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The Rugby Championship might be taking a week off, but not the hard-working types charged with asking and tackling the big questions every Friday. Despite no Test Rugby this weekend, Biltong, Digger and I still had plenty to talk about.
Here are this week’s questions, and please feel free to post your own thoughts, or indeed lodge your own big question. The guys and I will tackle them during the day as we get a chance.
Brett McKay asks: If you were picking the Australian side next week, and wiped the slate clear, which players would definitely hold their spots?
As I alluded to this week, I don’t think Ewen McKenzie can just bring new faces in, but rather he needs to start from the bottom and work up.
And right at this time, I think the only certainties are James Slipper, Sekope Kepu (even I don’t think he was very good at Eden Park), Rob Simmons, Matt Toomua, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Israel Folau.
Michael Hooper will be a certainty too, but I do have to question his involvement. I really think the Wallabies need a proper over-the-ball hard-arse at the moment, and without one the Wallabies look and feel vulnerable. The worry is that to bring one in – knowing that Hooper won’t (and probably shouldn’t) be dropped – yet more compromises are going to have to be made in the pack.
I’ll also say again that the Bernard Foley and Toomua combination worked fine against France in June. I think we can get too hung up on x-factor sometimes, and the results of what can happen when that x-factor is missing its zip has been there for all to see in the last two weeks.
That said, and I go back to the point above about the breakdown, without a solid platform up front even World Cup-winning midfields will struggle.
Biltong: It is easier to look at those who have under-performed or have not worked.
Scott Fardy, for example. As much as I rate Fardy, you need someone like Jacques Potgieter, hard and physical, so maybe Scott Higginbotham would be an option. Wycliff Palu was completely absent without leave in Auckland.
Nic White is another one. Nick Phipps has made a difference every time he has come on, and is part of the Waratah backline that won a title. Matt Toomua is a good player but doesn’t fit. I’d move Beale to 12, and insert Bernard Foley at 10.
Digger: James Slipper, Michael Hooper, Rob Horne, Matt Toomua, Adam Ashley Cooper and Israel Folau. Yip, that’s about it. Now, who do you pick instead for the rest?
Diggercane asks: Will Argentina secure their first win in the Rugby Championship on their tour of the Antipodes?
They were mighty impressive against South Africa and they present a very real threat.
I do not believe they will win in Napier as I simply think the All Blacks have too much firepower, but based on last week’s performance they must be eyeing up the Gold Coast, especially knowing how good their pack is.
They have the tools but I am not sure they have the belief so I will say no, not this year. Back at home, on the other hand…
Biltong: Sadly I don’t think so, as much as they have improved. The one team that does have the ability to play on the back foot, depending on the opposition, is Australia. Be sure that Ewen McKenzie will swallow his pride and start with Phipps and Foley, moving Beale to 12 alongside Ashley-Cooper.
I also think the backrow will change and give Australia at least some parity at the breakdown. Argentina will target Australia as their pack will be seen as vulnerable, but I expect a backlash and the Wallabies will find a way to win.
Brett: If the Pumas’ first game on tour was the Wallabies and not the All Blacks, then I’d certainly give them a chance because they would still be riding their confidence from their impressive performance in Salta.
However, because they face a still-hitting-their-straps All Blacks side first, that confidence will have taken a few dents by the time they arrive in Australia. And that will make the fact they couldn’t hold out for 10 more minutes against South Africa at home all the harder to swallow, come the end of the season.
Biltongbek asks: Are tried and tested Super Rugby combinations better than untried “better” individuals in the Rugby Championship?
I certainly believe the collective can be greater than the sum of their parts. Simply selecting the best individuals does not guarantee success.
The Waratahs have shown with their backline combination of Phipps at nine, Foley at 10, Beale at 12, Ashley-Cooper at 13 and Israel Folau at 15 that this combination worked for a whole season not only in defence but also in attack.
I rate Toomua highly but it seems he has disrupted the flow and organisation of the Waratahs’ back line. Beale has been effective at 12 due to what Foley brings to the backline: space. With Beale at 10, it seems he has lost his effectiveness, and Foley is missed as he controls the tactical kicking better than Beale.
Digger: While it can be advantageous in some ways to utilise combinations, particularly defensively, it is by no means a guarantee that these would be as effective at the next level up.
I am always an advocate of picking the best player in their particular position, and if I look at the All Blacks I believe this to be true. The Chiefs, as an example, despite being very successful in the past few seasons, have often supplied fewer players than the Hurricanes and Blues despite those teams not even making the finals.
Ryan Crotty started on the weekend without much playing time with Conrad Smith and Aaron Cruden (if any at all) and played remarkably well. It is up to the coaches to employ tactics and game plans that suit the skillsets he or she has available, more so than relying on provincial combinations under different coaches and game plans.
Brett: The real answer is probably both yes and no. And both are correct. Certain Super Rugby combinations are certainly better, while others won’t be.
I’ve no doubt the Phipps and Foley as a halves combination is better right now than the White and Beale combination, and even the White and Foley combo from June. But for mine, Foley and Toomua are still the better midfield pairing if we’re persisting with the dual playmakers.
Would Rob Simmons and James Horwill work better than Simmons and Sam Carter currently are? Maybe, maybe not. Who can really tell? Although perhaps we’ll get a chance to see next weekend.