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That time of year is here – it’s time for the first Wallabies Test of the season. The Wallabies team has been announced, the teams are preparing and fans are getting excited.
So without too much fanfare, here’s the team we selected to play for Australia before the actual team was announced.
The Roar‘s Wallabies team
1. James Slipper
2. Stephen Moore (c)
3. Sekope Kepu
4. Rob Simmons
5. Will Skelton
6. Scott Fardy
7. David Pocock
8. Scott Higginbotham
9. Will Genia
10. Quade Cooper
11. Joe Tomane
12. Matt Giteau
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Drew Mitchell
15. Israel Folau
And here’s Michael Cheika’s team.
Actual Wallabies team
1. James Slipper
2. Stephen Moore (c)
3. Sekope Kepu
4. Rob Simmons
5. Will Skelton
6. Scott Fardy
7. Michael Hooper
8. Scott Higginbotham
9. Will Genia
10. Quade Cooper
11. Rob Horne
12. Matt Giteau
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Adam Ashley-Cooper
15. Israel Folau
Now, we’ve selected the starting XV only, for ease of use. Dealing with 5-3 vs 6-2 bench splits wasn’t really part of the game I envisioned.
That aside, there are a few key differences in our team compared with the actual team. The wingers are both different. We also picked David Pocock at openside flanker, not Michael Hooper.
It mightn’t seem like much, but those are three fairly big differences, and they were near unanimous in our vote.
David Pocock was the preferred openside flanker of the fans, getting a whopping 93.5% of the vote. Michael Hooper was next with 6.4% of the vote.
That is a huge difference, considering Hooper was the preferred choice of Cheika. Obviously Scott Fardy is strong over the ball, which means you don’t need a number 7 who’s game is based around pilfering, but Pocock has been exceptional with ball in hand this year.
Incumbency played a big factor, no doubt, in the decision, as did the fact Hooper’s the squad vice captain and it’s not like he’s out of form. A tough decision, and not one you can really go wrong with. But many will feel that the wrong call has been made. Let me know in the comments below what you think.
Similarly, the wingers are a point of contention. Roarers preferred the running games of Tomane and Drew Mitchell over that of Rob Horne and Adam Ashley-Cooper.
Again, those are four good choices, but surely Tomane’s Super Rugby form was irresistible? Apparently not, as he’s not even in the 23.
This time, we were more divided in our vote. All four options polled good numbers, with Mitchell and Tomane winning out by healthy, though not nearly unanimous, margins.
Here’s how they all polled.
Drew Mitchell – 58.9%
Joe Tomane – 43.5%
Adam Ashley-Cooper – 35.5%
Rob Horne – 28.2%
Not bad, not bad.
We also managed to pick the same 12 players as Michael Cheika in all the other positions, so well done all!
Anyway, over to you Roarers? What do you think of our team? Would it do better than Cheika’s?
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.