Matt Burke tells Adam Ashley-Cooper to get selfish

[mudskipper]

Matt Burke tells Adam Ashley-Cooper to get selfish and ditch utility tag

WALLABIES great Matt Burke has urged Adam Ashley-Cooper to make a stand and ditch his utility tag to cement his position as Australia's premier fullback.

Burke, hailed as the world's best fullback for much of his long reign in the Australian No 15 jumper, has no doubt Ashley-Cooper is the man for the job, even though teenage star James O'Connor has played several Tests there this year.

And the 1999 World Cup winner believes Ashley-Cooper, who has again also filled gaps at centre and wing for the Brumbies and Wallabies in 2009, must tell selectors he wants to only play at fullback.

“I think the best person for the job is Ashley-Cooper, no doubt about it,” Burke said.

“He's safe under the high ball, got a great step, runs the ball back well. Unfortunately his demise is he's too good everywhere else.

“Sometimes you become a jack of all trades and a specialist of none.

“I think he needs to sit and say `I want to play 15 and 15 only'.

“The other guy coming through in O'Connor, played well, yes, had a glorious start - but you need to produce that week-in, week-out and against the South Africas, and the New Zealands, which is quite a tough ask.

“I think he's (Ashley-Cooper) got to get a bit selfish and say `I want to play 15, I don't want to play wing, 13 and 12 now, because it's not doing me any favours'.”

Burke says 19-year-old O'Connor would be better served learning his trade at Test level off the bench for the Wallabies, or even slotting in at inside centre alongside former Western Force teammate Matt Giteau.

“When (Berrick) Barnes went down I thought they would have put him at 12,” he said.

“He's played 12 at the Force with Giteau and having that combination would have been quite good for him.

“Fifteen is a lonely spot sometimes, you can be out there by yourself and no doubt they're going to stick up high balls and try and bash you at the same time.

“There's no doubt he (O'Connor) is a courageous player, does well and you can see he's fast on his feet and the rest of it.

“But ... that age factor comes into it a little bit, and making the right decisions at one level and then going to the next level just is sometimes a little bit different.

“He will get there no doubt about it. He's a special player, but perhaps the best way for him to experience a Test match at the highest level is coming off the bench.”


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news...-1225799257618

[pieter blackie]

AAC will only be fullback until Sheps return He will then move to the wing and Mitch will be warming the bench

[palitu]

AAC will only be fullback until Sheps return He will then move to the wing and Mitch will be warming the bench

hell yeah! it wil be good to see sheps back on the picth.

[James]

I wouldn't mind if Shep played on the wing for the Wallabies. He has a knack for being in the right place at the right time for tries. It'll be great to have him back though yeah.

[brokendown gunfighter]

imagine saying to the coach im playing at 15 & nowhere else.The reply would be" play where I put you,or bugger off"

[robyn <3]

AAC will only be fullback until Sheps return He will then move to the wing and Mitch will be warming the bench

AAC on the wing? He's as slow as a snail. I think Crossy'll lift his game and go back to 13, with Digby on the wings with Hynes. Sheps at 15. AAC on bench.

[Burgs]

Apart from the method, I think Burkey is on the money in terms of all he is saying.
Agreed BG, I can see such a stance going down a treat with Dingo, but it doesn't mean it's wrong either for mine.
IMHO JO'C isn't a Fullback but it may stand him in good stead later on being able to fill the gap there.
The O'Driscoll try has been layed at the feet of Cooper and Ioane however, finally watching the match yesterday, it was JO'C who is most out of position, seen trotting back in the footage having been right out on the left Wing.
He has a huge amount to learn about the positional play and I don't believe that shold be done at the highest level, that is what S14 and, dare I say, Provincial Rugby is for.
IMHO Shep is our best kicking #15, with a very strong running game, while AAC is our best running #15, with a sometimes questionable kicking game.
Having the two floating between the two positions may be the modern way, similar to having a left and right Flyhalf.

[AndyS]

I am not sure there would be anything to pick between them for their running, other than Shep's fragility if it produces a big impact.

[Burgs]

Oh, I think you'd have to be pretty blue eyed not to give AAC the nod on his current form. Shep is good but hasn't had the same record of busting tackles that AAC has brought into his style. Shep exploits a gap, AAC makes the gap.
But each to their own

[force addict]

sheps can play wing and fullback and do an outstanding job at both.

[AndyS]

Shep exploits a gap, AAC makes the gap.

Not from fullback he doesn't, which is probably why he is saying he prefers the wing (which was basically where he was standing for both his acknowledged "leg drive" tries). From fullback AAC typically runs up, gets pulled down and hopes his support gets back in time. That, or he puts up some god-awful up-and-under and then stands there admiring it rather than running everyone onside.

For mine he's a (good) 13 playing 15 simply because he is the best available option. But he is merely adequate at 15.

[mudskipper]

AAC makes plenty of good runs at fullback... Its a long road back to the Wallabies for Shep...

[Endurance]

AAC makes plenty of good runs at fullback... Its a long road back to the Wallabies for Shep...

X2

Also agree on O'Connor RE: the B'OD try.. was clearly out of position on the replay.

[Burgs]

Yeah, fair cop for Cooper and Ioane for letting through the one held up by Hynes soon before it, and that may have been in some peoples minds, but there was little either of them could do much with what was runnng at them for BO'D's one, was pure roll the dice and hope they get the right one, would have been helped significantly with a tackling Fullback in position!

[AndyS]

Absolutely - in that situation, you'd have to wonder whether any single player could have done the job. It was one of the reasons I had to laugh when I saw this crap from Bret Harris, which can be summarised as "Smith should have been injected into the game for the last 10 minutes of the Test in Dublin at inside centre in place of Quade Cooper." and "Not only would the Wallabies have stood more chance of repelling O'Driscoll with Smith defending in the midfield, but they may have stopped the Irish from getting into a position to score in the first place". All possibly true, but can you imagine the baying for blood that would have erupted if Smith had let through (or more probably been unable to stop) the try that denied Australia a potential grandslam when playing out of position?

AAC makes plenty of good runs at fullback... Its a long road back to the Wallabies for Shep...

Even if he isn't at fullback, he'd walk in on the wing if he only plays as well as he did last year injured.