Wallabies vs England DIY player ratings: The results

The SMH says: Rob Simmons - 7 Made the most runs (15) of any Australian and was second only to England No.8 Nathan Hughes. Lineout calling appeared to be in good nick.

Sadly they can't play Test footy without hurting themselves and Simmons can do a great job for 80 minutes.. Neiher Coleman nor Arnold could have caught Phipps' shit pass to Simmons at the 9 min 30 mark.

So what are you doing on here then ??

Mike, I'm hoping that this year at the Rebels we'll see McMahon at 7 with Mafi and Timani at 6 & 8. In the off season the lost 2 back rowers and 1 lock and signed 2 locks and 1 back rower (Mafi) so at first glance that appears to be swaying towards Timani playing off the back of the scrum, or at least at 6 (Mafi at 8). The Rebels lineout got beat up with only 2 primary jumpers in Jones and Thomson if one left the field they were left vunerable. I remember one game at the end of the season I think the locks for the end of the game were Reid and Retallick with a back row of short guys like McMahon, Fainga'a possibly Fuglistaller. So Mafi, McMahon, Timani with one or both of Reid and Fainga'a off the bench will hopefully be the go. Regardless, I;m hoping we see a lot of Timani and 8 and McMahon to take ownership of the 7 week in, week out. With Gill and Pocock O/S I think the best scenario for the Wallabies is that McMahon is our 2nd 7 (who just happens to be able to cover 6 & 8 if required).

The crucial moment in the last test was when Ben Youngs knocked the ball on! The Wallabies decided to play on using their advantage for 2 or 3 passes. We then knocked the ball on! At this stage our team isn't the AB s who can swoop on this error and score and or put your under real pressure or the English who have the knack of not even trying to pick the ball up preferring to play grugby , hacking the ball and tacking their chances. Close examination of this years test is reasonable proof. I think that if the Wallabies stop the play and take possession of the ball at a set play ie scrum this magnifies Youngs mistake absolutely. Even the Wallabies have been able to score tries from set play scrums. Obviously it is difficult in the heat of the moment to make this decision, but it is our players thinking how can I really make Youngs pay for his unforced error!

He does get catapulted out of rucks, but given that Gill weighs the same and Pocock only recently bulked up yet had always been immovable over the ball, this is not so much a comment on size as it is overall proficiency. The main argument I have seen regarding size is that Hooper is supposed to be filling the role of the ball carrier in the back row, and his size limits his effectiveness do so in tight in the way that a player like Timani may be more capable of doing.

An unlikely Ireland Grand Slam may change that.

That's what happens when you make dunce comments.

It is very generous for Kuridrani, He was the one who stuffed up that breakout by Hooper and Folau by not hitting the ruck when Folau got tacked, despite being the first player there after Phipps and leaving it to Hooper. He was too busy shooing his teammates out wide and trying to set up that grand slam of tries for himself to think about how the ball was going to get out of the ruck where only his 7 and 9 were trying to push five Poms off Folau, seriously, what did he think was going to happen. Then when Hartley pinched the ball he got wrongfooted by Ford and missed the tackle, which nearly lead to a try by Yarde down the other end. He and Folau really need to have their heads banged together and to be told to stop just thinking of personal glory and to play for the team.

Gray-Hand The theme of a "Rag doll" and Hooper has been prevalent on these pages all year . The argument goes he gets monstered at the breakdown due to his size and catapulted out of the rucks . From my viewing this happens some times , but he more than makes up for it with his attitude and dynamism .

Browny Good point about McMahon however , he really needs to settle into one position and evlove from there otherwise , he will end up a jack of all trades and master of none .

What immaturity? Pointing out that 1 tackle in a whole game from a player isn't good enough? Come on buddy!

There is also always a bias to what players do with the ball in hand. Work off the ball in rucks, set pieces and just generally being in position in defence often goes unnoticed ( and to be fair can be hard to notice on TV) without watching the game more than once, which most people aren't inclined to do.

Celtic334 Spot on , top observation .

I'm well aware of the Hooper bashing that goes on here, and I agree that a lot of the back row problems the team has had are due to Chieka's bloodyminded determination to find a spot for him at the expense of team balance. But I don't recall his size being a significant part of that criticism. Certainly not in the role of fetcher. The problem is simply that there have been at least 2 better fetching options for 7 for the last couple of years. I think he would be ideal as a finisher.

Machooka Stop pinching my lines from "life on the Missippi " There is only room for one pseudo intellectual on here ?

The scrum is weak with moore. The half back is weak with phibbs. The locks are also poor. These results are to be exoected when such poor players are chosen. They may have been good in their hey day but not now. We are team of 10 good players and plenty of passengers.

Blow me Peter... Red Kev calling you a dunce! As I live and breathe... I feel your pain buddy :)

Yep piru... and as the author Mark Twain said 'It ain't the size of dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!'

But you know what is really funny... how a couple of guys try to turn this into a p55ing contest then end up p55ing in each other's pockets.