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![Not allowed!](images/buttons/up_dis.png)
Eddie's hitting the hyperbole in that one a bit. Sounds like the mind-games have started.
Japan and the Pacific Islands for Aussie Super 9's!
Let's have one of these in WA! Click this link: Saitama Super Arena - New Perth Stadium?
Wasn't he nicknamed "Shut Up Eddie" by somebody aound here a few years back? That'll do for now anyhow.
"The main difference between playing League and Union is that now I get my hangovers on Monday instead of Sunday - Tom David
Sorry guy's but the AB's by 15. Izzies ankle is a lot worse than they are letting on and quality player that he is, he has struggled big time over there and has gone from bad to worse.
WTF was that attempted fly kick all about. Will come back and get operated on next week.
The Wallabies are on the verge of something special and with all the youth coming through will be a dominant force for the next few seasons, but just not right now.
You have to be in one to win one and the Wallabies just have too many guy's that are new to the big stage whereas the AB's are loaded up with grizzled campaigners who have been there before and know what it takes to get the job done.
The AB's will have too much grit and even though it will take them till around the 70 minute mark to break the Wallabies defence down they will run in a couple of late ones through Kuridrani's outside shoulder, big hole's out there and everyone know's it.
Money Bill will be responsible for this and that was very hard for me to admit because I've never been a fan of his continuous bullshit.
The AB's will run at Pocock every chance they get, force him to be the tackler and try and keep him on the deck as often and as long as possible .
The 2 best teams are on display.
Should be an absolute cracker and by the end of it one thing is for sure, I'll be as pissed as.
Wests Scarborough 1st Grade juggernaut has played finals rugby each and every year since its inception and continues this remarkable feat yet again this season and unbelievably it's still rolling on and as an added little circle jerk for the masses Wests actually hold the record for the current longest unbroken finals record.
It's good to let the allblacks think they are unbeatable. Great to see Aussies talking up the Darkness....meanwhile the messiah is quietly preparing his charges for a a world cup crowning.
My concern is the fatigue factor....and Folau. Folau has his head in a very negative place. Wonky short grubbers on kick returns when his whole team in front of him will be punished with 7 points againt the darkness. They hurt you if you make massive fuckups. It shows his head is in a murky pool. He is massively down on confidence. I'm assuming his ankle is so painful he can't play. It has to be team first. If he is going to play that badly he needs to sit out. Another week of rehab might have him right? At his best you want him to start. He is due for a massive performance. I hope he comes good. He is the point of difference player we need to beat NZ. His form has been so bad the messiah must be contemplating dropping him.
We also need Sio. Without him, our scrum has returned to a laughing stock.
Go the wallabies.
They looked out on their feet in the last 20 minutes of the last 2 matches. I hope this week is a lighter prep. If they start walking against the darkness we'll get hammered
Controversy corner
MCCALMAN RETAINED AS WALLABIES NAMED FOR RUGBY WORLD CUP 2015 FINAL
By David Berrie on Thu 29th October 15 in Wallabies, Ben McCalman, All Blacks, Rugby World Cup, final
Western Force No.8 Ben McCalman has retained his place on the Wallabies bench as Coach Michael Cheika has announced his team for the Rugby World Cup 2015 Final against New Zealand at Twickenham on Saturday (Sunday 12am AWST).
Scott Sio will return to the starting XV having overcome his injury that ruled him out of the Semi-Final, resuming his role in the number one jersey while James Slipper reverts to the bench.
The front row switch is the only change in the Wallabies’ starting XV following the 29-15 victory over Argentina last Sunday, as the Australians prepare for a record-equalling fourth Rugby World Cup Final.
Australia will have one survivor from their last World Cup Final in 2003, with Matt Giteau lining up at inside centre. Giteau replaced current Wallabies Assistant Coach Stephen Larkham briefly in that Final 12 years ago.
Saturday’s Rugby World Cup Final will be the first played between Australia and New Zealand, with the winner to become the first nation to win the tournament three times.
The Wallabies took home the William Webb Ellis trophy defeating England in 1991 and France in 1999 and made a third Final against England in 2003.
Cheika said nothing would change for his team heading into the decider.
“This week we've had a strong focus on improving certain areas in our game where we feel we havent been at our best in the previous matches” he said.
“We still have lots of scope to improve and we'll work on that before this next match against New Zealand.”
“Our lads are learning to cherish each opportunity they have in the gold jersey and this week we have that opportunity again and we'll be doing our best to make Australia proud of it's rugby team."
