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Thread: James Horwill stripped of Wallabies captaincy

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    Immortal Contributor jono's Avatar
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    James Horwill stripped of Wallabies captaincy

    James Horwill stripped of Wallabies captaincy for England Test


    In another shock move, five-eighth Quade Cooper will be named as vice-captain ahead of halfback Will Genia, who has captained the side before and had been coach Ewen McKenzie's first choice for the deputy role.

    Horwill will start in the second row alongside Sitaleki Timani, who replaces the injured Rob Simmons, but will cede the captaincy to No.8 Ben Mowen.


    And Matt Toomua will retain the No.12 jersey ahead of Christian Lealiifano, while Nick Cummins will return to the wing alongside Adam Ashley-Cooper, with Tevita Kuridrani staying at No.13.

    Scott Fardy also returns to the starting line-up at blindside breakaway, while Kane Douglas comes on to the bench as second-row cover and Ben McCalman moves back to the bench.

    Horwill has been the first-choice Wallabies captain since taking over from Rocky Elsom for the final Test before the 2011 World Cup.
    Injury kept him out of the Test team last year but he assumed the captaincy again under former coach Robbie Deans for the British and Irish Lions series and retained the honour when McKenzie took over before the Rugby Championship.

    McKenzie said the decision was not permanent but he did not say when or if Horwill would resume the role.

    The Wallabies coach said the move was designed to get Horwill back to his playing best and had nothing to do with the quality of his leadership.

    "I don't think that's an issue, primarily you pick a team you're picking on performance, you need them to deliver," McKenzie said.

    "I know what he's capable of and I think he's been a little bit off the pace of what he's capable of delivering, so I want him to focus on that.

    "It's going to be a tough game up front and he's one of our most abrasive players, so I want him to play to his full potential."

    It is almost certain that Horwill would have been on the bench on Saturday had Simmons not re-strained the medial ligament in his left knee at training earlier this week. Medical staff ruled him out on Wednesday.

    McKenzie would not be drawn on the question but has traditionally thought of Horwill and Timani as interchangeable at No.5 but not, ideally, starting second-row partners.

    The captaincy decision is a stunning one but McKenzie has already shown he is not afraid to make changes. He shocked the rugby community when he did not pick Cooper at five-eighth in the first two Tests under his leadership, then did it again when he benched Genia in favour of Brumbies No.9 Nic White.

    McKenzie said stripping Genia of the vice-captaincy was also about wanting more from his halfback's game.

    McKenzie said he wanted more from the group and was prepared to make big changes and big selection calls to find that.

    "You get one chance at these things, and you're given what you've got, and I've been asked to make it better," he said.

    "My career in rugby has been about fixing things, people might not agree about how you get there but I worked out in my very first year of head coaching that if you don't make hard decisions you won't get very far, and certainly nothing will change.

    "So if I want players to make hard decisions and play tough, I've got to do the best I can in that same space."

    Horwill has had a year of monumental ups and downs. He won a race against time to make it back to Test rugby in time for the Lions series; endured a circus-like appeal process after being cleared of stamping in the second Lions Test; and then tore his calf two days before the series decider, choosing to play through the pain and captain the Wallabies in what ended in a dismal loss.

    "When guys carry injuries – I've had major injuries myself – the mind is willing and sometimes the body is in a mode when you've come off a long haul out of the game and you want to make sure you're right," McKenzie said.

    "He's been back playing since March roughly and he's been back on the field and he's had a couple of setbacks . . . at this point of time I want him to concentrate on being the hard-working, abrasive second-rower I know he can be."

    Wallabies team to play England: Israel Folau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Toomua, Nick Cummins, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Ben Mowen (c), Michael Hooper, Scott Fardy, James Horwill, Sitaleki Timani, Ben Alexander, Stephen Moore, James Slipper. Res: Saia Fainga'a, Benn Robinson, Sekope Kepu, Kane Douglas, Ben McCalman, Nic White, Christian Lealiifano, Bernard Foley.



    http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...=1383206519838


    This is interesting stuff. wonder if it will work. Big call by Link here!

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    Immortal jargan83's Avatar
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    Link is ether a tactical genius or he has gone full retard

    Time will tell I guess but what's with the game of musical chairs with the Captains gig? Can't say I'm a fan of it

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    Immortal Contributor jono's Avatar
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    agreed.

    im surprised Moore wasnt looked at for VC.
    has Quade even captained the reds?
    there is also two-dads there as well. he's surely got the experience?

    i also hadnt noticed that horwill's form was shit?
    Genia is too slow, but we all know this.

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    Immortal Contributor The InnFORCEr's Avatar
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    Sounds like the end for Horwill as Captain "moving forward"
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    Champion GAFFA's Avatar
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    Horwill has been in shocking form and deserved to be on the brench had simmons not gone down (who shouldnt be there anyway) Mowen is a better captain anyway is a lot better when dealing with the refs.

