Waratahs v. Kings Round 12 Sunday 1am EST

[JSRF10]

With the Tahs out of finals running now is this a chance to blood some of the fringe players taken on tour? Personally I think its time McKibben was dropped and Lucas given a shot but can't see Cheika doing that. Other than that wouldn't make too many changes to the team that took on the Bulls. Kings are going to be dangerous but I'd back us to win if we can keep our discipline and nail our kicks.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

I see this as an opportunity to cycle some players, maybe Kepu and Palu can start from the bench giving Cutch and Ryan a start, and give Skelton some time off the bench too. I'd also love lucas to start, and if there's any game then this is the one to do it in. the tahs need to look at using more of the squad to manage workloads, especially with a view to next season

 

[fatprop]

With the Tahs out of finals running now is this a chance to blood some of the fringe players taken on tour? Personally I think its time McKibben was dropped and Lucas given a shot but can't see Cheika doing that. Other than that wouldn't make too many changes to the team that took on the Bulls. Kings are going to be dangerous but I'd back us to win if we can keep our discipline and nail our kicks.

I am not getting this McKibben hate stuff, he played pretty well on Saturday (apart from his goal kicking) the commentators were surprised he was taken off, and Lucus ..... well he took some very dumb options.

 

[JSRF10]

Maybe I was a bit strong on McKibben, his general play was decent but his goal kicking was woeful and they arguably lost us the game. Lucas wasn't great either but when he came on we had to start chasing the game, he wasn't the only one who made some bad decisions in the last 15 minutes. In fairness whatever McKibben did at the weekend I'd want Lucas to start this one, its a good game to give him a run.

 

[Pfitzy]

The commentators also gave number 9 credit for a smashing tackle that Rob Horne made.

McKibbin has not made a critical kick yet. He's had a couple of good games but mostly been dire. Hart needs a turn before the season is out

 

[Rassie]

This should be a easy game for the the Kings who will start as favorites. Waratahs will look for damage control as most minnow sides do these day

 

[Richo]

This should be a easy game for the the Kings who will start as favorites. Waratahs will look for damage control as most minnow sides do these day

Such favourites that they are 8.5 point underdogs? Bloody hell. I'd hate to see when the Kings really underdogs!

 

[Rassie]

Such favourites that they are 8.5 point underdogs? Bloody hell. I'd hate to see when the Kings really underdogs!

What are you smoking would have been a good reply as well I said that with a tongue in the cheek. But one can never know. Tah's look good on paper but on grass they one week crap other week good.

 

[Richo]

Figured you did. Just having some fun.

 

[Henry]

I am not getting this McKibben hate stuff, he played pretty well on Saturday (apart from his goal kicking) the commentators were surprised he was taken off, and Lucus ... well he took some very dumb options.

Apart from his goal kicking he was quite good. The commentators were raving about him. He was playing like Burgess, almost another back rower. He was pretty huge in defence.

 

[BPC]

I am not thrilled with McKibben's passing. Too often I see Foley having to pause or even put his hands over his head to catch the pass from the ruck. Lucas' passing was a bit better but the other aspects of his game were not up to scratch against the Bulls.

Of course, we have Phipps to look forward to next year so I can't see any radical improvement.

 

[Quick Hands]

McKibbin is what he is, I confess to calling for him to be dropped weeks ago, but he had his best game of the season 2 weeks ago and I thought he was playing well on Saturday before he was replaced. More importantly, Cheika has been very supportive at every opportunity, statements such as "he's doing exactly what we want him to do" "i want 9 and 10 to form a combination" etc. I assume from that that Cheika wants his half to pass almost 100% of the time and rarely if ever run or kick. This is what McKibbin has been doing. I was surprised that Lucas came on last week, particularly with so long to go, especially since he hadn't played 1 minute of game time in the previous 2 matches. I had put his continued non-appearance and the signing of Phipps down to Cheika not rating Lucas based on what goes on at training etc.

Assuming that he doesn't rate Lucas, you'd have thought that he would look at Hart at some point. Last week really confused me in terms of the half back situation, with McKibbin replaced so early.

This week, I hope that Cheika starts with the same side. We need to win this game to come back home with some momentum.

 

[boyo]

IMO if you have to pause, or take the ball above your head, then it was a crap pass. It says a lot about the skills of the ball-passer.