Wallabies team to play New Zealand in Rugby World Cup 2015 Final at Twickenham, London
Saturday, October 31, 4pm local time (12am Sunday, November 1 AWST)
LIVE on FOX SPORTS 502 from 11:00pm AWST and Ch 9 and GEM from 11:15pm AWST Saturday
1. Scott Sio (15 Tests)
2. Stephen Moore (c) (101 Tests)
3. Sekope Kepu (62 Tests)
4. Kane Douglas (23 Tests)
5. Rob Simmons (59 Tests)
6. Scott Fardy (29 Tests)
7. Michael Hooper (vc) (50 Tests)
8. David Pocock (54 Tests)
9. Will Genia (65 Tests)
10. Bernard Foley (26 Tests)
11. Drew Mitchell (69 Tests)
12. Matt Giteau (101 Tests)
13. Tevita Kuridrani (30 Tests)
14. Adam Ashley-Cooper (vc) (113 Tests)
15. Israel Folau (37 Tests)
Reserves
16. Tatafu Polota-Nau (60 Tests)
17. James Slipper (73 Tests)
18. Greg Holmes (23 Tests)
19. Dean Mumm (43 Tests)
20. Ben McCalman (46 Tests)
21. Nick Phipps (37 Tests)
22. Matt Toomua (30 Tests)
23. Kurtley Beale (59 Tests)
- See more at: https://www.westernforce.com.au/arti....vYVSKrXB.dpuf
A complete side note and no need to discuss but QC remains stranded on 59 tests, guess he's played his last test in gold.
Go Wallabies!!
80 Minutes, 15 Positions, No Protection, Wanna Ruck?
Ruck Me, Maul Me, Make Me Scrum!
Education is Important, but Rugby is Importanter!
There’s no doubt that the 2 best teams at the RWC have progressed to the Final.
Both teams have shown the best defence and the flexibility and skills to win even when the game doesn’t progress as planned.
In order to make the final, most key players have shown what game they have brought with them or developed for the RWC. For the Wallabies, most players have transferred Ruck Involvements at the SXV level into the Test arena. This is an achievement in itself. Cheika has prepared them well.
The tables below summarises averages so far.
For the Wallabies, the stats show the averages for 5 games. The stats for Uruguay have been excluded as the team comprised mostly of reserves players.
For the All Blacks, ruck stats were not collected for the games against the lesser nations – Georgia and Namibia.
The Ruck Involvement and TOW statistics are normalised to a full 80-minute game. Not all starters last the full game and some replacements have had little more than cameo appearances. However, normalising all data to 80 minutes allows a comparison of work rate.
On FoxSports, in commentary after the Semi-Final against the Pumas, Wallabies great, John Eales, stated words to the effect that the “Wallabies Back Row was the Best in World Rugby”. I reckon he knew that this was a big call. As far as the Ruck Involvement and Turn Overs Won (TOW) statistics are concerned the Back Rows are comparable. This combined with the higher work rates of the All Blacks Front Row, Locks and Forward replacements, give the All Blacks a significant advantage in the Battle at the Breakdown.
The Wallabies Forwards, particularly the Front Row and Locks (including replacements) will need to increase their work rate and ruck involvements to well above their best performances at the RWC to give the Wallabies a chance to win the Battle of the Breakdown and get their hands on The Bill.
RUCK INVOLVEMENTS
Remember:
1. Early means 1st or 2nd of player’s team AFTER the ball carrier has been tackled and brought to ground.
2. Impact means active engagement: strong physical contact, changed shape of ruck, clean-out, protecting ball etc. (more than hand on someone’s bum or arriving after the hard work has been done). Yes it’s subjective - but as I collect all data at least it’s consistent.
3. Impact DOES NOT equate to Effectiveness. I’ve concluded that coming up with an effectiveness measure is just too hard in the time that I have available – but open to suggestions.
Comments:
1. All Black Forwards have averaged 270 Ruck Involvements (RIs) per game.
2. Wallabies Forwards have averaged 220 RIs per game.
3. The 50 additional RIs are evenly spread between the ABs Front Row and Locks and are essentially additional Attack Ruck Involvements (ARIs).
4. 5 ABs have RI work rates higher or equal to Pocock - the best for the Wallabies.
