Roar Forum: The Wallabies' to-do list before the Rugby Championship

Sorry You lost me at debricini at 10...he's an ordinary 5/8 at best. Yes He has long kicking game but that's offset by his overall inaccuracy to effectively kick for field position and at goal.

You mentioned beauden Barrett, a very capable first five. He can turn any game against opposition on its head. He's a 5/8 in the traditional sense that he very effectively manages and Runs the game exactly the way he and all blacks set out to play. What I find even more troubling for us wallaby supporters is the performance his younger brother who currently captains the all blacks under 20's and orchestrated the flogging of our boys a couple of weeks ago. I fear we will see him line up at number 12 for the all blacks very soon alongside beauden.he is both a hard running center and a very good ball player as well. I predict they will cause a lot trouble together for the rest of the world.

Fair points. As a big bloke Skelton has so far been selected only for his size,he has always lacked match fitness and even been dropped with the coaches telling him just that, yet he hasnt improved in that area at all. The wallabies defensive line suffers by being virtually a man down as he struggles to get himself into position. He is also very lazy when competing at the breakdown, he just sort of "flops" In without the force to effective drive the oppostion away to both retain ball and compete for a turnover. His coaches in super and test rugby keep telling us he will be the difference in forward runners being able to continually break tackles but I'm yet to see him do that effectively. One good half break per game is just not good enough especially when we have so many back rowers who are fast getting a reputation for Thier massive defence as well as their ball in hand play. If i were the opposition id much rather take my chances Running at skelton and being bear hugged to the ground with little force,rather than take on someone like Sean macmahon who tackles like his life depends on it and pole axes the poor bastard that unwittingly runs his way

I'm not sure about Foleys only good point is his past kicking percentages...only less than a year ago he orchestrated the wallabies humiliation of England at twickenham in their own World Cup. He had that game by a shoestring from the get go. I'm a massive fan of matt giteau and the other outside backs on the field that night and they also did Thier jobs very well by finishing off foleys many line breaks and half breaks. I agree he's not the same player right at the moment, but he should at least be given a go to recapture his World Cup form. And I think your undermining his kicking Abilty somewhat, I wish I could make the kicks he does when the pressures on...who would be your first five going forward? Keeping in mind cheika is most probably going to select matt toomua as a second ball player at 12?

And he gave up three penalties plus unbalanced the team by having to be subbed off, so he offered worse than nothing. He has had 14 caps now and I can only think of two in his first year where he made a difference against Tier 1 opponents, one against France and the other against England. It is time to accept that he is a failed experiment and move on.

The view is not based on this game alone, since a cracking start to the Super Rugby season he has been off colour. I wonder whether he is the type who wilts under competitive pressure for his position, the fact that he failed to pass to Folau for a certain try in the first test suggests Izzy's performances at 13 have been on his mind. We have other options at 13 now who could be given a go.

Bit harsh on Kuridrani. He's not getting the ball. He received the ball 9 times. Matt Toomua ran it as much as he passed it.

Very few locks make 7 runs for 0 meters gained. For the negatives he brings elsewhere Skelton needs to run for more meters than other locks. Otherwise what do you pick him for? He didn't make a single offload that hit a target either. There was one that went to ground and the recipient was tackled 10m back. He literally offered nothing in this game.

I noticed the little things Skelton did. The 3 little penalties, the little offloads to nobody for disadvantage, the little lazy efforts to get to rucks.

Of that team Gill, Higginbotham and Koroibete won't be eligible, the first two will be overseas and Koro won't be in rugby until 2017. You could put Hooper, Holloway and Hodge in their place to similar effect. It would be a good team though, with Beale as second playmaker from 15 allowing Kerevi to develop further as a 12.

He did well. He mucked a few kicks but was enterprising in attack, made tries happen, saved a least 2 certain tries, got the backline firing. The hate he gets are from people who don't really mention his off the ball work which is considerable. He scored a great try and Saved 2 His backup ply is the best in the side. His kicking game has been better and does need remediation, but is a great 10. Stick with him. Get him better ball offer him options in and outside him. Don't drop hom unless you want to lose to th ABs 90-3

Are u insane.Skelton was terrible.he has to go

It's ur forward s that are crap

Hooper is on the bench

Agree with most except the hooker. Need to be convinced that Moore is a poor Capt. Seen worst and TPN (injury prone in the past and poor at the line out is not the answer). Also replace Foley straight away with CLL then less need for the second playmaker so insert Kerivi at 12. 01 Sio 02 Moore(captain) 03 Kepu 04 Coleman 05 Simmons 06 L Timani 07 Pocock (vc) 08 Houston 09 Frisby 10 CLL 11 Tomani 12 Hodge 13 Kerevi 14 DHP 15 Folau 16 Ready 17 Slipper 18 Holmes 19 Fardy 20 Hooper 21 Stirzaker 22 Tomua 23 TN

Foley ran the English into the ground last year didn't he? Does that qualify as being a game changer? I thought he was impressive. Thought he went ok last night as well.

If he doesn't make metres then what is he there for? That is the basis upon which his inclusion is justified, if he doesn't have that he has nothing.

That is my read to Sheek. At best the forwards are average. At no time during this series have they got the upper hand over the English. So then it is left to the half back and first five to create something. And they are only middling to average. Samu looks like he has something. Kuridrani looks to be a shadow of himself.. a bit like Julian Savea for the AB's. Horne, Toomua all seem to be ok in the face of no alternatives. Folau has maintained his value in the face of a white wash. I think a decent lock and an athletic and strong back rower would certainly add the dimension the Wallabies are looking for. But where are they?

Noodles, as wise as that comment is, based on comments made here on the past few days, it is never going to happen on this blog site..

Well Mike, You will get your wish. Apparently Genia, Giteau & Ashley-Cooper are returning for the Rugby Championship. They will occupy the 9, 12 & 14 jerseys. No.10 will be a toss-up between Foley & Toomua. Will Foley play better with Genia? Or should Cheika look towards Toomua? I guess we'll find out soon enough. Of course, we don't know when Beale will be back. Haylett-Petty could switch to fullback & Folau to 13, where hopefully he might be a bit closer to the action. The other wing then becomes a bottleneck between Horne, Kuridrani & perhaps a few others. But what the backs might & can do firstly depends on finding the right forwards willing to do the hard yards. I don't think there's much wrong with the front-row from the viewpoint that they are adequate, rather than fantastic. Simmons & Coleman are my picks for locks. Forget the Skelton experiment. Probably what we need more than anything else right now is a rampaging no.8. Any takers? Oh for another Mark Loane, or Steve Tuynman, or Tim Gavin, or Toutai Kefu. The continued experiment of playing open-siders Pocock & McMahon at 8 is an acknowledgement our no.8 stocks are threadbare. Pocock if fit, should start at 7 with Hooper or McMahon off the bench. Fardy is on thin ice, but again, not many options there. It might look better for the RC, but nothing to get too excited about. Basically Australian rugby just doesn't have the cattle.