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What exactly are Australia building towards?

Roar Guru
23rd October, 2016
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Michael Cheika and Stephen Moore will not win the grand slam this time around.
Roar Guru
23rd October, 2016
14
1159 Reads

I’ve been struggling to put my finger on exactly what the Wallabies have been striving towards all throughout the Rugby Championship.

This was only compounded on Thursday when the team line up was released.

I read through the comments with a cathartic joy, others stating what I was thinking. Until half way through it finally clicked.

Michael Cheika has a very certain way he likes to play. He likes the bigger, dominating forwards, a settled, flat running back-line and finishers on the bench. Through his time at the Waratahs and the Rugby World Cup this was all ways his stated goal.

Sure, it suffered compromises along the way. For the Waratahs, the depth sometimes weakened the bench. At the international level the requirement to find two or three 60-minute players often weakened the forward pack. Against England injuries cruelled the new order, with Foley out of form.

Through the Rugby Championship, well, the less said the better – although every newly blooded player has stepped up.

But now with the selections for Bledisloe 3, we see a return to the Cheika selections I expect. There are big, abrasive, hard running forwards. A flat running backline – and a bench with some serious class in normal starters Dave Pocock, the serial pest, and Rob Simmons, to strengthen the set piece.

Looking at this, I only have two comments that stand out.

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1) Tevita Kuridrani would be a better choice for backline balance, selected at outside centre with Henry Speight dropped. This provides more versatility in case of injury, and better defence.

2) If Beale was fit, Quade Cooper would be in the stands.

So why in heaven’s name have we not seen anything like this through the Rugby Championship? A 12 at 12, a winger on the wing and an 8 at 8.

In the engine room Cheika has been slow to bring in the new blood, in particular Rory Arnold and Lopeti Timani. The Wallabies have been shackled by the Pooper.

In the back line, with Foley out of form, Quade Cooper was brought in to buy a win. Moving Foley to 12 allowed him time and space to play back into form out of the spot light.

Cheika weakened the entire backline to give Foley the game time to find form. And if Beale was fit Quade would have been dropped completely for Bledisloe three despite getting the victories Australia (and Cheika) needed on the way.

Of course, after the game we can all see how it turned out. Bernard Foley had his best running game all year on the back of a dominant forward performance (casually not mentioning kicking from hand or tee), with decent distribution as well.

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Where to from here? That is a discussion for another day.

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