Wallabies DIY player ratings vs All Blacks Bledisloe 2: The results

Dave S, the reason the backup 10 was never given a go was that Cheika didn't want his favourite shown up. He gave Cooper 15 minutes one game, and in that time he managed to accomplish more than Foley did in 80 minutes. We can't have that you know...

tough crowd

Fair point. As a former back, I can say that I was tired of getting all the credit and the hot chicks, it's a lot of work keeping the hair looking that perfect ;)

Exactly, the management of the roster in those tests was a wasted opportunity in that regard. Same with Foley - he was always the anointed 10 so why not give decent game time to the backups?

TBH, I think all the ratings for the players are low. It seems all of the negative media is getting into everyone's heads. You might immediately argue with me out of hand, but image every Aussie player performed high enough to get an 8. We might have won by 50 points in that case! Seriously. No-one rated higher than 7.74. No one got an 8. Not one player! Despite us playing the "Greatest team in the world" and almost winning. No 8's to be seen? No wonder the All Black win all the time when even our supporters can't find a golden lining in this result. The Kiwis said they were going to beat us by 100 point and they didn't get close. Yet still we can't find a silver lining. For the record. The Lions scored 6 tries in 3 games against the AB's and everyone rated them for their effort. The Wallabies have scored 9 tries to 10 for the AB's in 2 games. When was the last time anyone put 5 tries on the ABs? Seriously, when did that last happen? Heck, even in the hey days of Aus rugby I can't remember us putting 5 tries on them. OK, So I challenge you all. 5 tries on the AB's. When did it last happen? There are more Kiwis on this forum than Aussies. Surely you know the answer. I bet it was long before they became "The greatest team in the world" I am not saying that Aus is better than the Kiwis. We aren't. What I am saying is that we are not as bad as what the media are saying. What I am saying is that sheep vote on this poll. The media says we are crap and you all believe it. Get on the Wallaby hate bandwagon. We can go on to beat SA and Argentina, finish second in the championship and still we will be crap in your eyes. You all bag the players for having no heart. Get some heart yourselves.

And June should have been about running Gordon or powell not Genia. We know genia is good.

Agree Genia should have scored much higher

Foley' defence was a myth. Watch it again and just follow Foley in defence. He misses heaps. He fell over when Reid broke the line for Barrett's final try. His "tackles" were broken and another player put his man down. Foley got the stat. And shovelling the ball along is not playmaking. The Wallabies' proves we have the talent and the heart to take on any team but we are always hamstrung by Cheika's selections.

The worst ten we've had in living memory

Simmons was great, we new exactly who we were voting for and him carrying you on his shoulders all these years shows how hard he is.

its very interesting to see that both Arnold and Simmons had run just 6m , when during the match it looked as if Arnold was everywhere. :)

Okay, I'll rephrase. He shouldn't be playing for 80 minutes every week. When he's in the zone against the All Blacks then, yes, keep him on. I agree it was good to come him on on the weekend – but it shouldn't be like June when he is on for 70-75 mins every match and regardless of form. Agree 100% on your other points.

Not sure I agree, Fionn. It was good coaching from Cheika to keep him on. Genia had a great 80mins on the weekend. He did pass to kb for the wallabies last try afterall. I think Hooper had a fairly average game; scores too high here. Foley's defense is improving, albeit from a low base, but his passing, kicking and game management is just not good enough. Shame, as his straight running is refreshing.

How anyone can think Foley had a good game is beyond me. In an open encounter where the AB's were not at their best defensively Foley did not put a single player into a gap. He backed up ok, he didn't threaten as a runner, his passing was poor, his backline organization poor, his defence was ok, his kicking for territory and position poor, his attacking kicking poor, and his place kicking poor. Just a typical Foley game.

These results reflect the Australian rugby communities over-emphasis on the importance of backs. The average of starting forwards: 5.31 The average of starting forward: 6.37 Even the inclusion of TPN for Moore does not change this. However, teams don't come within 3 points of beating the All Blacks without some degree of forwards ascendancy. In Dunedin, the pack was shunted terribly (I think Moore is unfairly blamed - the loss of Coleman was never more apparent than at scrum time), and yet the forwards muscled up for the line outs and in general play. It is no coincidence that the truly great Wallabies teams have had dominant forward packs, and this needs to be remembered by scribes next time they consider writing another article about how good the Australian backs are...

Yes. I hate that Foley missed four kicks some of the least straight forward enough. But kickers have off days. We need a better kicker but we don't have one. So Foley at his tick under 80% is what we've got. Be nice if he'd kicked 75% on Saturday. Can KB kick anymore? Was he ever very good or just okay at the long stuff but otherwise you may as well stay with Foley? Foley strikes me as more of an iceman than KB. Foley had a good game. Foley works well with KB and Folau - KB really binds that together as an attacking unit and they could use KBs boot to exit sometimes as well. I do remember an early one not finding touch but Cheika is right to start KB in the team. His best position is subject to question. I do prefer him back at fullback because that allows Kerevi or Hunt to play 12. Even for Hodge to continue as a 12. Hodge did do okay last year in his first international season. KB to fullback means DHP drops to the bench or out of the 23. I like KB but it is good for Aus rugby to have a test class player out of the match day squad. KB, Folau plus 1 is a dangerous back three. That other winger would have to be a great cover tackler me thinks.

I think I rated him as a 9 to be honest. I don't know what else he could have done. He did all the core 9 duties and did the playmaking duties normally reserved for the 10.

Surprised that Hooper almost averaged 6. Six missed tackles, one of which gave up a try, and poor defence off the back of another ruck that directly led to a second try (again shot out of the line at nobody). A couple of very good runs but not as strong in this area overall compared to some previous games of his either.

Agreed, and I suspect if they pulled off a win then that same performance would have been bumped up to a bit above an 8.5.

I think he was exhausted in June and shouldn't have been playing. The same thing happened last year, he had a poor first couple of outings and was then the Wallabies' best back for the rest of the year. He needs more of a rest though, he shouldn't be playing for 80 mins.