5. All Black Forwards provide strong support for their team’s ball carriers and appear to be very selective in their Defensive Ruck Involvements (DRIs). All Blacks Back Row are very efficient in earning TOW– averaging 5DRIs/TOW. The Wallabies Back Row averages 9DRIs/TOW.
6. Wallabies Back Row has shown itself to be a tight, inter-dependent unit with almost double the DRIs of the All Blacks.
7. Pocock is critical to the success of the Wallabies at the breakdown with the highest RIs and more than half the TOW of the starting Forward Pack.
8. There is no strong replacement, in either RIs or TOW rate, should Pocock get injured.
9. The TOW conversion rate (DRIs/TOW) for Fardy and Hooper are the highest for both sets of Forwards.
10. The Wallabies back Row need to work in concert with increased support at Rucks from the Wallabies Tight 5.
11. All Backs Front Row replacements provide both strong Ruck Involvement support but excellent TOW outcomes.
12. Wallabies Back Row replacements provide reasonable Ruck Involvements support but no TOW in the RWC to date.
13. IMO the Wallabies Front Row needs to get out of their comfort zone and work outside of the Central Channel. They need to show more flexibility and desire to get involved in Ruck Involvements out wide. The benefit of this approach is shown in Owen Franks’ RIs which are the 2nd highest for the All Blacks.
14. The same is true for the Wallabies Locks. Both of the All Blacks starting Locks average 10 more DRIs than all of the Wallabies Locks.
15. The Final is time to leave everything out on the pitch with no regrets.
DISTRIBUTION OF RUCKS OVER 80 MINUTES
Comments:
1. The All Blacks obviously have a game plan to unsettle the opposition and to be in the lead by half-time
2. The All Blacks apply pressure right from the opening whistle and flood the breakdown for the first 10 minutes (nearly 60% more RIs that normally shown by the Wallabies).
3. This pressure is re-applied early in the 2nd quarter and again immediately after the main break.
4. The Wallabies have shown that they can sustain RIs over the full game but there has been a marked drop-off in effort for the last 10 minutes of both halves.
RWC BREAKDOWN PERFORMANCE
Comments:
1. The All Blacks generally have 50 more RIs than the Wallabies. Their 3% more possession accounts for some of the extra ARIs, however, the All Blacks provide strong support for their own ball carriers and appear very selective in DRIs.
2. The extra RIs are evenly distributed between the All Blacks Front Row and Locks.
3. All Blacks TRIs: Pumas 260; Tonga 254; France 256; Sth Africa 304.
4. Wallabies TRIs: Fiji 185; England 242; Wales 195; Scotland 217; Pumas 263.
5. Wallabies Front Row matched the contribution of the Back Row (37% without Pocock) against Scotland
6. Wallabies Locks highest contribution was 25% against England.
7. Wallabies Back Row lowest contribution was 41% against England.
8. The All Blacks generally stand-off Defensive Rucks more than the Wallabies who work harder to slow down the availability of the opposition’s ball.
9. The All Blacks have not got close to the 37%/38% DRI involvement shown by the Wallabies against Argentina/Wales.
10. The distribution of the Wallabies Forwards’ TRIs is heavily weighted towards the Back Row which has parity with the All Blacks Back Row.
11. All Black Backs have less Ruck Involvement than Wallabies Backs. Is this part of the ABs strength in rebounding and scoring from broken play?
12. The Average TOW by each team is about the same but the All Blacks are about 30% more efficient in DRI’s/TOW.
13. All Blacks Possession: Low – Tonga 42%; High – Bokke 57%, Pumas 58%.
14. Wallabies Possession: Low – Wales 40%; High – England 51%, Scotland 55%.
15. All Blacks Territory: Low – Tonga 43%; High – Pumas 69%.
16. Wallabies Possession: Low – Wales 37%; High – Scotland 62%.
When the Wallabies defeated the All Blacks (27:19) in Bled 1 2015, the Wallabies had 262 TRIs (201A/61D) versus the All Blacks 238 TRIs (174A/64D). Wallabies Forwards DRIs/TRIs was 23% versus the All Blacks 27%. The Wallabies had 56% Possession, 58% Territory and 9 TOW (7F/2B) to the All Blacks 7 TOW (4F/3B). It was very different game to the one that the Wallabies have shown at the RWC.
The 80-minute ‘normalised’ Total Ruck Involvements/work rates in that Test were: Pocock 44 (+6), Fardy 42 (+8), Hooper 24; Horwill 39, Mumm 32 (+9); Sio 17, Moore 28 (+5), Kepu 20. Reserves: Slipper 47 (+12), TPN 47 (+32), Holmes 39 (+10), Skelton 20, McCalman 29 (+2).
