15 Mark Gerrard (ACT) – Gerrard must think he has a better chance at socceroo selection this year with some great skills controlling the oval ball. Scored a chip and chase with 4 extra fly-hacks to spark the brumbies back into the game. He then went on to nail a drop goal from 40m. His tactical kicking was again a thing of beauty and something the wallabies need if they are going to win anything this year.
14 Lachie Turner (NSW) – Two tries, could have been 4 if not for 2 shit passes from Tuqiri (although the 1st wasn’t forward). Turner seems to be in the right place at the right time, but this ability is a skill, not just luck.
13 Stirling Mortlock (ACT) – 100% kicking display, still great ability to beat defenders and free up quality ball while being tackled. Looked a little slow, but probably is still a little injured.
12 James O’Connor (Force) – Tom Carter played well, but seemed a little predictable, O’Connor seemed the less predictable exciting type of number 12 we all want to see in the wallabies. Barnes was unlucky too, I thought he was the only sane one in the reds backline. Tyrone just wasn’t as dangerous this week, but outside Giteau, who knows, maybe Baxter would be dangerous.
11 Digby Ioane (Qld) – how can you leave this guy out of a team, 3 line breaks in 14 runs? half man/half tsunami/half lightning. AAC and Tuqiri played okay. AAC with some good kick chases and tackling and Tuqiri with a good work rate. But both lacked the penetration Ioane provided and like I mentioned above, Tuqiri created the opportunity to have 2 try assists but failed to convert.
10 Matt Giteau (Force) – Controlled his team the best out of all the number 10’s, good kicking display. Barnes should probably play here for the Qld team from now on.
9 Luke Burgess (NSW) – 13 tackles this week, George Gregan would be proud. But 7 runs by Burgess this week would make Gregan think lightning hit the statistician.
8 Phil Waugh (NSW) – Tough call on Salvi and Brown, But Waugh’s try saving ankle tap on top of his best game this year causes him to be in the team.
7 David Pocock (Force) – Best Flanker this round with 3 pilfers. George Smith got an unlucky sinbinning.
6 Mitchell Chapman (ACT) – Showed immense leadership when Chisholm came off, Took more lineouts, got line breaks, offloads, pilfers and a try assist to Kimlin.
5 Nathan Sharpe (Force) – Showed Horwill whose boss with 2 lineout steals!
4 Peter Kimlin (ACT) – Came on early for the injured Chisholm and showed a good work rate and got on the end of one of the best team tries of the week.
3 Guy Shepherdson (ACT) – All front rows kinda had a bad week, except the force, who were playing the reds… Guy still would be my pick though.
2 Tatafu Polota-Nau (NSW) – Has been more consistently good this year and will be pushing Moore for the number 2 spot in Australia if he can show he can throw well under pressure.
1 Benn Robinson (NSW) – All front rows kinda had a bad week, except the force, who were playing the reds… Benn still would be my pick though.
What do you think, please leave a comment…
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="2268 https://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/?p=2268">28 Comments
“All front rows kinda had a bad week”
Funny, the Tahs won about 5 balls on the Stormers feed, plus broke the Stormers so hard that the saffas went uncontested.
What’s a good week need?
Moses’s last blog post..Live Blog – Blues vs Mighty Waratahs
i dont remember 5 wins on the stormers feed, i dont remember any actually…
The stormers did get a scrum win on the NSW feed however…
NSW was dominant but did get penalised unfairly before the stormers uncontested the scrums…
They were penalising schalk for sliding up to prop because the stormers’ couldn’t handle the pressure. It was only on the stormers though
I’d have Caldwell in there as well, actually I’d have had him most weeks this year..
Moses’s last blog post..Live Blog – Blues vs Mighty Waratahs
That’s cos your Tahd for life.
agreed
does anyone know why the wizard took over goal kicking duties from gerrardo this week? killed marky mark’s fantasy stats, which i was not expecting…
I think they rotate on misses. When they’re both playing.
Waugh at 8?? I think you’ve just put yourself in the same fruit basket as Eddie Jones. Give yourself an uppercut and snap out of it!
Also – is the form just on this week? Kimlin had hands like tits last week when they were needed.
Hehe.. Hands like tits.
Eddie jones didn’t do it under the ELVS, if salvi a number 7 can play number 8, so can phil waugh. That ankle tap was magic.
And call me a breastman as apposed to a scarfman cos i dig kimlin’s hands this week.
of course its just this week waugh and kimlin and chapman have never played well bar this week.
If those are your only problems, i’ve done well.
Didn’t TPN have three steals against him? But I agree that Waugh has to be there this week, somewhere, it was really his kinda game and he shone.
