CAMPO: Make Cooper the ultimate impact player, off the bench

Thats nonsense, non of the league players that have come to union have been good in defence...non of them. League is easier than union to tackle becasue you dont need your arms.

Dont tell that to the following 1) Serg Blanco 2) David Campese (we would not have won the 91 WC without him 3) Tim Horan 4) Totai Kefu 5) John Else etc etc etc

The only problem i see with AAC and Ioane as a combination in the midfield is the same problem they have now, they lack the ability to bring the guys outside them into the game. JOC is a ball player and Ioane is a ball runner. That to me is a better combination. As for Ioane being a better winger i absolutely agree, but i think Aussie have a better ability to fill that wing spot with quality more so then they do at 13.

Using Quade as an impact player means synchronising his time on the field with Digby Ioane's, otherwise there will be no one defending af flyhalf.

Cooper will go to league at some stage and they will put the acid on him. There will be none of this 'you don't have to tackle' bull, we have offered him. It will be get fit, tough and tackle or you are not going to make it. Then the league guys will quite rightly claim that union is soft and cuddly. Look what happened to Tuquri when he went back, all of a sudden he was VERY fit, lost some weight and was fast again. We are far too middle class in our attitude to professional players or 'boys' as we like to call them, and that is what we keep them ,with over mothering and a soft attitude. Cooper might make it as a winger in the AB's but no way would they have him as a 5/8 who can't tackle or take pressure.

Dave/PeterK - Guys I think that Cooper proved in NZ that he doesn't have the temperament for high pressure games. He just folded and so did the team, We only looked half decent when Barnes stepped in after his injury. Forget him as a starting 10, he will do it all over the lesser nations but our ambitions should be to beat NZ on a 50/50 basis, we won't do that with Cooper, particularly in NZ.

kuruki - while agree that ioane would make an awesome 12/13; at this stage of his career he makes a far better winger. from wing he can have a roaming commission which he does and is constantly looking for work. as a centre he has to play more positional on attack and D. at least at wing he only has to be in position on defence. saying that tho, not a fan of barnes and joc bein the centres but a ioane joc combo would be much better. good combo of power and pananche. its just a shame that ioane is the wallaby's best wing. moving him would weaken two positions . wing and centre as he learns the moves and positional aspect of it. i reckon though a better combo would be ioane 12 and AAC 13

How quickly everybody has forgotten Cooper's brilliance... If he can learn to defend he must be starting 5/8... He shouldnt be moved back to fullback in defence - look at Merhtens, he was no great defender but he was still a great 5/8; i'd say cooper is probably about the same as Merhtens in defence If he gets benched, he will go to League. This will be a HUGE coup to the rival code... the biggest defection since the 1980s; it'll be all over the telegraph and will be as big as Sailor/Rogers/Tuquiri defections to Union I dont understand how you could drop someone who has been recognised as one of the best attacking 5/8s in the world over the last few years...

Peter K, Wouldn't lose any sleep with your slections. I think we do have options which is good, but they are suffering from poor tactics and players being placed out of position. I agree with CL. Until last season I never considered him anything more than a solid super rugby player, but he has proved that he has the entire skill set to be very effective at 10 or 12. The ball he gave to Mogg in SA this year was mind blowing. Larkham and Cooper aside, I have never seen an Australian 10 do that. Kafer often makes the point that the hardest skill in rugby is to run at full speed and deliver a perfectly timed long pass. We currently have 2 players who can do that. Amazing. Hopefully we will see a Cooper/CL combo. That would be excellent. In the meantime however, I think Cooper needs some experience outside of him. I am firmly of the belief that Mauger made Carter a far better player than he would have become on his own. He was the eyes and ears for Carter at the start of his career. Eventually Carter grew into the role himself, but it was often the case that the Crusaders failed to fire when Mauger was injured. Not because Mauger was overly talented, but because his reading of the game was first class. A bit like Kafer at the Brumbies. Im confident Cooper will grow in his role, but would feel better having Barnes at 12 just for now helping that development. After that, JOC and CL would each do a fantastic job. I think the talent is most definitely there for our backline. As for Digby, well considering the current bunch, one pass per match would be an improvement! Tomane has great balance, speed, and does well in contact. We have depth there too if our coaches ever decide to use it.

Dave a very good writeup. I agree in terms of skills you have outlined. I also agree Cooper is far and away the best flyhalf for to enable a backline. CL may be a close second. As I outlined higher Beale doesnt have the passing game to be a great 10. As to 12 I think CL would be a better 12 than Barnes , he has all the skills you require AND is a better attacker and a better passer and doesnt panic. As to 13 Ioanes I doubt if he could do the minimal passing required of a 13. My preference would be Cummins right now, otherwise Tomane if he can get game time there otherwise Taps. This leaves Mitchell on the bench. so 9) Genia 10 Cooper 11) Ioane 12) CL 13) Tomane / Taps 14) JoC 15) Beale Benhc Barnes, Mitchell

