Cheika makes four changes to Wallabies' starting side for second Test

Wallaby pack needs more grunt - Arnold tall but inexperienced and the Poms will nail him. Horwill and Palu should be starting. A very experienced front row who will need to go better.

It's in open space where his defensive decisionmaking is less secure; and a points-leaking hazard. Overall, his kicking game is neither lengthy nor accurate. Early in his game at 13 for the Waratahs against the Brumbies he was surprised by a powerful Kuridrani fend but soon adjusted. After that his play at 13 on both attack and defence was the most effective and fruitful in Super Rugby. His talent deserves the more direct and diverse attacking prospects available in the centres. My guess is that he feels frustrated at 15 when he sees the guys in front fail to create or take opportunities he knows he would have.

But when he plays 13 he still defends at fullback fielding kicks. What do you base your view on? There's considerably more decision making at 13. Unless your defending against the Force.

The unscientific science shows that he defended better close-in at 13 than when having to make up his mind what he should do as threats approached from a distance at 15. The selections being settled for now it's a case of wait and see.

Folau has spent more time defending at 15 than 13 for the Waratahs. So if it's brought out his defensive best, it's as a fullback. If he's poor defensively at 15, moving him to a much more difficult defensive position in 13 won't improve his defence.

You're right, KPM, the current locks are better scrummagers as well. Although, I still think the England scrum has weaknesses.

Luckily we have the tallest bloke on the park by nearly half a foot :-).

But I thought the problem was only with a dodgy French ref? (despite the fact Poite whistled the English scrum off the park against the Wallabies at RWC 2015). All week it's been 'Poite needs to look at himself in the mirror'; 'Cole was clearly boring in' 'Joubert will not be fooled'. If Cheika believed this drivel, Sio would be in the team. Now, apparently, it's a 'general' perception about Sio. To me it looked fairly simple. Sio was over-extended, with his feet too far back which was leading to the collapses (no doubt encouraged by Cole when he saw Sio's positioning). Putting that aside, though, Aussies have been banging on all week that's it's a problem with a particular ref or that old chestnut the 'NH'. If so, why has Cheika dropped him when Joubert is going to ref unless he thinks there's a bigger problem?

Those who fail to learn from the mistakes of history are bound to repeat them. Choosing Folau at 15 again is sheer folly given his record of poor defensive performances at 15 and especially in the First Test. At the back his defensive skills are poor compared with a specialist fullback. At the back he has sometimes exhibited lack of confidence and panic, occasionally to the point of looking like a swan out of water wondering what to do when frightened - as occurred last Saturday. That is not good for Wallabies supporters either. At 193 cm his height is not best suited to tackling at 15 where, in open space, running and diving rather than stand-up tackles are more likely to be required than in the centres. Should someone big and heavy enough to be a lock be placed at 15? After a mixed first game, Daryl Gibson's experiment at the Waratahs with Folau at 13 and Andrew Kellaway at 15 worked wonders and freed Izzy to perform close-in at his attacking and defensive best. Kellaway made several try-saving tackles that likely would have been missed by a man with a higher centre of gravity.

Agreed. But handy to have the option. I only wish the same approach was taken with McMahon and the Number 8 position.

Cheers mate - I'm confident he will.

Nick... I like your critique and, or, analogy of Sam Carter. I'm really hoping that with Arnold by his side, let alone Fardy as well, he might just have one of those games.

And pray jameswm that Carter does...

There is nothing hard about selecting a 'proper' number 8. The problem is finding one worthy of selection at the moment.

Think they will move Fardy into the breakdown channel and have McMahon and Hooper on the wings. This only works if you can keep it up for the 80mins, and not 20min like last week. But like always, you need to earn the right to go wide, and McMahon does not seem to have the weight to break through the English pack. I do like slipper and Kepu starting, as they both are good ball carriers. It will either be a masterstroke be Cheika or a shocker of a selection, but its also a good time to try out different options before for the Rugby Championship/ Bledisloe, which IMO is more important than the Cook Cup.

Thanks for that.

Fairly poetic though isn't it. Get's his first run on start in his home country, at his home ground. It's like a dang old Disney movie or something. Just keep Gill on the bench in case the breakdown starts looking like trouble.

Mate, you sure do spend a lot of time trying to start little NZ battles on these blogs aye? You are a really cool dude, and everyone is impressed by ya. Keep it up.

Thanks WB, I can understand your points but I tend to think rugby players can be like racehorses, form, fitness, breeding, trainer etc can all have an affect on the 'animal', but some things are innate and in the case of both McMahon and Carter, they don't quit and compete all day long. Not that I think any of the Wallabies are quitters but I think McMahon especially is innately a kill-or-be-killed type of individual. I think the Wallabies were mentally duped by themselves on the weekend more so than the Poms or Poite. Have you ever played with, or against a bloke that just lifted the team by his presence knowing that no matter how good or bad things got over the next 80 you knew that old mate in the 5, or 13 jumper whatever it may have been would still be trying to annihilate his opponent? I played with a few, Greg Sampson & Liam Hartnett come to mind. I think Sean McMahon is that to the Wallabies, so when they are having these mental lull's, you are going to have that one bloke that will show in his attitude towards his work that he is looking to dominate - all the time - he cant help it its just his innate way of playing. Now it may not always come off, but the attitude can lift and permeate through a team. And I think I bit of HWYL as the Welsh would call it is exactly what the Wallabies needed at times last week, and I think Sean McMAhon delivers it. Sam Carter is out of a good stable, has the blinkers off and will run well over the 3200. Expect a strong finish despite the barrier.

Nick I always enjoy your measured comments, regarding McMahon, he is a goer and runs hard, but shouldn't all International players run hard ?? He doesn't lack for ticker that's for sure, however I just can't get my head around him playing number 8 against a huge pack. So far in his young career he has struggled to bend the line against quality teams, I really can't see much changing on Saturday. As for Carter, he hasn't played a game against quality International opposition for 18 months now and has been average at best when wearing a gold jersey. I sure hope I'm wrong about both guys and your right !