Wallaby 31 players for 2015 RWC

[gold heart]

Group A is the fun Group ... Screw the group of death... Latest rankings have us at 2, England at 4, Wales at 5 and Fiji at 9.... Awesome. Poor ol paddies have slipped on a pot of gold down to 6.

 

[Ollie_Keats]

why is there so much hate for quade? bernard foley is equal if not worse at defending, can hardly kick the ball 40m and has no conenction with Genia who is the only half back in the squad who can pass the ball effectively

 

[Rugbynutter39]

No hate for Cooper - just too inconsistent a player for what want at flyhalf...which is a view held by many....

And just felt that way for years the way he played including last world cup.

If Cooper could play a couple of tests (not just one off) where he showed me he is the goods I would happily support him as starting 10 as I don't want any player who plays for Australia to not succeed.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Great first post @Ollie_Keats.

Welcome to Gaggerland.

I think you are going to enjoy your time here.

 

[Scotty]

The big question mark for me is how do you use Skelton. Presuming Pooper starts the game, do you really want to take either off the field? That potentially leaves you with line-out issues in the final 30 minutes.

I suppose they simply need to be very creative and for the hookers to nail their throws.

They've shown their hand on this already - they will simply run 4 man lineouts with this combo on the field.

However I can't see how Skelton can play against the welsh or English anyway - he is also our weakest scrummaging lock and we can't take a chance against those teams.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Of course all selections are dependent on players not being injured. I think it's easier to assume that Sio will be available to play prop than any other permutations at this stage.

I really don't mind who Cheika chooses at halfback. Phipps needs better protection as he'll be passing from the base of the ruck and every test this year has seen the reserve halfback look better than the starting one.

If Genia starts he needs to play up to the speed our breakdown work allows us to play at. If Phipps starts he needs to not try and play at a faster pace than our breakdown work is allowing us.

But in this instance, someone else's injury will keep Sio out of the starting lineup, not provide an opportunity for him to play. That is a very big difference imo.

 

[Brumby Runner]

Also, one of Phipps or Genia might get injured which will mean giteau will have to cover for halfback. Additionally, either pocock or hooper might pick up a niggle which means we won't be able to field the pooper which could derail the whole campaign. On top of that TK might be out too which will mean AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) will have to start at 13 and Horne will need to be in the 23 somewhere to cover if AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) gets hurt in the game. Not to mention if Izzy picks up a sniffle and KB (Kurtley Beale) has to start at fullback. Sheesh, what a shambles.


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You miss the very important point @KOB. If one of the Hookers or half backs is injured in a manner that puts them out for one match, then someone who is otherwise a starting player gets relegated to the bench. This is not the same as an injury providing an opportunity for one of the bench players to get a start.

 

[Joe Blow]

As far as I can see the starting and reserve halves are the only real question along with the locks.

I am willing to bet we see Phipps and Foley start with QC (Quade Cooper) not in the 23 for the Fiji game. Thats his go to pair and he will call on them again. No need for a backup 10 with To'omua on the bench and Gits starting.

The best performed lock through the RC and last week was Mumm in my book. Despite this he will be on the bench as the back-up backrower freeing up a spot for Skelton. Cheika loves what Skelton brings and with the Pooper starting he may not go for a back-up 8 opting for a finishing pack with some real beef in it.....with one eye on the England game.

Skelton and McCalman with be duking it out for the last spot and against England one would think Skelton will get the nod. Palu will not come into calculations at this point.

Pretty exciting and we have a full strength side going into the RWC. It's been a while since we have had that.

 

[emuarse]

Also, one of Phipps or Genia might get injured which will mean giteau will have to cover for halfback. Additionally, either pocock or hooper might pick up a niggle which means we won't be able to field the pooper which could derail the whole campaign. On top of that TK might be out too which will mean AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) will have to start at 13 and Horne will need to be in the 23 somewhere to cover if AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) gets hurt in the game. Not to mention if Izzy picks up a sniffle and KB (Kurtley Beale) has to start at fullback. Sheesh, what a shambles.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[emuarse]

At least people don't seriously now expect Cooper to start.

Sanity finally prevailing

You are entitled to your opinions RN, but the worry is that Foley, playing against a 2nd tier side, did nothing in play to make me say, "he's the man for fly half". His conversion kicking was good on the day, but he showed no versatility around the field, with either halfback, which in turn allowed the Eagle backs defence to dominate our backs in our attack.
If Foley was good in the position, he should have played in the second Bledisloe. But I suspect Cheika was protecting him.
Cooper on his day is still out & out the best 5/8 for the Wallabies.
Cheika has now twice played him out of position, which has to be somewhat unsettling.

 

[I like to watch]

Pretty much agree with that.
But for better or worse,the die is cast in regards to our starting 10 it would appear.

 

[Slim 293]

The Foley/Giteau 10-12 partnership has just not worked so far, and that we definitely need a more direct player such To'omua in inside centre...........

I don't buy into this talk that he's a "finisher"..............

He was our best performing inside back throughout the RC, and we can't continue to be going sideways for the first hour of every match and chasing down deficits.

