Wallaby Watch 2014

[Gnostic]

After the dross that was the Brumbies V Sharks one good thing has come out.
I feel the front row has been settled with the Brumbies trio impressing at the set piece and around the field against the likely Bok trio.
I would also suggest that Carter has seriously put his name forward, he was conspicuous in the tight work and was a significant contributor the dominant scrum work.
White did some good things but those two missed penalty kicks for touch were very poor execution. Given how poorly Steyn kicked on the night it may be forgiven if conditions really were that bad, simply because I have never seen Steyn have a night like that with the boot. That said he is still a better 9 than a below form Genia, his dart from the base of the ruck to draw the pillar ans set up Carter was very good play.

Tomane will be a loss if his cheek/eye socket is broken as along with Cummins is the form winger in the country. Maybe Woodward and English are coming into contention?

 

[oztimmay]

Tomane will be a loss if his cheek/eye socket is broken as along with Cummins is the form winger in the country. Maybe Woodward and English are coming into contention?

English, maybe. Has been a little too quiet for me in the last wfew weeks and have to go looking for a little more work. Lucky to miss some meat on Friday night. DEfiently a smokey.

Woody hasn't qualified for the wobs, but all in Rebel land (well at least everyone I speak to) want him to stuck around and wear gold. Would be a excellent back three partner with Izzy or a fullback in his own right if Izzy is lured back to loig by moneybags dave smith.

 

[Tomikin]

English, maybe. Has been a little too quiet for me in the last wfew weeks and have to go looking for a little more work. Lucky to miss some meat on Friday night. DEfiently a smokey.

Woody hasn't qualified for the wobs, but all in Rebel land (well at least everyone I speak to) want him to stuck around and wear gold. Would be a excellent back three partner with Izzy or a fullback in his own right if Izzy is lured back to loig by moneybags dave smith.

I like that Woodward can kick.. All the wingers / fullbacks we have ain't great kickers except Mogg but yeah.. Woodward reminds me of AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) at the back..

 

[barbarian]

Paul Cully seemed to imply this week that Woodward was more interested in playing for the All Blacks than the Wallabies, which would be fair enough considering he is a Kiwi who only came here last year.

 

[oztimmay]

He is only half-right there. Word out in the hood is that he's still 50/50 on switching allegiances to Australia, but we've won half the battle by having him out here in the first place. Recently his good mate Scott Fuglistaller just committed for another 2 years; here's hoping he can convince him to follow suit. They are neighbours and would probably spend a bit of time together. Would would also have to consider that, if he wanted a shot at the ABs he would have to get a new soup team. How likely is that gonna happen? He is good, but it looks like the NZ have a good supply of fullbacks.

 

[qwerty51]

You realise Andre Taylor is off next year. I'm sure the Hurricanes would welcome him back.

 

[Scotty]

It's funny there was outrage from some Reds fans a few years ago when the Waratahs made up a portion of the Wallabies despite being low on the Super ladder.

With the Reds could get 5 of the starting Wallaby 15, I wonder if anyone will cry 'too many Reds' when the team is announced

Of course the Reds in the side would deserve their place, as the Tah players did a few years back, but still...
.

Really? In my mind only Slipper is deserving of a spot at this stage, with 4 others a 50-50 choice.

From memory the team you are talking about had 8 Tahs in the starting lineup with a few more on the bench.

Not exactly comparable situations at all.

 

[Benaud]

I thought the Brumbies scrum went OK after a shaky start, which was a good sign. The tighthead lost seemed a bit unlucky again. Although Fox stats now shows:

Tightheads lost props

Ben Alexander 6
Scott Sio 6
Chris King 5
Kane Hames 4
Ruan Smith 3
Everyone else 2 or less

Tightheads lost hookers

Stephen Moore 8
Liam Coltman 3
Everyone else 2 or less

Which is impossible to spin in a positive way for the Brumbies scrum. I'm tempted to look for excuses again but it's getting ridiculous. With Moore already pencilled in, I don't know how they could pick Alexander and Sio, even though they seemed to go OK against the Sharks.

Fortunately, the Rebels showed some good signs up front against the Canes and the Force did a number on the Cheetahs scrum so all isn't necessarily lost in the Wallaby prop ranks.

Will be watching the 4 key Reds this arvo with interest. Jones, Carter, White and To'omua are making their positions very intriguing.

 

[Slim 293]

Which is impossible to spin in a positive way for the Brumbies scrum. I'm tempted to look for excuses again but it's getting ridiculous. With Moore already pencilled in, I don't know how they could pick Alexander and Sio, even though they seemed to go OK against the Sharks.

Have you actually been watching the games?

Fortunately, the Rebels showed some good signs up front against the Canes and the Force did a number on the Cheetahs scrum so all isn't necessarily lost in the Wallaby prop ranks.

Obviously not..........

Your trolling is becoming a little tiresome.........

 

[Benaud]

Have you actually been watching the games?



Obviously not....

