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There’s something rotten about the state of Australian rugby union. A 40-6 Rugby World Cup defeat to Wales confirmed what most down under already knew – the 15-man code and the men’s national team is in one hell of a .
John Davidson, The Guardian UK

Eddie Jones dumbest decision in his RWC selection is dropping Pete Samu from the squad. Eddie Jones must have got his eyes fixed next to his ears.

I am so happy with Fiji’s win over England for one good reason: The English commentators during the game was embarrassingly condescending… that colonial baggage still resides at the back of their minds when they see Fiji about to beat the hell out of England.

I have questioned some od Eddie Jone’s players selection and his obsession with kicking rugby FOR Wallabies which we all knew was a disaster ( perhaps it works for other teams, but on keeping with the young ones in Carter Gordon, Tate McDermott and Corey Toole was the right decision no matter whether we could get as far as the semi final in the RWC.

If not now, when?

Three points:
1. But the exclusion of Lonergan and Pete Samu is simply bewildering and looked like it is one of Eddie Jones’ short-sightedness or being blind-sided from some mental error that got him booted out England’s team. The stats of Pete Samu and Lonergan on the field seem to have value in Eddie Jone’s calculus.

2. Not sure what Nic White can contribute at #9 besides the much talked-about of his crisp ball-passing… that in itself is not the X-factor to needed to win games (best only a minimum requirement) and worse, he is slow behind the scrum. If it is about ball-passing, Lonergan can do that as well, plus he has the unique skill to threaten the opponent’s advantage line and able to play like an extra backup forward and backup backline.

3. While investing in the attacking skills of our young #9 and #10, the team needs as an insurance a proven safe pair of hands and a proven pair of reliable boots to get cheap 2 and 3 pointers and someone with a cool head on the shoulders. On these attributes, I would have expected Lolesio should in the squad instead of (or at least in addition to ) Ben Donaldson at #10.

The RWC is a long compact campaign against the world’s best. Wallabies had always suffered from having musical chairs for #10 unlike during Australia’s era of Michael Lynagh and before.

Having just one specialist #10 in a long RWC campaign is like going into a long trip at sea without a life jacket. There will be moments in the RWC because of the high adrenaline and mental and physical toughness required when the youngsters may face sheer mental and physical exhaustion and burnt-out with negative consequences going into the next game. If Quade and Foley were excluded for
whatever reasons, and if Eddie Jones wants young blood with Test experience, why not Lolesio? Ben Donaldson is not fully tested at #10 and he is still a work-in-progress as Carter’s back-up.

A note to Eddie:
Eddie maybe prickly and has a quick retort that others do not know rugby because some sports journalists queried his decision making, the fact is Eddie Jones does not own the monopoly on how rugby should be played. We call that “hubris” and to put into context, the score is 0-4 on the negative side of the balance sheet since Eddie became Wallabies’ head coach.

The Wallabies backline starting line up #10 to #15 looks the best fit for the RWC. These 6 players should be given as much playing time together so they can gel as a singular fighting force. Of course with Ikitau but if he can get out of his injury quickly.

What Eddie needs now is to tighten up the forwards. Wallabies forwards combination is still hopelessly weak in defence and in generating quick ball for the backline. Current it can’t stand the aggressive onslaught and defense of the ABs forwards, let alone that of the Springboks and the Le Bleu. I’ll say it again, body bulk is not the full answer… its leg drive and acceleration with the ball needed by the Wallabies’ forwards to crash through the opposition defence.

Carter Gordon is best used off the bench.
Perhaps Eddie Jones is giving him a baptism in fire to stiffen the young man to be 99% ready for the RWC.

Eddie Jones finally turned around on Tate. I had backed Tate in the gold jersey since the day he excluded Tate from squad in preference for Nic White. Many said Tate’s passing is not as crisp as Nic White, that maybe true; but Tate’s overall play at #9 has more bite in attack and his speed in passing for the backline creates more opportunities for #10 to dictate play and for the Wallabies backline to use the ball. He is willing to run with the ball to go over the advantage line.That in itself compensates his less crisp passing, which can be improved in training.
Having said that, sure, Tate’s game can still be improved, including his kicking..

Tate McDermott and Carter Gordon should stay on. You don’t kill a cat for pooing in the wrong place on one day.

McDernott should start, not Nic White. McDermott exudes energy, innovativeness and speed for tte Wallabies backline and forcing the opponent to make guesswork ( Aaron Smith makes that as an art form).

McDermott is pretty good in defence
whereas Nic White is slow and predictable, and plays a risk-averse game. Kicking is only a small and infrequent part of the game for #9 UNLESS ordered by the coach to always kick.

