2nd Test vs All Blacks Thread

[jargan83]

Side has been announced

1 - Slipper
2 - Charles
3 - Kepu
4 - Skelton
5 - Carter
6 - Higginbotham
7 - Hooper (c)
8 - Palu
9 - Phipps
10 - Foley
11 - Tomane
12 - Beale
13 - AAC
14 - Horne
15 - Folau

16 - Hanson
17 - Alexander
18 - Cowan
19 - Fardy
20 - Hodgson
21 - White
22 - Toomua
23 - Kuridrani

http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/w...-1227029052865

[hertryk]

No McAlman? Is he mental? Good Hodgo at least on bench with Pek but no Benny!!!

[The InnFORCEr]

Too many Tahs

[GAFFA]

Side has been announced

1 - Slipper
2 - Charles
3 - Kepu
4 - Skelton
5 - Carter
6 - Higginbotham
7 - Hooper (c)
8 - Palu
9 - Phipps
10 - Foley
11 - Tomane
12 - Beale
13 - AAC
14 - Horne
15 - Folau

16 - Hanson
17 - Alexander
18 - Cowan
19 - Fardy
20 - Hodgson
21 - White
22 - Toomua
23 - Kuridrani

http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/w...-1227029052865

Hodgson isnt in the team Higgers is....

[todd4]

Side has been announced

1 - Slipper
2 - Charles
3 - Kepu
4 - Skelton
5 - Carter
6 - Higginbotham
7 - Hooper (c)
8 - Palu
9 - Phipps
10 - Foley
11 - Tomane
12 - Beale
13 - AAC
14 - Horne
15 - Folau

16 - Hanson
17 - Alexander
18 - Cowan
19 - Fardy
20 - Hodgson
21 - White
22 - Toomua
23 - Kuridrani

http://www.news.com.au/sport/rugby/w...-1227029052865

I wish this was true but team unchanged for second test.

[jargan83]

Hodgson isnt in the team Higgers is....

Don't shoot the messenger, information straight from the news.com.au

[The InnFORCEr]

Wallabies name unchanged line-up

AAP
Darren Walton
August 19, 2014, 9:32 am


Wallabies coach Ewen McKenzie has named an unchanged line-up for Saturday's Bledisloe Cup encounter, convinced the team that drew 12-all in the series opener in Sydney can topple the All Blacks at their Eden Park fortress.

McKenzie resisted calls to reinstate Bernard Foley at five-eighth to retain Kurtley Beale as Australia's chief playmaker as the Wallabies bid to break their 28-year drought in Auckland.

Beale had an influential game in the first Test, kicking all of Australia's points and McKenzie is backing the mercurial match-winner to continue sparking the Wallabies attack in more favourable conditions this weekend.

"We were impressed with the pressure we were able to apply in the opening Test and, despite some errors, were pleased with the intent of the group to continue attacking despite the poor weather conditions," McKenzie said on Tuesday.

"I imagine both teams are excited by the prospect of a dry evening in Auckland on Saturday night, which will have an influence on the way the game is played.

"For us, we know we need to be more clinical in certain areas, but overall we feel the same group of guys deserve the opportunity to have another crack."

Despite sticking with the same 23-man squad from last week, McKenzie said the selection process was tough.

"While we didn't quite get there on Saturday night, I do know that we've made good progress since our first Test against New Zealand a year ago," he said.

"That gives us some confidence heading into what will be an extremely tough challenge in Auckland."

After the Sydney stalemate ended New Zealand's 17-game winning streak, the Wallabies' next challenge is to halt the All Blacks' 14-Test run against them at Eden park.

Australia haven't tasted success at the venue since 1986, while the All Blacks haven't lost in 20 years and 32 Tests at their spiritual home.

But the Wallabies aren't daunted by the Eden Park hoodoo.

"Recent results would suggest Eden Park hasn't been a happy place for Australia and already this week we've seen that not many people are giving us a chance in Auckland," McKenzie said.

"Sporting records are there to be broken and we'll look forward to the opportunity of playing the All Blacks in their own backyard on Saturday night."

Wallabies: Israel Folau, Pat McCabe, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Matt Toomua, Rob Horne, Kurtley Beale, Nic White, Wycliff Palu, Michael Hooper (capt), Scott Fardy, Rob Simmons, Sam Carter, Sekope Kepu, Nathan Charles, James Slipper. Reserves: James Hanson, Pek Cowan, Ben Alexander, Will Skelton, Scott Higginbotham, Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Tevita Kuridrani.

https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/sp...anged-line-up/

[jargan83]

Foley must have run over McKenzie's dog.

[UnionThug]

Foley must have run over McKenzie's dog.

Or Beale has photos of him in an intimate situation with some kind of livestock...

