Tupou gets first start as Cheika names team to play Springboks

Surely Cottrel was worth a chance to crack the bench? Yet, Hanigan gets a start. He isn't even a specialist anything, just a versatile bench option. Seriously, our reserve loose forward is Simmons??? Wow. We'd better dominate at line out time, with 5 locks in the team!! We will be smashed upfront! Thor will go berserk but burn out after halftime. Boks by 13

No Doc. It is a cunning ploy designed by Chek to have none of our RWC opponents take us seriously. He has a 3 full squads of 2’s, 6’s , 8’s, 9’s , 10’s and 13’s limbering up in a secret camp waiting for deployment. It will be a slow reveal. No one will suspect it until it is too late. Don’t forget he is the reigning RWC coach of the year.

players like petaia, gordon and paia'aua should be in the mix already..

If you play 2 7s, then your 6 basically has to be a lock to give you three targets in the line-out. Playing a proper #6, #7, and #8 give you 2 tall timbers (lock @ ~2.00m+) and 2 reasonable options (~1.90-1.95) so the opposition can't mark your locks and steal line-out ball. Cheika's Pooper tactic not only changes the way the team plays in the loose, but at scrums and line-outs.

Cheika clearly wants his backrower to be a third lock. Mumm, Hanigan, Tui, Simmons. As long as he keeps this up, proper backrowers will never be developed, except if they can wear the number 7 jersey, where there are two potential spots for them.

Clown selections are again the front page news. This article could have been presented as "Same Old, Same Old Clown" continues to baffle. Time for Hanigan Tupou to be bench and not start - IMHO, not yet ready. Simmons out of the team. Arnold in the starting pack - Rodda on the pine TPN - a no, no - FF to start and BPA on the bench (if he was in the squad) Beale/Toomua is a fail - should be Foley 10 and Toomua at 12 Genia and Gordon - not Phipps Banks in for Koriobete Unless the Bokkies, have a bad day - I think the Boks by plenty!! This Walaby side is not a Test Team as it has been used before (with one of two differences) and failed. Cheika has no idea at all!!

Come on WB. There is no back row the Wallabies can put out there today which is better than Pocock, Hooper plus 1.

Cheika likes Hanigan and you can see he wants to go big. Simmons is a good player with lots of experience. At least Simmons won't lose the game for you so it like Hanigan are pretty good defensive selections. I'd like Caleb Timu to have an extended shot at the big time whilst we are waiting for Dempsey to come back. Timu has a bit more upside than Gus but I do like Gus. Tevin Ferris is listed at 185cm and 106kg which means he is quite simply not tall enough. And he's not better than Gus. Holloway would have been worth pulling to the squad to make him go head on with the other candidates and so Pocock could show him how to play tight. Unfortunately there is just no point discussing Higgers. Someone who matters just won't pick him.

I expect you are just having a laugh Smiggle. Tupou has earned a starting spot and no props play 80 minutes any more. When he comes off he'll be replaced by Kepu or Alan A. Kepu is pretty much only good for about 50 minutes these days but he is still a top player - albeit one who need a rest. Tupou is going to hold up his end of the scrum and he's going to offer some very good line bending. His line bending will help make up for Hanigan being out there. Hanigan lacks physicality but not effort and not work rate. He also gives us more speed than Tui. Hanigan won't win us the game but he won't lose it for us either. There is no good reason that KB and Toomua can't work but for this game ie a big one I'd prefer Foley at 10 and Toomua at 12 with KB coming on late in the game as a super sub at full back - if someone is brave enough to trust KB under the high ball again. Time to be positive. Hanigan gives us lineout and whilst he won't smash people he will work hard, make tackles and at least plug gaps. Tupou is fast and gives line bending that you'd ordinarily ask of your 6 or 8. Pocock's linking work and distributing work is pretty good. He's not the greatest but it is test level and the rest of his game is superb. Hooper is Hooper. Great pace. Good defensive pressure. Threat in attack. And basically Hooper does do a heck of a lot of something even if you/some people don't like him. Coleman and Rodda are going to give some decent grunt. Coleman matches up well against big saffa packs so again he will do some of the tough stuff you want from a 6. Rob Simmons has very good set piece and whilst he won't dominate physically he will defend well plugging gaps forcing the saffas into someone more powerful like Sio, Alan A, Tupou, Kepu, Pocock, Arnold, TPN, Fainga. I would rather Gordon played than Phipps but this is the sort of game where Phipps can do well. Big and brutal. The Saffa's won't expose his shortcomings like those clever buggers from across the ditch.

I can't understand the Simmons selection at all, two second rowers on the bench ? Just on second rowers, where is Matt Phillip and why isn't he in the discussion, Simmons continually gets picked along with Phipps just boggles the mind. I don't think anyone outside of Cheika rates the pooper at all. I would have liked to of seen Toomua at 10 and Beale at 12, maybe they will swap during the game.

Jed Holloway, Scott Higginbotham, Angus Cottrell, Angus Scott-Young, Rob Valentini, Tevin Ferris, Luke Jones, Michael Wells, and Tom Cusack. They are all players who would make a greater fist of the no. 6 Wallaby jersey than Ned Hanigan if given a chance. And all available to play right now. Not to mention a fit Jack Dempsey. Hanigan may well become a decent test player - he has had potential since his days at lock with Randwick in the Shute Shield. Right now however he is still barely Super Rugby standard. A few other blokes need to have a crack before the World Cup next year! Throw in Caleb Timu and some of the aforementioned 6 prospects at number 8 for a more balanced back row. Or even consider someone like West Harbour's Kelly Meafua who got through a mountain of work in club rugby. It's possibly too late for any of these players to establish themselves before the RWC, but what have we got to lose?

80mins of SR and 80mins of Test rugby is very much different. Same reason why Ben Tameifuna could never step up to test rugby.

meant Hanigan, I assume he would be at 8, but 6 either way

No no mate - Hooper's at 7. :-D

Tupou played the full 80 min plenty of times in SR this year. His fitness is at least as good or better than the other props in the team.

Sadly I don't think some of MC's selections qualify as experiments anymore, they clearly represent his opinion/vision as the best team to beat the SB's....whilst keeping the WRC dream alive. I would have preferred to have given Gordon a go, maybe he is being saved for the next game. I don't think Phipps offers enough and his weaknesses are well known. The same for TPN. He has been a great servant for Australian Rugby, his efforts should be praised, but its time to blood the younger No 2's. Again, maybe its part of the game management given where the next game is being played. I'm not sold on Hannigan yet. I really hope he has a blinder as we are going to need all of the forwards to stand up and match the SB's aggression plus bring better ball control and hopefully fewer penalties. Tooma over Beale for 5/8 and get Koroibete more involved in the game...PLEASE! He, Koroibete cops a lot of flack, mostly (almost all) of it deserved, but he can hit hard in defence and has true speed. I'm not a fan of Pooper. It worked in 2015, but this is 2018. Where is our true No 8? Anyway, I'm believing for the SB's to still be inconsistent which will give the WB's a real crack at this one. Go the Wallabies. Yes...I'm probably insane too.

Whilst I don't disagree with you, I suspect Cheika/RA would put it as "giving the players more playing time together to allow them to gel".

Not sure I'd call Pocock a soft marshmallow; he normally gets the #8 jersey with Hooper the #7.

So pretty much the same team, but adding a soft marshmallow in at 8, and at best, a 40min prop.

Seems our best hope is that the Boks are so underwhelmed by the team that we are fielding, that they forget to get reved up.