Wallabies run on reserves announced: Gill to debut, Beale survives
Roar Guru Related coverage
The Wallabies have announced their run on reserves to play the All Blacks tomorrow evening at Eden Park, following this morning’s captain’s run.
Queensland Reds loose forward and Australian Under-20 captain Liam Gill stands poised to make his Test debut after today being named on the bench.
Gill will become the 861st player to have represented Australia in Tests, should he come off the bench.
He is one of four forwards named, alongside the three backs, who include last week’s starting players, inside centre Anthony Fainga’a and fullback Kurtley Beale.
Tatafu Polota Nau has been ruled out after failing to overcome the discomfort provided by deep-seated bruising to the backside after training. His replacement has already been named in Stephen Moore.
His place has been taken by Queensland Reds hooker Saia Fainga’a, who joins his twin brother Anthony on the bench.
Rob Simmons has been left out of the side.
The Wallabies completed their preparations for the game with a light session at Eden Park this afternoon.
The full Wallabies line-up to play New Zealand in the second Test of The Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup at Eden Park in Auckland tomorrow night (kick-off: 7.35pm NZ time, 5.35pm AEST) is:
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs)
14. Drew Mitchell (NSW Waratahs)
13. Rob Horne (NSW Waratahs)
12. Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs)
11. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds)
10. Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds)
9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds, captain)
8. Scott Higginbotham (Queensland Reds)
7. Michael Hooper (Brumbies)
6. Dave Dennis (NSW Waratahs)
5. Nathan Sharpe (Western Force)
4. Sitaleki Timani (NSW Waratahs)
3. Ben Alexander (Brumbies)
2. Stephen Moore (Brumbies)
1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs)
Run On Reserves:
16. Saia Fainga’a (Queensland Reds)
17. James Slipper (Queensland Reds)
18. Radike Samo (Queensland Reds)
19. Liam Gill (Queensland Reds)
20. Nick Phipps (Melbourne Rebels)
21. Anthony Fainga’a (Queensland Reds)
22. Kurtley Beale (Melbourne Rebels)
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August 24th 2012 @ 12:04pm
formeropenside said | August 24th 2012 @ 12:04pm | Report comment
Gill should have started. Still, its better than nothing.
Mind you, if 34yo Sharpe or Timani goes down in the first 10 minutes, its Samo to lock, and that could be problematic in the end game.
August 24th 2012 @ 12:10pm
Red Kev said | August 24th 2012 @ 12:10pm | Report comment
True but Sharpe-Samo will hold the scrum steadier than Simmons-Sharpe will (neither can pack effectively on the tighthead side and when Sharpe did last weekend the ABs drove straight through Kepu).
I also get the feeling we’ll see Hooper-Gill in tandem late in the game which I am keen to get a look at.
August 24th 2012 @ 1:32pm
formeropenside said | August 24th 2012 @ 1:32pm | Report comment
Until Samo gets tired, anyway.
August 24th 2012 @ 4:44pm
MikeN said | August 24th 2012 @ 4:44pm | Report comment
It would be Samo or Dennis. Hopefully Dennis because it would not impact the loosies so much.
RK, your assessment on Simmons-Sharpe is exactly what I have been saying all week. Simmons needs to develop more power to be useful at international level. Sharpe has aleays been so goos elsewhere that his lack of power in the scrums has something the Wallabies have had to live with. When Vickerman was his partner he had the big engine next to him and it worked well.
August 24th 2012 @ 5:04pm
Red Kev said | August 24th 2012 @ 5:04pm | Report comment
Quote – “Simmons needs to develop more power to be useful at international level.”
I disagree entirely, he just can’t play while Sharpe is there. Simmons-Horwill and then Simmons-AWH outplayed most of the lock combinations they came up against last year and this year (the notable exceptions being the Stormers at Suncorp and the Bulls in Pretoria).
When Sharpe is gone Simmons is perfect for his role.
August 25th 2012 @ 9:33am
Behold said | August 25th 2012 @ 9:33am | Report comment
Dennis will play lock and Samo will play 8. I think Hooper is going to run himself into the ground in the first half and Gill will play the entire second.
