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Wallaby Watch 2014

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Tomikin

Tomikin

David Codey (61)
TOCC said:
Is Toby Smith from the Rebels eligible? I think he has put together a few good performances in 2014
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But his a LHP mostly, Kepu, Weeks and Alexander would be before him at THP.

At LHP, Slipper and Sio would be in front of him, in my books. 3rd is a toss up between Cowen, Robinson and Smith.

Cupboard doesn't look to great to be honest..
 
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BDA

BDA

Jim Lenehan (48)
I thought Benn Robinson was excellent on the weekend. Not just in the scrums but in particular around the field. IMO he might be edging his nose in front for that third LHP spot.
 
Braveheart81

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
BDA said:
I thought Benn Robinson was excellent on the weekend. Not just in the scrums but in particular around the field. IMO he might be edging his nose in front for that third LHP spot.
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I agree with this.

I think the France series showed that Sio is ahead of Cowan. At this stage I'd much prefer to have Robbo in the squad with his experience and ability than Cowan.

I definitely don't think we've seen the last of Robbo for the Wallabies.
 
Braveheart81

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
qwerty51 said:
Only if injury and Toby Smith must be close given the Rebels scrum performance.
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Agreed, but given that we use four props every single time, it's unlikely we'll go through a season without using around 8 props.

The performance of Kepu in the June series may cause Link to look past the Tahs scrum being poorer this year and select Robbo for the Rugby Championship. Kepu quickly came up to speed for the Wallabies and showed a marked improvement in his running and passing which he didn't have prior to Cheika at the Tahs.

If Link had been picking the RWC squad rather than the June test squad do you think he would have taken Sio and Cowan or do you think Robinson would have snuck in ahead of one of them (which would be Cowan in hindsight)? I tend to think he'd have picked Robbo.
 
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tranquility

Guest
Toby Smith is a gun, and should be selected before Robbo in my opinion. Let's not forget either that that Darkness could take him back if he hits a vein of form. Clearly and excellent prospect for the now and the future.
 
Dumbledore

Dumbledore

Dick Tooth (41)
tranquility said:
Toby Smith is a gun, and should be selected before Robbo in my opinion. Let's not forget either that that Darkness could take him back if he hits a vein of form. Clearly and excellent prospect for the now and the future.
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For all the many and varied faults of the Rebels this year, the scrum has been consistently good to very good. Well on top of the Reds the other night, and it was Smith who was doing the damage.

This is the best prop depth we've had for a good long time I reckon.
 
Braveheart81

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
tranquility said:
Toby Smith is a gun, and should be selected before Robbo in my opinion. Let's not forget either that that Darkness could take him back if he hits a vein of form. Clearly and excellent prospect for the now and the future.
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I rate him, but I think his form has dropped off as the season has progressed (probably partly due to injury and partly due to the Rebels struggling).

If you were picking a squad on form for the Rugby Championship I would have the starting LHP at the other four franchises ahead of him right now (which is a good position to be in quite frankly). Finally we have some depth at LHP. We just need to replicate that at THP.
 
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tranquility

Guest
He would firmly be my third choice LHP. I would only play Robbo in front if we were desperately short of experience. Would not play Cowan in front of him under any circumstances.
 
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tranquility

Guest
Dumbledore said:
Same. But still, when was the last time we were able to have a serious chat about the battle for the third LHP position?
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We have the best depth across the entire team that we have had in memory. Which can be attributed in many ways to the expansion sides, and the opportunities they have created not only on their rosters, but also the rosters of the traditional clubs by exposing young blokes.
 
BDA

BDA

Jim Lenehan (48)
Am I missing something? 'good prospect' aside - Robbo was outstanding around the park on Saturday. I honestly cant remember Smith doing fuck all on Friday, other than scrum solidly. Robo in form (and it seems to me he's finding some form atm) is nothing less than a decent test LHP with a solid track record. His experience against the world's best test packs make him a valuable asset to us come the world cup.

I think it's madness to think we wont need to rely on our third (maybe even fourth) best LHP at one point. I hope to god that Slipper doesn't go down in the first week of the WC, but if he does I'm not sure I'd feel too good knowing that we are relying on Sio and Smith to do the job for us. Of all the positions in test rugby, I would think that prop is the position that is most difficult to bridge the gap between provincial rugby and test rugby. Robbo has the experience of packing down opposite all of the Northern Hemispheres best THPs. He knows what to expect in terms of tactics and tricks they will try to employ.

I'm happy with our 2 starting props (Slipper,Kepu) for the WC and think they can do the job in what will be a very testing group stage for our front row. I agree that Sio should be the no.2 LHP because he is very well rounded. But the inevitable injuries mean we might have to rely on our back ups. I'd much prefer Robbo's experience to a green Toby Smith.
 
BDA

BDA

Jim Lenehan (48)
I might add that if Kepu and/or Alexander goes down injured before the world cup, we are totally screwed.
 
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TOCC

Guest
Smith isn't exactly a green horn, he has just shy of 50 super rugby caps to his name and another 50 from the ITM cup..obviously he is missing test experience, but I think it would be silly to write him off from the 2015 RWC this early purely on experience...

Robinson has been a little enigmatic the past 18months, even with all his experience he has been shown up a few times.. I'd be happy to see Smith offered the opportunity to at least train with the squad. It's the only way he will gain experience.
 
Highlander35

Highlander35

Steve Williams (59)
Unless Ryan's scrumming massively improves over the NRC and Soup finals,Weeks should be playing a few tests between now and RWC. While loosehead goes all right (could probably cop 3 injuries and put a reasonable pair out there) it only takes 1 injury to the tighthead to stuff it up. With Longbottom joining the scum, Ryan being nothing short of terrible, and Holmes being, well, Holmes, Weeks is the only serious option, and he has only the two against the French.

When a piss weak Scottish pack dominated the South African one AT SCRUM TIME over the weekend, getting experience under the belt of any that could be there is very important.

(The Caps are to indicate that it was only at scrum time, with the exception of one Geoff Cross, 1-8 & 16-20 dominated their opposite around the ground)
 
Braveheart81

Braveheart81

Will Genia (78)
Staff member
Yes, I would have the THP pecking order as Kepu, Alexander, Weeks.

I think Ryan will continue to be developed because if he can get his scrummaging to an acceptable level he'll be a really good THP. He needs to do it soon though otherwise it might make sense to start working on one of the younger THPs.
 
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