Coaches (and people on this site), need to decide what style of play they would like to see. If we wish to have big guys at BOTH 12 and 13, and pick 10's that have individual skill, but little backline management, then knock yourselves out. I'll get back to rugby when its interesting again. Remember our experiments with Mortlock at 12? You know, the most destructive runner in the modern game? How did that work out for us? What about that brilliant decision to play AAC at 12. Does everyone suffer from short term memory loss? Oooh oooh but Nonu and Roberts are big and scary. The same Nonu that Matt Giteau played against without trouble for years - JOC at the force too? That Nonu? The same Nonu that managed to score in the semi with our 'defensive centres' playing against him? That obviously worked... Remember the last time we played in Melbourne? Oh we had all the stars on the park - except of course Cooper - how did that work out? Then by magic apparently, Cooper starts, we lose by one point to NZ, then beat them. Purely coincidence of course... Here is my criteria for a 10. If he cannot pass the ball to his 13 while taking on the line at full stride then he is not a 10. Further, if that pass is not waiting perfectly for his 13 as he takes it at full pace, then he is not a 10.The 10 should also have the full range of kicking options. With that criteria, only Cooper and CL make the cut. Barnes is a trailing 3rd. Beale and JOC not even close. Here is my criteria for a 12: He must have individual skills. He must be have an excellent short passing game, he must be able to distribute to his 13, and if he gets the call, also be able to pass longer to his fullback or wingers. He must be capable of beating a man individually, and be effective in offloading in the tackle. He must have a solid kicking game, and be a good defender. With that criteria, we have Barnes, JOC, Beale ,CL with AF a trailing 4th (due to his lack of long passing and kicking game - but does have an outstanding short passing, offloading, and defence). No thanks McCabe, Taps, Horne. Here is my criteria for 13: He is your enforcer. The 13 should be your toughest, meanest, most damaging runner of the ball - a battering ram. He needs to be able to run good lines, be hard in contact, and have strong leg drive. His passing does not have to be flash - just good enough to use the man outside of him in an overlap or clean break situation. He should however be excellent at offloading during half breaks to his supporting players. I see little point in playing your big men as 12, where he is charging into a solid defensive wall with loose forwards rushing in cover. Your strongest runner needs to be one on one with the defence. His power and running lines vs the opponents tackling/offload shutdown ability. Your 13 should also be punishing in defence. He should be able to intimidate his opposite number. With that criteria, we have Digby, AAC, McCabe, Taps, Cummings, and Tomane looks good too. Digby is far away the best option here. McCabe has showed some good lines this season. AAC runs good lines but is fading. AF is great in defence, but cannot consider him at 13 due to his attack (he is effective as burrowing in at 12 when required however which is different). My Backline: 9) Genia 10) Cooper 11) Mitchell 12) Barnes 13) Digby 14) JOC 15) Beale Bench: CL/AF, Turner. Barnes should be at 12 to complement Cooper for this season at least. He is a mature and talented player - much like Mauger was for Carter. Let that combo develop (as it always should have), before JOC moves to 12. Of course, all this is makes little difference if Deans remains coach. Ewen does wonders with forward packs so bring him in. Phil Mooney to be attack coach will full freedom to decide tactics. Mooney was the real credit behind all the current young guns. He found, developed, and gave them starts. He also taught the Reds all of their attacking prowess. If we stick with the same lineup, we will continue to lose, with the odd victory based on emotion or individual acts of brilliance (see Genia, Samo).

Quade iis a superstar and a bench spot would be a blow. We could realize Quade's potential under a different coach. Not to infer that Cooper doesn't have some improving to do himself. The coach is the issue not Coops.

I actually agree with Campo regarding using Cooper off the bench. Firstly he will likely be working his way back from the bench in any case and secondly, his value to the team may be better coming on with 25-30 minutes to go. We saw in the World Cup that invariably when QC got off to a bad start the team suffered and found it incredibly tough to claw back. Yes that happens when your chief play maker is having a shocker however it didn't set a good tone for the team. Give QC room to run in the second half and he could be a sensational impact player. In regards to Bok fans being critical of there coaches, I'd say Wallaby supporters aren't far off when it comes to our assessment of Dingo, Knuckles & Eddie Jones.

'Werner Kruger, Flip VdM and Keegan Daniel all look to have been safe selections, in that they offer versatility and have some Bok experience.' Agreed. Still... all sides have injuries etc. For example, were Sheridan available then Marler would be England's 3rd choice loosehead; Mourtiz Botha is England's 3rd choice 4 lock and Tom Johnson is arguably England's 4th/5th choice blindside. I reckon Kruger will be kept in ahead of Greyling simply on the basis that most coaches like to have a predominant 3 on the bench, as it's easier for a 3 to cover 1 than vice versa. Unless Greyling has history playing 3 like Oosthuizen does? I think Potgeiter will start, Markus.

I agree with Werewolf, 15 is Beale's natural position. He adds flair and danger to the attack, so cement him in that position. JOC is the only player who seems to have the potential to be a great No 10, so nurture him there. Barnes at 12, where he can steady the ship if required. I agree with Kuruki - Ioane at 13. He is aggressive, fast, and he won't be intimidated by larger slower opponents. Shift Two-Fathers to the bench: he can be a genuine impact player, and he can come on at any position from 11 to 15. I am just not sure whether QC would be able to break into the team. Perhaps as Campo suggests, an the impact player. So the bottom three on the bench could be: Mike Harris, AAC and QC.

being a res might keep his ego in check, he'd be a much better player if he didnt have his personality

Why do these myths about the three follow them everywhere? A few throw away lines about "rockstars" and "brands" and all of a sudden they're streaky/flashy blokes that the team can't depend on. They worked perfectly fine as unit in 2010 and since then there has hardly been a game where all 3 have been fit so you cant really make a judgement on their performances as a unit post 2010. Cooper is the only one that hasn't consistently performed at test level but if he works on his defensive side and temperament he has hope of being as good as the other two.

Beale is not a strong tackler either, nor does he have a good long pass, and a weak left to right pass. No way is he a great flyhalf.

Beale does not have a long pass, he has a weak left to right pass. So a genuine playmaker he isnt. He chips and runs himself , far more suited for 15 than 10.

Oh i see. I think Beale should play 15 and O'connor 10 and until he returns we should stick with Barnes at 10. Having our second playmaker at 15 allows us to keep the necessary solid style of McCabe at 12 in the front line of defence, without losing creativity as Beale can chime in as second receiver. I believe AAC is a natural 13 and that's where he should be. Although i'm a fan of Horne, AAC is better.