Perspective

[wholetruth]

Rebels 13 Canes 38
Canes 41 Force 6

So what happened to the Great White Hope of Australian Rugby or should that be the Great White Hope of Fox Sports commentators and the ARU's overdraft. It is multi-million dollar ARU team isn't it!?
Oh that's right it was the fault of the pitch wasn't it Greg Martin

[Tazzmania]

Reality as to where all the Aussies teams really are, and that is miles behind the NZ outfits . oh wait according to rugby 360 the Reds are now firing and set to win the Super 18, and if, not to worry an out of season rugby sevens program run by league coaches will unleash future talent that will save Union.

Time to level the playing fields in Australian rugby and balance the teams as NZ is showing you cannot have one team of world beaters and the rest as weak as can be, what NZ does so well is balance the top talent so that each team can blood and keep churning through the newer boys in teams that have the correct mix and balance of talent both experienced and raw and those that are on the fringes get a chance to develop with the pressure point finely balanced

[travelling_gerry]

6 tries to the Canes in both matches

[Alison]

Shouldn't that be Canes 33 -18 Rebels??

[travelling_gerry]

Fixed

[Sheikh]

Actually, shouldn't it be Rebels 13 - Canes 38

[travelling_gerry]

Fixed

[James]

I also liked:
Chiefs 53 - Force 10
Brumbies 23 - Chiefs 48

Puts things in perspective that other teams are doing just as badly at home as the Force are doing away. Gone are the days that you could count on one or two basket case NZ franchises (Highlanders and Blues usually put up their hands there). I hope that the NRC will help to make up the gap between the countries but it will take two or three years before we notice any meaningful differences.

[andrewg]

Have posted the Round 8 Ruck Analysis on Green and Gold.

It includes the Waratahs v Brumbies head-to-head as well as a comparison of Aussie OSF/No 7s.

Should draw some interesting discussion.

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/sr-...lysis-round-8/

No 7s – Open Side Flankers

Following Bob Dwyers’ comments about Hooper this week there has been lost of discussion about the relative merits of the No 7s in Aussie SR teams.

I’ve included Jordy Reid in the table below as he is often mention during despatches and due to the uncertainty regarding which flanker is which for the Rebels.

The No 7s fall into 3 main categories:

Ball Carriers – Hooper, McMahon and Reid

Active in Tight – Hodgson and Pocock

Hybrid – Gill (Caution – Stats from only 2.5 games)

I’m interested to see how these comparisons develop leading up to Wallabies selection for the England Tests



Comparison with 2015



To assist discussion, I’ve added the same average stats for the 2015 season.

As can be seen there’s a lot of swings and roundabouts. However, in 2015, Hooper still had the least TRIs. There is no doubt that others are stronger over the ball and that others have also improved their ball carrying game. All of these players have had to adapt to the new breakdown rules and interpretations of same.

What Hooper was missing in the game against the Brumbies was the cohesion and support from his team mates. In particular check the number of DRIs from the new players Dempsey (av 6 DRIs) and Holloway (av 2 DRIs). This Back Row has had no time to meld as a unit.

In 2015, Hooper and the Waratahs had the contributions of Potgeiter (average 9 DRIs), Skelton (7 DRIs), Latu (7 DRIs) and Palu (6 DRIs).

McMahon gets the benefit of the co-ordinated support from Reid and Thompson; Hodgson from Cottrell and McCalman, Gill from Shatz/Browning and Tui and Pocock from Fardy and Vaea/Butler.

The effectiveness of Defensive Rucks depends on the systems and co-ordinated team effort rather than just an individual.

As discussed above, Aussie Front Rowers are simply not involved enough in this process. It’s almost as if they’re treated as precious scrummagers or set piece players only. I recommend comparing their efforts with those of the All Blacks Front Rowers.

The Western Force had arguably the best back Row in Aussie SR when Hodgson, Pocock and MCalman/Brown worked as a co-ordinated unit. It was a case of Hodgson providing the initial tackle, Pocock quickly in on the ball and McCalman providing the cleanout if required. Hodgson always quickly returned to the line in order to make the next tackle.

I think that Hooper is not showing this same speed of involvement. His lower level of TRIs supports this view.

[Buddha Handy]

Have posted the Round 8 Ruck Analysis on Green and Gold.

It includes the Waratahs v Brumbies head-to-head as well as a comparison of Aussie OSF/No 7s.

Should draw some interesting discussion.

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/sr-...lysis-round-8/

No 7s – Open Side Flankers

Following Bob Dwyers’ comments about Hooper this week there has been lost of discussion about the relative merits of the No 7s in Aussie SR teams.

I’ve included Jordy Reid in the table below as he is often mention during despatches and due to the uncertainty regarding which flanker is which for the Rebels.

The No 7s fall into 3 main categories:

Ball Carriers – Hooper, McMahon and Reid

Active in Tight – Hodgson and Pocock

Hybrid – Gill (Caution – Stats from only 2.5 games)

I’m interested to see how these comparisons develop leading up to Wallabies selection for the England Tests

I certainly think Hooper is not doing enough to get picked at the moment and Gill is playing well. As good as Hodgo is I don't he will ever get picked ahead of these guys.

I like McMahon as well but if the team was picked tomorrow I would go with:

7. Gill 8. Pocock with McCalman on the bench. If Pocock happened to be injury then I think 7. Gill 8. McCalman would compliment each other well also.

[GIGS20]

I think you're right about Hooper Beige, but I'd be picking Gill on the bench, his game is a bit more the traditional fetcher that I like, but he's not up to pocock's standard. I'd pick a ball runner and tackler to back up pocock and that would probably be McMahon, not likely to be mccalman on current form, nobody in the tahs is close and the Reds have essentially hype without substance. I'd also wait to make a call on how the brumbies back row looks without ita vaea. There are a couple of good young flankers there!

[beige]

I think you're right about Hooper Beige

Leave me out of this...

[andrewg]

As good as Hodgo is I don't he will ever get picked ahead of these guys.

I agree. Hodgo just keeps on doing what he's always done.

I include his stats to show that the younger players need to lift their game.

[shasta]

Leave me out of this...

[GIGS20]

Leave me out of this...

Sorry, didn't look closely enough before posting. Regardless, are you saying you think Hooper is doing enough to retain his gold jersey?