Wallabies Bledisloe 3 DIY player ratings vs New Zealand: The results

Skills is what is lacking in this side.Four years ago I saw Richmond's team come together in the AFL and said they had the potential to win a premiership.I can see the same thing in this Wallaby side.Once they get the hunger of winning they will be unstoppable.In N.Z. The term Mana is instilled in a rugby player from grass roots.In Australian terms they need to believe that they can beat them.I am an All Black supporter living in Australia and remember when the QLD team beat the All blacks.This team needs to have that attitude.Ilike Michael Hooper as a player but not as a captain.He can't control his anger.

I would have Hodge at 12 over DHP and we Wright on the wing. Also Thor gets the call up again for me. I like the backrow.

yeah but head highs arnt allowed in Union. Foul play is a league thing!

Well said Strategist. Australia hasn’t played as a team for a long time. And Hooper’s captaincy is a joke. Severely tarnished by the MacKenzie and Folau affairs; acknowledged as being a bludger on the blindside, too slow and too small, ( Captains should defend their coach and other players in the team regardless. Hooper throws such, “under the bus”!)

Australian rugby was strong when we had a golden era of world class players, a just slightly weaker All Blacks team compared to other periods, and its competitor was in turmoil with the Super League war.

When bringing in youngsters it's important that the experienced players,players who have been in the Walaby setup for a while be an example. Players like DHP,Hooper and Koriobete cant afford to have off days,much blame on the youngsters but I blame those type of players I mentioned,because we needed them to be top draw at a time when we blooding youngsters. BPA was the best followed by Wilsen and Philip. No doubt Coles probably has the starting jumper for 2 years or so but come RWC he wont start. Sexton and Veumelen are good examples aswell. I still would have had Fardy around for the first 2 years,you need those type of players to lean on when building. Eddie Jones knew Brown and Robshaw wont be in his plans come RWC 2019,but he saw the value of having them when building. DR might have gotten it wrong and the proof is there.

Only watched the first half but dhp must have played very well in the second to get above someone like simone

How many debuts this week ? Surely at least a winger. Ramm or Wright ?

Haha. True. Case in point is the QLD election.

I've been banging on about this for a while -Australian rugby was strong when you had a greater concentration of good players in fewer teams and (when their were just three teams)played competitively consistently against the Super teams of NZ and S.A. Forget the 'talent needing to be fostered' line - admit NZ know a good product when they see it and audiences here in NZ have loved the test match quality of every Super Aotearoa game. We all lost our way (due to probable financial and not altruistic reasons) expanding the Super game, which diluted the quality then viewer appeal. If you contract the teams to three and rejoin NZ you may not have the one sided results of recent years either in Super or test match games. Also stay true to limiting Australian caps to domestic players as it will disincentivise foreign departures and create that culture Australians strive to engender. It's no coincidence that it was some time ago when an Australian team won Super Rugby and the World Cup at a time all your Super teams demanded respect.

Someone has to play 10. MT and JOC out and Noah was the form 10 still standing and deserved a shot. There is no evidence that Harrison is up to test Rugby yet. Noah should have been asked to defend at 15. Zero first class experience in that role. DHP supposed to be the best 15 and he should be expected to defend the kicks. The forwards were beaten as usual by the ABs Loved watching Hooper watch the rolling mall try. He’s watched so many he must be an expert at defending it. Question: How many Wallabies on Saturday have never played in a win against a Kiwi side?Have any of the young Reds?

Big hit “ Harry”. He’d would found out dead easy in the real “State of Origin”. With the real game they come knocking on you’re door every contest ,and not like they feel it? That’s the difference.

Rugby is a team sport not an individual one. We can pull apart individual performances and blame individual players but the real fault is in the team. For the past 5 or so years the Wallabies performance’s have reflected a terrible culture. A culture where politics and favoritism determines selections. In Game 1, the Wallabies came out with the enthusiasm of a team playing under a new culture. It was evident in the team’s never die, never give up attitude to the game. Game 2, that had slipped just that tiniest little bit. Game 3, we were right back to the Cheika era of poor culture. It was evident in every part of the game. Why have we lost that ‘Game 1’ culture so quickly? In my opinion, it is once again all back to selections. It starts for me with Hooper as captain. What in Hooper’s whole career qualifies him to still be captain of the Wallabies? Trying hard is not an answer. Hooper presided over the worst period of Australian Rugby where the culture and performance’s were the complete opposite of ‘high performance’. There is no merit to Hooper’s continued selection as captain and quite arguably his selection at 7. There are better 7’s in Oz SR right now and playing overseas. Even if there isn’t, his results as captain and as a 7 should immediately disqualify him for the role. It is painfully clear to anyone who understands leadership that players will not give everything for a team with Hooper as captain. It is not just about the captain either. I don’t care how many injuries there are, but naming Lolesio at starting 10 when he has done nothing to suggest he is ready for Test level rips the soul out of a team. Naming Hodge as 10 off the bench when he wouldn’t rank in the top 100 in that position in world rugby stomps on what is left of the soul of the team. How does a team sustain that same grit that we all fell back in love with during Game 1, when they know they are playing along side players and a captain that just do not deserve to be there based on past and present performance. We are always amazed at how 1 player can drop out of the AB’s and another step in and nothing changes. Sure there is a pipeline of players that understand the style of AB play. But what really matters is the AB culture is more important than any individual. If you don’t contribute to or thrive within that high performance culture then you don’t get to be an AB. Not having depth can compromises the culture so in the AB’s high performance environment depth means everything. You must give everything when you get your shot and also to retain it, or someone else will take it. In comparison, we have rewarded Hooper’s failure as captain over 5 years with more captaincy. It is impossible to sustain a culture when that is the message.

I have read a lot of armchair criticisms of Michael Hooper but the word-count has not yet been matched by facts, figures, and analysis. Can someone please put together an article on the topic of Michael Hooper? There must be more than just me who are willing to be persuaded. Looking forward to it!

I think you are right, he does look to offload each time. Difference between him and some of the others is that he always looks. You'll see him turn, look at the player, and he'll hold off if they aren't in position. There has not been the no look stuff from him these last few games. Guys push passes that are not on (I don't think he's one of them) and there are also guys who should receive quick off loads in good positions and make a hash of their handling. It makes every attempted offload look like an error.

Oops - yeap the backs

Voting is a sure way to get a rubbish result.

Perhaps you could amend the second word? ;o) But, yeah, I agree with what I am sure you mean!

Watched both Smith and Pocock for many years. For me Pocock takes the cake. He was best forward for the last 10 yrs and always gets picked by all the coaches. Some of the games he singlehandedly destroyed the opposition. Unfortunately Pocock was in a period when OZ Rugby was in downhill. Both are great blokes and both needs to be remembered and considered Aus greats. I am surprised both are not in Rugby Australia coaching panel, consultant or what ever you call but RU must try to bring them into Wallabies system to train future Wallaby

The backs lost this match. Poor catching, positioning and kicking. Forwards played as well as they could have given the pressure and field position they were in.