    QC`s one is interesting but by a reports he has really stepped up to the plate so why not give him a chance if i remember he captained QLD against the Lions.
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    Quote Originally Posted by GAFFA View Post
    Horwill has been in shocking form and deserved to be on the brench had simmons not gone down (who shouldnt be there anyway) Mowen is a better captain anyway is a lot better when dealing with the refs.

    QC`s one is interesting but by a reports he has really stepped up to the plate so why not give him a chance if i remember he captained QLD against the Lions.
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    Yeah I guess if they have a captain in the forwards they need a leader in the backs as well so Moore got overlooked and AAC on the wing probably too far from the action. Anyway the team looks pretty good, would prefer Fardy lock and McCalman 8, Mowen 6 but lets see what Timani has got.

    Good to see the Badger back

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    Horwill is not a natural captain and IMO Mowen is and as such a very good choice. Horwill and Genia need to focus on their form.

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    Was speaking to a pommy mate at work in the UK about the game tomorrow. He obviously wants a home win, but said he was hoping that the Honey Badger would bag at least one meat pie just in the hope he gets interviewed after the game.

    Nick Cummins international rugby ambassador!!!!

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    Great game, Fucken battled right through to the 80!

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    Veteran Sheikh's Avatar
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    England team is a bit young - average age is only 25, and Launchbury & Lawes as the locks - fast but a bit lightweight.

    Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Tom Youngs (Leicester), Dan Cole (Leicester), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton), Tom Wood (Northampton), Chris Robshaw (captain, Harlequins), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Lee Dickson (Northampton), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Marland Yarde (London Irish), Billy Twelvetrees (Gloucester), Joel Tomkins (Saracens), Chris Ashton (Saracens), Mike Brown (Harlequins).

    Replacements: Dylan Hartley (Northampton), Joe Marler (Harlequins), David Wilson (Bath), Dave Attwood (Bath), Ben Morgan (Gloucester), Ben Youngs (Leicester), Toby Flood (Leicester), Ben Foden (Northampton).

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    Looks like Benny has to warm the bench until the second half again!! I do feel sometimes he tends to be a bit placid at times in a game, so if he comes out like he did against Argies with some aggro he's sure to get his spot back. Right decision re Horwill but Cooper as VC? stinks a bit of favouritism. Surely there are other backs who can direct traffic better than him!

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    Legend Contributor brokendown gunfighter's Avatar
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    the #10 generally directs the traffic

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    Veteran valzc's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by brokendown gunfighter View Post
    the #10 generally directs the traffic
    Yeah key word being 'generally' - and we've all seen Quade hasn't exactly been inspiring in that department let alone VC. Sorry can't work out the rationale on this one! Time for a drink too hard my brain's hurting.

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    Valzac it is weird! Makes no sence to me apart from the possible truth that Link is showing parental favouritism, a la Deans and F'upps!
    Can not for the life of me see why QC. fully agree with Ben getting it and think his omission from Deans team may well have been a telling factor.
    Horwell is not a (Wallabies ) captains arshole.

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    May the FORCE be with you!

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    Immortal GIGS20's Avatar
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    Using Snob's analogy, Quade isn't a Wallaby flyhalf's arsehole, let alone Vice Captain (maybe he's been named captain of vice and the reporter misheard)

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    C'mon the

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    Ex-captains laud Quade Cooper's attitude change

    Quade Cooper, who last year described the Wallabies environment as “toxic”, has turned the corner in his attitude and is ready to display his leadership qualities in Saturday's Test against England.

    That is the view of former Wallabies captains Simon Poidevin and Nick Farr-Jones.
    In a leadership overhaul for the Test at Twickenham, coach Ewen McKenzie promoted Cooper to vice-captain and back-rower Ben Mowen to captain after demoting out-of-form second-rower James Horwill.

    Former Wallabies breakaway Poidevin applauded the changes, saying: “You've got to stress test your structure and that is what Ewen is doing.” Poidevin said Horwill's demotion “is a very proactive move to put him back on track to where he was playing. No doubt he was struggling.”

    But the vice-captaincy move has impressed Poidevin, who was not a supporter of Cooper until after watching the five-eighth play in the last Rugby Championship Test against Argentina in Rosario and then against the All Blacks in the final Bledisloe Cup Test in Dunedin.

    Poidevin spoke to Cooper at the John Eales Medal dinner in Sydney on the eve of the Wallabies' departure for England.

    “I haven't been a cheerleader for Quade, but he has turned the corner in a significant way,” Poidevin said. “I said it to him at the [dinner] that I thought he played his best Test for Australia against New Zealand in that third Bledisloe. It's refreshing to see a young guy learn a lesson from doing the wrong thing. And clearly a year ago he was in a far different space.

    “But in Argentina, his aggressive defence and taking [of] the ball to the line, and ownership of his vision on field was an omen to a very big performance against the All Blacks, which he actually achieved.

    “I can again see Ewen, in the maverick way he does things sometimes, giving Quade a chance to step up a further level as vice-captain.”

    Poidevin believes Cooper's attitude change is genuine. "There is a very apparent change in his whole view of the world," he said. "Let's be realistic. We all make mistakes."

    Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/un...#ixzz2jRrVcjph

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