Drew Mitchell denies Wasps win over Toulon

At least QC has a go at tackling,.Foley jumps out of the way when the bigger blokes coming rolling through his channel...

This is mickey mouse NH league...Sheeesh......Pity he had a woeful RWC ..Checka needs to find some very good finishers cos Drew aint one of them,.. Speight and Tomane just don`t seem to want it..What`s up when we cant find a decent winger in australia..I`m baffled..

Why did Drew deny it? They did win.

It's easy to cherish 2011 a lot. We haven't had much to cherish recently.

Mourad is not the coach he is a rich fan. Mourad thinks Gitts is a better #10 than Quade and Michalak. With overworked, not so young Gitts in hospital Toulon head for the finals with two excellent first fives in QC and Michalak. Most of the good teams put on a new playmaker late in the game. Cheika doesn't use his bench, but that doesn't mean that QC was replaced because he wasn't playing well. I cherish the memory of Quade outplaying Dan Carter when the Reds won the 2011 Super title.

It's more about why are the ones that don't come off tried. In cases where he does it, but playing it safe would have won the game, any player should be open to criticism. Taking a risk when it's not required at all is just foolish. But in many of the cases where Cooper has tried outlandish things, how often was the team as a whole being outplayed and it was tried just to spark something? Considering the amount of teams he's played in that have been quite poor (both with or without his presence) this is surely more likely. The comparison to Dan Carter is unfair, because when has he been in a position where if him (or somebody else for that matter on the team) doesn't pull a rabbit out of the hat so to speak, the game would be lost? Very few times really. Of course a player on a team that on the whole is not able to match up with his opposition is going to push options more than a player on a team that on the whole does match up and is better. For much of Carter's career he's had the luxury of knowing as long as he just does his own job, the team has a good chance of winning. That means when the game is tight and he sees a half chance he can think "No. Play it safe. We'll recycle possession and the team will get there". Where as some of the teams Cooper has played in have been flimsy opposition at best for some teams. Is it no coincidence that when the team have been able to do their job, Cooper has made far less 50/50 attempts at plays? Now I'm not saying replace Carter with Cooper and the results will be the same. I'm just saying replace Cooper with Carter across his career, and Carter would likely have been a player who has pushed options more so than he actually did in his career.

Smith missed the tackle for the Wasps' try.

Yes but getting that balance is critical TWAS. Cooper does try a lot of things and many do come off, but at the same time many don't and he puts his side in a worse position than previously when it doesnt need to. So not only does it not come off and they end up in a worse position, they also lose an opportunity to do something else with the same play. That decision making alone suggests a hit and miss approach and leads to inconsistency. To defend that by saying those who try little to nothing doesn't escape the fact that its still hit or miss, still inconsistent and is therefore not reliable. And it is that that is causing his not being selected and not having a more consistent game from week to week.. What it amounts to is that even 'he' doesn't know whether its going to pay off, so he holds his side to ransom on 50/ 50 calls when there are other options available to the other 14 players. He needs to become skilled at identifying what is more 'likely' to come off, and what isn't. That is the mark of a great player. Doing outrageously good things one week and accepting all the praise for it, then doing the same the next week and losing because of it, removes the integrity of his position as an effective player, and suggests 'pot luck' rather than genuine skill. One thing is its obvious the rate at which he tries things needs to be reigned in to remove the bad outcomes. And Cooper needs to know how to do that. Looking at the top of the tree in Dan Carter, he also tries a lot of variation, flick passes, chips to the outers. But his ability to know whats on and whats not leaves Cooper well behind. Its not a fair comparison but trying to achieve greatness every play- even though an exaggeration- needs to come with responsible decison making, and thats where Cooper keeps tripping himself up. He's too much of a loner in that regard.

The comment of "the mental game" is just one of those perceived flaws that doesn't align with the real facts. Cooper's plays sometimes don't come off, because he always tries them. He's always trying to win. Many times he isn't successful. Compare that to Berrick Barnes who was often praised for his temperament. It was not that he had better mental strength as a player, it was that when the chips were down, he slotted into the pocket, didn't try much, but most importantly of all for everybody at home, didn't f--- up. Obviously players shouldn't just make hugely outlandish and audacious plays for sake of it, but generally the players who were considered to have a better temperament, were the players that would just have no impact on a game (therefore not making errors and as a result, be perceived as having a better temperament) and let the game be lost when things got tough. Point me to the player that does continuously try things all the time when he plays? Even Foley, Australia's leading flyhalf, can play the way he did against England one week, then basically have zero impact like the Wales game the next. That's fine when the rest of the team takes care of business. But it hasn't always been the case for Australia. Perhaps Matt Giteau for example would be remembered as a much better flyhalf if it wasn't for the fact that many of the 14 players around him in Wallabies line ups were so weak at the time.

Come on Zero, you asked for a 'cue' and got one. Nearly all your recent posts are about 'cmon kiwi haters' with little content otherwise. No one mentioned him being a kiwi, or an Ozzie. Only you have. And nor is it only kiwis who agree with the inconsistency, where you have not considered it.

