Did you even see his injuries?

After watching the replay of landing on and rolling on his neck, I was worried he wouldn’t get up.

In my opinion, the illegal chop tackle action by Makalio directly contributed to Frizell hitting Vest in the head. If that hadn’t happened I think Frizell’s tackle would have likely been okay. He was in a good body position for a normal tackle.

Can a ref look at a sequence of events, or just the actions of each individual player? If so for the sequence of events, then Makalio should have received at least a yellow card.

Burns should have also received at least a yellow card for the high, at speed hit on O’Connor.

Disclaimer – Highlanders supporter.

Whatever Vest ate for breakfast he needs to keep it up.

He was an absolute monster.

I’d argue the Reds were just as understrengthed. No Tupou, Jones, Hoopert, Paisami, Flook and Petaia.

Most if not all of those guys would be in the run on 15.

Personally a fan of the maul. But I think tweaks in the rules would allow greater fairness for the defending team. Some things I would change immediately:

1. Players not in the lineout cannot join the maul.
2. The player who brings the ball down from the lineout must be bound to their players after they transfer the ball.

What I mean by #2, is after the ball is transferred, you often see that player blocking the defending players coming through the maul by grabbing their arms, neck, and using their elbows. It’s blatant obstruction in my opinion and should be stopped.

Some other random things I’ve thought about but probably go too far:

1. Penalty kicks for the corner are a minimum of ten metres out, not five metres; or
2. You cannot score directly off the maul. The maul ball carrier must disconnect from the maul X metres from the line; or
3. You cannot score directly off the maul. The ball must be passed from the maul prior to scoring.

Said this many times before, but I still think Nick White could make a good 10. Yes he’s a bit smaller but he has all the attributes needed; good kicking game, good defender, fast on his feet, a natural leader, and most importantly has the right brain to do it.
I’d love to see a McDermott and White 9/10 combo given a go.

I think the Wallabies are there or thereabouts with the other teams and on their day they can get over the line. A mass of injuries to key players players hasn’t helped. Some thoughts:

Discipline has been atrocious. Swain should never play for the Wallabies again imo.
Nick White is pissing off the referees with his constant back chat and interjections. I like White and think he’s a good player; I’ve always wondered if he could move one out, away from the referee, and play 10 (he’s the same size as Mo’unga).

Was great to see Samu finally given a decent run at 7. I think that will be here to stay.
I was disappointed not to see Frost given a run at 6. Massive body with great speed. Not many players with those attributes exist. Hopefully Swinton comes right.

The continued selection of both Petaia and Wright irks me. Both on the field at the same time is scary. They just don’t seem to have the smarts for Test rugby, especially Wright. I’d be going with Hodge over them every time. Solid without being spectacular. Leave that to Kerevi, Kellaway, and Ikitau. Speaking of Kellaway, just a smart and solid player who is reaping the rewards.

Please just leave Hodge alone at the back. He’s finally getting decent run and he’s excelling.

Feel like this muddies the water more for Liam Wright. With Jones coming in Uru will likely end up at 6. And I can’t see Thorn not playing McReight at 7 as he’s not really a reserve option.

Liam needs to move franchise where he can be the starting 7.
He could be a future Wallabies 7 and brings the added bonus of his lineout ability. He just needs the chance to play 7 and not get injured.

Preseason and injury risk I assume.

I’ve always thought McMahon would make a great 12. Almost always takes two guys to get him down and has great speed.

Honestly they should just put McMahon in as Kerevi’s backup.

True; I think he was qualified for multiple countries.

Always thought Dickson was a good young lock.
Surprised the Wallabies never made a play for him. He was born in Perth.

Mauls can definitely be stopped legally. Crusaders are the best maul defensive team in Super Rugby (and probably the best maul offensive team with the Brumbies).

They often don’t just hold up the maul but push it backwards. Their body position are low, almost like they are scrummaging. If you look at most mauls, players are very upright. I think technique, like the Crusaders, plays a big part to the defense.

