Foley may rotate Waratahs forwards

was going to edit out the unintended emoticon for Higgers, but somehow seems to suit his breezy game! Also, to try and come back to topic, if the fantasy scoring is anything to go by, Foley would certainly do worse than to bring in some fresh blood in the pack (Timanis, Palu etc).

jameswm, if you went on the fantasy ratings to date, the form team would look like: 15) Morahan 14) Kingston 13) Tapuai 12) Leali’ifano 11) Shipperley 10) O'Connor 9) White 8) Higginbotham 7) Pocock 6) Hodgson 5) Sharpe 4) Pyle 3) Slipper 2) Hanson 1) Cowan 16) Moore 17) Henderson 18) Jones 19) Mowen 20) McKibbin 21) Carter 22) Cummins Clearly stats aren't the be-all - as you have observed (and I agree) Saffy is much further down the list on stats, but when he's on the park he sure has an impact. Ditto for the likes of Palu, TPN and the Timanis. And it's heartening to see that the likes of Beale, Horwill and yes even Genia are starting to see some return to form, reflected in their recent scoring. Anyway, sub out your 'A-listers' (O'Connor, Pocock) and the above team (completely ignoring team balance etc) makes an interesting option for the Scotland test?

His layoff with glandular fever aside, Nic White has definitely been the form Aussie scrumhalf this season to date. I think Lucas really needs to decide what his position should be, and make his decisions accordingly. Unless he is happy covering multiple positions from the bench for his career, he may have to bite the bullet and look outside Queensland for a starting spot. And while they should be there on form, I think that Sharpe and Hodgson should only be called into the matchday 22 to cover injuries, with preference given to the form young players as a long-term strategy. While his initial injuries come into account, your comment on Saffy just shows how misleading stats can sometimes be.

rather have Cummins at 13, JoC at 14, Tapuai at12, Backup half would be Nic White or Lucas (back from injury) he covers more spots

With JoC missing so many tackles I would probably go JoC on 1 wing and Honey Badger at 13 and Tapuai at 12.

So really based on the stats and who's come back from injury, if you had to pick an Aussie team to play against someone in a week or two, using form and common sense (an element of blooding youngsters), I think it would look like this: And by the way I am surprised Saffy doesn't rate for anything. He's been excellent in every game I've seen. 15. Beale 14. Kingston (Ioane suspended) 13. Tapuai (AAC not rating, so don't pick him) 12. JOC 11. Shipperly 10. Leali'ifano 9. Genia 8. Palu 7. Pocock 6. Mowen 5. Sharpe 4. Horwill 3. Alexander 2. Moore/TPN 1. Robinson 16. Moore/TPN 17. Kepu then Slipper 18. Pyle or Jones, or STimani for impact 19. Hodgson, then Gill/Hooper/Saffy 20. backup halfback, buggered if I know who 21. Barnes/a young promising versatile forward like Vaea or Jnr Timani 22. Cummins

Agreed Jutsie it's a pretty good team. Right now it'd be hard to argue with Genia, Leali'ifano, JOC and Tapuai at 9-10-12-13, and with Digby and Mitchell out, who is there at wing ahead of these two youngsters? Beale now fit would go to 15 and the honey badger to the bench, with Barnes and a half back also there (Phipps still misses too many tackles). It's pretty hard to argue with that. The back row's a bit light (I'd go Palu 8 and Mowen 6, with Hodgson or Vaea on the bench), and surely TPN and Moore are better players at hooker. But if you picked an Aussie team right now, apart from hooker, 6/8 and Beale, that'd be about on the money.

Hooper is still close behind Pocock and Gill. He is equal third in pilfers, and was in the Top 20 for tackles made in Round 6, just dropping out this week with Vaea starting at 7 again. Sam Carter not doing too badly in the locks either. Not featuring in the top 20 lineouts won with Mowen calling the shots, but sitting at 80 tackles made and not showing in any of the negative charts. Disappointing to see Lealifano and Moore moving up in the Turnovers stats, though. Would be interesting to see how much of that is attributed to last week's shocker against the Reds.

Justin - I have had a few words to say about Pocock mainly based on my perceived view of his lack of prowess in attack (compared to other all time 7's). He plays very tight - certainly maintaining very high standards and workrate in Defence, pilfer situations and what I call 'hard yard' runs around the edge of rucks - the stats above validate this. He does not provide the classic link 7 option that M Jones or R McCaw had during their best days (and they could both play tight as well). This requires back like ball skills and more pace in the open which Pocock hasn't shown me. If he loses some bulk, speeds up and supports a little better and learns how to put men through holes more he could be classed in the rarified air of the above two mentioned. As you would be aware, the role of the 7 has changed subtly over the years (as described by Z. Brook at the web address below) and of course it depends on the balance of the back 3 and what a coach is looking for. Higgers is pretty loose (as is Rocky but he should be a shot duck now for the Wallabies) so I can see why Deans likes the balance of using Pocock as a tight ish 7 - really a role reversal to the traditional balance of 6/7. Pocock is certainly our best at the moment and is young still with potential to develop his game further...but if he doesn't, then guys like Hooper and Gill have shown they may possess the complete 7 game. Time will tell. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/rules_and_equipment/6321959.

