Wales down Wallabies in tight Test

Stillmissit: "the best full back tackle since AAC nearly killed himself with the head on tackle against AB’s?" Self preservation doesn't seem to be high on Coops's list of priorities (reminds me of Brett Kenny in a sense). The try he scored against the ABs in the Bledisloe last year was also just sheer determination; even McCaw was left sprawled in his wake. Re McMeniman and those "stupid gloves", oddly enough Rocky I think wears them as well. I'm easy; if they hang onto the pill and don't spill it, maybe they should all wear them. "Queensland Reds are going to be the team to watch next S14 and I predict they will end higher than any other Aussie team." Big call... but should all our provinces go well, augers well for the Wallas' chances next season. Looking forward to seeing how the Tahs go with Mr Hickey directing. Talk also that Foles will be recruited as scrum doctor. "Baa Baa’s game is yet to come and at 6am on Thursday" Good that Channel Ten are covering it this time around; certainly has been a while since one was televised "live". Good on the lads at Ten! Cheers.

Another great game and Wales looked slightly better, especially in thn backs always thrusting forward a la NZ. Don't mind losing (closely) to such an enterprising group. Don't think ref cost OZ the game, though his yellow carding was biased. p.s Invite Wales to Tri-Nations, they deserve better than that NH playbook. Jools-USA

The problem with Barbarians games is that although the players (mostly) play in the traditional spirit, the referees know that the evil eye of the IRB is upon them. The IRB don't like too much football being played in games, it is too frivolous for their tastes!

Joeb - 'Mitchell at 15. What about that absolute scintillating from behind try saver by Mitch Sunday morning?' It was an absolute cracker, covered a lot of ground and nailed him, the best full back tackle since AAC nearly killed himself with the head on tackle against AB's? I think Mitchell is the full back until a real one comes along and who knows he may grow into a great one. Certainly Latham did, so maybe Mitchell will as well. AAC is a natural centre and I would pick him ahead of Cross and bring Cross on from the bench as utility player. McMenniman is going to be great and as you stated there are signs there already. I think he just needs to get some more non injury time on the paddock. He must also get rid of those stupid gloves in the S14 he didnt seem to wear them in the Wallabies. Have you noticed, anyone wearing those things drops and miss handles balls ? Queensland Reds are going to be the team to watch next S14 and I predict they will end higher than any other Aussie team. After bidding bon voyage until next year it dawned on me that the Baa Baa's game is yet to come and at 6am on Thursday I will be there for that one. Havn't seen a great Barbarians game for years, maybe this could be the one.

Stillmissit: "Is there space for Lote next year with Hynes, Mitchell, Ioane and Turner in the squad and knocking for a start?" Hard call but Deano does have faith in him, and when he came on for injured Hynes the one poor missed tackle all night by a Welshman was when LT put the chip-kick in over the top and as he burst thru to regather, the Welsh No.8 (Andy Powell), seemed to cack his pants and fumbled, so just for the intimidatory fear factor he's probably gotta stay. :-) "If Giteau goes to France what is the team liable to look like next year." Doubtful the ARU will allow it as he's signed till 2011, but $10 million bucks on offer, crikey! Could it end up like the SBW saga and Matt vanishes in the middle of the night only to turn up in Bayonne sporting a Zapata moustacheo, a wig, and munching those telltale croissants for brekkie incognito? But if he doesn't show next year, it's elementary in a sense: 10. Barnes, 12. Hmmm? Several possibilities. The centre pairing could be Morts 12 as currently, AAC at 13, or Cross could remain at 13 with Hynes at 14 and AAC at 11 (or vice versa). Mitchell at 15. What about that absolute scintillating from behind try saver by Mitch Sunday morning? (Or am I thinking of the France game? Watched bits of it yesterday as well.) For mine the kid's got it and he's often a very good elusive runner ball in hand, though the Welsh tackling yesterday was outstanding; tackled anything that moved; very Crusader-ish, All Black-ish, superfast up in your face off the line. Maybe our backs need to stand deeper. "A replacement for Sharpe." Once Horwill comes back from injury it'll make it interesting. Chisholm showed a clean pair of heels yesterday morning, brilliant for a second rower. Long been a fan. "A settled centre pairing that holds and directs the midfield." Bound to be fierce competition considering Tahu wants a spot, then there's the NSW pair Carter and Horne. Dingo's gunna have his work cut out... and that Jimmy Hilgendorf bloke (Western Force) can play as well if properly mentored and given a chance "6. Elsom back." For a moment there against Wales McMeniman looked so like Rocky it was uncanny. Thought they'd brought him back for a one off initially! Season's Greetings to you and yours and everyone on here, to Spiro upstairs and the guys, Merry X & Prosperous New Year.