I would've liked to have seen Giteau given a shot in the 10 jersey at some point during the RC but it's too late now..........

Foley has done enough to be our starting 10 with Cooper failing to impress in any of his opportunities..............

This is definitely the most underwhelming set of halves Australia has ever taken into a RWC.

 

[KOB1987]

You miss the very important point @KOB. If one of the Hookers or half backs is injured in a manner that puts them out for one match, then someone who is otherwise a starting player gets relegated to the bench. This is not the same as an injury providing an opportunity for one of the bench players to get a start.

No I get the point but the 'unnecessary risk of only taking 2 hookers' argument has been done to death. The coaches had to select 31 players and it's always going to be a compromise. Rightly or wrongly our coaches made the decision that the most important factor was that the 15 key players ALL be rested completely for the Uruguay game. SO that was their compromise, and it was easier to find a test level prop that can play hooker than a hooker that can play prop. Especially considering that (presumably) James Slipper is the back up to your plan A.

For your scenario to eventuate would require that one of our 2 hookers has a non-tournament ending injury that keeps them out of the England game e.g. a grade 2 calf tear. Further to that, it would require that we don't have a tournament ending injury to a player in the whole squad in between now and the England game. A prop or halfback aside, any injury and James Hanson will be the first player called in to the squad.

The point of my post was that we can't cover every contingency perfectly in a 31 man squad. A calculated risk has been taken, but I'm sure they know that.

 

[Strewthcobber]

Foley has done enough to be our starting 10 with Cooper failing to impress in any of his opportunities......

This is definitely the most underwhelming set of halves Australia has ever taken into a RWC.

I do wonder if this is the conversation wed be having if Foley started against SA in the team's first game and then played NZ in Auckland, as well as playing out of position against Arg and USA.

Instead he got Argentina, USA and NZ at home.


In any case you can only play the hands dealt to you, and it would have been easy to not give QC (Quade Cooper) any chance at all to take the position (which he has failed to do)

Foley is the man.

 

[Scotty]

The Foley/Giteau 10-12 partnership has just not worked so far, and that we definitely need a more direct player such To'omua in inside centre.....

I don't buy into this talk that he's a "finisher"......

He was our best performing inside back throughout the RC, and we can't continue to be going sideways for the first hour of every match and chasing down deficits.

I would've liked to have seen Giteau given a shot in the 10 jersey at some point during the RC but it's too late now....

Foley has done enough to be our starting 10 with Cooper failing to impress in any of his opportunities......

This is definitely the most underwhelming set of halves Australia has ever taken into a RWC.

I think Cheika has really missed a trick by not playing To'omua more. For me he is the clear standout 'test class' player in either 10 or 12, but needed more time to settle and gain confidence at 10 in particular.

Defense, field position and directness of attack are the key jobs of a 10-12 in winning a World Cup and out best pairing for this is To'omua and Giteau.

 

[Strewthcobber]

I think Cheika has really missed a trick by not playing To'omua more. For me he is the clear standout 'test class' player in either 10 or 12, but needed more time to settle and gain confidence at 10 in particular.

Defense, field position and directness of attack are the key jobs of a 10-12 in winning a World Cup and out best pairing for this is To'omua and Giteau.

Possibly couldn't play too much of him because of the concussion risk

 

[daz]

why is there so much hate for quade?

Welcome, and to get a deeper understanding of the answer to your question, I suggest you read the following threads here in the forums:

1. QC (Quade Cooper) Negativitity Thread
2. Why is QC (Quade Cooper) in Gold?
3. QC (Quade Cooper) sucks
4. Useless QC (Quade Cooper) v The Other Great Men who play 10 - The definitive analysis
5. I can't believe QC (Quade Cooper) has a contract to play in Oz
6. We all hate QC (Quade Cooper).
7. QC (Quade Cooper) and Dingo Deans - Brothers in the demise of global rugby
8. Quade saves Oz rugby (Archived: Last post in 2011)


I think you will find the above threads have a good balance of pro's and con's. Put on your tin-foil hat and join the conspiracy theorists.

 

[dru]

I do wonder if this is the conversation wed be having if Foley started against SA in the team's first game and then played NZ in Auckland, as well as playing out of position against Arg and USA.

Instead he got Argentina, USA and NZ at home.

In any case you can only play the hands dealt to you, and it would have been easy to not give QC (Quade Cooper) any chance at all to take the position (which he has failed to do)

Foley is the man.

As an unbridled QC (Quade Cooper) fan I can only agree with this. As things have developed Foley has been given time to settle in the combinations. QC (Quade Cooper) has gradually been moved from doing the to 1. The finishing role, 2. The out of position from the bench to improve his options as reserve.

No Foley isn't the full metal, but the option isn't either. Both need to improve going forward, there is a distinct chance that this happens and both are strong for the WBs in their respective roles.

 

[dillyboy]

Maybe cheicka has played Quade out of position as he sees him as the bench 10 but wants him to improve in other positions to be the effective bench option??

 

[wamberal]

If we are a try behind in the last ten minutes I know who I would like to see run onto the field, if he is not already there.


Quade.