Thats actually a decent team, I'd still have Moore in at hooker and I'd prefer a bigger number 6 than hodgson. I wonder what the timani brothers' stats are considering their limited game time. Also agree about the rebel's locks, I think Jones is in the top 5 for tackles.

Interesting reading - Pocock is no surprise yet we have had numerous people say on here he is over rated! Blurry hell!

I tell you what I really don't check out the stats enough. Here are what I consider some telling points - from an Aussie and esp Tahs perspective. And bear in mind totals are for the season, not per game: - Kingston has our = most tries (3, with Tom Carter) and is the only Tah in the top 20 for run metres. So for those of you who think he's going well, you're right. - Rob Horne is 3rd, just behind the leaders, for tackles missed. He hasn't rated top 20 in any other category. - Dean Mumm is in the top 15 for most turnovers conceded and most penalties conceded, and isn't in any positive categories - the only Waratah in the top 20 for any of linebreaks, linebreak assists and offloads is Pretorius, who is =12th in linebreak assists - Gill is pushing Pocock, clear of everyone else for most pilfers - Pocock is 2nd for most tackles, leading the pilfers, 5th in most runs, 9th in most run metres (almost exclusively backs ahead of him), 4th in most pick and drives. What a workrate. He just scrapes in at the bottom of the top 20 for penalties conceded, but doesn't rate in tackles missed or tunrovers conceed, despite his workrate. - Genia is 5th in most turnovers, =4th most linebreak assists, leading most try assists, but up there for most turnovers conceded. Pretty decent numbers for someone's who's supposedly out of form. - Leali'ifano is 10th in linebreaks, 4th in linebreak assists - despite limited time this year, JOC is up there for points, run metres, linebreaks - Tapuai, despite some ordinary tackling last weekend, is up there for runs, run metres, try assists, linebreaks and offloads - Hodgson is busy but a mixed bag, with ratings for tackles made, runs, pick and drives, offloads, pilfers, lineouts won, but equal top for penalties conceded And as a sidenote, Thomson is about matching Pocock for workrate, with his only negative being turnovers conceded You look at these stats, and an Aussie team on stats looks like this (Beale hasn't played enough yet to rate) - only two Tahs are Robinson and Kingston, and Robinson mainly because there was little to beat. Regulars like Moore, McCabe, Simmons and Polota-Nau not rating a top 20 mention for anything. 15. JOC 14. Shipperley 13. Cummins (missed tackles, but run metres and linebreaks) 12. Tapuai 11. Kingston 10. Leali'ifano 9. Genia 8. Mowen (offloads, lineouts won, no negatives) 7. Pocock 6. Hodgson 5. Sharpe (runs, p&d, lineouts, too many penalties conceded) 4. Horwill (tackles, p&d, lineouts, Pyle and Jones doing well 3. Alexander (82 tackles made, 1 behind Hodgson) 2. Hanson (one good one bad, but no other hooker rated in anything) 1. Robinson (p&d, but penalties conceded)

I tend to think that Mowen should start instead of Higginbotham - Mowen is a harder worker while Higgers plays better looser so when the game opens up after 50 mins, that's his time. If Deans can get 50mins out of Palu every international and then finish with Mowen and Higginbotham (both interchangeable at 6 and 8 ) that's a damn fine back row. As much as it pains me to admit it, Hodgson has also been playing very well and has to come into consideration.

Nah - way too much sense in that Peter. Won't happen.

That's what keeps him there!

The Tahs lost their last game against chiefs, fading really poorly in the second half when Palu came off. So what does genius Foley do, he is looking at starting the same xv! Why oh why cant S.Timani start instead of Mumm, and L.Timani at 6. Then when Palu comes off at 60 mins (not 45 mins), Elsom / Dennis can come on at 6 and Timani move to 8. Oh Mumm isnt in the 22 , he got rotated out.

If Palu keeps improving his fitness, & Higginsbotham doesn't get injured, then along with Pocock I see an extremely strong back three for the internationals. Those three working in tandem would stand up well agianst McCaw, Read, and Thomson. In fact, dare i suggest, I think McCaw's best days are behind him. So I hope Foley doesn't over use Palu.

When is vickerman back? It will be a very different comp after the June internationals when some teams will have some players back and some will have more injuries after the internationals. I am somewhat concerned about a Scottish ambush though it would be good to get up to Newcastle for the game. It will be ingesting to see how the waratahs team vs the lions goes next year as we are building some good depth in the pigs and the backs - such is the curse of injuries....

Yeah but what about 'that fend'? :)

Bugger that KPM. It's a disaster for the Tahs. Mumm is just useless. How he keeps STimani out is totally beyond me.