Wallaby Prop Combinations

[Burgs]

Injuries permitting, Knuckles and Foley will have the possability of having to choose between four Props for three jersey's next weekend.
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0...-23217,00.html
Who do you feel makes the best possible combination from the contenders of Al Baxter, Rodney Blake, Greg Holmes and Guy Shepherdson?
Names are listed as Loosehead, Tighthead, Reserve in the poll.

[frontrow]

I`m now convinced Burgs, Baxter has had his day, bring on the new talent, and having been extremely impressed by Holmes and Shepardson`s performances, particulary on Saturday, they should start against the Kiwis, with Blake in reserve, to add some weight towards the end of the game.
And lets see more props crossing the line, i get soooo proud everytime i see this happen

[blindsid3]

Mythology tells that when Rodzilla was playing schoolboy rugby for Homebush Boys High (Sydney) that inside the opposition 25 yard line was known as the Blake Zone...

Rodzilla would take an inside ball at pace propell himself like a juggernaut at the tryline, completely unstoppable. He was reportedly one of the leading try scorers in the CHS competition that year...

So, if we combine his momentum and Greg Holmes proven mobility around the paddock (everyone remembers Subi Oval, but don't forget he backed up Gregan / Larcombe in a 50m run down the paddock last weekend to score his second try in three weeks) and you have the starting props for my mind...

The power to weight ratio of these two blokes, not to mention their fitness, is phenomenal...

The wallabies scrummaging is showing true progress. But to have Rodzilla and Holmes making game breaking plays on the paddock is almost as important - even if it is just for the euphoria (fear if you are facing it) of 120kg of manmachine marauding the tryline...

[AndyS]

I'd say the voting says it all - it's Holmes, Blake and Shepardson, with the only question being the bench player. I wonder whether they are doing anything in training with McIsaac's propping. While obviously not preferred, it gives depth on the bench and minimises the risk of a no-contest.

I also wonder what the plans are for the end of season tour. It is a pretty soft program, and would seem to be an ideal opportunity if they wanted to spread the net wider to try a few players from further down the rugby ladder and maybe identify a bolter or two. I don't know much about Troy Takiari, but at 192cm and 120kg he at least has presence and apparently plays both sides. It'll be interested to see him here next year.

[blindsid3]

Rodzilla branded 'great young hope'
By Bret Harris
July 21, 2006

JUST as golfer Greg Norman is known as the Shark, Australia prop Rodney Blake answers to Rodzilla, the nickname given to him by Queensland teammates.

And Rodzilla is following the Shark into the commercial world of sports merchandising.

In what is believed to be a first for an Wallabies player, Blake's management, GSM World, is registering Rodzilla as a trade mark.

The idea is that Blake will sell everything from Rodzilla fishing lines to ice-cream if his profile continues to grow in the way it has this past year.

The player admitted he was surprised when his management approached him with the proposal.

"I was shocked," the quietly spoken Blake, who will make a comeback from an ankle injury in Australia A's match with Fiji in Melbourne tomorrow night, said.

"I never thought of anything like that.

"It's a big thing for me. I haven't spent too much time thinking about it. I'm focused on what I have to do on the field."

Rodzilla is a play on Rodney and Godzilla, the Japanese movie monster.

"People just call me Rodzilla," Blake said.

"I don't really mind that name. I've got used to it the last few years at the Reds. It's just like a first name to me now."

Blake's management is confident the Rodzilla logo will have great commercial appeal.

The hulking Blake (130kg) has become a cult figure at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, running like a centre three-quarter in the midfield while off-loading passes, and he is now gaining a national profile.

"He has got to be up there potential-wise," GSM World marketing manager Brett Davison said.

"It's been a while since we've had a personality like Rodney Blake, who appeals to such a broad market of everyday people.

"John Eales, George Gregan and Steve Larkham cover the corporate market, but Rodney appeals to the mainstream.

"It's a bit of his quirkiness. He is a running forward. We see him in the play. People identify with him. He has imposing bulk, but he is fast. It's been a while since we've seen a front rower making 40- and 50-metre breaks."

After just two Tests with the Wallabies Blake, 23, is developing into the great young hope of the Australian front row.

The Tonga-born player was drafted into the Wallabies squad this year to strengthen the Australian scrum, which was humiliated on the tour to Europe last November.

He made a good impression in the two recent Tests against England until he was forced off in the second game in Melbourne with an ankle injury.

