Roar Forum: What changes should the Wallabies make for Argentina?

Kitshoff is a freak, I can't remember him ever not dominating his opponent.

9, 10, 12, 15 even wing at a pinch, Giteau style. Not a bad idea, will never happen though...

PeterK be fair in this instance though. Ainsley is very good and can't be far away from being a test match tight head. Probably played more tighthead in his life than Alan A so he will have a better feel for it. I am all for replacing Robertson with someone a bit more substantial. Cowan will add some good hitting and drive around the paddock and be no worse than Robertson at scrum time. Cowan was for mine a good handy super rugby level loosehead. He is very experienced and will be a better player than he was. there is a reason that he didn't play more test matches but he is only 31 and is better at Robertson at this stage of their careers. But if you have another loosehead to put forward I am okay with that. Ben Alexander is no worse than Robertson either. Dunno about the Queenslander or the Rebel.

R.Hodge took at least some of the kicks off penalties for the line. I missed the 1st 10 minutes of the match but when I clicked on the tv, WB had just won a penalty and Hodge booted it. I almost fainted "Oh my Gawd, M.Chieka has FINALLY woken up to the bleedin obvious". The tv was constantly being flicked to other stations during breaks in play but I do know he took another one late in the game.

Spot on Simon, I said the same thing earlier (Sept10th 1:50pm), but no-one noticed or commented on it. L.Tui has speed, bulk, good in the lineouts, hurts people when he hits rucks and is a great ball runner. I don't think it would take much coaching for him to learn the roles of the #8 as he does everything else that's wanted really well. Would make a great #8 when considering his abilities already shown and imagine the effect on the power of the WB pack. It's strange as didn't coach M.Cheika call L.Tui into the June 2017 training squad as a lock but released him in favour of S.Carter? Seems the WB lock positions are between A.Coleman, R.Arnold, R.Simmons and S.Carter. And btw, news that just came in on the ARU website, https://www.rugby.com.au/news/2017/09/11/02/34/wallabies-argentina-squad-canberra L.Tui and S.Moore are in the squad to go to Argentina but L.Tui has replaced K.Douglas then I guess Cheika sees him only as a lock. A shame as having read our collective minds he had a chance to admit and fix his error for the #8 position? More chance I go skiing in Hell. LoL

I think KB should be our first choice full back. I am a DHP supporter but I see him as fighting for a spot in the 23 with Hodge. Apparently DHP does do a lot of defending at 15 with Folau on the wing. Hodge can play everywhere from 12 to 15 so he has a leg up on DHP there but I don't mind which guy gets picked. Hunt should play 12 with Kerevi coming in behind him. If the sun shines we end up with: 9 Genia but Phipps, Powell, Gordon, Ruru and Louwrens will be tolerable 10 CLL with Foley in the 40 man squad as back up under someone better comes along 11 and 14 Naivalu / speedster type - I am okay with Rona and a bunch of others such as Korobeiti but I am not sold on Nabuli. But Folau to get one wing if KB is full back. KB can kick ok so with Folau on one wing we go for pace and push DHP or Hodge to bench and one out of the 23. 12 Hunt but with Kerevi subbing on as his apprentice 13 TK - not sure the best back up. Don't like Kerevi's defence at 13 but it will improve over time and ideally one day Kerevi pushes Hunt out and becomes the starting 12. 15 KB

Hanigan was doing it all game... reaching over the other side... It is a usual Simmons trick, and Hanigan has picked it up it seems... Was waiting for the penalty to occur for that stupid play all game.

Noel, But but but but but .... Michael doesn't like them! Fards and Higgers didn't bow with enough reverence at training and bust their guts running up hills with taped mouths.

Jock, seriously??? You want to drop Scott Sio and keep chubby Tom Robertson? What are you smoking, man? LoL

Fionn. KB is the one which makes it work so maybe we don't need Foley at 10. But Foley is an okay (but not particularly good) 10 albeit one with limitations so I am resigned to picking him this year as the first choice 10 and having him as a good squad man next year and into the future. I am also resigned to Cooper's test career under Cheika as being gone regardless of how much anyone thinks his passing game with KB chiming in from the back would work. Unless you want to elevate a rookie type like Duncan P then it is Foley or Cooper and the coach won't pick Cooper. Fine with Lance but every time I turn around he seems injured. I don't want KB playing 10 because I like it when he comes onto the ball at pace. Coming from 15 is good for KB.

