Roar Rookie
Joined September 2015
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Former Wests Kenmore Koala junior rugby player - U12 premiers 1981
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The experimental scoring system being trialled in this 2016 edition of the National Rugby Championship (NRC) provides excellent incentive for attacking rugby. There will…
On the eve of the Rugby World Cup 2015 opener, I found my mind racing in bed. I was thinking about Michael Cheika's Wallabies…
I like that back row
Roar Forum: What changes should the Wallabies make for the Springboks?
Caesar. Good point, although picking McMahon would go against my premise of picking players in their ‘rightful’ positions, at which they have experience preferably at Super Rugby level. I overlooked McMahon for No 8 bc I’m not sure he has played much at No 8 in his career but you’re right he certainly has those 3 qualities, perhaps to rival Timani.
McM is similar in stature to the Pooper. I think the WBs need someone bigger and taller at No 8. I would like to see McM at 6 for the WBs but only if Pooper is dismantled. As long as Pooper is still playing we need a strong lineout option like Fardy at 6.
Roar Forum: What changes should the Wallabies make for the Springboks?
Yes. The overseas players are not needed.
Give Morahan a run and get Speight back in there asap – I understand he is fit and playing in the NRC (goodbye to AAC and Drew Mitchell).
Giteau is out through injury, which you think would give a guy like Godwin and opportunity in the squad (especially with the other injuries/absences at 12). Is Hodge the answer at 12 (I don’t know what his position is – he appears to play anywhere from 12-15).
Kepu can make way for Robertson/Toby Smith
Genia has been the best-performed of the O/S crowd in Bledisloe I and II but the WBs don’t need him. Frisby is the long term answer at 9.
Roar Forum: What changes should the Wallabies make for the Springboks?
I agree DF. Pick players in their rightful positions. The Pooper has run its course and many Roarers have been calling for the experiment to be wrapped up and for the WBs to select a No. 8 with the more traditional No. 8 skills – e.g. 1 lineout jumping, 2 ball carrying, 3 big defence. The problem is we don’t have a standout No. 8 to replace Pocock who unfortunately is lacking somewhat (not completely) in all three of these qualities.
Unfortunately we lost Ita Vaea who had 2 and 3 in spades (Palu rarely delivered in any category).
McCalman (Force) at test level had 1 and perhaps 3, but was sadly ineffective at 2. Butler (ACT) and Schatz (Reds) don’t appear ready for test rugby.
That leaves three guys in my view that could be the answer at 8. They are Higginbotham who is currently ineligible to play, Jed Holloway who is currently injured and very inexperienced and Timani.
Many Roarers have been calling for the inclusion of Timani. It’s time.
Roar Forum: What changes should the Wallabies make for the Springboks?
Coleman in general play was great to watch last night, he clearly was fired up. However, I wonder whether the WBs lineout problems were somehow linked to him. When Mumm came on when Coleman was sin-binned the lineout started to function better. I’m not advocating persisting with Mumm but something has to be done to improve the lineout…and the scrum.
The WBS got hardly any front foot ball all night largely due to the lack of (clean) ball from set piece. Even when they did win a scrum or lineout it was usually under extreme pressure putting the WBs on the back foot.
So if ay changes to personnel are to be made they should focus on the forwards to improve the set piece.
Pretty hard to blame the backs when they only had ball under pressure. Due to the weight of possession in the ABs favour , the WBs had to make (and miss) many more tackles.
In terms of the lineout we’ll get murdered by the Boks in this area if it doesn’t improve execution. If that means dropping Coleman and losing some mongrel and ball carrying ability around the park, I’m perfectly fine with that if it means that we can reliably secure ball from our own feed. No matter what the fix, one is needed immediately.
Roar Forum: What changes should the Wallabies make for the Springboks?
Just to be clear, I am not anti-scrum (rugby scrums that is, I think league scrums are ridiculous of course). I just highlighted that part of the game because that’s where it appears there are a lot of 50-50 decisions made by referees. Of course, there are many other areas of the game where 50-50 calls are prevalent, e.g. the breakdown. A key premise of my article is that 3 points (relative to 5 points for a try) is too high a cost to pay, especially for being on the wrong end of a 50-50 call.
Therefore, as Danoz suggests, maybe short arm penalties for scrum offences is the way to go. A dominant scrum is still rewarded and the penalty for 50-50 (or straight out wrong) calls is not so severe. However, I’ve got a strange feeling this may have been trialled in a previous edition of the NRC. Can someone let us know?
NRC 2016 scoring system a move in the right direction
Good point GP. However, I would still prefer to see a try from the lineout or good lineout and try line defence than a penalty goal from 40-50 m out any day of the week.
Under the new system a try scored wide, e.g. from a line out maul, is more likely to yield 6 points rather than 8 due to the relative difficulty of the conversion. So a 6 point try is worth 3x more than a penalty and a relatively more difficult try scored closer to the posts will more likely be worth 4x more.
NRC 2016 scoring system a move in the right direction
I would have liked to have seen more of Tomane for the Wallabies. I hope his departure results in more opportunities for guys like Morahan, Speight (when not injured!), English et al
Joe Tomane's Brumbies exit confirmed
I agree with you Chris that at least those two guys appear to be ahead of him in terms of allrounders. Cutting’s. bowling was disappointing in the BBL last year. He has been such a destructive batsman in the BBL though. I’d love to see him unleashed on the international stage because I think he is good enough with the bat to cause some serious damage to other sides in the last 5-10 overs.
Ten World Cup spots up for grabs in Big Bash League
Ben Cutting must also be in the mix.
Ten World Cup spots up for grabs in Big Bash League
Ok. I’ve done a little homework now and just caught up on the fact that Sammy retired from Tests last year, which is a shame because it is clear that the WI really need him now. Pollard is such an exciting player in the shorter forms and I agree …would love to see him play some test cricket too.
The West Indies XI I wish we were facing
the Sanchez HIA was unexpected and I agree, the prospect of being removed from the game for an HIA could possibly work to prevent diving a’la Sanchez in the future…great call by Barnes
Five talking points from Wallabies vs Argentina