While scrummaging is a front rower's bread and butter, Blake captured attention with his rampaging runs in the midfield. It is rare for a player of his size to have such impressive running and passing skills.

"After school I would play touch football with my mates," said Blake, who grew up in Lidcombe in Sydney's western suburbs.

"Every afternoon from Monday to Thursday, 20-a-side, mates playing touch footy. I watched the skilful players and just copied them."

Blake is very quiet and shy, but that seems to be part of his charm.

"I just like to play," he said. "I don't really feel comfortable in front of the cameras. I just keep it short and that's it.

"I'm still the same. I feel no different when I'm with the Wallabies and when I'm back home. I don't know how to change myself."



The Australian

[blindsid3]

It's Rodzilla versus the All Blacks

Greg Growden
Wednesday, July 26, 2006

RODZILLA is back. The Wallabies selectors have had a change of heart and are set to start Australia's biggest prop, Rodney Blake, against the All Blacks in the return Bledisloe Cup match in Brisbane on Saturday night.

Although Wallabies coach John Connolly has repeatedly said he is eager to persevere with props Guy Shepherdson and Greg Holmes against the All Blacks, despite both struggling in Christchurch, Australia are leaning towards bolstering their front-row ranks by bringing Blake back at tighthead.

Connolly said last night that choosing between Blake and Shepherdson for the No.3 jersey would be a "very close decision". But the Australian selectors are expected to opt for Blake, the 130-kilogram Queensland prop who missed the past three Tests with a twisted ankle.

In the Test team to be announced today, Holmes is scheduled to remain at loosehead, Jeremy Paul to stay as the starting hooker, with Shepherdson expected to be bracketed with Al Baxter as a reserve prop. Baxter injured a shoulder nerve during Australia A's 80-9 thrashing of Fiji in Melbourne on Saturday, and did not train with the Wallabies in Brisbane yesterday.

Although several days ago there were serious concerns about whether second-rower and vice-captain Dan Vickerman would take part because of a shoulder complaint, he is expected to play.

Earlier this week Connolly did not appear enthused with Blake's scrummaging performance for Australia A, but must have realised greater bulk is required in the Wallabies scrum to counter the All Blacks' excellent tight five.

Uncertainty also surrounds the make-up of the All Blacks front row, even though the New Zealand selectors yesterday announced a line-up almost identical to the team that won 32-12 in Christchurch this month. The only change to the first Bledisloe Cup line-up is Ali Williams being preferred to Jason Eaton in the second row.

There remain doubts whether Blake's direct opponent, All Black loosehead prop Tony Woodcock, will play after he damaged his AC joint against the Wallabies.

Although Woodcock has been selected, the All Blacks were yesterday somewhat evasive about whether he would be fully fit for the Test. When asked about Woodcock's condition, All Blacks coach Graham Henry said: "He's getting there. We have picked him on medical advice that he will be right, hopefully."

The omission of Woodcock would be rousing news for the Wallabies as it would fragment what Australia regard as the best scrummaging outfit in world rugby. New Zealand fullback Leon MacDonald damaged his elbow at training yesterday, but is expected to play.

The All Blacks also decided to provide some stand-up comedy yesterday by bringing up the old chestnut that maybe, just maybe, their training sessions had been infiltrated by Australian spies.

When the All Blacks trained at Brisbane Grammar School yesterday, security was brought in to keep out spies. Henry explained that the ultra-security had been opted for because of previous Australian tour experiences. "I was with the [British and Irish] Lions in 2001 - interesting experience - where we did have some people there who shouldn't have been there," Henry said.

"Everywhere we train now we have security people, one to make sure that people don't get in there who shouldn't be there and might disrupt the training and, two, to make sure that it's kept to ourselves rather than shared with the opposition."

Henry was backed by his assistant coaches, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith. Smith said espionage was against the ethics of the game and Hansen, who apparently is in charge of security, said peeping Toms at training sessions was "one of the things that's gone wrong in the game".

Hansen added: "There's no doubt that it happens and we saw that last year before the England game [at Twickenham] when we had two guys dressed in camouflage gear with video cameras. They were not there working for newspapers."

Connolly, meanwhile, was not surprised by the All Blacks reverting back to their A line-up, and opting against Eaton. "Eaton has a lot of talent, but maybe he is a bit loose for what they like," Connolly said.