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It’s almost here. Ewen McKenzie will announce his Wallaby team to play against France this week, and we thought we’d beat him to it.
We received well over 500 responses from Roarers who wanted to pick their team to take on Les Bleus, and we’ve come up with this team – The Roar‘s Wallabies XV to play France.
1. Scott Sio
2. Stephen Moore (c)
3. James Slipper
4. James Horwill
5. Rob Simmons
6. Scott Fardy
7. Michael Hooper
8. Wycliff Palu
9. Will Genia
10. Bernard Foley
11. Nick Cummins
12. Matt Toomua
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
14. Rob Horne
15. Israel Folau
16. Tatafu Polota-Nau
17. Sekope Kepu
18. Pek Cowan
19. Luke Jones
20. Scott Higginbotham
21. Nic White
22. Pat McCabe
23. Kurtley Beale
Well picked Roarers! This looks to be a very good side.
Looking at the figures, it was very clear that there were a few very contentious positions.
Lock was one of those, with Reds duo Rob Simmons and James Horwill tallying the most votes in the individual locking positions, but the Rebels’ Luke Jones getting more votes overall.
Should we then give one of the locking spots to Jones? In the end we decided to give Jones a spot on the bench as he was the only one to be given a go at both the 4 and the 5 jerseys, but couldn’t quite get enough votes to pip Horwill or Simmons. Either way, it was a contentious one, particularly when a lot of people picked hulking Waratah Will Skelton for the bench.
Outside centre was another close call, with in-form Waratah Adam Ashley-Cooper earning the spot over Tevita Kuridrani with 53 per cent of the vote. Clearly Ashley-Cooper’s strong Super Rugby form has earned him this spot in Roarers’ eyes.
AAC will be partnered in the centres by Matt Toomua, who clearly won his position.
The halves pairing was also surprisingly a landslide. Bernard Foley got the nod to start at 10, and will most likely assume the goal-kicking duties for the side with no Lealiifano at centre. Will Genia’s rejuvenated performance against the Highlanders allowed him to hold his position at scrum-half too.
Scott Sio and James Slipper have been entrusted with combating the French scrum, and Stephen Moore will take the reins as skipper, having been chosen in a tight one over Matt Hodgson.
Unfortunately for Force skipper Hodgson, his many votes for captain didn’t translate to a gig in the starting team, with Michael Hooper winning out comfortably. Both players have had tremendous domestic seasons, and neither would let the gold jersey down if selected.
Scott Fardy absolutely killed it at blindside flanker, Higginbotham didn’t come close. Nor did he push Wycliff Palu for the number 8 position.
With Ashley-Cooper already picked for outside centre, we had to disregard the votes in favour of him being selected on the wing and go with the Honey Badger (who got the most votes by a fair margin) and Rob Horne, who caps off a remarkable start to 2014 with a Wallaby starting berth.
Last in the starting line-up, but certainly not least, is Israel Folau. No one came close.
Wading through all the names for the bench was a bit of a nightmare, but you have the results above, with Higginbotham just pipping Ben McCalman, and Beale and Pat McCabe getting the back spots.
What do you think Roarers? Is this the team to beat France?
The full statistical breakdown of who you chose in what position is below.
| Scott Sio | 326 | 63% |
| James Slipper | 140 | 27% |
| Pek Cowan | 31 | 6% |
| Other | 23 | 4% |
| Stephen Moore | 500 | 97% |
| Tatafu Polota-Nau | 8 | 2% |
| Nathan Charles | 9 | 2% |
| Other | 1 | 0% |
| Sekope Kepu | 190 | 37% |
| Ben Alexander | 91 | 18% |
| James Slipper | 221 | 43% |
| Other | 14 | 3% |
| James Horwill | 245 | 47% |
| Sam Carter | 55 | 11% |
| Luke Jones | 205 | 39% |
| Other | 14 | 3% |
| Rob Simmons | 322 | 62% |
| Luke Jones | 78 | 15% |
| Will Skelton | 104 | 20% |
| Other | 15 | 3% |
| Scott Higginbotham | 85 | 16% |
| Scott Fardy | 423 | 82% |
| Other | 10 | 2% |
| Michael Hooper | 479 | 92% |
| Matt Hodgson | 38 | 7% |
| Other | 1 | 0% |
| Wycliff Palu | 252 | 49% |
| Ben McCalman | 110 | 21% |
| Scott Higginbotham | 149 | 29% |
| Other | 7 | 1% |
| Will Genia | 350 | 68% |
| Nic White | 107 | 21% |
| Nick Phipps | 60 | 12% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Bernard Foley | 385 | 74% |
| Kurtley Beale | 57 | 11% |
| Matt Toomua | 77 | 15% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
| Christian Lealiifano | 65 | 13% |
| Matt Toomua | 402 | 77% |
| Other | 52 | 10% |
| Adam Ashley-Cooper | 277 | 53% |
| Tevita Kuridrani | 237 | 46% |
| Other | 6 | 1% |
| Nick Cummins | 465 | 46% |
| Adam Ashley-Cooper | 220 | 22% |
| Rob Horne | 182 | 18% |
| Pat McCabe | 137 | 13% |
| Other | 15 | 1% |
| Israel Folau | 511 | 98% |
| Adam Ashley-Cooper | 2 | 0% |
| Kurtley Beale | 6 | 1% |
| Other | 0 | 0% |
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.