Do the Wallabies deserve praise after Bledisloe 2?

A number of Beale's tackles were 2nd tackler efforts.

Foley is not the problem. Put Foley or Cooper or any 1/2 decent 1st five behind a foward pack that does the basics right (their primary job on the field) & gets parity or even dominance then you will see how good or not they can be. Put BB or Carter or any 1/2 decent 1st five behind a forward pack that is dominated & can't even do their basic roles & you will see just how bad they can look.

I'm afraid they do not deserve a pat on the back the scrum was destroyed the forwards lay the platform will Genia was going backwards most of the time.

Could have sworn it was No 19 on my TV

Simmons didn't play a lot of the time.

The wallabies are coming, they are getting better, the question is can they beat the AB, MMMMMM maybe not, well not in my time, ??just kidding they are not far away.

We shall see if there is real improvement over the course of the season or not. There was probably always going to be a rebound after the atrocious performance in the first game. Furthermore I think that the stern criticism of the coach and team played right to Cheika's only strength. I think he is a short term motivator, and at his best when its them against us, and backs to the wall against insurmountable odds - kind of like some of the military miscreants that won VC's at Roukes Drift, fighting like lions to save their own skins. Sadly i don't see the improvement lasting for long, purely because of Cheika's very limited game plan, and his insistence of continually picking some poor performers in key positions. Why should we expect anything different when the core group, including much of the leadership group is selected from the Waratahs, and there's been ample evidence of their poor form and attitude all year. A souflee has a better chance of rising twice than a Cheika led and selected team becoming consistent winners.

Your whispering campaign against Cooper (including veiled references to his time in school for goodness sake) is the disgrace here. Anyone who has anything to do with club rugby in Brisbane knows that the much maligned public persona of Cooper is unfair, and unwarranted. he puts a lot more back into the sport than many of the others "stars" and has matured into a fine young man. i suppose you have nothing to say at all about Beale's antics, or those of your beloved captain of the wallabies?

No Fionn, our scrum has gone backwards since last week. I think Australian scrummaging was fine until this week. We have depth. Australian super teams scrimmage well. We beat the ABs in the scrum last week Whatever Cheika does it won't be to move Hooper from 7 or Foley from 10. If Hooper kept his place when Pocock, Gill and Smith were available then McMahon won't budge him. And you and I agree that Australia will never win the Bled or RWC with Foley at 10.

Run a poll '“what stupid selection will make for the next test?” You know like dropping Arnold.' ??? Cheers, mate. Genia put in his best Test since at least 2011, and maybe best ever in my opinion. One of if not Beale's best Test since 2010 and Folau's intercept was visionary. I previously questioned McMahon a bit, but he was awesome, and I'd love to see him start at 7 with a proper 6 and 8 around him, but since it'll never happen am more than happy for him to start at 6 (and we get a good line out target at 8). Arnold finally stepped up in the absence of Coleman. It's sad regarding Stephen Moore as he was a great Wallaby and will forever be immortalised after giving Australian rugby so many years and 120+ Tests, but as you say, Father Time hits everyone and there is no shame in him stepping back and taking on a mentoring role. He couldn't possibly have given Australia any more than he has - truly an honourable and inspiring man. It's odd that our scrum has gone so far backwards since 2015. Did you watch the Boks vs Argentina? Our forwards should be practicing their scrum because the Boks' scrum was utterly, utterly devastating.

And I don't want to be purely negative, In Brief, far from it. If they can build on that performacnes and improve their scrums and goal kicking they should be able to beat the Boks. If they can beat England at the end of the year then I will consider it a successful year (please, Lord, this is all I ask for!). However, I don't think that wholly praising the performance is helpful. Cheika needs to assess what worked and what didn't work, and adjust accordingly. The Springboks are coming to Aus and their forward pack is truly monstrous. If we thought we had in bad in the scrums vs the Darkness it will be even worse against Marx's boys.

