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Wallabies coach won't nominate his No.10
By Justin Chadwick And Jim Morton, AAP May 10, 2010, 5:52 pm
Australia coach Robbie Deans remains tight-lipped on who will get first crack at the key playmaker's role this year as the Wallabies prepare to unleash a new brand of risky rugby.
Quade Cooper emerged as a world-class five-eighth for the Reds this season while Matt Giteau, the Wallabies' incumbent No.10, has played his best rugby for the Brumbies at inside centre in 2010.
Deans is tempted to take the Reds' powerful halves combination of Will Genia and Cooper straight into the Wallabies' set-up but said he was still weighing up his options.
"There's no doubt they (Cooper and Genia) will be familiar with each other and confident with each other off the back of what they've been doing," Deans said in Perth on Monday.
"But we have a number of options there (at flyhalf).
"We've now got choice, whereas we didn't have choice a year ago.
"That's great, it's a good problem to have but more importantly it's a good solution to have.
"Injuries and form won't derail our program.
"It does give us the ability to be flexible in our squad."
Surprisingly, Genia declared Giteau deserved first dibs on the No.10 jersey ahead of Cooper.
"I think Quade has had an outstanding season but you still have Matt Giteau out there and there's no doubting the class of him," Genia said.
"He's been so good for so long and anyone with that standing ... and that ability should have first crack."
Deans said the strong performances of the Brumbies, Waratahs and Reds this season, plus the good form of Matt Hodgson, David Pocock, Nathan Sharpe and James O'Connor at the struggling Force, had the Wallabies in good shape with the 2011 World Cup less than 16 months away.
"There's no doubt we're developing depth and that's evident in the performances of the franchises," he said.
"From a selection perspective we've got to make some decisions this year that we haven't had to make in the past."
The Wallabies scored just 19 tries in 12 Tests last year but Deans promised fans they would see a more attacking unit this year due to the new interpretations around the breakdown.
"I think you'll see less conservatism, a lot more willingness to attack," Deans said.
"We don't want to come close, we want to get home.
"We'll be prepared to take risks to achieve that."
The Wallabies kick off their international season against Fiji in Canberra on June 5 before facing off against England (in Perth on June 12 and Sydney June 19) and Ireland (in Brisbane on June 26).
"We are developing a really good tradition against England, it's becoming not unlike the Ashes," Deans said.
"The Cook Cup has become an important contest for us and in recent years we've had some really tight tussles."
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/spo...ate-his-no-10/
My Wallaby team (second choice in brackets)
Ben Alexander (Pekahou Cowan)
Tatafu Polota-Nau ( Ben Whittaker )
Benn Robinson if fit (Al Baxter)
Nathan Sharpe
Dean Mumm ( Ben McCalman)
Rocky Elsom (Stephen Hoiles)
David Pocock (Matt Hodgson)
Scott Higginbotham (Richard Brown)
Will Genia (Patrick Phibbs) (Justin Turner)
Quade Cooper (Daniel Halangahu) (Berrick Barnes)
Drew Mitchell
Tom Carter (Matt Giteau)
Anthony Faingaa (Mitch Inman)
Digby Ioane (Cameron Shepherd)
Adam Ashley-Cooper (Kurtley Beale)
James O'Connor as utlility back
WHO will the Captain be
---------- Post added at 06:54 ---------- Previous post was at 06:49 ----------
who did I miss It looks as if someone is missing![]()
Last edited by pieter blackie; 11-05-10 at 09:04.
Does Fairbrother need to play in Australia more for eligibility? I thought that he was eligible as soon as he played club rugby in Australia (the position Elsom was in last year). I'd consider him for the long squad.
cooper has to be given first crack at the number 10 jersey...
Posted via Mobile Device
You are right
http://twf.com.au/showthread.php?t=22358
---------- Post added at 09:05 ---------- Previous post was at 09:03 ----------
Ben Alexander (Pekahou Cowan)
Tatafu Polota-Nau ( Ben Whittaker )
Tim Fairbrother (Benn Robinson) (Al Baxter)
Nathan Sharpe
Dean Mumm ( Ben McCalman)
Rocky Elsom (Stephen Hoiles)
David Pocock (Matt Hodgson)
Scott Higginbotham (Richard Brown)
Will Genia (Patrick Phibbs) (Justin Turner)
Quade Cooper (Daniel Halangahu) (Berrick Barnes)(Matt Toomua)
Drew Mitchell
Tom Carter (Matt Giteau)
Anthony Faingaa (Mitch Inman)
Digby Ioane (Cameron Shepherd)
Adam Ashley-Cooper (Kurtley Beale)
James O'Connor as utlility back
Last edited by pieter blackie; 11-05-10 at 09:14.
a three ben(n) front row??
We need to realise that we begin with inbound tests.....Quade will surely get his opportunity to shine. I'm not so sure about Hangers at international level, I would think Barnes or Giteau offer more than him at that level, but I've been well wrong before.
Fairbrother would HAVE to be worth a shot if the cat isn't up and running, Baxter is a waste of space, better to build for the future!
---------- Post added at 10:10 ---------- Previous post was at 10:09 ----------
We need to realise that we begin with inbound tests.....Quade will surely get his opportunity to shine. I'm not so sure about Hangers at international level, I would think Barnes or Giteau offer more than him at that level, but I've been well wrong before.
Fairbrother would HAVE to be worth a shot if the cat isn't up and running, Baxter is a waste of space, better to build for the future!
C'mon the![]()
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If only we had a couple of awesome wingers. If Digby plays outside centre and AAC is at fullback we are a bit light on. Nobody is a complete package. Either they can't kick, can't tackle, aren't big enough or aren't fast enough.
Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
9. Ginea
10. Cooper
11. Ioane
12. Giteau
13. Cooper
14. Hynes
15. O'Connor
Thats how i see it, but there are so many options. Like AAC at 15, Ioane at 13, Giteau at 10, and we have plenty of wingers to bring in to do this like McCabe, Mitchell, Turner, even Cummins. I hope Deans just tries every combination possible to see what works.