The Rugby Championship is officially New Zealand’s once again, but with the Wallabies surging, the Springboks bouncing back and the Pumas competitive, there’s still plenty to analyse in this week’s edition of Coach’s Corner.
Every Friday, Nick Bishop, The Roar’s resident rugby expert, takes charge to answer all your questions from the Championship, and the rest of the rugby world.
Miss the latest issue of Coach’s Corner? Catch up right here!
With another Wallabies win and a scorcher of a game between the All Blacks and Springboks, and upcoming Tests in Japan and the UK for the Wallabies to begin preparing for, we’re sure you’ve got plenty of questions for Nick.
Did the Boks unearth the chink in the All Blacks’ armour, and can the Wallabies learn anything from it ahead of the 2022 Bledisloe Cup?
Is Dave Rennie right to want more from the Wallabies than just a win?
Is Michael Hooper actually a god or just an ordinary workaday superhero?
After the Rugby Championship wraps up next weekend with two final Tests, the Wallabies head to Japan to face the Brave Blossoms on October 23, before a November tour of the UK to take on Scotland, England and Wales for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
>> Check out the the Wallabies’ full upcoming fixture
Can the Wallabies head to Europe with confidence after their form surge against the Springboks and Pumas? Could they even knock over the old enemy at Twickenham for the first time since 2015?
Whatever tickles your fancy, it’s time to get your questions in for Nick. Submit them in the comments section below and then revisit The Roar on Friday to see what the coach has to say.
Big A
Roar Rookie
I heard that too - almost choked on my corn flakes the morning after when i heard that
Big A
Roar Rookie
Hi Nick, Question: The Dan McKellar Brumbies fwd dominated playing style does not appear to synchronise with the DR playing style - granted the fwds seem to have tightened up significantly since DM has come on board and they were fantastic in the Boks second match at successfully defusing the rolling maul - but if you look offensively - we've hardly ever seen the Brumbies signature maul employed. It'd be good to hear your opinion on that.
Wallabies_Larkham
Roar Rookie
Hi nick...many kiwi roarers were very disappointed in the performance of the NH ref between boklings and AB..my question to you is do you still hold the same view that a NH ref can take charge of a match between two southern hemisphere teams... My second question is nienaber mentioned in his presser that after a review was done by the judicial committee on faf's yellow card against wallabies that they received apologies as it was the incorrect decision and that faf was not offside and had all rights to the ball..
Nicholas Bishop
Expert
Rieko is not a power back, sorry!
Jack
Roar Rookie
I tend to only go when I am lucky enough to snag an invite from friends and family who are better-connected than myself, so can't offer much help I'm afraid. I'll ask around and let you know if they have any recommendations outside of the usual though
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
We have tickets for Cardiff this year but our usual avenue for Twickenham tickets (Fanatics) isn’t available this year. Do you have any other thoughts outside the ticket sites?
Hoy
Roar Guru
I think Nick literally means a back with power.
Jack
Roar Rookie
I know the feeling all too well Oz, my last time at Twickenham was the uninspiring 30-6 defeat in 2017. Would happily accept losses in the other EOYT games if it meant beating England. Hopefully Dave Rennie has kept an eye on the 6N this year and has some tricks up his sleeve
Somer
Guest
A fair few amateur pundits accurately predicted that the ABs would have major problems with work rate and physicality at the breakdown with that backrow combination. Fox is either a Johnny-come-lately finally clueing up to the obvious or he's hinting that the decision wasn't his in the first place.
Somer
Guest
Samu yes but I'll rate Reiko has a better power back than Marika. Reiko is faster and has a better instinct for maintaining his momentum and not wasting to much time trying to break or elude tackles. Marika is like a pinball at times, he breaks tackles but stutters and starts and loses all flow and coordination with his team mates.
Bodger
Roar Rookie
French rugby is quite slow and nowhere near test match speed. I'm talking about the speed of the game not making a impact. Sure he would make a impact but could he increase the tempo of the game and sustain it in test rugby. For me he's more of a starter at test rugby.
Phil
Roar Rookie
Don’t think Kerevi defends well at 13. And Ikitau is nailing that position anyway.
Phil
Roar Rookie
I’d love to see this!
Phil
Roar Rookie
Even Kerevi said he was being inspired by Ikitau’s defence and said he wanted to improve his own to try and match what Ikitau was bringing.
Phil
Roar Rookie
I think Rennie took the ball carrying away from LSL, he seemed to focus more on set piece and defence and didn’t do as much ball carrying. Do you agree?
Colin Fenwick
Roar Rookie
I think TJ has never been a great passer so half the problem was that and the other half was our ruck ball was very messy. I hope to see this improved on Saturday.
Big A
Roar Rookie
What about Kwagga - he wouldn't make the WB's pack atm - i see they fixed up his nose the other day - was looking a lot straighter in the AB's match.
moaman
Roar Guru
Foster? Maybe. BB would certainly enjoy it!
Paddy
Guest
Agree Faith and Hooper has been part of more losing bledisloe cups than any other player in Wallaby history.
Big A
Roar Rookie
Thanks for responding Nick – i don’t know man – i know it’s a different game from 1984 – i got this from a 2009 article in the Roar by “Sheek” – makes for an interesting read – the grand slam team had a number 8 and a number 6 that had only played 3 tests between them – makes abit of a mockery of today’s young superstars that need 20 tests before they can own their positions – back in those days young guys were different – they knew an opportunity when it came their way – they knew that the opportunity might not come again – so when they put on that gold guernsey (not silly orange) they played like their life depended on it. I suppose i’ll leave it with a question – who would you rather have playing for ya if your life depended on it – Poido or Hoops ? thanks for taking the time to converse with me Nick – much obliged mate. from 2009 article in the Roar by “Sheek”………………………………….. 8. Steve Tuynman Just his third Test. A schoolboy sensation who went onto excellent senior career. Had all the skills, but perhaps lacked some mongrel. Advertisement 7. Simon Poidevin Yet another legend. Outstanding flanker who could play both sides of scrum. Heart of the team with his committed, never say die attitude. 6. David Codey Second Test. Aggressive tight-loose backrower who gave the Wallabies extra choice of options in lineout as well as in general play.