After watching McDermott in the SR and his other games, I became a persistent backer of McDermott to take the #9 gold jersey instead of Nic White right after Eddie Jones excluded McDermott in the first squad selection. I felt Eddie Jones made a big mistake of judgment of what the Wallabies needed right now definity not Nic White’s laid back style of play at #9.

To come off the bench, it should be Lonergan who also has a good attacking game but needs tightening his defence. He shouls be given a go and build up his skills set.

Carter Gordon at this stage preferably comes off the bench …not 10 minutes before full time but given AT LEAST 20-30 play time.Helps to build his confidence to dictate play and other players to get use to him at #10.

Between Lolesio and Ben Donaldson, Lolesio has a safer pair of hands and a more reliable pair of boots. The #10 needs a cool head, a strategic thinker, able to make good decisions on a fly, agile with the ability to slip through tight corners. Lolesio has these in him more than Donaldso but he needs time on the field to entrench them in his game.

The 3 ( McDemott, Lonergan and Carter) are the future of the Wallabies, not Quade or Nic White or Foley.

AllBlacks’s Mou’nga started out with similar traits and with inexperienced hesistancy, as Carter, but he was given generous play time to firm up his skills.

Australian rugby as of today is still in the wilderness with less than two months into RWC.

Eddie Jones was parachuted in after he lost his job with England and given the task to guide the Wallabies towards the light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Instead as of today, the Wallabies still umable to find where is the light at the end of the tunnel.

Coach Dave Rennie was given that job to chart that pathway towards that light.

Poor Rennie hsd to start almost from scratch to bring the Wallabies towards that light.

The thing is Rennie started pretty well despite the losses with much smaller margins.

RA jumped the gun and was expecting some quick fixes ( Rennie did try some quick fixes but to no avail ) but the weaknesses in Australian rugby were too deep, which means it needed a more carefully-thought out methodical approach to fix the problems facing the Wallabies.

Unfortunately. RA was too impatient with Dave Rennie and was in denial mode that Australian rugby has deep-seated weaknesses and it was looking around for a miracle-worker with a magic wand. And Eddie Jones’ name landed on the table of RA Board.
The miracle worker was recruited in January, less than 9 months before the start of RWC.

Since then no rabbit came out of the hat after 3 games. In fact, looking at the 3 performances of the Wallabies under Eddie Jones, the losses looked worse than before.he cane on board.

It appears along way the magician simply lost the plot.

Maybe, and wr can only pray. the rabbit may come out of the hat in the 5th performances by the Wallabiea just before the RWC.

Bookies im Sydney are trying very very hard to put their money to back the Wallabies to beat the AllBlacks in the Bledisloe… but they just can’t… simply can’t. There is no pathway without losing their money. They love the Wallabies but it is hard to love a team that looks like going to lose, based on all the data-points in the money-book.

If Wallabies want points on the scoreboard, put Kellaway on the wings. But McDermott to play at #9 so there is movement in the backline.

Putting Kellaway at Wing or outside center and Nic White at #9 would be a waste of Kellaway’s time on the field because Nic White would be kicking the ball most of the time and he is hopelessly slow passing the ball to the backline or he decides to become de facto #10 instead of Quade.

If Nic White is at #9, put Kellaway at 15
and Petaia in the wings.

“ We already knew that the All Blacks are the best team in the world at making fools of sides that show up half cocked, and that is exactly what will happen to the Wallabies unless they can dramatically improve in the next week and a half. “
JAMIE WALL

That’s a clear and stark reminder from across the ditch to Eddie Jones. The ABs proved it again and again.

Talk LESS and just deliver the goods. In last two games, Eddies Jones couldn’t walk the talk. If it turns out 3-0 after next week, better to just STOP the pre-game verbal nonsense.

Nic White still in?

Talking about Warner in this Ashes, here is the thing: Throughout history, Australia as a nation has never been known to make the right decisions for its own good, be it in war (WWI, WWI, fighting in America’s wars that had little to do with our self defence and national security). in our foreign policies (antagonising nations that helped our economy, eg China and Indonesia, and blindly following American self-interests), our domestic politics ( dragging our feet to come to terms with our horrible history with our First Nations People), in our sports ( just look at what us happening to our rugby union code with the current mess it is in, sacking a coach which was midway building a credible national team, only to parachute a coach who was sacked by England, and who continued retaining players in the national team despite having past their used-by-date)…. and the same happening to our cricket team.

A Kiwi observer once said that the national Aussie psyche is it can never accept being told he/she had made a wrong decision, and any advice given is taken as an insult. He said an Aussie kid is ingrained from young to always think, “ I know what I am doing, so stop pestering me,” even when the facts showed otherwise, that he would end up in the ditch head in first.

Australia will be always be a nation always catching with others, unwilling to admit its weaknesses and its failure to realise where its strength lies.

