were anything to go by, so I think he will get some game time between now and 2015.
To be honest I think Mogg's decision making under pressure has improved this year, and continues to improve, especially when he chooses his moments to run or to kick on counterattack. His defence, though, is still suspect - I'll give you that - and it's prevalent when he runs left to right, i.e. a few times this year he's let in tries on the right side of the field as the last line of defence. He's often left sitting in the dirt because he tries to cover both the ball carrier and his support at once instead of taking the right option in defence.
I see the advantages, though, in playing him on the wing in a Wallabies back 3 (like how the All Blacks eased Ben Smith into the team by playing 14, even though he consistently carves up at Super Rugby level, at 15), especially if it contains Folau and one of Cummins/AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)/etc., primarily for the tactical kicking. But his defence would need to improve to the point where it is not a liability at test level.
Brumby Runner
Jason Little (69)
Moggy seems to be very much a confidence player. When his confidence is up, he can do almost anything in attack or in his kicking game, eg in the Blues' game he took three or four high ball screamers under pressure and then made good ground in traffic on a couple of those occasions. Also, his kicking was awesome, long and accurate.
But I agree, I'd like to see an improvement in his tackling technique if he is to make the test team again. In my above comment, I was making a point that imo he offers more than JOC (James O'Connor) if he were to play on the wing, especially in regards to team harmony and dynamics.
something
Jim Clark (26)
so we generally have 9 or 10 backs in the 23
Genia, Cooper, To'omua, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Izzy, Speight, Kurindrani, Beale, JOC (James O'Connor) & a halfback (bolded are definitefor mine)
if you had those 10 you have back up for every position
9. Genia (other hb)
10. Cooper (beale)
11. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) (JOC (James O'Connor))
12. To'omua (JOC (James O'Connor)/beale)
13. Kurindrani (AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper))
14. Speight (JOC (James O'Connor))
15. Izzy (JOC (James O'Connor)/beale)
with JOC (James O'Connor), beale and the hb benched.... works pretty well in my opinion theyre both danger subs and would rip against tired defence
i think next guys in line are like the badg, mccabe, mogg, few more of the halfbacks haha, lilo
Genia, Cooper, To'omua, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Izzy, Speight, Kurindrani, Beale, JOC (James O'Connor) & a halfback (bolded are definitefor mine)
if you had those 10 you have back up for every position
9. Genia (other hb)
10. Cooper (beale)
11. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) (JOC (James O'Connor))
12. To'omua (JOC (James O'Connor)/beale)
13. Kurindrani (AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper))
14. Speight (JOC (James O'Connor))
15. Izzy (JOC (James O'Connor)/beale)
with JOC (James O'Connor), beale and the hb benched.... works pretty well in my opinion theyre both danger subs and would rip against tired defence
i think next guys in line are like the badg, mccabe, mogg, few more of the halfbacks haha, lilo
I think that Genia is under big pressure from White and Phipps,
I think you have to way a few things up in terms of the selection of JOC (James O'Connor) over say a McCabe, JOC (James O'Connor) has a ton of ability there is no doubting that but could his inclusion dismantle the squad a little bit? I dare say he wouldnt dare put a foot out of line but is there some lingering resentment from clean skin guys like Moore, Howill and the like.
McCabe is one guy in Australia that if I was deep in the dark trenches I want next to me. Tough as nails and a great competitor, maybe a better choice
An important thing for the success of the Wallabies in the next couple of years is for McKenzie not to have any undroppable players.
He dropped Genia to the bench for a couple of games last year which was a good sign given his form. The same should apply this year. We all know how good Genia is at his best, but when he's not playing well, other players need to be given a chance. White, Phipps and Burgess are all in good form and have varying strengths. McKenzie would be crazy to persist with an out of form player given that we have reasonable depth in most positions.
That said, the Wallabies will do their best if Genia is at 9 and playing well. When in good form, he's clearly our best halfback.
He dropped Genia to the bench for a couple of games last year which was a good sign given his form. The same should apply this year. We all know how good Genia is at his best, but when he's not playing well, other players need to be given a chance. White, Phipps and Burgess are all in good form and have varying strengths. McKenzie would be crazy to persist with an out of form player given that we have reasonable depth in most positions.
That said, the Wallabies will do their best if Genia is at 9 and playing well. When in good form, he's clearly our best halfback.
something
Jim Clark (26)
genia will be in the 23. i personally dont mind whether he is or not and i believe that the other halfbacks are playing better this season, but as someone pointed out earlier with the nonu thing, he has proven experience.
I agree re: JOC (James O'Connor) but im a firm believer that he will swing around. KB (Kurtley Beale) and QC (Quade Cooper) both did it and i think theyre a few years older? he is still so young
I agree re: JOC (James O'Connor) but im a firm believer that he will swing around. KB (Kurtley Beale) and QC (Quade Cooper) both did it and i think theyre a few years older? he is still so young
Unlike Nonu, if Genia is playing poorly in Super Rugby, he generally plays poorly in test rugby.
When he was struggling for form last year, it wasn't like his performances were markedly different from one competition to the other.
When he was struggling for form last year, it wasn't like his performances were markedly different from one competition to the other.
Viking
Mark Ella (57)
Yes It was hard to admit being a Brumbies supporter and a big Mogg fan, but he is still questionable and has to prove himself at Test level whereas JOC (James O'Connor) doesnt. Although I agree the potential is definitely there and he is improving nicely.
Also he hasn't had much time defending on the wing as he solely plays at fullback so that could be a concern as well. I really do hope he steps up though, his kicking game is superb and would definitely get us out of trouble at times.
Viking
Mark Ella (57)
The problem I see with having McCabe in the squad is his similarity in style to the others which are likely to be selected. He doesn't balance out the squad nicely.
For example if you got AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), To'omua and Cummins in the squad, they are all hard direct runners. Then your adding McCabe too who is also a direct hard runner. Whereas if you put JOC (James O'Connor) in then you get something different, a player with fancy footwork who instead of running hard into gaps he creates gaps.
I am all about a balanced team. So I if McCabe was in the team on the wing it would have to be at the expense of Cummins or AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper).
Tomikin
David Codey (61)
Well stuff JOC (James O'Connor) and pick Lealiifano he can cover the back 3 if needed.
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Viking
Mark Ella (57)
i'll throw Morahan's name out there. I think he could well be one of the dark horse's that steps up and does well.
The reason, when he first came on the scene I was very impressed with his running game. Then his game verse the B&I Lions was amazing, 2 try saving tackles, and a superb solo try. So thats some pretty good evidence he could handle the Test arena. He has size and speed, not 100% sure about his kicking game but i've read earlier in this post it was pretty good.
Although not setting the world on fire at the moment I think he will be one to watch out for come RWC15.
The reason, when he first came on the scene I was very impressed with his running game. Then his game verse the B&I Lions was amazing, 2 try saving tackles, and a superb solo try. So thats some pretty good evidence he could handle the Test arena. He has size and speed, not 100% sure about his kicking game but i've read earlier in this post it was pretty good.
Although not setting the world on fire at the moment I think he will be one to watch out for come RWC15.
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