Gnostic
Mark Ella (57)
1. Kepu - 6 loses a point for a stupid penalty at the end could be two points off. Very good game in the tight and made a couple of effective runs. Scrum stable to dominant when he went against Smit.
2. Moore - 8 apart from one dropped ball this was a bottler of a game from Moore. Carried very very well, defended, hit rucks and solid at both set pieces.
3. Alexander 7 - got lucky with his first penalty in the scrum but from then on was solid. Not sighted in the loose as much but had a hand in a few turnovers at the ruck with counter ruck work. The cut under the eye looked like he got a bit of head attention in the scrum from Beast boring in.
4. Horwill 8 - thee can be no doubt he is the best lock in Oz now. Strong set piece, defended with aggression and work hand in glove with Sharpe as shown by their counter maul work for a clean turnover of Bok ball.
5. Sharpe 6 - as for Horwill, but wasn't as involved. I would still have him starting alongside Horwill as IMO they form the best complimentary pairing.
6. Elsom 7 - this was the best game I can remember from him since before his Ireland jaunt. Still not a Captain though.
7. Pocock 7 - did well against a strangely lethagic Bok backrow. I would still like to see him play less of the on-ball game and more the counter ruck game ala the McCaw genisis.
8. Higginbum 6 - Harrassed FdP a bit and niggled a few others like Spies, Botha and Habana which put them off their games a bit IMO. Made some metres with ball in hand but also missed a few tackles off the back of the scrum with one big one against Spies. Not convinced he is an 8 but would have him any day over Brown or McCalman. Not really tested on clearing a ball from the scrum as our pigs were solid all night. Samo for me as he showed poise in this aspect with a retreating Reds scrum all year.
9. Genia - 6 not his best game, but it was still daylight ahead of what his rivals bring to the position.
10. Cooper - 6 big change from last weeks nervousness and he under played his hand well. I am still not happy that they play no real set moves of set piece ball.
12. McCabe - 7 did excellently to recover a kick in behind and maintain his feet. Strong in contact as usual and in defence. His positioning in defence is getting better as he gets used to the demands of 12. Did well against World Class opposition in Fourie and JdV. Great tackle on BdP.
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) - 5 doing better without the crab inside him pushing him wide but still isn't in form.
11. Ioane - 5 quiet game from Ioane. dropped one cold and didn't appear to be looking for the work as much.
14. JOC (James O'Connor) - 6 great footwork for McAbe's try. I remain unconvinced that he is a winger. Defended well.
15. Beale - 6 trying too hard. I hate the low percentage chip kicks he has been doing all year, as they invariably find a defender and not the space he was seeking.
16. Fainga'a s. - Not used I doubt he will be going to the RWC unless doubts remain over TPN.
17. Ma'afu - not used what was the point of dropping Cowan for him?
18. Timani - Not used, doubt he will be going to the RWC, why not give Vickerman another 15 minutes since Deans is fixated on him?
19. McCalman - not used, don't think he will be going to the RWC unless as a utility backrow to cover injury.
20. Samo - 6 was strong in his cameo, but I would have loved to see him get some more time to really get a good feel for how he would go in this "structure"
21. Burgess - Not used and as with Splinters Singer Whitaker will only get on the padock if the game is beyond doubt or Genia injured.
22. A. Fainga'a - 7 made a very strong statement for his inclusion in the starting 15 IMO. Pushed the pass with his first touch but if Ioane had been having a better game he would have taken the ball and Fainga'a would have been lauded for the off-load. Offers more than two-dads at the moment simply because he is in form where AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) hasn't been all year.
Coaching staff - 5. Still no structure in the backs to speak of and still rely totally on Player X to make the play.
On the Boks :- I will admit I was done in the tipping as I expected the Boks to have a lot more fire than they did. They appeared lethargic and in some cases slow. They were clearly blowing hard after 30 minutes bringing into question the conditioning staff of the Boks. One word of warning for the RWC, the Boks reserves showed immense impact when they came on and though I would change a few things the first being to have Smit fully replaced and not move him to THP. I thought Steinkamp was very very underdone and quite overweight. Condisidering Blue's? comments on this Board regarding him being stronger and fitter then ever before I was stunned to see his gut almost dragging on the ground at his first scrum (maybe a very slight exaggeration). I would also be getting ride of Steyn for Lambie who I think should be in the side.
