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Lasers in the face of the Aussie kicker again. What a bunch of ferals.
Kicker should refuse to kick while laser being shone
Laugh and the world laughs with you.......
......cry and you'll weaken your beer
Lasers, dodgy refing aside the Wallabies lost! I doubt we will make it past the pool stage next year.
May the FORCE be with you!
That was terrible! The Springbok/AB match was all class! I'm a very sad wallabies supporter today...
Why is it the Wallabies ( Self Inflicted ) to only have a team of 22 on game day... Matt Hodgo always is a passenger in Tests .. Either play him ( My Choice and drop Hooper ) or take another player in to the game and use the bench fully
Hodgo left on the bench Higginbum started and lasted till 60 min mark approx then shatz on once Hooper was binned at 73 min mark hodgo should have come on and a back should have gone off Like Falou as they needed scrum power and forward movement .. Argies just had them in the forwards... and they knew once they got a scrum they would control the gamewith a 7 man oz scrum
Higgas play ave
Horwill was top tackler but gave away to many lazy penalties
Replacement props just could not handle argie scrum pressure
Phipps made some stupid mistakes and got pinged
Skelton is brain dead warned for high tackles and not fast enuff
Foley had a hard night playing 9 while phipps off and did ok but when up against a top scrum pack you need a 9
Gobsmacked that Hodgo didn't make it on the field (wrong mix and timing of replacements but Hooper spent after 65 minutes again).
Higgers scored one of the early tries. In 58 minutes 6 tackles, 1 missed tackle, 1 turnover, 5 runs for 24m. Seemed ineffective.
But nowhere near as ineffective as Skelton (2 tackles in 13 mins and had a ball carrier in a head-lock) or Schatz (2 tackles in 22 mins).
Gutted with this result and effort. Starting to think that Link is clueless.
Gobsmacked that Hodgo didn't make it on the field (wrong mix and timing of replacements but Hooper spent after 65 minutes again).
you right on the mark Andrew Hooper plays hard but is not superman so a wise replacement is Hodgo at 60 min mark and then things may have been so different .. A player is a player and everyone should be able to be subbed what a fire power the wallabies may have been and as the Fox Comms said they need a philferer
Needed a genuine playmaker to inject something off the bench. Someone who challenges the defence with a little bit of subtleness, someone with a bit of creativeness, someone who has the ability to challenge the tiring opposition defensive patterns with something different.
That someone was sitting in the stands.
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.
Ah Tonkar you might want to unlike my post then
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.
Its ok Westie we all have our own thoughts and I except some of us dont see Beale to beale lol
The Rex report
Another disappointing wallaby performance. Aren't we all sick of saying that?
The upside is that the game plan is an exciting work in progress. The intention is to play a game where forwards go into contact and unload to runners and the halves are being given multiple options with bodies in motion one or two wide of the ruck. This game plan is an energy sapping style that requires good clean out at the ruck with not many bodies committed. Clean outs need to be effective and accurate for fast recycling. With limited players committing to rucks, we are a target for turnover ball. The other thing is that defences (especially the Argies) are just fanning out in defence and getting set for the next phase. We need to mix it up with some pick and drive to drag in the defence.
The intention is to keep the ball in hand and play the width of the field. The first 15 minutes of the game was a very good effort and showed what this team could become. There is some pace, power and size that can score points.
You need the ball however.