TPN had a lineout called not straight and it went 5.01 metres…how can you throw one of those not fkn straight, hahaha…surely even Jeremy Paul knew he would get the short throws straight…
Eddie Jones could ahve done it under elvs and he still would have failed. I think the point to remember is the ELVS have actually increased importance of set piece, particualrly lineouts…
Eddie Jones went with terriers at 6 and 7 and a lump at 8 (albeit one of the greatest lumps ever with Tots). Lineout, Fail.
do it now when the lineout has inreased by 50%, yes increased with ELVs…and ELVS allow to lineout to be even MORE competitive…EPICLY FAIL if it was tried.
Why doe sit work with brown and Salvi etc. simple…Better Skill Set. Different Atheltic Buld that compliments ALL facets of the game.
I just wish we could all be like Safa teams and have 6’s running round everywhere who are good enough to play 7 as well, and 8’s who are as fast as some wingers…their loose forwards are disgustingly good.
I think El Dommo’s saying what we’re all thinking:
“I just wish we could all be like Safa teams..”
He’s got a point.
Unfortunately that’s about all I got out of it. Although he does paint an interesting collage of wide ranging arguments, many of which “EPICLY FAIL”.
Pedro’s last blog post..Australia Prevail 2-0, One Foot In South Africa
Well said pedro, but I dont want to be a saffa team.
and Dommo,
Salvi doesn’t really jump in the lineout, when he plays 8 chapman does, when he plays 6 hoiles does.
And his and browns “athletic build” compliments all facets of the game?
– goal kicking
– font row scrummaging…
Dommo you can come up with a million reasons why it mightn’t work, but you really don’t know, do you.
In my opinion they were the best backrowers last week.
and if you’re stuck in the tradition that there is really a difference in your role due to the backrow number on your back, then that’s just sad.
I just remember Eddie Jones destroying our scrummaging ability, not our lineouts.
Pedro’s last blog post..Australia Prevail 2-0, One Foot In South Africa
Chapman kicked for Grammar on occasion to really make the discusison interesting.
the point with regards to the Lineouts, is that the more legitimate air threats you have, the better you will be at contesting the lineouts on both your own and oppositon throws.
Eddie Jones neglect of Front row development was a problem with scrummaging yes. However over teh time he was coach, the lack of an option in the lineouts either from 6,7,or8 really (as Kef was playing 8) was a serious problem when playing more ste piece intense teams such as NZ, Sth Africa, Wales, England, Ireland…
Bobas you have almost hit in on the head there when you say they were the best backrowers….this indicates that you see the backrow a a combination of 3 players with a certain role, rather than 3 indibuduals with individual roles, who compliment each ohter by all laying loosley in the scrum…
I deifnitely know that a combination of players who individually bring different skill sets to the game and cna compliment each other, yet have the key pices of the game taken care of, is a safer more complete approach to choosing the loos forwards. as evident by deciison in international teams, inlcuding our own beloved wallabies, to have for example 6 Mumm/MMM 7 Smith/Waugh/pocock 8 Palu/Hoiles/Brown
100% agree.
Great as Waugh is, after many years of experimentation we’ve proved that the best place for him in the Wllabies side is on the bench behind Smith. And even there I’d be tempted to put Pocock before him so that you’re looking to the future.
My other quibbles with this team are 4, 5 and 6. As others have mentioned, all these players had good games THIS week but…
I get the point of the post is “on THIS weeks form” so I’ll give it to you.
Finally, somone giving it to me, maybe next time i’ll just call it the TOTW and wont have people firing up.
If i was to pick the actual wallaby starting 15 it would look heaps different. And not have chapman or waugh or kimlin anywhere near it.
was the original title on “this weeks form”?
Greg Growden would be proud of that selection
that’s how it was originally posted/published.
Lay off, you don’t hassel Juan Cote for his teams of the week. I know you expect more from me, but fielding ethical as well as academic questions is really draining.
Just tell me who you’d put in and try and justify it (with text).
That’s because the Cote’s teams are beyond question!!!
I haven’t seen all the Australian games for weeks and didn’t see Waugh play this week, but for him to keep Dick Brown out of the XV he musta ‘ad a blinder
I know, it’s a hard road you plow Bobas. Such high expectations….
The rest I’m OK with. Haven’t seen all the Brumbies game yet, so I’ll have to take your totally impartial word for it.
WELL DONE!!
Agreed Gagger,
This sort of stuff is a thankless task and only for those with the broad enough shoulders to bare the cross.
Look forward to your XV for the week comimg Bobo!
i only did it cos i watched every australian game this week.
OK, finally watched Brumbies game.
Kimlin does still have hands like tits and I’d go for either Van the man or Caldwell for someone to do the dirty work like they both did. That was a great try Kimlin got on the end of, but he just fell over the line, Smith and Chapman made it.
Waugh had a belter, but I just can’t live with the out of position thing. It’s cheating. I’d go for Brown this week. Force back row had a great game.
Shepherdson only played like 50 mins and didn’t wow me. I’d go for the Tahs kid who killed the stormers.
Van is an old lemon