For several commentators above - Greg Growden is at it again today, giving Gordon Bray a nudge for Most Delerious Accolade for No Reason. Growden says: "Wallabies player of the tour:Matt Giteau. No wonder the French want to offer him the Eiffel Tower to play in their competition. His goalkicking, midfield kicking and excellent options justified Jonathan Davies's comment that he was in front of Daniel Carter as the world's best No. 10." His midfield kicking was ordinary, too long, no chasers (including his million dollar self) not out when it should be and so on. Many have commented so. "... excellent options justified ..." Please re-read midfield kicking above. That has been his only option - and this makes me wonder if he is at all quick between the ears. We used roar at Scott Johnson at Milner on Saturdays years ago, for kicking too much. He makes Johnson look like Grant Fox by comparison. "... in front of ... Carter" Never, ever. Not in the same class. "Stephen Moore, who established himself as close to the world's best hooker" - Oh the hyperbole, the hyperbole. He couldn't throw a year ago, gets penalised more than Mealamu, Hore and Smit, needs more experience - yet he'll read he is better than these others and bloody well believe it. Aaaaarghh! Growden needs to be taken out the back of the stand to have some common sense educated into him!

Belowra Boy - You may be right on the lineout call but sheesh what part of the game didn't he influence? Yep Welsh backs were superb but for me I thought their forwards were just amazing. Their breakaway (ex 7's player) and their number 6 (with head wear)......bloody hell........what's it take to bring them down? Their back worked beautifully as a unit to smash, clear out and off load. Lessons their for us. So while I was bitterly disappointed with many aspects of the game (Lewis' appointment being the biggest), at least I was able to console myself with the fact the Wales did play very good Rugby & outplayed us. So well done Wales. BUT.............that still doesn't stop me wishing I had a certain whistle blowers goolies in a clothes wringer. I think maybe then I could get him to at least agree that consistency is something he should work on.

The problem with consistent reffing is that it ruins the game. We've reached a point where guys are infringing at just about every ruck -- and even if you sinbin players, the remaining defenders keep infringing, largely because of the ethos that it's better not to concede tries. There was a staggering amount of cynical play at Twickenham and it wasn't just England trying to stop the score from running up. The All Blacks' scrum was remarkably better on their own put in or from an attacking position and the defenders were looking for opportunities were the ref was unsighted to come in from the side, etc. That kind of play is maybe 60% of what rugby is all about, but it's on the up, and I don't think you can entirely blame the referees. If the ref blows his whistle, he didn't let the game flow. If he lets the game flow, he should've blown it more. And, really, it all depends on how well your team went. The players have got to start playing more positive rugby.

Bob Mcgregor - about the Mortlock collision. The Welsh player in question Jamie Roberts only lasted another 10mins on the field and has subsequently been diagnosed with a FRACTURED SKULL. He's out for a month and a half. I think you owe him an apology. He certainly wasn't faking injury.

Blinky Bill. I think the main reason the Wallabies did not go for more lineouts is that among the several incompetencies of the Ref, he was unable or unwilling to ensure a straight throw into the lineouts. After watching the Hong Kong debacle I consoled myself that at least it would preclude Lewis refereeing any tests in Europe. The fact that the IRB consider him to be above schoolboys standard tells you all you need to know about them. Wales wre surprisingly good in the backs, although the referee ignoring forward passes and obstructions assisted them somewhat.

OME Your are as blind as the albino referee. I did not write anything bad about him. Said he was an ok captain. But MaCaw is a better captain. I said your favourite player waugh was pretty washed up - maybe that hurt. I also complaint about making him captain when Mortlock was out.

