No Hunt, O'Connor in Wallabies squad for 2015 Rugby Championship

No you don't "geddi"t. Your argument is spurious and childish. What number Hooper has on his jersey is irrelevant. Open side flanker, fetcher, jackal or whatever you want to call it,it is a specialist position with a very specific job description which Hooper doesn't fulfil. Sure he's a great athlete and I think he's a good "footballer" but for too long the supposed rugby leaders in this country have been mesmerised by the rugby athlete and have failed to recognise the benefit of actual rugby players. Hooper is the flanker equivalent of the prop who can't scrummage but can run with the ball and we've had a few of those. So whether or not he wears a 7 on his back or not Hooper is not an open side flanker. I'm not sure what position he is but because he takes the 7 jersey, our forward pack and team performance suffers because he plays like a rugby league forward. And yes, he does play with his hair too much.

Geddit? Coz Hooper seagulllssss and plays with his hairrrrr. Regardless of your views. Can you tell me a time he's played any position other than openside flanker within his team? And I don't mean go on a spiel about how he's not "traditional" but I mean when he has been playing with anything other than a 7 on his back (or a 19/20/21 jersey if he's been on the bench). The only time he's ever played out of position was when every Aussie back got injured in the first British and Irish Lions test, so as the fastest forwards he was pushed out to 12. Was not the most successful change. I don't think anyone's looking at him as a cover for 12.

think they've both had about the same year. average. At least you know what you get with JOC in test rugby, whereas beale is a very big mixed bag

No Hooper never plays "7". What ever position he is playing it is not open side flanker

First RWC I haven't been to since the 80s... on this selection..have we REALLY got a hope against the POMS or the ABs ...I don't think so.. JOC does NOT deserve to be there.. why should KH be there he's done nothing... Horwill why?....Coleman wears the wrong colour blue.... All I can say is..The Waratahs failed.. so Cheika can now put ALL his energies into the Wallabies.. and I really hope he's got a magic wand..

No, just the right amount.

Well, that's sort of right - last I saw of Fab Giteau he was across the game alright, in a sideline to sideline across the field sense. He wasn't so flash in a straight line downfield, feeding his outside men, giving them decent passes and putting in kicks with purpose.

He's eligible, but he isn't going to be allowed to stay in Australia. His contract with Glasgow doesn't have a break clause like his Edinburgh one had (changed contracts), and Glasgow released a statement saying he was expected to show up at his club after international duties. Considering they let some good players go to fit him under the salary cap (Eg. DTH van der Merwe), I don't think they're going to be too happy / willing to release him from his contract after this

Was referring to his form teams that were posted and voted on weekly by roarers. More general consensus of the roar rather than his individual opinion

Yeah a sky blue jersey. Ludicrous selection. Can't think of any rationale for picking a plodder who wasn't good enough 3 years ago. He's only had about half a game of super rugby and did nothing to make me think he's any better now. How he gets picked and players like Liam Gill, Luke Jones and Lopeti Timani get overlooked is beyond comprehension.

Smith was almost omnipotent against the Irish as well. Absolutely dominated the match against the 6 Nations champions when he was injected in the 50th minute of the match: the type of game-changing role I believe he would play better than any other for the Wallabies.

Yep. Kev (and others) are on the money here. The trick is to pair him with someone who compliments his game. Simmons calls the lineout, scrums really well and hits bucket loads of rucks. The other lock needs to scrum, be a half decent jumping option (how good depends on 6 & 8 selection) and do a bit more running the ball, etc. Like everything, it's all about balance.

Agreed. Don't see a lot of sense of selecting players in a squad who are only there to make up the numbers. Would rather see a squad of 30 players of real selection chance and 10 new players like Rory Arnold and the like. Not sure about having Speight and Naiyaravoro as right wing options. Same mould and same limitations.

Always going to be disagreements when a squad selection is made. Can see a few more than the ones mentioned by PeterK that shouldn't be there but that's only my opinion.

ahhh wrong. Simmons is regularly high on the tackle count and ruck involvement. Plays 80 minutes. Could be a better ball carrier but nobody performs the lock duties better than him. Don't bother disagreeing because stats, facts and the opinion of every test selector for the past 3 or 4 years will be against you

Jutsie, Agree with you on the JOC issue. I also think he gives great flexibility because he can basically cover anywhere from 10-15 if needs be, which surely provides great utility from the bench.

Digger, I really like your picks. Only difference I would make is putting Samu Kerevi somewhere in the mix. Giteau = No Chance. Beale = Disgrace (off field behaviour issues would rule him out even if he was gold on the field in my book). Will be interesting times! Have a great all Kiwi final. I think regardless who wins it is going to be a fantastic match!

I quite like that team, Kev. If you were a little more worried about an opponents maul and ruck presence you could swap Arnold and Palu for Skelton and Fardy. I really like the Smith bench option; I think that's his calling. Old wiiley dog with his experience in the championship minutes of the game and versatile enough to give some decent positional coverage. Same applies for Gits and AAC.

badger was always lucky to keep with Wallabies. Even when He plays at the extent of his skills he looks like a wannabe

Ok. Do we really think Stephen Moore is up to it anymore?