Wallabies' Jekyll and Hyde show rolls on tonight

ED exactly;usa second team(similar to oz D) this was an uncontested training run for oz and bumbled thru it;only made less embarassing by some woeful outwide tackling by some usa club player. this rwc game had no right to charge admission esp when the usa capt said they were saving themselves for italy.

obviously the Wallabies lost to Ireland because Deans couldn't get a hold of tape showing a certain game in March, and analysis it properly. Rugby isn't a "one fits all" solution, but apparently Deans thinks it is.

Jiggles, Obviously that's why the Wallabies lost to Ireland - they just didn't think, including the forwards.....

True sprigs and he was running at an angle so had to cover a longer distance.

First half against the USA was more than exasperating, Sheek, it was plain bloody awful and save for about 8 minutes, the rest was woeful. Where's the 2015 WC being played?

That's the problem, you have 15 guys on the field trying to use every skill and trick they know, and each and everytime you'll get 15 different ideas which leads to the mess that the wallabies frequently find themselves in. Rugby players, especially forwards, shouldn't think. They should know their role and do it.

Jiggles, I would have thought the phrase "play what is in front of you" most blatantly, obviously, pragmatically, logically, & as many other adjectives you can think of, instructs the player to use as many variations of all the rugby he knows & has been taught in order to overcome his opponent. Whoever thought "play what is in front of you" was a one trick pony.....

No grey! We had enough grey...sorry, SILVER...in the last WC.

He mans there is no replacement for McCaw and therefore the Wallabies will beat NZ thanks to Pocock. ??? Watch out for Luke Braid and Matt Todd though... It is finding NZ's next Dan Carter that is our problem. The Wallabies will come right again. Cooper seems hot and cold but your forwards just need to get mean like they did in Brisbane. Then that backline can shine!!

"Sounds like it is not just wallabies fans which get ahead of themselves – Given we just beat the Boks in SA, how is it that on the strength of one poor game by the WBs that SA will now destroy them?" Fair call B-Rock, but I'm basing my "assumption" on RWC games thus far. I'm fairly confident we are travelling alot better than AUS and alot better than our faux TN performances would suggest. I like the way you put it though, 'sacrificing the tri nations'. Things change though .. and quickly. Cheers

even a US side boasting 14 changes from the starting lineup? I think not, I would hazard a guess and say there will be less professionals playing for the US than there were for Namibia last night

There is no redemption tonight - Australia have to put a big score on USA this week and a big score on Russia the next - those are just simple things they need to do. The first step towards redemption would be them winning a quarter final match. That would only be a first step though. They will only be redeemed when they show that they turn up to all matches with the required level of intensity (and hopefully start winning consistently). When I was at school we were trained that no matter who the opposition was, nor what the score was we owed them out best effort at all times. Didn't matter if it was before kickoff against a team much lower than us on the ladder, if it was sixty minutes in and we were thumping them or if it was seventy minutes in and they were thumping us. We still commited to play our hardest for the full eighty - if you did that you would walk off the field head held high. I don't believe we saw an effort on Saturday that enables the Wallabies to hold their heads up and say that although they may have lost the match they played their best footy and hats off to the opposition. (whether Ireland would have beaten us if we'd played our best is a completely different question and I don't want to speculate on). I just compare the performance and intent from that game to the Suncorp match against the All Blacks and know that the Wallabies are capable of better and it is the top two inches at fault.

Not sure it is significant that Palu came on for Elsom. He came on in the 74th minute. In the 75th minute Higginbotham came on for Samo. At that point Palu went to 8 and Higginbotham to 6. The experiment of Palu and Samo on the field at the same time only lasted sixty seconds.

It begins and ends with defence. Last week Australia decided to sit on their heels and wait for the Irish to come, tonight they need to be more positive, move forward and take the game to the USA. It is all about demanding respect, we did not do it against the Irish and as a result they grew in confidence throughout the match I also think that people have been way to hard on QC for last weeks game. Playing behind very well beaten pack, the only thing he could be accused of was trying too hard. Also after watching the game again, I can't believe how easily Beale got off in the press, for what was for mine just about his worst game in a wallabies jumper. Finally Robbie Deans needs to manage the game better from a coaching perspective and not let his pride get in the way of making some substitutions. Last week with TPN having a shocker against Ireland (understandable for a man with so little game time in some respect), Saia Faingaa should have been put on the field. If he has been good enough to get 20 or so minutes in Tri Nations tests he sure is hell good enough to get some time in a world cup game. And to be honest he plays so loose around the ruck, that he is probably the closest thing to a back up 7 that we have. Enough of a rant, I just want to see the wallabies come out with some drive, and be determined to dictate play. I dont mind if they lose games, I just couldn't take another insipid display like last weeks.

Correct Jiggles and this is the whole cultural thing that Deans is still struggling with. Australian players are probably more laid back dudes that need pointing in a certain direction. Kiwi players on the other hand being a bit more uptight and intense probably need relaxing. Hello Dingo, come in please ! Wrong country, wrong culture, wrong philosophy. Damn you O'Neill.

I've read on several occasions since that all concerned promise to do better in the future. It all starts tonite. Chin up, not the end of the world just yet. Still in it remember.

Please restore my faith in the coach. Can somebody explain why he did not put the bench on earlier in the Ireland game? If it was a mistake, can the coach as well as the players promise to do better in the future?

I may steal this whole comment.

Good point. Another good point is that JOC was faster than the speedster from Ireland.

The key reason behind the Reds success this year was Links ability to do his homework and develop game-plans for each and every team they came up against. Going into the game, Genia knew he had a couple of styles of play he could employ, and Link sitting on the side lines gave the directions as he saw fit. They quickly developed into the smartest team in the competition managed by the smartest coach. Contrast this to the Wallabies, and Deans has only 1 game plan, which is “Play what is in front of you.” In a nutshell this requires a playmaker (Genia/Cooper) to spot weaknesses in the opposition and attack them at on the spur of the moment. This game plan is only successful if quick font football is generated, which is not consistently done by the Wallabies. It is paramount for the opposition to be on the back foot for this to be successful. It is not Genia/Cooper’s role to develop the game-plan, that is Deans responsibility, and he it is also his responsibility to adapt the game-plan mid game. Genia/Cooper’s role is to carry out the plan as directed by Deans. For the past 4 years, the wallabies have never varied their game-plan to the opposition of the conditions. This is why they are so inconsistent, and this sits entirely with Deans. When “Play what is in front of you” doesn’t work it is time to switch to Plan B, however there is no Plan B.