It doesn't take much for thecritics to come out again does it? Wales played better - nuff said.....I actually thought it wasa good game to watch,Lewis blew the pea out of it, but we knew he would. He is the type of bloke that take a six pack of light beer to a BBQ and leave with three of them; in other words, a knob. Why is it that when we lose, we have gone missing, played without commitment, no guts, Sharpe had a shocke, blah, blah, blah, de bloody blah. Sharpe did not "go missing", he played a very good second rowers game. A proper look at the tapewould reveal he got through a lot of work, won his lineout ball, took the ball up pretty strongly a couple of times, made a few mistakes, made some good effective tackles......usual Sharpey game- geez, maybe he's rooted a lot of you blokes sisters or something......whenever the Wallabies lose, Sharpeys had a shocker and he's gotta go. Dexter William - your criticism of Mortlock is perplexing - I assume you know he got taken off after four minutes; you must know that. How then does it flow as a matter of logic to get stuck into him after this game. Get some semblance of a clue, or at least pick your timing to make your criticism, however unjustified. A real positive was the game of Burgess - have to say, he's proven this Old Bird wrong - I posted last week that he was not up to the level yet - he had a great game despite a few clanging errors, the good far outweighed the bad.

After watching the 2pm replay & the tape I hope I never hear it said again that "the Wallabies are such a smart team". Not much smart in what I witnessed. Was our strength the lineout or not? Yes! Then why the frigging hell were we not using it more? Long kicks to touch and compete for each & every throw. Yes the ref is pedantic and a frigging annoying tosser but it's not as if it was a surprise. As a 'smart team' we need to factor the ref into our game way more than we're currently doing and stop giving away endless penalties. Also on the ref, why I wonder did he keep on allowing the game to continue? All in all I thought Wales outplayed us in most departments and deserved their win. Although I could have easily lived with a win if we sneaked it in, just to shut up that bloody vocal Welsh crowd. As for the Wallabies. If someone had told me 6 months ago that we would have improved at this rate I would never have believed them. So the progress has been steady while not always spectacular. Personally I was not expected to see much progress until 2009 and I'm actually still unsure if our pack is as good as some are touting it to be. Our midfield seems all over the place, so I hope RD realises what 90% of others do, that Gits is no 5/8. Sort that and the ball should sing. We have good wings and not much at Full Back. My 2009 wish list to Robbie. 1. Stop all the aimless mid field kicking. Do they even look before booting it? 2. Start grooming the new Skipper (preferrably a forward) 3. Play players in their best positions. (with 4 provinces we should be aiming to field a good replacement for every position). 4. Get forwards that hunt as a pack, will charge into brick walls and can run all day. 5. Hypnotise our players to always think it's the last few minutes of the test and we need a converted try to win. I mean honestly, did you see the way we played out of skins in the last 10 minutes? Why don't we play like that from the kick off?

Bob, I have to admit yelling "didn't release" at the TV as the Welsh no 12 was tackled to ground by Mitchell, then got back to his feet and popped the pass, which ultimately led to Williams' try. There's a clear difference between popping the ball quickly from the ground when held (which is legal, and Wales did numerous times) and holding on in the tackle and then getting to your feet again and then passing. In this case, either the ref doesn't know the rule, it happened to fast for him, his view was obstructed,or he thought the player was still on the ground when he offloaded. If his view was obstructed, you've gotta ask yourself what the touchline jonnies were doing?? Clearly in my view, he should have penalised Wales.

I posted in a prior post yesterday that if we kicked poorly in general play, Wales back three could make us pay. Unfortunately we haven't learnt and until we do we will continue to play catch up, as we had to do yesterday. Giteau should definitely accept the French inducement as his general field kicking is atrocious - perhaps a stint in France would help him focus. I bet the original offer was downsized on that performance! He even missed a simple drop conversion to expedite an additional play before the final whistle. Despite this, it was obvious that once again we had to deal with a one eyed Irish referee. At first glance one could almost take him for an albino - who is notoriously thought to have bad eye sight. While he isn't the former - blind he is to any other colour than gold, which is all he appears to see. Mortlock was DELIBERATELY taken out while going for an intercept - which was there - for no yellow or red card for the perpetrator who remained down as long as was required to suggest it was an "accident". There after a miraculous recovery. It was cynical but then this particular referee probably blamed Mortlock. Not long after Cross made a great break [with no close support in his hip pocket - which was why Reg Gasnier was so great]. He was tackled by two Welsh defenders inside the red zone. After all went to the ground, one of the tacklers without releasing and rolling away stripped the ball from Cross on the ground, the ball spurting out diagonally forward whereas logic would suggested that was not likely. A yellow card should have been issued and a penalty. But no, play was allowed to continue and Wales took it downfield to within 10 metres of our line the see the carrier halted by a great tackle - where the ball carrier was HELD; result – he regained his feet WITH the ball [penalty to Wallabies] and spread the ball wide for Wales player of the year - Shane Williams - to score in the corner. That was a potential 8 point turnaround, possibly a 12 point turnaround. This was totally incompetent refereeing. He should be sacked from the International referring panel immediately as a warning to his colleagues. As for his adjudicating at the breakdown, high kicks in the air not assessed for deliberate interference while players remained within 10 metres or the impending catcher after making no attempt to retire - were other illustrations of his major shortcomings. In summary, I believe he was completely hopeless. As I said earlier I think the only colour the guy can see is gold! It is time for a higher judge to over rule the field referee or let the defending captain ask for a video review. If one had such shortcomings on the road, one would lose a licence to drive. It should be the same on the Rugby paddock. It is time Referees were held accountable for their performance as well.