[jono]

Too many Tahs

That's my line!

[Kept One]

I had hoped that Ewen would have made a couple of changes such as Beale and Palu to the bench, Benny Mac and Bernard Foley into the run on side. I would have also given strong consideration to dropping Fardy to the bench and bringing on Hodgo to start, resulting in Higginbotham dropping out of the 23. This would have given us a really strong team over the ball in the rucks.

[The InnFORCEr]

French referee Romain Poite appointed to take charge of Bledisloe Cup rematch in Auckland

JAMIE PANDARAM
The Daily Telegraph
August 18, 2014 10:00PM


IF Wallabies fans were dismayed by the whistle-happy performance of referee Jaco Peyper last weekend, they will be equally alarmed to hear that Frenchman Romain Poite is in charge of Saturday’s Bledisloe Cup return bout in Auckland.

Poite controlled last year’s big third Test defeat to the British & Irish Lions in a game in which the Wallabies front row was hammered by the referee.

Lions prop Alex Corbisiero was awarded man of the match for his dominant scrum display in the 41-16 thrashing, and after honours were shared in last weekend’s scrum against the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium, the Wallabies will be hoping Poite isn’t overly tough on their engagement and feed.

The first Bledisloe Test descended into a dour draw as the rain-soaked spectacle was stifled by Peyper, who blew 23 penalties and four free-kicks while issuing two yellow cards to the All Blacks.

With a forecast for clear day in Auckland for Saturday’s game at Eden Park, Poite should be under pressure from officials to limit his whistling and let the game flow as southern hemisphere spectators demand.

Poite earned global headlines during last year’s Rugby Championship when he sin-binned South African hooker Bismark du Plessis for an innocuous shoulder on All Blacks superstar Dan Carter, and both he and the IRB conceded the decision was wrong in retrospect.

But while the Wallabies showed in the 12-12 draw last weekend that they have made some significant strides, the regard for their scrum is a week-to-week proposition.

Following the disaster in the final Lions match, the Wallaby scrum made good strides in the Rugby Championship.

However, in their opening match against England at Twickenham on the spring tour last November, referee George Clancy blew several scrum penalties against Australia, leading coach Ewen McKenzie to address his concerns to the IRB that perception was influencing poor decisions by match officials against his side.

Meanwhile, the All Blacks resisted the opportunity to have a dig at Peyper, who sin-binned prop Wyatt Crockett correctly, but also yellow-carded Beaden Barrett for an unclear infringement.

“I think sometimes the team that has momentum perhaps gets the rub of the green, in the first 30 minutes we got that, and then when you’re under the pump, we were guilty of trying to force things a bit rather than backing our defence,” All Blacks captain Richie McCaw said.

“There were some decisions that, because we were on the back foot, went against us. That’s the nature of it.

“We need to be a little bit smarter at times, especially when we’re under the pump, that we don’t give the ref an opportunity to make decisions that makes it worse.”

Kiwi coach Steve Hansen added: “At the end of the day, probably the guy that’s got the toughest job in rugby union at the moment is the ref.

“It’s become, rapidly, a speed game, especially when you get two sides like these [All Blacks and Wallabies] who want to play the game, it’s played at 100 miles per hour, he’s trying to make decisions on a whole lot of things, and when you see them later on TV it’s pretty clear-cut, yes he got that right or no he didn’t get that right.

“There’s no point getting too bothered by it.

“You’ve just got to deal with it on the night. If you dominate the game and go forward, usually you’re on the right end of it.”

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/fr...-1227028547423

[Alison]

I'm thinking that Benny Mac and Hodgo MUST be injured!!

On to Bledisloe 2015!

[andrewg]

I had hoped that Ewen would have made a couple of changes such as Beale and Palu to the bench, Benny Mac and Bernard Foley into the run on side. I would have also given strong consideration to dropping Fardy to the bench and bringing on Hodgo to start, resulting in Higginbotham dropping out of the 23. This would have given us a really strong team over the ball in the rucks.

It's becoming apparent that Link is happy if the Wallabies can gain parity in the rucks and that we'll beat the ABs by playing attacking rugby.

If the weather is against us (as it was in Bledisloe 1) then there doesn't appear to be a Plan B, e.g taking easy points when presented or as necessary, to secure the win.

I hope that we see the game plan and it will become more apparent in Auckland.

It's quite amazing that the forward who scored most tries in Super XV (Hodgson with 6 - 4 more than Hooper) doesn't even get a spot on the bench to assist with a Plan B. How useful Hodgo's tenacity when up close and personal would have been in the last 10 minutes of last week's Test against the ABs.

[valzc]

So true AndrewG - it just does not make sense! I would luv to get to Link to ask him the stupid reasoning behind it after he's always spouting about picking players on form.