2nd Test vs All Blacks Thread

[jargan83]

Don't reckon Pocock is up to it. He is strong at the breakdown, but slow getting there. Not as gritty as Hodgo while there.
No where near as fast as Hooper around the field. Pocock doesnt bring anything more that warrants him there.

Hodgo to 7, Hooper to 12, Toomua to 10 or Foley and Phipps in at 9/10 and Toomua on bench.
There just wasn't any going to war out there. Hodgo has shown how that is done.

You may be right and the players named for this positions aren't too bad. Just felt like offering up a different opinion to the tin foil hat brigade.

I'm very keen to see how Pocock goes coming back from another knee recon though.

[sevenmile]

You may be right and the players named for this positions aren't too bad. Just felt like offering up a different opinion to the tin foil hat brigade.

I'm very keen to see how Pocock goes coming back from another knee recon though.

Ray Price to 8 , David Wilson to 7 and you would be on the right track
About the same age as Sir Ritchie so would be more competitive than the yellow belly lot that are there now
This lot are more in the mould of that soft cock Poidoven

[G_Beard]

You may be right and the players named for this positions aren't too bad. Just felt like offering up a different opinion to the tin foil hat brigade.

I'm very keen to see how Pocock goes coming back from another knee recon though.

CANNOT believe Hodgo isn't in the match day team!
The balance is very off.

At the beginning of the season I had wondered if Alcock could have been a Wallaby bolter.
Speed, aggression, solid ball carrier, always in support, doesn't shy from hard yards either.
Still got heaps of years in the bank luckily.

Reckon Alcock, Cottrell, Godwin and Morahan are the next group of Force players into the Gold!

[jargan83]

Reckon Alcock, Cottrell, Godwin and Morahan are the next group of Force players into the Gold!

I'd agree with that, there's a good talent base for the Wallabies coming through the ranks.

[chibi]

"Australia A" programme, wherefore art thou?!

[GIGS20]

The thing that shits me about Dickard Graham.........I cannot for the life of me work out why the 'leadership group' at the ARU aren't worried about the trail of destruction he's leaving in his wake. They must be blind as well as dumb.

He's not coaching the Tahs and therefore has limited impact on the Wallabies' player pool.

[hertryk]

I heard he'd hurt his arm (Cheese) just before the Folau non pass! after the first penalty!

[hertryk]

All Blacks got on a roll and ran with it in a big way, unfortunately the Wallabies were beaten by a better, hungrier and clinical team.

Totally agree

[hertryk]

Our team have no P A S S I O N or commitment! They should have been sorely darned gutted after such lack lustre mediocrity horrible to watch spectacle! They really should feel ashamed of themselves! Makes one want to retire to NZ ( Never forego my Force membership however!)

[Buddha Handy]

I think he's a cocky so and so, and a poor captain.

I thought when Folau got taken in a high tackle near the all blacks try line and they ran up the other end and scored a good captain may have been able to talk the referee into going back and looking at the vision to see the high tackle. But it all happened pretty quick so if he awarded the try immediately it was probably too late.

[shasta]

unexpected?

[palitu]

I watched the full game yesterday.

Spilled ball was AMAZING!!! running into each other was amazing!!!

Palu had no impact

Beale is a passenger

Toomua fonted up, and got pulled for Foley, should have been beale who got pulled with Foley to 10. pretty good effort in the air despite losing it on the ground. Definitely the best defence in the backs

Hooper was soft in a lot of his efforts, one good steal, bounced off of a lot of tackles. wrong sort of 7 in the team.

Fardy was soft and pinged too often (hence yellow) - not enough steals for my liking.

Front row was pretty good, Hanson did ok coming in off the bench

Simmons and carter were very quiet

Nic white did better, but was not as good as Phipps when he came on

Horne did ok, but needs to get involved more

AAC quiet and dropped the ball dead

McCabe not a star winger, and he is probably out now anyway

Izzy, did ok to be honest. I don't know about his fullback defensive positioning, but it is kinda hard to cover everywhere against that attack and poor tackling in the line.

Skelton was crap - no impact, kept dropping the ball - very soft

Foley was good in the time he was on - two tries were scored i believe.

The people in Bold need to be taken from the starting team or dropped all-together.

[GIGS20]

^ Yep

[jargan83]

Palu had no impact

Palu is a minnow basher

[andrewg]

Two excellent articles on The Roar which actually REALLY address some of the problems:

http://theroar.com.au/2014/08/27/wal...ideo-analysis/

http://theroar.com.au/2014/08/28/spi...d-old-players/

At last there is is starting to be some constructive comment/discussion about the shortcomings of Michael Hooper - AKA "The Boy Wonder" or "Sun Child" or "He who can't be criticised":

Spiro says: "The old-timer Matt Hodgson is the only tough scrapper for the ruck ball in Australian rugby. Hooper goes in with his hands but he rarely has a physical influence on the rucks."

I doubt if we'll ever see comments like this from the very Waratah-biased writers on Rugby Heaven, Rugby Green & Gold, Fox Sports or ESPN.

The Wallabies still have 10 Tests to play in 2014. I'd like to think that Link would be trying to win his fair share of these rather than looking 12 months forward to the RWC.

Get Hodgo on the field while he's in some of the best form of his career.

Suggest play Hodgo at 6 as Fardy seems overwhelmed by what's expected from him when Hooper is avoiding or being ineffective at the rucks. Hodgo could do what he does best - all of the hard stuff at the breakdown - and still let Hooper come in 2nd (rather than 3rd or 4th or not at all). Hooper can then afford to use his running game (which is very good).