The Warner issue in this Ashes series is symptomatic of all the above. Being clever-by-half most of the time, not some of the time.

The 4th Test Question: Will David Warner give Stuart Broad the honour of reaching 18
with less than 30 runs.

Typo error

Read: “ hopelessly SLOW……”

. Tate McDermott provided tempo and pace off the bench to open up the match in the second half.
– Christy Doran

Yet Eddie Jones still prefer to stick with Nic White, who prefers to kick the ball, and when he wants to pass the ball, he is hopelessly, thinking hard when to pass the ball to the backline, and if not, he decides to play first receiver instead…. He is Wallabies’s most predictable #9 which opponents read him like a book when he is on the field

Figure this one out on Eddie Jones’ decision. because I can’t.

I think he meant GEORGE Gregan and MICHAEL Lynagh.

Typo error:

hopelessly show …. should read as “hopelessly SLOW”

from Eddie Johns,…. should read as “Eddie Jones”

Nic White – 6.5

Scored in the 53rd to justify James Slipper’s decision to elect for a scrum centre field.
The halfback was solid during his 65-minute effort.

That is debatable. Solid for what?

Aaron Smith for ABs was solid but with a difference.

Unchanged fact: Nic White was hopelessly show behind the scrum and absent most of them behind a breakdown.

For whatever reasons, perhaps under orders from Eddie Johns, he positioned himself as first receiver. #9 becomes first receiver if #8 wants the ball.

McDermott came on in last 12 min which allowed Quade to become a playmaker, and that was why he was recalled #10.

Say what you like about Eddie Jones, his mind games are a class of its own. If anything, it gives unlimited confidence to his team, but at the same time an incredible pressure on the Wallabies during game time.
Let’s see at this time, what is the ABs’ s response. Will the brain-trust managing the ABs do a “Springbok-Challenge”? Remember, what Eddie Jones said to the Springboks, to paraphrase, “Come on, give us your best shot!”. Instead the Springboks said, “No need for that, mate.” And the rest is history.

On Tom Wright: He is not the same person at #15 who was playing for the Brumbies.

Since after his brain-dead decisions which contributed to the Brumbies’ loss in the SR semifinal against the Blues, and after he was severely skewered by Aussie fans, Tom Wright seems to have shown since then, an apparent lack of self-confidence when the ball landed on his hands. He appeared hesitant, his runs looked half-hearted, and it looked like his vision for open space as #15 was side-blinded. As a result, he found himself always in collision with the opponents and get crushed after barely taking 4-5 steps with the ball.

Tom Wright should see a shrink quickly to get his self-confidence back if he wants to remain a Wallaby at #15.

In my humble opinion, Tom Wright is still a good rugby player, but at the moment he got spooked playing fullback. Perhaps Eddie Jones shoukd move him back to Wing, which he was pretty good at, ad he has speed and id able to run in very tight spaces. This change will help him mentally and his rugby career.
Persinally, I would not give up on Tom Wright as yet. He is still a good rugby player.

While Kellaway looks like a good fit for the Wallabies at #15, Australia still needs to find a #15 backup. The question then is Jordan Petaia at #15 ready for the RWC? One thing Jordan Petaia has against himself is he is also injury-prone.

Hodge is OK at #15 but Hodge needs to combine well at #15 with the rest of the 14 players, especially when Hodge goes on his solo runs from the Wallabies’s half. This is because the other 14 Wallabies players must instinctively know what he going to do with the ball so that they can back and support him. That had been the missing part with Hodge at #15.

Hodge has big boots but his boots need direction towards the space between the goal posts.

Here’s the elephant in the room which Eddie Jones still refuses to admit it:
The weak link in the Wallabies team is Nic White at #9. Why is he playing first receiver instead of Quade? That try he made was because he actually stayed behind the scrum as #9 should, unless#8 wants to run with the ball.
We saw some fluidity in the backline after McDermott came in the last 12 min, by delivering quick ball from the base of the loose scrum to the backline. But it was too little too late. McDermott should have come off the bench right at the beginning of the second half.
If Eddie Jones wants to persist with Nic White, let him come off the bench. Otherwise use MDermott and Lonergan for the Bledisloe. These two youngsters are the future, and they should be groomed and given more Test level playing time to build experience and skills.
Also, its time to firm up the combination between Carter Gordon at #10 with McDermott and Lonergan at #9 for the future of Wallabies, just as how Aaron Smith combined seamlessly with Mou’nga after Dan Carter left. They need more playing time together to get a feel of each other’s thinking in that split second with the ball.

I am speechless.

To win the Ashes, David Warner should be replaced.

Repeating the same thing and expecting a different result is a definition of stupidity.

Afraid to try someone new when the stake is high is cowardice.

No risk no gain, if you don’t try out, you never know.