August 24th 2012 @ 12:14pm
Funk said | August 24th 2012 @ 12:14pm | Report comment
Agreed, if Sharpe goes down the line out is screwed from that point on, who calls the line out then, Timani or Samo?
August 24th 2012 @ 1:40pm
jeznez said | August 24th 2012 @ 1:40pm | Report comment
I’d say Dennis is probably the reserve lock (based upon Wales tests) and is probably the reserve lineout caller as well.
August 24th 2012 @ 12:08pm
Dasher said | August 24th 2012 @ 12:08pm | Report comment
The bench is better than the starting line-up! (more or less…)
August 24th 2012 @ 2:16pm
Justin2 said | August 24th 2012 @ 2:16pm | Report comment
Wayne Smith (Coach) sums up last week pretty well. Not sure of his relationship with Deans but his comments basically insinuate that he had no idea what he was doing from this –
There is a good chance that the All Blacks could put Australia away with something to spare this weekend. There are a lot of holes in this current Australian defence. If New Zealand can keep the scrum up and be more accurate with their lineout delivery, then there are a lot of attacking opportunities.
It was hard to be certain what was going on with Australia last Saturday. The selection of the team indicated that they would play a solid, chasing game, kicking for territory and trying to squeeze mistakes from the All Blacks. You do not pick Berrick Barnes, Anthony Fainga’a and Rob Horne and then try to play like Quade Cooper and James O’Connor.
But that is exactly what Australia did, throwing a series of wild passes in their own red zone. Did they imagine they could open up New Zealand with a surprise tactic or were they suckered into it by New Zealand’s defensive pattern.
I was certainly impressed with how New Zealand set up in defence. Their movement in the backfield was superb and offered very littleroom for Genia & Barnes to kick into. They pressed the Aussie midfield and left the space out wide. Australia went for it and came badly undone.
Technically there were deficiencies on both sides. Other than Pocock, the Australian forwards’ body position were poor and they were not getting the shoulder under the opposition chests. Now they don’t even have Pocock. Hooper will add some running game to the attack, but Australia’s back row balance was poor at the weekend.
They may need to find alternative kicking options from the centres and the wings this weekend, because there is not much on for Barnes. Australia will also have to be more imaginative with their use of forward runners. Having the world’s best half back firing long flat passes to forwards in midfield, who are then getting smashed, is not a good use of resources.
If the All Blacks have a good week analytically they will see a lot of opportunities off the set piece. If they can tidy up some of their timing issues, particularly on the offload, then it could be ominous for Australia.
August 24th 2012 @ 3:18pm
Harry said | August 24th 2012 @ 3:18pm | Report comment
Pretty hard to disagree with that assessment. My fear is the All Blacks will dominate possession and we will defend manfully for awhile, before the gaps start opening up. Once on top NZ are masters of increasing the pain by all their usual tricks – pushing things at the breakdown, blocking, sheperding – secure in the knowledge that giving away a penalty isn’t all that bad when you are 2 tries + ahead and in the Oppo’s half.
August 24th 2012 @ 2:20pm
Brett McKay said | August 24th 2012 @ 2:20pm | Report comment
Run on reserves….
Still annoys me..
August 24th 2012 @ 2:33pm
Markus said | August 24th 2012 @ 2:33pm | Report comment
I swear I had never even heard that term until this week, when it suddenly got repeated use on multiple sites.
It really is a silly term, as it insinuates that:
- there is some separate, non run-on group of reserves somewhere
- all the reserves will actually make it onto the field at some point
August 24th 2012 @ 2:46pm
Jerry said | August 24th 2012 @ 2:46pm | Report comment
“there is some separate, non run-on group of reserves somewhere”
There is. It features people like Matt Dunning, Piri Weepu etc.
August 24th 2012 @ 3:20pm
Brett McKay said | August 24th 2012 @ 3:20pm | Report comment
Markus, I can’t tell you when it first crept into ARU parlance (it’s directly from the Wallabies Media Relase, hence the use on multiple sites: cut & paste is their friend), but it’s been bugging me for a couple of years now. And it’s spreading too, I’m sure it features in some Super Rugby team announcements now…
August 24th 2012 @ 3:14pm
Harry said | August 24th 2012 @ 3:14pm | Report comment
Ridiculous isn’t it, but Jerry had a good jibe below.
