Wallaby 31 players for 2015 RWC

[topgun]

Naiyaravoro's not ready. He's basically a less experienced version of Nadolo.

Isn't that all the more reason to keep him in Australia? We already lost Nadolo, a Nudgee college graduate and possible wallaby to the crusaders and the Fijian national team (granted he was shite at the time). Why not strive to keep this big unit, even if it means playing him on interchange at the rugby championship?

 

[Marcelo]

Oh god, what rubbish...

The only good test match of Tomame that I can remember was against Argentina at Rosario 2013. I like To'omua, Leali'ifano, Kuridrani, Speight and many others Brumby players, isn't an attack, just an opinion

 

[Braveheart81]

Isn't that all the more reason to keep him in Australia? We already lost Nadolo, a Nudgee college graduate and possible wallaby to the crusaders and the Fijian national team (granted he was shite at the time). Why not strive to keep this big unit, even if it means playing him on interchange at the rugby championship?

I think it is lame to try and keep someone in the country by giving them a Wallaby cap that probably won't be justified.

 

[KOB1987]

Agreed, if he is seen as potential Wallaby then a Wallaby A jersey should keep him interested rather than a giving him a cap for the sake of it..

 

[Slim 293]

The only good test match of Tomame that I can remember was against Argentina at Rosario 2013. I like To'omua, Leali'ifano, Kuridrani, Speight and many others Brumby players, isn't an attack, just an opinion

It's a lazy opinion to suggest someone as just being "bad", particularly when it's far from the truth..............

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Playing TK at 12 is hardly weird, it just involves playing two centres instead of two playmakers..just like the ABs still do and every other nation (including ours until recently) has done for an eternity.

That said, I will concede that the Cooper/To'omua version of the dual playmaker setup pushed all the right buttons..but that involves QC (Quade Cooper) being both fit and in form.

I guess it depends on how you look at centre pairings. My own view is that you need a distributor and a crasher. A rapier and a sledgehammer if you will. A look at the current All Black pairing (possibly their best ever) tells me that Nonu is the brawny crasher and Smith is the classy distributor. It's a combination that works very well, just like Horan and Herbert did all those years ago. The big thing for me with a potential shift of TK to 12 is the obvious candidate at 13 would be AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper). Hmmm. That's two similar players in the midfield and a significant sacrificing of passing/distribution. Defensively it would kick arse, but in attack I think we would be sitting bemoaning the fact that Izzy et al wouldn't be getting enough of the pill.

 

[Braveheart81]

Is there a 12 in world rugby with a better passing and short kicking game than Nonu?

I think people underrate just how good he is as a ballplayer because he is also massive.

 

[Wilson]

Yeah he's really developed it over the past couple of years, but that does just serve to emphasise the need for distribution in your centre pairing.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

Is there a 12 in world rugby with a better passing and short kicking game than Nonu?

I think people underrate just how good he is as a ballplayer because he is also massive.

I would say that To'omua is a better passer of the ball (as was Giteau in his prime), but Nonu is the overall better 12 at the moment. The big knock against him for the longest time was that he never passed the ball and went himself too often. He's fixed that and the AB's were massively better off for it. Smith has always been a stellar player, right from day one.

 

[Braveheart81]

I agree that To'omua is a better passer of the ball but I'm not sure we've seen the same quality of decision making in terms of the overall passing game at test level yet that Nonu has shown for the last 4 or so years.

To'omua has all the necessary abilities to be a great test 12. Hopefully he continues to grow into the role.

 

[KOB1987]

I should just qualify that my original statement wasn't necessarily advocating a move of TK to 12, it was more driven by the current state of play at the Tahs whereby Izzy is being used at 13 from the attacking set plays..more importantly is that he is being highly effective there and most importantly he is openly saying he is enjoying being closer to the action. So it's a by-product of that and if Izzy at 13 is considered for the Wallabies then it becomes a case of 'what to do with Tevita'..so I'm only suggesting it's an option and realistically it will come down to who is fit and in form come October.

All being fit and in form we would most likely see 10. Cooper 12. To'omua 13. Kuridrani, but I think To'omua is the key element here..if for whatever reason he can't be considered then we are fairly exposed. Lilo is the next obvious choice..I know all the Godwin-ites, Kerevi-ites, Inman-ites etc will come out in their support but we are talking about a world cup here.

Now that Larkham is assistant Wallabies coach, particularly in a RWC year, it's not easy to understand why he doesn't switch Lilo and To'omua around at the Ponies..