Your trolling is becoming a little tiresome...

Yep we've covered that.

The point is pretty clear.

I'll forgive that last comment as hangover talk.

 

[Slim 293]

Nearly all of your posts on this thread have been reciting these scrum stats without any kind of match context........

And every time it's pointed out to you that the tightheads came in games where the Brumbies scrum actually dominated the match (Reds, Chiefs, Sharks etc)........

And now you're suggesting that the Brumbies props, probably the form scrummaging props in Australia this year, shouldn't be selected....... and the answer is with two teams the Brumbies' scrum dished up earlier in the year?

Maybe it's time to introduce some new insight into your argument, or maybe as earlier suggested, quit with the trolling...........

 

[Benaud]

The recent ones on the front row have. Last night added to the tighthead tally and made those stats even more damning. The point is they're not made up and can't be ignored, and the head in the sand approach to it by some deserves scrutiny. At some point when they stack up enough you realise they actually tell a story and the way you've been viewing the games has been warped by your view of their scrum strength.

Now we've both watched the games. The stats say the Brumbies scrum is the worst in the comp. You say it's the best. I reckon it is par for the course. And par for the course is a low benchmark for Wallabies.

The trolling argument obviously holds no merit and is a last ditch desperation attempt to play the man because the point is lost. Forums have differing views. Everyone that doesn't fit with your delusions isn't just trolling. Get over it.

 

[Slim 293]

Now we've both watched the games. The stats say the Brumbies scrum is the worst in the comp. You say it's the best. I reckon it is par for the course. And par for the course is a low benchmark for Wallabies.

I don't think you understand how stats work if that's your conclusion..........

 

[oztimmay]

You realise Andre Taylor is off next year. I'm sure the Hurricanes would welcome him back.

No I didn't...shit. Probably why they are shopping around for Barnes or Harris tight now. Might be able to play the loyalty card, e.g the rebs gave me my start when the 'canes wouldn't. Think the ARU would want to get involved in this one, especially if izzy goes back the league.

 

[qwerty51]

I'm fairly sure Link is not going to pay attention to scrum form in Super rugby one bit. No one has consistent form, he'll look at who did the job for him last year.

 

[Slim 293]

It's likely going to be the same 4-5 props from last year with Sio reclaiming his spot from Ryan..........

I'm not sure if there's anyone pushing for selection outside of that group at this stage............

 

[TOCC]

Nearly all of your posts on this thread have been reciting these scrum stats without any kind of match context....

And every time it's pointed out to you that the tightheads came in games where the Brumbies scrum actually dominated the match (Reds, Chiefs, Sharks etc)....

And now you're suggesting that the Brumbies props, probably the form scrummaging props in Australia this year, shouldn't be selected... and the answer is with two teams the Brumbies' scrum dished up earlier in the year?

Maybe it's time to introduce some new insight into your argument, or maybe as earlier suggested, quit with the trolling.....

A stat is still a stat regardless of the context and conceding a tight-head is a black mark against a front-rower no matter which way you paint it..

Consistency is an important factor at test level, these stats indicate a lack of consistency, it's not reason for non-selection but it's definitely a reason for caution especially in players like Alexander who have a dubious record at test level.

I think your being a little sensitive in your trolling accusations..

 

[qwerty51]

It's likely going to be the same 4-5 props from last year with Sio reclaiming his spot from Ryan....

I'm not sure if there's anyone pushing for selection outside of that group at this stage....

Nah I think Sio will come in for Robinson who won't play this year at all.

 

[Slim 293]

TOCC - I agree with that, but all of Benaud's posts on this thread have been rehashing the same without an attempt to engage in any discussion about it..........

The interesting thing about those tightheads, as already mentioned, is that they've all come from the last 10-15 mins in games when their scrum has generally been dominant, and when there's been replacements (on either side)........

Obviously their front row depth isn't too great, and there's possibly an inability from the starting props to keep up that dominance over 80 mins which is being exposed by fresh opposing props..........

As for Alexander, he does have a record and that was exposed by Crockett last week, but by Benaud's reasoning there were no tightheads lost so he must've scrummed well..........

 

[cyclopath]

Briefly on the subject of tightheads, one last night was funny. Kafer, with his Brumby Jack head on, lamented the tighthead lost in the second half, stating the problem was that White fed it in the middle!! Then went on to state that spectators don't really care about seeing scrums fed straight, as if it was an annoyance.
It was a "pure" scrum contest - ball in the middle, Sharks got enough pressure so Moore couldn't hook, Sharks hooked it (although I thought illegally - the flanker stuck his foot into the tunnel and did it - is that OK??)
Without the stupid "hit", and generally packing lower, it is more important that the unit gets it right, and we seem to see more tightheads this year, which I think is a good thing.
I don't think losing a couple of tightheads is necessarily a bad thing - most scrums do, and it tells me that the contest is sometimes just being levelled, which is what this fan wants to see, Mr Kafer. I wish the refs would enforce the straight feeds.