One last thought where the hell is Benjamin - he cant still be pissed after England were totalled by everyone. Has he lost his Schutzpah?

Joeb - Maybe its better this way. If we had come through unbeaten the guys would have all had labels of 'World Class' tattooed on their heads. As it is, there is a long way to go but a much better start than we could have hoped for. Q - Is there space for Lote next year with Hynes, Mitchell, Ioane and Turner in the squad and knocking for a start? Q - If Giteau goes to France what is the team liable to look like next year. My Christmas wish list is: 1. A consistent hard working bunch of forwards who dont take backward steps, win turnover ball and hunt as a pack. 2. A real 5/8. 3. A real Full back. 4. A replacement for Sharpe. 5. A settled center pairing that holds and directs the midfield. 6. Elsom back. As this is most probaly my last roar for the year let me be the first to say "HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS!!!!"

Stillmissit: "Lewis is the quintessential NH ref. Totally committed to the penalty regardless of advantage and, like all refs, was under instructions to penalise going over the ball whether in attack or defence. ..." He certainly took his sweet time to penalise them when they killed the ball I thought. Perhaps this is why at fulltime he allowed the game to run an extra two minutes or so seemingly to our advantage as if to square up the ledger and quash any post match gripes we might have had. But imagine in that extra time period if we'd have scored a runaway try and stole it... :-) E.g., D Walton: "While missing countless Welsh forward passes, Lewis repeatedly punished the Wallabies again at the breakdown and only some wayward goalkicking from Jones prevented the home team from increasing their lead." There's also such a thing as penalising a team "out of the game".

Thought the Welsh offloading and support play was superb, especially in the first half, the lead up to the first try perfect example of backing up your man. For Wales, I thought Lee Byrne, Andy Powell, Shane Williams were great, bloody hell Andy Powell has got good feet and is such a strong runner. Shane Williams is bloody strong as well, he was tackled by Quade Cooper (who to be fair is not the strongest defender), and was able to carry him for several metres. For the Wallabies, Ioane was the best back, so hard to bring down and running like a crazed rhinoceros, Burgess really got stuck in, despite being not being terribly well supported by his forwards, I actually thought Tuqiri played well too. The Welsh seemed to be able to identify when our forwards were bludging in the backline too many times for my liking, although the most disappointing part for me was that the Wallabies only got intense in the last 10 minutes.

Matt: "I actually enjoyed the game (but not the result)." Arguably it was the best game of the tour. Gripping from go to woe. If Digby's try had've been converted and on receiving the kick-off we quickly worked it to halfway the drop goal was on and we could've won the bloody thing! Credit to the Welsh for a great powerful mobile scrum (their No.6 [R Jones] just gets better and better though McMeniman had a good game for us I thought; tried his guts out), and the Welsh backs talk about a class outfit. That little winger Williams just sensational and their pivot S Jones so underrated! The guy's damn brilliant. While Burgess had a good start to the season, if the Brumbies get their act together next season pencil in Josh Holmes for the Wallabies' No.9 role if all goes well for him. The endless debate about where Gits is most suitable. Last week versus the French I could swear Tunie said he's best at 10 with Barnes outside him at 12. This morning things swung around with the suggestion being he's best suited to 12... If we did go back to Barnes 10, Gits 12, Morts 13, who'd be the back three? For mine Tuqiri 11, AAC 14, Mitchell 15 (with Shepherd breathing down his neck on the sideline once he recovers). And Mitchell and Tuqiri could alternate. Stillmissit: "The forwards played with little commitment and the breakdowns were often left to Moore, Robinson and [Burgess] for christs sake. What calibre of forward would allow his halfback to suffer the kind of treatment he took, whilst you just line up in the D?" Only explanation seems to be it was our game plan -- not to over-commit to the breakdown?