Timani to start, Houston off the bench at Twickenham

Dan Carter needed runners outside him as well, any team that wants use their backline to score tries needs runners in it

Gosh the endless neediness. It's never ending. Who can actually play for the Wallabies that doesn't actually 'need' anyone to play for them. Honestly.

Except that Foley needs a second playmaker because quite frankly, he isn't one. Cooper needs runners outside him. Not a lightweight number 10.

The best selector at the moment is injury. It finally broke up the Pooper failed experiment...though unfortunately Lady Luck took out Pocock instead of Hooper. Then fortunately injury took out Mcmahon before the next double 7 act could be properly named...and we finally have a number 8 in the side. Apparently Cheika always wanted a big running hard hitting 8, despite having not selected one since he has been coach :P All we need now is for injury to deselect Mumm and Foley and we might have a decent team.

Good luck to them both!

I've noticed especially against the ABs that Mumm likes to give a lot of back chat and carry out niggle i.e pushing A Smith and Brodie and generally hanging around and talking smack after Wallabies have been given a scrum or maul penalty. All of Cheika teams seem to have that one thug player ala Kepu at RWC '15.. Though Mumm would not intimidate anyone with his chinless mug he is Cheikh's Trojan horse. I suspect that after a few more games Coleman will be Cheikh's go-to-guy as witnessed in that late hit on B Smith in Wellington and Mumm will be dropped and Wallaby fans will be happy. I doubt whether Mumm will really feature at EOYT especially if Arnold and Coleman show their worth. Shouldn't be too much of a problem without Isa at Twickers. I wish the Lord would borrow a leaf from Nick and Brett and analyse the games that his 'tall timber' and his size favoured players show out to make a case for their inclusion ... give detailed evidence and stats. This so and so is that tall so he's a good lineout exponent is lame. This guy is this weight so he can shift bodies because I the Lord say so is absurd. Again and again the heaviest Skelton of them all has shown that all he can do is flop over rucks rather than apply muscle ... I am the Lord so what I say does not need detailed evidence and argument ...

How does Mumm keep getting picked! Fardy may have lost form but is still better than Mumm. I hope Timani goes OK, he probably deserves a yellow Jersey, but he is yet to impress his back row credentials at Super level. I think Houston is luck to get to the bench. Maybe because he was already in England for Bath? I thought he was underwhelming in his brief stint in the NRC. I think the defensive line will be sorely tested by the Argentinian pattern. Needing to hide Foley AND Cooper out the back and the Pumas smashing that 10/12 channel with runners? It will just be difficult to keep that organised with so many players out of their defensive positions due to atacking roles and vi ceversa

Anyway, on the plus side I think you have the pros and cons of the current Wallaby sides pretty well summed up Peterk. The strengths and weaknesses of the players etc and it's pretty obvious to all but Cheika it seems that Mumm shouldn't be there. Just don't get that one. Few actually agree with that selection, and it keeps returning every week after yet another average performance. With Timani the point is we just don't know. He's looked really imposing this year and if he can repeat a lot of that here it just might open doors for others. Getting over the gain line consistently enough to create chances is a huge missing factor for oz this year, illustrated by the lack of tries. An effective, high work rating Timani can correct a lot if that.

You're telling the story. There is such a thing as the standard of play. Yes he could have got the kick up, but we don't know that's why he performed better. Assuming everyone plays 100% as a pro, it's more likely he was utilised more by the weaker team, and got more ball, game time, and confidence. Which is great. I hope for his sake it is a change in attitude. Though Cheikas delay in naming him might suggest he's more concerned about his Tahs form...though even that might be a Tahs thing. So who knows. I hope he goes well, but I've serious doubts about Cheikas man management, selection abilities, and timing, and it is they that could hurt his debut. Other than that, once the whistle goes, it's all in his hands, so let's hope he fronts well. Everyone wants to see a good debut for an international.

Good to see Timani finally getting a start. Houston still has to make the final bench, hope he gets in. I have been keen to see him all year. He and Timani add some much needed size in the backrow. Wallas must bounce back with a win.

you just like to throw the barbs and always put things in the worst light when wallabies are concerned How about Timani coasted and then got a big boot up the proverbial (a wake up call) when he was released. Saw what he needed to do and responded. Improving your work rate has no causal relationship with the quality of the team it is independent.

So he gets better as the quality of the team drops? Hmm. Doesn't bode well for tonight then on that basis, one of the risks, the other being lack of big match game time, I mentioned.

not only impact but Sefa covers more positions. Wing, 12, 13 and F/B. TK covers 12,13 Also Kerevi has been the best back through the rc so to bring TK on Kerevi has to come off because he won't take Foley off that's for sure. So Sefa IMO is the more flexibile and safer bet.

Well it's not really that funny. As a test player he'll need to do that more if he's to succeed at this level, particularly as he's often used as a one off runner. I didn't suggest he fulfils that side of the role tonight!, nor did I suggest that being able to offload was included in the 'narrower game' sense. There I was meaning not having to cover for others as just about every other Wallaby seems to have to do these days. How many descriptions gave we heard of he can't defend, he can't carry hard, he can't play make, he can't...and there are literally hundreds if them across the players this year. If he's asked, or worse, tries, to fulfill the roles of others as well as his own then he'll struggle. And because that is inevitable, starting in this test is a huge risk for his future prospects, because it seems half the team are in the titanic revolving seats.

No worries, Pete. Yeah, it was always going to be Sefa if they went 6:2. Kuridrani is the safer pick, but I think he's more of a starter than a bench option. He'll play 80, sure up midfield defence and he provides a bit of breakdown pressure like all good 13s. Relates back to Nick's article the other day. In the same way you start Fardy and Simmons so them and Hooper can do the 80 minute grind while Coleman and Timani can be the big-impact starters to be replaced by Arnold and Houston to take over that role for the last 20-30. Would be nice to do a similar thing in the backs with a winger or a big ball runner, inject some energy to lift the pace/intensity at the end.

sorry read it quick, no I have not seen the finalised bench. I totally expected a 6:2 with Sefa being dropped. Just like Timani gets 10 mins and then dropped. Kuridrani should be the one to go , he only covers 13. Naivalu also adds the genuine pace. Naivalu needs an injury to get a fair go.

Peter, I'm not sure T-man is suggesting Lopeti changes his natural game of the hard stuff in tight in narrow channels so much as he's wondering if he can add a little to that with a few more offloads or passes to keep it alive. I don't think we'll see much of that, especially not early. I think pretty much everyone is hoping Lopeti makes a real fist of it tonight (aside from those few out there who hated Sitaleki and think they're the same player, even though there's a good 4" height difference and they play a different game)

Peter, not sure from your comment if you've seen the finalised bench with Sefa omitted or you're just agreeing with my comment.

exactly Timani was lazy at the tahs but has turned it right around at the rebels. Myths stay around for ever it seems.

funny how you contradict yourself. In numerous other posts you say Timani should play a narrower game (ie limit what role and what he tries) yet here wonder if he will offload more when he doesn't much at super rugby level. That is not a skill he is being selected for.