The Argies had 76% of the ball in the first half. You can't win with 24% of possession. To be in front at half time was a miracle in itself. I am a huge fan of Hooper but it has become apparent in this rugby championship that we just aren't creating turnovers. One of our big strengths over the last 10-15 years has been our fetchers..........George Smith, Phil Waugh, David Pocock were all great pilferers who regularly turned ball over when we were on our heels, or in a world of shite. This just isn't happening in 2014. Before we throw the baby out with the bath water though, we must also address one of our greatest weaknesses of the last 10-15 years........getting over the advantage line and getting front foot ball. Hooper is dynamic and has explosive power and pace. He gets through an amazing amount of effective carries over the advantage line that sparks momentum and lifts the pace of our game. I think he should be in the side which means we have to get some balance in the back row. We would play another open side at 6 who is a worldclass fetcher. This would mean we need a number 8 who is a world class lineout option. I have however, always been a fan of having a massive number 6 who hurts people, hits hard in defence and carries the ball over the advantage line. Jerome Kaino for the allblacks is the ultimate number 6 in the Rex text book of winning rugby. If our open side is not pilfering however, it needs to come from somehwere else. This has changed the role of the hooker and number 8 in my opinion. All players need to be able tio turn the ball over in "total rugby" - the allblacks lead the way in having an allround skill set from 1-15 of players who can turn over the ball. This is why they get so many turnovers and why they kill you with counter attack............and guess what, they practice this a lot!! Do we? I doubt we do looking at how ineffective we are at the breakdown and how few turnovers we create.
back to Hooper.....we can carry him if the rest of the team is drilled on turnovers or we have to have someone else in the backrow who is a world class pest at the breakdown. Hooper needs to be in the team because of what he brings to our go forward. He has incredible explosive speed developed from sprint training on the beach as a kid in surf life saving. He is fast, explosive and dynamic and can ignite an attack and get us on the front foot. We really need this. A combination with Hooper and a fit dave Pocock might give us the balance.
We just need to be able to disrupt the opposition and get the ball back. I can't remember us being this bad at turning the ball over in recent memory.
The upside of this rugby championship is that our defensive structures have been put under the microscope through the volume of defence required and how well the team copes with fatigue. You would have to say the defensive system is doing a pretty good job. The last 10 minutes of the bokke game was a blow out but the first 70 minutes was exceptional. If we could get 50% of the ball and stopped tackling ourselves to physical exhaustion, we would be winning games. The last 2 weeks we just broke down from sheer exhaustion from the weight of defence that was asked of us. We just couldn't turn the ball over and put our own attacking structures into place.
The scrum is still a weakness. The problem is endemic in our rugby system. watching the Australian school boys scate backwards in each scrum emphasised that the problems are developing well before players come into the professional ranks.
The lineout is a mixed bag. A pass mark rather than a high distinction.
Link has opted for a hard working pack. That is not unreasonable but we just lack a physical presence that wins test match rugby.
You can lament on how little impact the backline has, but with no ball or slow ball on the back foot, there isn't much backs can do.
I just don't think Link has the pack right. They just aren't dominating the ruck and are not winning enough ball at the set piece or from turnovers. We have been playing rugby on scraps of possession. There has been bright patches of exhillarating rugby when we have had the ball. There is some exciting potential.
Despite high hopes following a super 15 title for one of our franchises, the RC trended down from hope, to disappointment to despair following a humiliating loss to the Argies. Two wins in the tournament is pretty ordinary.
We need a more dominant backrow and some locks with size and mongrel. Our locks just don't impact on a game. We need 4 huge mutha farkers. If they get tired, you bring two off the bench. I think Skelton should be a bench player. He just brings size and hurt to a game when players are tired. He can offload and set up breaks. He can smash people and turnover the ball. He's the perfect 15 minute impact man when the game is on the line. The Argies didn't like Skelton "up em"
For decades wallaby packs have been getting sand kicked in their face. It's a national embarrassment.
test rugby requires some size, power and impact
I started this test season with great optimism. I finish with a sense of despair. Unfortunately, we are well short of the mark.
I have been very impressed with the bokke. They are really impressive when they keep ball in hand and use the width. They have pace and power. Their backrow is awesome. They are a team on the rise and will be taking part in the final chapters of RWC 2015. The allblacks as always are the bench mark and will be defending their title. I just had a sense that this bokke team have caught them.
The wallabies will be a potential banana skin for any team. Unless we develop a world class pack of forwards however, we will be recording the world cup quarters, semis and final to watch at a more convenient time since Australia won't be participating.
I think I should be coach
regards
Rex
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