These gives some indication of the improvement required to earn a win against the All Blacks.
HOW CAN THE WALLABIES WIN THE BATTLE?
1. Don’t rely upon the All Blacks having a bad day. They want this one to give some of their greats a good send-off. Wallabies need to grasp the moment from the opening whistle and leave everything on the field of battle.
2. Focus on ball retention with more protection of the Wallabies ball carriers especially from the Front Row and Locks. The Front Rowers in particular have to get out of their comfort zone and work outside the Central Channel.
3. Reduce incidence of isolated ball carriers taking the ball into contact to avoid just feeding players such as McCaw Read, Kaino, Whitelock and Retallick.
4. Disciplined strategic kicking to gain territory.
5. Reduced and more selective involvement in Defensive Rucks to conserve energy for the full 80 minutes.
6. Disciplined and fast defensive line.
7. Strong Ruck Involvements from Backs, especially Kuridrani, AAC and Giteau, to fill the gaps as required.
8. Replacements on at 55-60 minutes to maintain defensive pressure.
Can we see a win? Of course we can!
Will we see a win?
If it's by the numbers seen so far at RWC then the outcome's uncertain - which will make it even more compelling watching.
We're in for a good one!!
Last edited by andrewg; 30-10-15 at 08:22.
DEFENDING champion New Zealand has selected the same starting team and reserves for the Rugby World Cup final against Australia on Saturday.
That meant Joe Moody remained at loosehead prop when the team was announced on Thursday.
Moody was the only change to the run-on side for the semi-final against South Africa, after Wyatt Crockett strained his groin in the quarterfinal win over France.
After the 20-18 win over the Springboks, Moody came in for praise from coach Steve Hansen. Moody joined the squad only after the pool stage, as the injury replacement for first-choice loose-head Tony Woodcock, who tore his hamstring muscle. Woodcock has remained with the team, and Moody has appreciated input from him and Crockett.
Seven All Blacks who started in the 2011 final win over France will run out at Twickenham against the Wallabies: Prop Owen Franks, lock Sam Whitelock, loose forwards Jerome Kaino, captain Richie McCaw, and Kieran Read, and centres Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith.
Keven Mealamu, the starting hooker in 2011, was in the reserves, along with fellow 2011 survivors Ben Franks and Sonny Bill Williams.
They are bidding to become the first team to win consecutive World Cups, and a third.
“In our minds we have never been defenders,” Hansen said. “We knew we would have to earn the right ... so being in the final is very satisfying in its own right, as it’s the first Rugby World Cup final an All Blacks team has made in the UK.
“But the ultimate goal has always been to win it.”
The All Blacks were humbled by Australia 27-19 in the Rugby Championship decider in Sydney in August. But back home the following week, they smashed the Wallabies 41-13. For the return match, New Zealand dropped Kaino and played Victor Vito, and put pressure on him and No. 8 Read to give McCaw more support in the breakdown fight against Australia’s David Pocock and Michael Hooper.
Kaino has stayed in the No. 6 jersey for the final, with Vito in the reserves.
“Both teams have arrived at the final by different pathways,” Hansen said. “We’ve had the luxury of building game by game, whilst Australia have had to be at their very best right from day one.
“Mental fortitude and physical endurance, together with skill execution and sheer desire, will be the key ingredients come Saturday.”
New Zealand: Ben Smith, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Julian Savea, Daniel Carter, Aaron Smith; Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (captain), Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Joe Moody. Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Ben Franks, Charlie Faumuina, Victor Vito, Sam Cane, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Beauden Barrett, Sonny Bill Williams.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/ru...-1227587539893
mate, just go to any central london pub... Kiwis cant afford to live in Zones 1-3, so head to the south bank!
(plus, why watch at a beer barn, when you can enjoy it in the comfort of a proper London pub with low ceilings, smelly carpet and a bulldog underfoot. Much bettah!)
but you know whats dead set shitting me...
I know social media is the outlet of the mouthbreathing majority, but every Wallabies post, has a chorus of knuckle draggers "da ABS wil Smsh you Cnts bro" chiming in.
thats nice cuz, now get back to bashing your wife and children.
Ill just leave this here:
(should start at 2:44, when it gets the crowd involved)
http://youtu.be/58vujCL2dJI?t=2m44s