Wallabies name squad for Spring Tour

you getting to use the computer today?! Nurses feeling generous, huh?

Nah that was the much publicised 'lack of fitness' back in June. He's getting shoulder surgery, which I think is for a reasonably long standing injury that he's getting tidied up, he'd been having neck problems as well. So he should be able to have a good pre-season, come into 2018 at full fitness

'Why do you need old heads against the northern hemisphere teams only?' Because every year there is a pushover try or yellow card for repeated scrum infringements NH are better scrummagers. They have a whole career in the mud to work on it. Uelese won't know the intricacies at this stage In fact, Aus selections far too often favour youth over experience. You see players like Alan Wyn Jones or Paul O'Connell leading their team around. In Aus we jettison our statesmen for the next big thing. Same deal for the cricket team. Experience counts

'Why do you need old heads against the northern hemisphere teams only' Fair question. I'd say they're better at scrummaging- or if that's too controversial- they seem to inflict at least one penalty try or yellow card per tour

A place for Simmons now that he's from NSW as well

Throws some bad passes, but he is a far better player than his detractors will accept......many of the same who a few months ago would have dropped Folau, called Foley no better than a "park player". A player does not amass 58 Test caps with out having a lot of talent.

Reverse, is Hanigan better than Macalman? What about Timani? How about Palu (such a powerhouse)? I could name another four or five players options who are better in every department. Did Hanigan win a golden ticket? Are you related to him? You are a lonely fan.

ha ha ha. thats awesome. but be careful peter k. facts are not well received here by some when it doesnt fit their agenda.

Dear Reverse Wheel, do you understand how front foot ball affects the fly half? QC got a lot of shite ball all day but his hand speed and pass power were extraordinary...and accurate. His pass is the best for twenty years in green and gold. Opposition back lines sit back and wait while Cooper keeps them guessing. Conversely, It's hard to see what Cheika sees in Foley. You know what...if you want to grow our struggling game in Australia you need exciting players. Cooper is one of them. Dull old conservative forwards who pick plain backs who 'know their place' should be banished from any decision making.

Can someone please enlighten me- why is Bernard Foley the preferred 10? How many knock-ons against the AB's the other evening [ 4 - 5 ] ?? where was the kicking accuracy - ??? is this the stuff of an 'Iceman' ??? Will he be able to handle Twickenham ??

So no compensation for Cooper yet a fat retainer to Pocock who has dropped out for his own self indulgent pursuits...a pis$ant twelve month fluff course to crown his public martyrdom. If Pocock is a true and passionate Wallaby he shouldn't need a cent to stay loyal and come home. Sickening. As for the Foley loyalists, he has a god-ordinary boot both in open play and with penalty shots. Is he wearing wooden clogs? He bunts the ball instead of kicking through it. Larkham and Campo kicked it 20m further. I never ever expect anything interesting or exciting from Foley with ball in hand or distributing. He is dull. World rugby talks about Quade Cooper. Foley is plain white bread. As for Hanigan and Robertson...across a dozen ex-club rugby mates, we are unanimous in our position - those two are not worthy of the national squad, let alone super rugby. Hanigan's one arm's distance off to the side of the ruck is his default stance...he is a worthless bauble. And, are we waiting for the radiation to kick in with Robertson a la the Hulk? He is a tiny yet tubby man with a remarkable lack of speed or mongrel.

6 are guaranteed test starters and the other the bench spot.

This is the other side of the argument I suppose. If you get away with something you shouldn't, is that offset when you (or a team mate) are pinged for something that's actually legal? Richie used to get penalised all the time for stuff that, when slowed down, was actually legal.

Was he during the June tests?

For a start, clean or dirty, I didn't see him get away with it, he lost a lot of yards for his troubles, Cheika has given him the cold shoulder opting for his new shiny toy, Ulese. I admit to only carefully analyzing 3 incidents in the 1 one game, it had been annoying me for a while, shouting at the TV through my foam beard, but then I decided to give the benefit of the doubt and slow down the footage, which to my surprise and mild embarrassment looked OK, in that game anyway. It is possible (likely) that you were looking at different incidents in different games. You could argue that he was folding past horizontal, but that is not what the ref was calling him on.

Can't pass and can't kick... Perhaps the worst pass for a Test scrumhalf ever...can't imagine what players like Brian Smith and Peter Slattery think...they hardly got a sniff at a Test jersey due to one Nick Farr-Jones, yet Phipps has over 50 Test caps. Really begs the question to the development system...how does a scrumhalf get advanced through the system with such an obvious flaw in his game Scrumhalf #101...have a decent pass! For that matter...how is a flyhalf (or fullback...) promoted that can't kick?

I think you are right, there are some quotes floating around to that effect. But to Charlie's point, they have been horridly inconsistent, to the point of appearing selective up until now.

I thought he was a bit hard done by. Wide A-Frame Stance, great flexibility. Yes it certainly looks like he is leaning, but when you slow down the footage, he isn’t You also need to account for the opposition “pushing the Margins”, not releasing the ball Timbo don't take this as a criticism or negative as it's not intended that way, but given our recent discussions I find this interesting. My take is that what Latu does is technically illegal, but given that he gets away with it he should go for it. You say if you look very closely he's not actually infringing and he's hard done by to be pinged. I don't actually have a point, it's just interesting to see the different points of view (with respect).

Had some great games for the Force at the back end of the season and had been a great leader. He was instrumental in dismantling the Tahs in the season finale. The forwards did the grunt work and then he managed the backs to slice and dice with good service. Seemed to be even better at NRC, but that is a difficult argument to sell since it is a lower intensity competition. Disappeared of the radar not long after the appeal was rejected and then popped up in the news with a saucy contract at Worcestershire or worchester.

I didn't do anything wrong this super season, where's my Wallaby jersey? Phipps is (at best) 4th or 5th best halfback behind Genia, Ruru, Gordon, Powell and Louwrens