Wallabies overhaul pack for Springboks showdown
By AAP, 2 Sep 2010
- Tagged:
- Adam Ashley-Cooper, Ben McCalman, David Pocock, Drew Mitchell, Matt Giteau, Quade Cooper, Rocky Elsom, Rugby Union, Springboks, Tri Nations, wallabies, Will Genia
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The Wallabies have overhauled their starting pack for Saturday’s (0100 Sunday AEST) Tri-Nations Test against South Africa in Bloemfontein.
Hot on the heels of last weekend’s implosion in Pretoria, hooker Saia Faingaa, lock Dean Mumm and No.8 Richard Brown have all been dropped to the bench.
The Australian selectors have instead opted for experience in Stephen Moore and Mark Chisholm, and raw energy in Ben McCalman.
Hooker Moore will play his 50th Test and his selection comes after Faingaa struggled with some of his throw-ins late in the 44-31 loss at Loftus Versfeld.
Brumbies team-mate Chisholm, who has 51 caps, will start his first Test of 2010 after Australia’s lineout fell apart when the side’s set-piece chief Nathan Sharpe suffered an ankle injury.
Western Force forward McCalman, 22, replaces Brown at No.8 after impressing when he came on from the bench for just his second Test in Pretoria.
Wallabies assistant coach Jim Williams said the side needed to stick to its lineout plan better.
“We went away from it there a little bit and obviously Victor (Matfield) and Juan Smith stole a couple of balls there so we’re just making sure we address those and keep nice and positive,” Williams said.
“For the majority of the game we were in that from set-piece as well.
“It was maybe just technique with throw-ins on a couple and the options that we took inside their 22.
“There are options there to take and we’ve just got to make sure that we take them next time and make sure we stick to our plan.”
Queenslander Rob Simmons, a late call-up when Scott Higginbotham injured his back during the warm-up last week, drops out of the 22.
The Wallabies are desperate for a win at Vodacom Park to be able to take something out of this Tri-Nations series.
A first victory at altitude in South Africa in 47 years would, as well as shaking that monkey off their backs, avoid the prospect of a second straight one-from-six series haul.
It would also provide some hope for Saturday week’s jet-lagged meeting with the rampant All Blacks at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
© AAP 2012Wallabies: Kurtley Beale, James O’Connor, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Matt Giteau, Drew Mitchell, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Ben McCalman, David Pocock, Rocky Elsom (capt), Nathan Sharpe, Mark Chisholm, Salesi Ma’afu, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson. Res: Saia Faingaa, James Slipper, Dean Mumm, Richard Brown, Luke Burgess, Berrick Barnes, Anthony Faingaa.
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September 2nd 2010 @ 10:25am
OldManEmu said | September 2nd 2010 @ 10:25am | Report comment
A very handy reset of the deck chairs on the Titanic.
September 2nd 2010 @ 11:12am
cinematic said | September 2nd 2010 @ 11:12am | Report comment
classic.
September 2nd 2010 @ 10:26am
Warren said | September 2nd 2010 @ 10:26am | Report comment
If Mumm lacked mongrel why pick Chisholm? Same mould, if you ask me – they both seem to wilt when it’s tough.
September 2nd 2010 @ 10:40am
RedsNut said | September 2nd 2010 @ 10:40am | Report comment
Still don’t understad why Ma’afu is still there
September 2nd 2010 @ 10:58am
Behind Enemy Lines said | September 2nd 2010 @ 10:58am | Report comment
The selection changes at lock can only be about experience. Mumm is only on the bench because he has more experience than Simmons. I would have preferred to give Simmons a start next to Sharpe with Chisolm on the bench. I also would liked to have seen Slipper start. Not sure what we’ll do if AAC gets injured.
September 2nd 2010 @ 11:16am
jiggles said | September 2nd 2010 @ 11:16am | Report comment
Changing Chisholm for Mumm is like changing a square plug for a Triangle plug when you have a circular hole…. its just ridiculous!
September 2nd 2010 @ 12:04pm
Peter K said | September 2nd 2010 @ 12:04pm | Report comment
Its obvious Simmons is a straight and straight lock good for lineouts not much around the field alah MATFIELD.
Sharpe is their mainly for lineouts Mumm supposedly was for the hard yakker and ball carrying.
With no other ball carriers than Elsom you cant afford 2 lineout specialists.
Mumm was and has been useless. Out of the cattle left Chisholm is the logical fit as a ball carrier. But he is almost as useless as Mumm.
Maafu should be gone.
Moore in is a very good and OBVIOUS choice. Moore adds more.
Too bad Higginbotham is injured.
Also side is still unbalanced. Surely a winger could of bneen picked at least on the bench, preferably move JoC to 12 and bench useless Giteau.
