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I just read that Robbie Deans doesn’t think James O’Connor is ready, physically, for 80 minutes in the centres, and will get his chance when he beefs out a bit. Agree or not agree?
He is still only 20 years old after all, and still has plenty of rugby ahead of him.
But anyway, I am sure O’Connor will get a spot with the run on 15 though, somewhere, but where? I presume it would be on one of the wings.
Secondly, I am guessing that Digby Ioane will be on the team, and with there being doubts over his hands, he’s probably not going to be in the 13 jersey, so it’s likely he will be a winger also.
Tactically, which side would you put each of these guys on – O’Connor as 11 and Digby as 14, or vice versa? Is it possible for O’Connor to act as a second playmaker from the 11 position? Or is it better to have Digby in the 11 spot for his power running, and to help protect Quade Cooper?
And now we get to the real curly questions of the 12 and 13 jerseys. As for the 12, Berrick Barnes seems like a head-knock liability, Matt Giteau can be found on the website www.nowhere.com, O’Connor’s out, so who goes there?
The same goes for the 13, who goes there?
I am sorry for the Queensland Reds bias, but I’m definitely warming up to Anthony Faingaa for one of these positions. I saw it succinctly written somewhere recently that he’s not spectacular, or flashy, but he is a brick wall in defense and he underplays his hand perfectly in his well-established connection with Cooper.
With Cooper, O’Connor, Beale and also Genia being true playmakers, might it not be appropriate to have someone like Faingaa as a solid, reliable workhorse allowing others to work magic around him? Someone who can be relied upon to make tackles consistently and not look to do ‘too much’.
And if not Faingaa, who else is in the running for the 12 and 13? Adam Ashley-Cooper: will his form come right with better players on the inside? Should Stirling get a go at 12 or 13?
Like someone wrote the other day, he certainly wouldn’t lose the game for Australia and still has a mean tackle on him. Or how about the likes of Cooper Vuna or Ryan Cross?
Decisions, decisions.
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