Like I said, Cooper played with skill and flare in a winning team and scored an excellent try. You manage to find so much wrong with what is a very accurate statement. Flare and skill, do you really disagree with that? In a winning team, do you disagree with that? Scored an excellent try, do you disagree with that? Copper is a NZ born Australian and we all know the hypocracy of so many Kiwis who come to Australia for work and a better life who then turn on their fellow Kiwis who do the same, adopt their new country and succeed. I will praise his many great qualities and acknowledge his great skill and commitment and celebrate his many achievements. You can please yourself. You don't see me panning Nonu or any Kiwi player, ever. It's as Kiwi as the ABs to denigrate and criticise anything Australian. I know you can't stop.

'He thought he had experienced almost everything in rugby'. Geez, 'You need to get out more sonny'

http://www.espn.co.uk/rugby/story/_/id/14594462/toulon-owner-mourad-boudjellal-keeps-bet-mitchell-cuts-tie-half " Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal celebrated their last-gasp win over Wasps in a slightly unusual way: he allowed try-scorer Drew Mitchell to cut his favourite tie in half. Boudjellal said earlier in the week he was so sure that his side would fail to beat Wasps - a team he felt were favourites to win the Champions Cup alongside Racing 92 - that he would wear his best suit and tie to the game and then slice his tie in half if they won. Toulon trailed 11-8 heading into the final play of the match and had Wasps held on, the three-times champions would have faced an up-hill battle to qualify for the knockout stages. But then Mitchell pounced and darted over the try line with the clock well passed 80 minutes leaving Boudjellal with a dilemma over his favourite tie. And he stayed true to his bet with Mitchell pictured afterwards scissors in hand cutting Boudjellal's black tie. "I said that I had experienced almost everything in rugby, but I have not lived through a game like tonight's," Boudjellal said post-match. "

I think Australia's resolve to play 20 minutes with 14 men and not concede a try was a huge difference. How many tries did many of the same players concede in Auckland when Cooper was off for 10 minutes?

Perhaps and we'll never know but for me those two tries were one offs where the individal decided to have a go and remarkeably, they did. So for me the match came down to those two key moments. Oz were intent on going over the line somehow, and the ABs werent ready for either that, or ready enough to put themselves in their own try scoring positions. Oz were. Thats how I saw the RC being won. At home, and in the end the difference was four individuals deciding stuff it, I'm going over, I'm not wasting this opportunity that my side has given me. Two versus NZ and two versus SA. Giteau or SBW? Who knows. A different series result was more likely had it been a full blown RC, and perhaps not in a World cup year, where SA and NZ tend to focus slightly more on the larger trophy than do Oz.

Perhaps not but Giteau outplayed SBW in a tight match. Would Giteau have outplayed Nonu? I do not think he would have. Especially considering SBW was actual injured in the game. The All Blacks may not have lost because of Nonu's absence. But I think that his presence would have had a big impact on the game.

Sydney wasnt lost because of Nonus absence, it was lost because Oz wanted that game more than the ABs, who all needed a boot up the B/side. And Eden park confirmed the attitude of the side, and with Cheikas weird selections, it also confirmed which match oz wanted more. Nonu was rhe icing on the cake with his return.

NB, your opinion is a valuable contribution but you appear to wear rose tinted glasses when watching rugby and miss the play makers and only see a conundrum, the posers. Toulon has an assorted array of proficient competent players but just names will never constitute a great team. A number of the players you listed are way past their prime, were never the best or are consistently injured, although regardless of your thoughts. Today, if you just evaluate their abilities, skill level and other factors. Only a home nation would think their contribution desirable and opposing international teams may have a different viewpoint. I reiterated Nonu had an exceptional 15 season generally and had more flare and brilliance than peers that may not be his equal. This is a judgment based on his 15 season. Further, saying it’s the best club team Nonu has ever played for is a big call, do you honestly think if he was a few years younger he would prefer the Toulon colours or a NZ club jersey with the opportunity to again wear black? If you are talking NH clubs, at this time Racing appears to be the inform team. Their game plan is progressive and they appear to have exceptional game management, when on the paddock. In closing I believe the desire to wear the green & gold is still the aspiration of all talented OZ rugby players, exporting your talent is only a secondly consideration after evaluating your future, worth or age.

So many fellow Wallabies supporters got carried away with the win in Sydney, completely ignoring the fact that Nonu did not play that game.

Agree with that Puff. I thought Nonu had the best season internationally than everyone but probably Carter, who really just timed his run to perfection and chose his little golden nugget moments through the campaign perfectly, as only he can. Nonu was impressive in dismantling Oz at Eden park, and showed his full armoury during the World cup campaign, topping it with two glorious runs in the Quarter, and final, where he specifically focussed on not losing the ball as he had in the last gasp against France. Pure class, and exited the international arena as easily the best midfielder in the game. Its great that he gets to play with golden tiddlywinks to wind down the rest of his playing career.