Similar to the AB, start with the rugged S.Cane and apply the coup-de-grace with the speed and power of Ardie Savea. I can live with that. Imagine starting with a WB backrow of S.Higgenbothem, D.Pocock and L.Timani/Isi Naisarani with M.Hooper coming on about the 60th minute. You would win heaps in rucks, mauls, defence, run-ups and scrums but not too sure how the lineout would go. In Ned Flanigan's favour, he is good at LO and goes for 80 minutes but having 3 lightweight yapping poodles as a backrow is a sad joke.

I think Robertson and Alaalatoa mostly. Robertson was weak again, and Kitshoff looked like he got up and under Alaalatoa on the other side and he just couldn't push back.

Looking at him up close, I think Ned "Flanders" Hanigan had lead bricks in his undies at weigh-in time. Ned Flanigan and J.Dempsey are supposed to be of similar mass but live and up close Dempsey looks to have near 20% more meat/muscle on his bones. Personally I think Ned's playing weight hits about 102kg, also he has no drive in his legs. If you are going to tackle above the hips you need drive in your legs (not the washing powder). The way he was swatted off by the SB forwards was alarming. W.Genia had a horrible time in the match because the SB loosies and locks were pouring through the rucks and harassing him. And where were Ned Flanigan and Seanie boy, who were supposed to protect him? Road kill as the big boys poured through. Granted that M.Hooper is a gun player, but he is not a normal openside and lacks some weight and power which therefore must be provided by the blindside and #8. Coach Cheika's tactic of 3 yapping poodles in the backrow just isn't working because none of them can hold a ruck against the big boys in International Rugby. M.Cheika has to swallow a bit of pride, admit he is wrong and get decent #6 and #8 with some mass and mongrel.

On Beale i'm sick of hearing how the NH helped his game. Nothing against NH rugby, but he had a really good Waratahs season in 2014, played well for the Wallabies in 2015 and was playing well in 2016. It's entirely possible he was just playing good and more consistently when he went there...

Mitch, honestly, does the Foley-Beale combo work, or is it just Beale individually that works? I can't see Beale playing any worse without Foley inside of him.

The Foley Beale combo does work. It is Beale that makes it work but between them we get two test level rugby players and some spark in attack. It doesn't work without Beale and that is a big risk for us. Hence the need to develop Kerevi as a 12 so we have a Plan B. Kerevi is in the Wallabies long term plans to play somewhere so he is not going to be displaced from a 40 man squad by a returning Hunt or CLL or a maturing Duncan P. At the moment if KB gets the cork not McMahon then the attacking wheels fall off. On the Pocock issue above I am with Fionn. Pocock and Hooper are different players but really with the lack of ability at the breakdown in the other seven forwards we need Pocock there more than we need Hooper to work his magic in the wider channels. Hooper is an attacking weapon and a very good player but Pocock makes a truly great brick wall and D wins big matches. To almost single handedly take on another forward pack and own the advantage line like Pocock did in that earlier world cup is nearly impossible. To do it against a top tier nation like the Boks... I reckon there are some real hard straight guys in South Africa with posters of Pocock on their bedroom wall. The ABs have the luxury of being able to play Ardie instead of Cane but still go for Cane. Of course right now the ABs have the luxury of awesome strike power out wide and so don't really need a fast 7 out there.

Too slow and unphysical and yet a better lineout jumper, higher work rate, better tackle completion rate than Hanigan. For all the athleticism Hanigan supposedly brings, the outcome is still 4 runs for 1 metre gained. I agree that Simmons at 6 is not a solution, but the fact that it would be an improvement should really ring some alarm bells.

What occurred? Wycliff Palu and Lyons getting close to 30. He was also released 3 years into a 4 year deal at Scarletts.

So Cornelson and Scott-Young are better than Higginbotham and Smith?

Beale did do a number of clearnace kicks