In Brief, I'm with Fionn on this one. I was pleased with the game. No doubt the boys summoned courage from deep dark places to knit together their attack and defence. No doubt Cheika did a massive motivation job to get the boys to commit as they did. There were multiple acts of lung busting courage in that performance. BUT there is still fundamental imbalances in this team. These imbalances are the fundamental reason IMO that we could not close out the game after a lucky lead. Not having a playmaker with the pass or kick to unpick defences is fundamental, amongst other gaps in the coaching/selection strategy. We need more than massive motivation to improve further.

Fionn, I posted from my desktop but it got blocked so I'm posting from my mobile. I wanted to thank you for your article. I also wanted to praise the Wallabies. Beale, Genia, Folau and McMahon all put on world class performances. The wallabies showed pride, composure and courage to turn around their performance from the previous week. The simplification of the defence allowed the players to concentrate on technique. Players knew to help Foley out with tackles so he could stay in the line more. But there were negatives. The worst thing was the scum. We were utterly crushed. It was previously the AB's weakness. What happened? They ruined us and we were lucky to salvage loose ball. Foley's kicking was obviously a problem. He missed sitters. He already kicks from a restricted range. His playmaking was one dimensional. Why is he a protected species? Hanigan- enough said. And sadly, Moore. He deserves better after 123 tests. But time overtakes every man and Stephen Moore is no exception. He looked tired, slow and weak. Without him, who will talk to the refs about scrums? Nonetheless, TPN must start. He's never been able to throw straight but he does everything else exceptionally well. But who knows what Cheika will do? Perhaps we should run a poll if "what stupid selection will make for the next test?" You know like dropping Arnold.

I assume that Paul Cully also hates the Wallabies too in your mind? Do you think Cheika sees it the same way, that they should just pat themselves on the shoulders for a good try despite choking and losing a match they really should have won? You're vastly overrating the performance. The All Blacks started poorly and some genius from Folau, Genia and Beale in the backs, and some Herculean efforts from Arnold, TPN and McMahon kept them in the match for the next 60 when the All Blacks stormed back. At the end of the day they lost again, and, worse, they choked after having a big lead and getting ahead again with 3 mins to go. People like you would like to paper over the cracks, but most of the same issues (defence, scrum, underpowered forward pack, kicking) were still there despite the overall improvements from most of the team – but let's face it, could they have not improved??

Ridiculous allegation. The TEAM performance just wasn't that good. They were monstered at scrum time and around the park, couldn't handle restarts, were dominated in possession and territory, missed 38 tackles, the 10 made 2 of 6 kicks and he failed to create a single line break. Certain INDIVIDUALS played extremely well, and their brilliance almost pulled off a famous win. McMahon, Arnold, TPN, Beale, Folau were great, and Genia was magnificent. Despite their Herculean efforts and some luck the team didn't quite get there. It was a big improvement and hopefully this signals an upward trend.

The points you make are irrelevant. You have no right to pen this article after the huge effort the team put in on Saturday night. It's truly depressing and pathetic. As I said, if you can't praise that performance you will never praise any performance by this team under Cheika - period. To see a team that was thrashed one week and bashed from pillar to post by its own fickle supporter base, travel to the home of the All Blacks, and come within a minute of victory was truly inspiring. If you can't see then I can only assume your hatred towards the team and its coach is clouding your judgement. If you want to talk about facts, you might say there are areas to improve upon. All teams have areas to improve upon. But that's a different article for a different time and place.

Yeah, right, teams that lose never deserve praise.The fact is The Roar community is filthy the Wallabies played so well.

If I can't praise the team after blowing a 17-0 lead I never will? ... Interesting logic. Each to their own. Did you read the article? Please point out how the 6 points were factually untrue.

This article clearly demonstrates that behind the ARU the biggest issue we have in Australian rugby is the fans - and I use that term loosely. If you cannot praise the team after that game, you never will. Clearly you are the dishonest type who allows preconceptions to cloud reality. This allows you to hang on to your prejudices regardless of how far off the mark they are proven to be. This was truly an appalling article given the match played last weekend.

And that is the real conundrum in the longer term. When Hunt returns, what will Cheika do with Beale? The real benefit on the weekend from having Beale defend in the centre was an improvement in communication. He was decidedly more vocal and the WBs appeared more organised. Hunt is a leader which is one of the reasons the WBs need him at 12.