At least pleased they refused to go with the nonsense proposition floated by TPN yesterday that he wasn’t up to starting but might be OK for a reserve.
August 24th 2012 @ 3:32pm
LeftArmSpinner said | August 24th 2012 @ 3:32pm | Report comment
lets stick with bench………………qld: 9, tahs 7; brumbies 3; rebels 2; force 1; (retired)
August 24th 2012 @ 4:56pm
MikeN said | August 24th 2012 @ 4:56pm | Report comment
Man I get tired of seeing this state- based criticism.
They are all in the Wallaby system now and whether they succeed or fail will be determined by how good or bad the Wallaby system is. The Wallaby system was terrible last weekend, and the team would have lost no matter who was playing.
I have not see a winning strategy for playing the AB’s, or good people managemment skills from Deans yet and that is the issue not what states the players come from.
Like the Olympic swimming coaches, Deans gets his team going pretty well in other theatres but on the biggest stage (Olympics for swimmers, AB’s for Wallabies) both grtups have been underprepared and not at their peak and therefore disappointing..
August 24th 2012 @ 5:10pm
Red Kev said | August 24th 2012 @ 5:10pm | Report comment
You wouldn’t see it if the best player in their position was picked for the Wallabies. But they’re not. The Waratahs get a free pass from Deans and the ARU despite being pathetic both as a team and as individual players.
Robinson – not as good as Holmes
TPN – not as good as Moore
Kepu – fine as Palmer is injured, but not as good as Palmer
Timani – not as even good as the other Waratah Douglas, let alone Horwill (injured), AWH (injured), Pyle or Neville
Dennis – not as good as Hodgson or Schatz
Barnes – at 10 no, at 12 okay, but not as good as Tapuai at 12
Horne – it’s easier just to list the centres that are worse than he is rather than those he’s not as good as (his selection is a disgrace)
Mitchell – massively underdone (not as good as Shipperley on form) but an acceptable gamble given his class and a must win match
AAC – moved around too much but plays his best rugby at 13 (where Cummins is a stronger option of those uninjured)
August 24th 2012 @ 4:03pm
flying hori said | August 24th 2012 @ 4:03pm | Report comment
A good team, solid and structured
August 24th 2012 @ 4:19pm
The Battered Slav said | August 24th 2012 @ 4:19pm | Report comment
If Mitchell not performing or tiring, hook him, shift Two Dads to the wing and give Kurtley a chance to atone for his sins at fullback.
And please Robbie, don’t wait until the 70th minute to have a token bench injection, use your bench when the need arises.
Kurtley to score the winning try after coming off the bench….you heard it here first as they say!!!!
August 24th 2012 @ 6:15pm
Billy Bob said | August 24th 2012 @ 6:15pm | Report comment
Slav, I said it elsewhere I’m picking (hoping) Hooper to do a ‘Cornelson.’
Kids- google 1978 Auckland Bledisloe.
My kiwi brother in law breaks out in a cold sweat whenever he hears the ‘C’ word.
August 25th 2012 @ 8:45am
kiwi said | August 25th 2012 @ 8:45am | Report comment
Yep Billy Bob, it is one of the worse “swear words” you can use.
August 24th 2012 @ 7:02pm
Sydney Kiwi said | August 24th 2012 @ 7:02pm | Report comment
Not a bad team, better than last week, add the injured Pocock and JOC and you have a fair team. I prefer Higgs at Blindside though.
August 24th 2012 @ 8:07pm
Bakkies said | August 24th 2012 @ 8:07pm | Report comment
Bar Gill, Slipper and Beale that’s a poor bench. Beale is the only one who could offer impact off the bench. I am not sure what Deans fixation with the twins are. They are very ordinary test players
August 24th 2012 @ 10:32pm
stillmatic1 said | August 24th 2012 @ 10:32pm | Report comment
i have always rated anthony faianga as a very solid defensive player, and obviously works well with a qld backline, but saia is very average. i still remember anthony doing the job many times against SBW, so have always given him credit for being a solid lynchpin in any defence. dont know how saia gets a look in at all, very soft player.