Lealiifano sheds light on 'erratic' World Cup selections

Thanks. I don't know that Foley won "hands down". I think that is probably arguable. But the reality is that to be selected over Foley, QC had to beat him hands down and clearly he didn't do enough.

Waxhead, are you prone to ad hominem, strawman like arguments, because it doesn't make for a very interesting discourse if so. I'm not sure why which team I support (Ulster btw) is material in being able to look at the merits of various rugby players and the roles that perform in a squad and or team at the RWC. Under this odd logic hole you seem to have taken us down you appear unable to judge the merits of different players outside either their franchises and their teams current calendar Super Rugby results, coupled with some overarching aversion or dislike to players being selected if they are currently contracted to the Waratahs. As I said, the various players you listed have different strengths, but also weaknesses when compared to the players you seem aggrieved were selected for the Wallabies squad. Let’s take AAC and say Henry Speight. Perhaps the coaches wanted a player for the spot that provided utility. They didn't see the squad spot as being for a first 15 player (or even 23) so taking someone like AAC afforded them someone who could play multiple positions if required which was useful vs Speight as just a winger. Or perhaps they looked at each player’s work rate in terms of his defensive effort in both the amount of tackles he made compared to the minutes they played and the relative number of missed tackles and/or defensive lapses. Or perhaps they looked at the relative performance under the high ball. Or perhaps they looked at the leadership and relative benefit each player would bring to the squad where the majority of their time in the campaign would be spent providing a effective training partner to the first run players. I don't know, but then neither do you, but what is clear is depending on the criteria the selection panel had, Speight isn't an outright 'better' player than AAC. They both have different strengths and weaknesses both on and off the field and it is unfortunate if you seem unable to acknowledge that. Considering Korobeti already filled a similar role and had certain strengths that were obviously valued more than what Speight offered, you can see how and why Speight might not have made the squad. As I said, you cannot say categorically anyone you presented is better than other members of the squad, only different, especially when you don't have all the facts or even data to be making informed decisions. It would have been a much more interesting discussion to hear 'why' you think a particular player is a better option to be part of the squad. I also find it a little sad that you have such a defeatist attitude for the forthcoming game and seem ready to claim the outcome as some validation of your world view around player selection and squad composition. Me personally, I will be cheering the team on and hoping for a good game against a potentially better placed opposition.

Yeah, we can’t keep phoning in the first half. We were so good in the second half against Wales - let’s try and see that for 80 mins, or at least in the first 40, so we don’t lose it it by half time.

@Drew yeah you'd be a Waratah supporter so no wonder you can't see the stupidity of selecting 8 players (2 more than any other province) from a team who came 13th this year. And you also wouldn't see that these other non Tah players are better and have been robbed of deserved selection. You won't see the logic either when England knock out WBs this Saturday.

Well sais ScottD .... and I will add that the incumbent (Foley) and QC played each other twice in 2019 and Foley won hands down both times ..... obviously that did not help QC's cause.

Possibly, I can't pretend to know what he's gone through and the effect it's had on him

10 has been a big weakness across the board in our country. Hope the next crop are better It has been thus since Larkham retired, I think it's less the crop than the farmers. As for the next gen, Deegan at least looks promising - I haven't seen much of the other youngsters

There certainly shouldn’t be many Reds, given their results, which is true for the Tahs, too. Some? Sure. Lots? No.

Could be that he just recovers slower now, and Test matches take a lot more out of you than SR.

I think they are the 10s for as long as we’re in the Cup, though

Interesting. I can't agree that you have presented anyone categorically better. Different, with different strengths and weaknesses which you might prefer. I think Samu is the only one I was surprised to not see given a run at a position, but I can see why they thought that area of the squad well served. Banks and Wright they obviously considered and were given their chances. For whatever reason they fell short. I'm not sure what your odd comment about the Waratahs is all about. With that strange logic there'd be no Red's players running around with their results over the last couple of seasons.

Oz Rugby fan -and yet didn't CLL have an absolute stinker early in the season when the Rebels played the Brumbies and was completely outplayed by Cooper (so much for strong campaign all season, he was poor at the start of the year, and occasionally poor towards the end of season as well)? But, but Quade.....brain fade.....no good....but but let me think up some more revisionist anti-Cooper BS and dress it up as reasoned argument eh?

Paul “Playing Foley against Wales was a bad call in hindsight” For a deluded few it was hindsight. For the rest it was evident long ago. But we may yet see him v England. If Christian pulls up sore from training it could yet happen.

I agree Fionn. I think we can beat England too. I think that first 20mins will be critical though. I just don’t see it happening if we’re chasing and we’ve just been such slow starters of late. We need to be in it like that performance we saw in Perth. I’d also be happy with a SF appearance. I feel like it is about where this team is at relative to the other teams out there. We just don’t have the consistency to honestly warrent being in the final this RWC, not that I’m going to lose the hope.

Fair enough Paul if you feel people were overhyping them (Fiji), but I don’t think being dismissive of their potential is/was equally warranted, nor that the game was ever going to be a walk in the park for the Wallabies. Hindsight is a great thing for allowing the told you so’s to rear their heads. I also think in that game there is a lot of chat about Foley, but a 10 was always going to look poor if the 9 is having an off day and Genia was having an equally poor performance. I think people sometimes also conveniently forget that CLL has had some equally poor moments in recent games. Some of his touches in the Samoa game weren’t great and he was equally below expectations in the Fiji game. I also agree, sliding doors and CLL plays, I’m not sure in that alternate universe we suddenly win that game (v. Wales) either. I think you’re right, if I was a betting man, I’d have to say if fit, CLL will start and Toomua will sub in. With Foley not being played in either of the last two games they’ve signalled that he’s not even in the picture.

Is this view based on watching all Fiji's games in the lead up to the RWC (ie. all of the Pacific Nations Cup etc.)? Is it with consideration for some players not being in the squad for those lead up games (Radradra etc..)? or the historic observations and trends that PI teams tend to massively improve as the squad of player from all over the place get more playing and training time as a squad. Fair enough if you had an you still had an optomistic view, but me personally, I could see the potential, not to mention a history of RWC's littered with Teir 1 teams upset by bogey teams. I still content that first game against them could very easily gone a different direction with some different calls and suddenly I think we'd be having a very different conversation.

I actually think we can beat England. I’d be relatively happy with the season and the World Cup if we can beat England and make the semis.

Scratching the barrel there Paul to drag out the ‘status’ of his next contract as a way to denigrate him and justify his exclusion. Maybe he chose a sleepy little comp to semi-retire in? Whoever they are they are lucky to have him. The Brisbane Souths of Japan.

McCaffrey, Speight, Banks, Samu, Wright, Higginbothem, Cooper = 7 Instead we got serial duds Foley, Dempsey, LSL, AAC, Beale, Simmons - 5 of whom are from Waratahs who came 13th this season in Super comp

The sooner we lose and Cheika resigns, the better. He’s an idiot. Everyone knows it. He will go down in history as the worst Wallaby’s coach of all time. He’s an arrogant idiot. As for Quade, he won’t be the first naturally talented sportsman to be on the outside of a national team looking in. Cheika must really dislike him, but Cheika isn’t the only coach. So there’s something there that none of know about.