For those that haven't read any of the Izzy at 13 press, here's one:
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/03/23/folau-wallabies-centre-option

 

[Ruggo]

Is there a 12 in world rugby with a better passing and short kicking game than Nonu?

I think people underrate just how good he is as a ballplayer because he is also massive.

The most impressing thing about Nonu for mine is how he evolved over his career. He started out as just a big bastard then went onto develop one of the best skill sets in the game.

 

[hammertimethere]

Long term I think the dual playmaker model at the Wallabies will die out and we will see a backline that looks to place it's key distributors at 10, 15 and 14 with JOC (James O'Connor) hanging around. That leaves you with 11, 12 and 13 in primarily ball carrying roles. I'm more of a fan of this model than the current one in MOST circumstances.


But it's too late in the piece for that prior to the RWC.

For the RWC:
9 Phipps
10 Cooper
11 Speight
12 To'omua
13 TK
14 JOC (James O'Connor)
15 Folau

21. Genia
22. Beale or Foley
23. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) or HB depending on if you see Izzy as 13 cover

Would be what I would hope for subject to injury and form fluctuation

Post RWC:
9 Phipps
10 To'omua or Quade (leaving?)
11. Speight
12. Izzy
13. TK
14. JOC (James O'Connor)
15. Beale or someone else if he fucks off

21. Who knows
22. 10/15 option
23. Power runner (Tomane, Naiyavoro etc.)

 

[Froggy]

The 10 position is interesting. Many here have Cooper at 10, and I agree if he gets back to his best he is our best. However, his best is about two years ago, in my opinion he has a lot of ground to cover to get in front of Foley, who lacks Cooper's brilliance but is a solid performer that the rest of the backs may find easier to work off.

I agree that it's going to be tough for specialist wingers, with utility options like Horne, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) JOC (James O'Connor) etc around, but if you were going to select between Tomane & Nayarovoro, my selection would be big T. I don't think either defend well enough at this stage, but I think the big fella is a more dangerous runner, and is improving rapidly, while I'm not sure Joe is.

Of course, Speight & Cummins are both safer selections for a specialist winger.

 

[Viking]

Is there a 12 in world rugby with a better passing and short kicking game than Nonu?

I think people underrate just how good he is as a ballplayer because he is also massive.

Exactly. The guys who want to see TK at 12 expect him to have the same effect as a Nonu or SBW. But they forget the ball skills of Nonu and SBW are very good. Both good distributors with long ball skills. TK whilst can compete with their running games is no-where near the level of ballplayer.

 

[topgun]

Agreed, if he is seen as potential Wallaby then a Wallaby A jersey should keep him interested rather than a giving him a cap for the sake of it..

He has signed a three year deal with Edinburgh which has an opt out clause if he is selected for the Wallabies. it isn't about 'keeping him interested' its about keeping him in Australian rugby, especially as he shows the most potential to be a dominant international winger.

I think it is lame to try and keep someone in the country by giving them a Wallaby cap that probably won't be justified.

If his current form continues, I think it will be completely justified however with as much competition as there is there are obvious issues.

 

[Marcelo]

Post RWC:
9 Phipps
10 To'omua or Quade (leaving?)
11. Speight
12. Izzy
13. TK
14. JOC (James O'Connor)
15. Beale

Izzy post RWC??? Did you heard something about it or is it just your faith?

Because the Media believe that he's going to Europe or he will return to the NRL

 

[southsider]

He has signed a three year deal with Edinburgh which has an opt out clause if he is selected for the Wallabies. it isn't about 'keeping him interested' its about keeping him in Australian rugby, especially as he shows the most potential to be a dominant international winger.


If his current form continues, I think it will be completely justified however with as much competition as there is there are obvious issues.

I think that is not in the best interest of big T or international rugby. Giving him a token cap in the hope one day he will be good as opposed to a very good payday in Edinburgh and almost certain inclusion in the Fiji squad. Wallabies have a abundance of wingers and I'm not sure big T will ever be a regular wallaby member, don't make him a one hit wonder at test level just to keep him at the tahs

 

[Highlander35]

Edinburgh isn't going to pay £175k a year for an unproven winger to sit out on the wing. If they wanted that, they'd have re-signed Tim Visser.

The SRU want Lightning to strike thrice and for Mr Unpronounceable to replicate the performances of Leone Nakarawa and Nikola Matawalu at Glasgow, but this time, they want him to wear the Navy Blue at International level.

Think if he's off to the Gunners, he won't be in any international jersey for a few years yet.

 

[Braveheart81]

Surely he has a Scottish grandparent?

What about old Hamish McNaiyaravoro?