2. Moore - 8 apart from one dropped ball this was a bottler of a game from Moore. Carried very very well, defended, hit rucks and solid at both set pieces.
3. Alexander 7 - got lucky with his first penalty in the scrum but from then on was solid. Not sighted in the loose as much but had a hand in a few turnovers at the ruck with counter ruck work. The cut under the eye looked like he got a bit of head attention in the scrum from Beast boring in.
4. Horwill 8 - thee can be no doubt he is the best lock in Oz now. Strong set piece, defended with aggression and work hand in glove with Sharpe as shown by their counter maul work for a clean turnover of Bok ball.
5. Sharpe 6 - as for Horwill, but wasn't as involved. I would still have him starting alongside Horwill as IMO they form the best complimentary pairing.
6. Elsom 7 - this was the best game I can remember from him since before his Ireland jaunt. Still not a Captain though.
7. Pocock 7 - did well against a strangely lethagic Bok backrow. I would still like to see him play less of the on-ball game and more the counter ruck game ala the McCaw genisis.
8. Higginbum 6 - Harrassed FdP a bit and niggled a few others like Spies, Botha and Habana which put them off their games a bit IMO. Made some metres with ball in hand but also missed a few tackles off the back of the scrum with one big one against Spies. Not convinced he is an 8 but would have him any day over Brown or McCalman. Not really tested on clearing a ball from the scrum as our pigs were solid all night. Samo for me as he showed poise in this aspect with a retreating Reds scrum all year.
9. Genia - 6 not his best game, but it was still daylight ahead of what his rivals bring to the position.
10. Cooper - 6 big change from last weeks nervousness and he under played his hand well. I am still not happy that they play no real set moves of set piece ball.
12. McCabe - 7 did excellently to recover a kick in behind and maintain his feet. Strong in contact as usual and in defence. His positioning in defence is getting better as he gets used to the demands of 12. Did well against World Class opposition in Fourie and JdV. Great tackle on BdP.
13. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) - 5 doing better without the crab inside him pushing him wide but still isn't in form.
11. Ioane - 5 quiet game from Ioane. dropped one cold and didn't appear to be looking for the work as much.
14. JOC (James O'Connor) - 6 great footwork for McAbe's try. I remain unconvinced that he is a winger. Defended well.
15. Beale - 6 trying too hard. I hate the low percentage chip kicks he has been doing all year, as they invariably find a defender and not the space he was seeking.
16. Fainga'a s. - Not used I doubt he will be going to the RWC unless doubts remain over TPN.
17. Ma'afu - not used what was the point of dropping Cowan for him?
18. Timani - Not used, doubt he will be going to the RWC, why not give Vickerman another 15 minutes since Deans is fixated on him?
19. McCalman - not used, don't think he will be going to the RWC unless as a utility backrow to cover injury.
20. Samo - 6 was strong in his cameo, but I would have loved to see him get some more time to really get a good feel for how he would go in this "structure"
21. Burgess - Not used and as with Splinters Singer Whitaker will only get on the padock if the game is beyond doubt or Genia injured.
22. A. Fainga'a - 7 made a very strong statement for his inclusion in the starting 15 IMO. Pushed the pass with his first touch but if Ioane had been having a better game he would have taken the ball and Fainga'a would have been lauded for the off-load. Offers more than two-dads at the moment simply because he is in form where AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) hasn't been all year.
Coaching staff - 5. Still no structure in the backs to speak of and still rely totally on Player X to make the play.
On the Boks :- I will admit I was done in the tipping as I expected the Boks to have a lot more fire than they did. They appeared lethargic and in some cases slow. They were clearly blowing hard after 30 minutes bringing into question the conditioning staff of the Boks. One word of warning for the RWC, the Boks reserves showed immense impact when they came on and though I would change a few things the first being to have Smit fully replaced and not move him to THP. I thought Steinkamp was very very underdone and quite overweight. Condisidering Blue's? comments on this Board regarding him being stronger and fitter then ever before I was stunned to see his gut almost dragging on the ground at his first scrum (maybe a very slight exaggeration). I would also be getting ride of Steyn for Lambie who I think should be in the side.
