Roar Rookie
Joined June 2018
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The first Test is on our doorstep and odds suggest that every millimetre earned will be an important one. The Wallabies can ill afford…
Nothing quite like a few beers before sharpening your index fingers and stabbing away at a keyboard, Timbo!
This series is so difficult to call… We played two draws against Springboks last year so thought I’d throw one in there to spice things up a little. You never know…
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?
Thanks Derm I’ll have a look at a couple others you’ve mentioned.
That comment was in a boards.ie thread!… Along with some ‘Waltzing Matilda’ talk to boot.
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?
Thanks for the comment Derm
You might be able to give me some tips on which ones are most credible… I had a scroll through the ‘boards.ie’ ‘leinsterfans’ and ‘munsterfans’ forums to get some perspective.
Any thoughts on those for future research would be very much appreciated… or if you know some others?
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?
Thanks for the comment El Gamba. You raise a great point.
Have heard that Schmidt came out in justification of the Carbery move saying that he always planned to start him in a test this series. His reasoning for the first test was it had the longest lead up for Ireland of any of the tests.
Now casting thoughts back to the Wallabies… 6 days isn’t long as you have said. Add in there a few players on debut and five/six of our forwards with less than 5 tests and it is a genuine concern. Other nations seem to be able to have a consistent message going through their provincial teams. We have four very unique styles in our Super sides. Could definitely be some confusion when the pressure comes.
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?
Your list of needs in our ideal Wallabies side is almost as long as my mates list for his next missus… What a dream! Safe to say he’s been single for some time… ha
Ireland are a smart team and may well find a way to target Foley/Beale/Koroibete with kicks. We definitely won’t be in perfect shape all of the time that’s for sure. Strange things always happen in games.
I think we will see less musical chairs in defence tomorrow.
I think we will see our backline defend in position on scrum. Lock down the left side by matching numbers and then play ‘one out’ defence on the right side with Genia drifting onto the 1st receiver on that side. This will take pressure off the decision making out wider as we will have an extra man. What this will do though is put pressure on our back row to defend the spaces around the scrum. Ireland may see this strategy coming and employ some interesting 8/9 plays. This kind of strategy around scrum time is one of my favourite things to keep an eye on.
On lineout I expect Foley to defend in the channel like usual and Hooper to move to 10. Everyone else to line up in position but with Koroibete on the open wing and DHP on the blind so he is in that box/bomb position. Always less risk of defensive error on lineout than scrum in my opinion because an attacking team can only play one direction.
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?
Absolutely Iain, we definitely have the ability if it all comes together. My main concern about our Super sides and the more recent Wallabies is how ‘streaky’ we seem to be. We will see glimpses of brilliance, sometimes for a whole game, and then we will see the complete opposite! I wonder if we can bring some consistency in our skill execution. There are many ways to win a game of rugby, we will see two completely different styles tomorrow… What makes a successful team is the consistency of decision making and skill execution. Very excited to see how it all plays out over the next few weeks.
Thanks for the comment!
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?
Thanks for the comment Sinclair. You’ve raised some more interesting points. I agree with your concerns around ‘out kicked, and out jumped at lineout’.
I can also confirm that Irish punters on forums are salivating at the thought of Bundee Aki and Henshaw targeting our midfield defence.
The back row is an intriguing contest. No Leavy, or Beirne, for Ireland suggests to me that they will be very very patient at the ruck on defence. POM, CJ and Murphy are very good at moving bodies on attack though and will be critical for the Irish if they are to starve us of possession for long sequences of play. In direct contrast, you would expect to see Pocock and Hooper bouncing around from ruck to ruck like rubber balls thrown into a small box as usual!
I think these days the Wallaby ‘back three’ is more like a Wallaby ‘back 3 and a half’, with 2 wholes, and 3 halfs… I expect to see Folau and DHP in full time positions at the back, with Genia sweeping half way, and the two ‘wings’ (Koroibete & Foley defending on the ends of the line) going soft on the open side of the field when needed. This will mean Foley and Koroibete can only be targeted by a cross field kick instead of any box or bomb. Hodge had to be the bench position not just because of his versatility, but his ability to play the DHP role in this system as well.
At least that’s what I expect to see! Who knows, happy to keep mulling it over if you have any more comments.
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?
Thanks for reading Machooka and I’m glad you enjoyed it. I agree with your comments on predictions, but any conversation starter is a good one! Have you ventured into the Irish forums to see what the educated supporters are saying up there? Once you sift through the ‘shackle-draggers’ comments there is some good stuff. Their mindset shifted a fair bit once the side was named. I wrote this piece on Wednesday, fully expecting Sexton to start. He will still play a big role this series even if not starting this week.
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?
Thanks for the correction re: Peyper Highlander. I was scrolling through games on Wednesday trying to find it and with all the controversy during the England series it was my best guess.
Interesting comment re: Genia in the defensive pattern. I agree. A lot of sides now defend their half on the blind side near the breakdown for that reason, and to take the pressure away from what can seem like acres of space on the open side of the field of course. The half can just as easily sweep from that blind side of the ruck once the ball is cleared as well.
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?
I wouldn’t call DHP a ‘strike runner’ either Sherry, good call. He has a fairly rounded game. My biggest concern with DHP is his options playing from a box kick. Flicking back through the England series on fast forward I thought it was skipping for a while… Wallabies kick-off deep right, England settle, box kick, DHP catch and carry into contact on his wing… This isn’t what the Wallabies will be hoping for tonight. We need to see the ball shifted midfield to open up our options. I really hope we see some variation tonight because I believe he will be getting tablespoons full of the same medicine.
Agree with the Irish pack. Guys like Coleman and Rodda I think will handle it, despite some thinking otherwise. My biggest concern is the work rate of Timu. the 4, 5, & 8 are asked to work bloody hard in our modified 1-3-3-1 structure (if we play the same way)… Our 1, 2, & 3 get to hang out in the midfield while our 4, 5, & 8 are asked to swing from side to side around them, taking a majority of the hard carries from both edges of the field. Can Timu make tackle after tackle and then carry with venom or execute short passing skills under fatigue?? If he is gassed then keep an eye out for a couple of dropped balls when Wallabies are carrying from an edge with our 4, 5, & 8 pod.
Trumps or clunks for Wallabies in June series?