September 2nd 2010 @ 12:14pm
stuff haapens said | September 2nd 2010 @ 12:14pm | Report comment
No-one can answer my question about when Chisholm last played a rugby match I assume because it was so long ago no-one can remember. The reason for the question is that he’s up against a real rugby warrior in Dannie Roussow. As I said good luck.
What annoys me is that the coaching staff seem to be blaming the players for last week’s result and failing to take responsibility for their own ineptitiude with subs at the end of the game as many people have pointed out this week.
I also notice from my paper that the whole squad is swanning around some resort on the coast. We learned this week on another thread that two weeks at altitude will negate most of the problems of playing in the high veldt, yet the Wallabies have spent nearly three weeks at sea level only travelling to the veldt for the matches.
September 2nd 2010 @ 12:34pm
jiggles said | September 2nd 2010 @ 12:34pm | Report comment
it is a joke that they are not on the highveldt. As much as they say its not an issue, altitude is an issue, a big one that the wallabies have not overcome in 40 odd years!
September 2nd 2010 @ 5:24pm
Tortion said | September 2nd 2010 @ 5:24pm | Report comment
He has been playing for Randwick for months.
September 2nd 2010 @ 12:54pm
Bruiser said | September 2nd 2010 @ 12:54pm | Report comment
When i first read of the overhaul i thought, you beauty at last they have sucked it up and taken the decision to give some of these guys a go. I think in fact i even cheered when i read that Mumm had been dropped (at last i thought!) only to learn when i kept reading that he’s been replaced by Chisholm – who time again has failed to impress and hasn’t even been in the frame/bench for recent tests. Bigger biceps than heart. I think they should have a competition to work out who is the softer of the two. i don’t know who is more useless…so how does this go toward the idea of making changes for the better and at least giving some guys a chance. And to make matters worse, they drop poor Simmons and move Mumm to the bench?!?! How is Simmons ever going to get more experience if they dick around like this? It is simply a big step backwards IMO.
I like McCalman in theory but haven’t seen him play much, but is he in fact a specialist No. 8? If not, didn’t we mess around with this idea a few years back…and it failed miserably. In fact i’d rather see Simmons on the bench and McCalman in the 2nd row even though he is a bit short. At least we’d have someone who is hard and willing to bring some mongrel to the table. I certainly wish Higginbothom was fit.
September 2nd 2010 @ 2:00pm
Hoy said | September 2nd 2010 @ 2:00pm | Report comment
Would be an interesting competition between Mumm and Chisolm. How would you run it? What would the criteria be?
September 2nd 2010 @ 6:21pm
Rockin Rod said | September 2nd 2010 @ 6:21pm | Report comment
McCalman will get smashed by the Boks. He is another 12 months away from starting test matches. One way to ruin a kids career. NSW let him go as they prefer McCaffrey as their number 8 when Palu moves on. Get him on the spring tour
September 2nd 2010 @ 1:26pm
breakaway said | September 2nd 2010 @ 1:26pm | Report comment
Not without reason, there’s a fair bit of pessimism among roarers at present about the Wallabies. But consider this: there are only three major international competitions in world rugby: the TN, the 6N and the RWC. At present, with two games in hand, Australia still has a chance to finish second in the toughest comp of them all, the TN. I think most would agree that all three TN teams are presently a cut above the northern hemisphere rugby nations, which from where I stand, puts us as one of the better chances for RWC ’11.
IF Ashley Cooper – normally a good finisher – hadn’t dropped the ball in the Hougard tackle – and let’s credit a great tackle – we might have won the Pretoria test which was a free-flowing affair. But we didn’t and that’s history. There’s another chance this weekend, and then in Sydney against the ABs. The TN has been played at the highest level of speed and intensity with mostly northern refs, and that augurs well for a lively RWC. If that eventuates, Paddy O’Brien can take a bow.
I think Deans had to make changes. Moore will return fresh and ready for a challenge. Chisholm knows this is probably his last chance. McCalman will want to make the most of his first chance. I like what I see of Beale and surely it is time for Giteau to really step up as we know he can.
All up, are the Wallabies really that bad?
September 2nd 2010 @ 4:27pm
jiggles said | September 2nd 2010 @ 4:27pm | Report comment
I thought Chisholm’s last chance was against england in the second test… and he failed miserably.
and the wallabies for the last three years are playing at a 52% (or there abouts) strike rate. that is bad.
September 2nd 2010 @ 6:51pm
MOTHER TERESA said | September 2nd 2010 @ 6:51pm | Report comment
EXACTLY OUR POINT ,get selection ,strategyand social architecture right and watch the synergy and confidence combine to overcome(perceived )deficiencies.
thats the job description of the head coach;its not the cows
September 2nd 2010 @ 1:41pm
johnny-boy said | September 2nd 2010 @ 1:41pm | Report comment
It’s a good example of Deans making a few token changes to try and settle a few critics but he is still cruelling this team. Deliberately or not is the question but is hard to see how a genuinely smart coach could be so stupid.