 

[Hawko]

McKibbin is what he is, I confess to calling for him to be dropped weeks ago, but he had his best game of the season 2 weeks ago and I thought he was playing well on Saturday before he was replaced. More importantly, Cheika has been very supportive at every opportunity, statements such as "he's doing exactly what we want him to do" "i want 9 and 10 to form a combination" etc. I assume from that that Cheika wants his half to pass almost 100% of the time and rarely if ever run or kick. This is what McKibbin has been doing. I was surprised that Lucas came on last week, particularly with so long to go, especially since he hadn't played 1 minute of game time in the previous 2 matches. I had put his continued non-appearance and the signing of Phipps down to Cheika not rating Lucas based on what goes on at training etc.

Assuming that he doesn't rate Lucas, you'd have thought that he would look at Hart at some point. Last week really confused me in terms of the half back situation, with McKibbin replaced so early.

This week, I hope that Cheika starts with the same side. We need to win this game to come back home with some momentum.

The quality of McKibbens pass is his Achilles heel. By comparison with the bullet-like passes that Cooper gets from Genia, McKibbens pass always looks slow even when it hits the hands at the right spot. The velocity of his pass slows down the backline and allows defenders to get up quickly. It is not always accurate either. But at this stage of his career its not likely to improve much. To add insult to injury he decided to have an off day with the boot at Loftus, which is a ground where you MUST kick well to win. If he had hit his kicks then we would have been about 15 points up at 60 minutes and I don't think we would have lost from there. Its dispiriting, but I'll bet McKibben is hurting more than anyone, because he knows he is the main reason we lost the game.

I was not completely unhappy with Lucas's game. He came on when we were chasing the game and made a few bad decisions, but when you are chasing the game you have to try everything to catch up. He'll learn.

I think Cheika has decided Hart is of no value, which is why they went after Phipps. (IMO this is the first recruitment decision under his watch that is a real turkey. Unless Phipps can learn to hit his fly-half quickly and in front then he will be a definite liability.)

The Kings are a limited team. They are a bunch of very dogged fighters but we should be able to carve them up if our forwards man-up, particularly at the rucks. For this week I want to see Lucas start, he needs a chance to show what he has at the front end of the game, not when he's chasing a win. I also want to see Willy and Hodge get ten to fifteen minutes at the end. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper) has played almost every minute, so it wouldn't hurt to give Hodge a shot at 13 at the end of the game. Ten minutes for Willy now would give him a taste of what is to come IF HE APPLIES HIMSELF. I think it would be a sound investment. Crawford should take all the kicks for touch - at sea level Foley struggles to get 30 metres and its just not good enough.

 

[Richo]

I'd said a few times before the Bulls that the biggest hole in Foley's game was his general play kicking. That was proven to be the case at Loftus. He does, however, need to add that dimension. I hope we see some more tactical kicking this week, because Foley needs runs on the board in that regard or teams will start trying to force him to kick more and more.

 

[Rassie]

I think what took the Tah's down and take most sides down there is the altitude. Its hard for South African teams to go there I can imagine how hard it must have been for Australian teams.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

I'm not getting the right vibe about this game.
How can the kings be underdogs at home when:

• home is SA
• and having beaten the force and rebels and drawn with the Brums on the road?

 

[Rassie]

I'm not getting the right vibe about this game.
How can the kings be underdogs at home when:

• home is SA
• and having beaten the force and rebels and drawn with the Brums on the road?

Its because they were taken lately by the Brumbies, lackluster performance by the Force and Rebels well was just being the Rebels.

SA sides one needs to blitz make them make decisions quick and just look at the line up and gang tackle the big oakes running of the 9.
Kings are also defensively frail out wide. No one really tested them out there except for Bulls once.

 

[fatprop]

I think what took the Tah's down and take most sides down there is the altitude. Its hard for South African teams to go there I can imagine how hard it must have been for Australian teams.

I would guess that was why Foley & McCibbon were given less time.

 

[Rassie]

I would guess that was why Foley & McCibbon were given less time.

Good thinking. I take it their fitness levels ain't at peak. But Bulls also use to replace their 9 as they do a lot of running.

But they do conserve their energy by kicking the ball 60 meters back. So if your opposition and you are going to try and run it back as well as try and keep ball in hand you are going to test your lung power. Did they have a waterbreak on Saturday?