Don’t you only have two stoppages for the maul? “Once”, and then “use it”?
I don’t mind maul tries at all; the key is how the defending team should try deal with it. Most mauls seem to end in tries or penalties to the attacking team. If that’s the case, then more lineouts close to the line should be contested by the defending team. Yet defending players are hardly ever lifted. Think we saw the Wallabies try it once in the weekend.
One thing that does need policing more is when the maul actually stops for “once” to be called. There were a couple of times in the weekend where a maul was halted by the defending team, for what I felt was more than five seconds, but “once” was not called.
There are two maul/ruck rules I would like looked at though:
Philip got through that maul legally, as called by the ref. If you’ve done the work to get through the maul and get to the ball carrier, you should be able to sack the player with the ball by any means.
The other is a scrumhalf’s hand on the ball in the ruck. de Klerk has his hands on the ball in the ruck for an eternity to set up for his box kicks. As soon as the ball is touched by hands it should be classed as out of the ruck.

Sorovi plays for Fiji.

Been saying this on Reddit, and I’ll say it here. Wallabies selection eligibility should not be solely based on X number of Wallabies caps; it should be X number of Super Rugby (or future equivalent) caps, or a combination of SR and Wallabies caps. I reckon 70-80.
This helps to protect the viability of the domestic game long term; but also doesn’t shut out class players like Skelton, Arnold, Kerevi, and soon Koroibete; who have all given numerous years to Australian rugby. They are getting paid the big bucks for a reason, they are some of the worlds best. Stop locking them out.
It would also allow the selection of good players like Gill, who did 80-odd games for Queensland but just happened to be stuck behind players like Pocock and Hooper who had the position locked down.

I had my head in my hands when Paisami did that. It was the dumbest play all game. Rather than going inside to his unmarked man, or kick returning, he decided to take on a wall of AB’s with absolutely no support.

He should not be covering the back if he’s not going to use his brain. For me he’s not the long term option. Guys like Simone, Hodge and Kuridrani have 20cm on him. 20! And a significant amount more weight too for the likes of Kerevi.

A lot of the All Black tries came from simple Wallaby errors. The idiot Paisami move, the Wallabies missed lineout when Savea got sent off (why not take a scrum here rather than using the dodgy lineout), Lolesio’s under pressure bomb inside the 22, and of course the intercepts.

I think the Wallabies forwards have an edge on the AB’s. If they had a backline that didn’t put themselves under pressure and played low error, percentages rugby, they’d have a good shot (and this is coming from a kiwi).

Ben O’Keeffe*

Did McReight make the squad? I can’t remember now. I personally prefer Wright as he’s a bit bigger and adds that true third line out option. Something gone since the Fardy days.

Yes Ikitau looked really sharp when he came on. Happy to see him get another decent crack.

I’m ambivalent either way on Daugunu or Wright. Both are error prone but Daugunu probably has been speed and kicking game.
Wright shouldn’t be leaving kicks to bounce. I’m sure he did it in SRAU as well. It’s a worry.

As a kiwi who supports the Wallabies, there are so many basic things that make you think…Why?

Gordon’s delivery to the backline is honest appalling. It’s putting Lolosio and the backs under so much pressure. Lolosio almost has the defense on him before the ball.
There was also a box kick Gordon did around the French 10m line for no apparently reason. The return kick for France was screwed up by Wright and Banks and led to a French penalty.
Simply stuff. Nothing on? Just kick return. Simple stuff.

For next game give me:

McDermott
O’Connor (get the Reds combo back together)
Koroibete (superstar)
Lolosio (back in his natural position; take some pressure off him)
Hodge (how good would Kerevi be right now)
Daungunu
Banks

Hodge is such a solid operator. That’s what the Wallabies need.

The forwards overall were pretty good, apart from the breakdown of course. Pissed me off when they were plugging the line and making progress, and then went to the backs to inevitably screw up. Keep it simple, tight, draw the penalty.

I’d like to see a Valetini, Wells, Wilson back row. Big, bulky, speedy. Focus on ball security.
Give Hooper a rest on a 6-2 bench and bring him and Tupou on together at 55 to wreck havoc.

The Wallabies selection process is completely outdated. They need to get with the times and accept that overseas money is always going to be a factor now. Good players will leave regardless of whether they’ll be able to play for the Wallabies or not.
Guys like Gill, Skelton, Arnold, McMahon, Morahan and Kerevi have all given 4-5+ years to their states/clubs. For some professional rugby players that could be half of their entire careers. The overseas selection criteria should be solely based on X amount (60?) of Super Rugby games, not Wallabies games. That’s plenty of time to mentor and support new players coming through. 60-70 club games is a massive commitment, and for that commitment RA should allow players to cash in and still be selected.
In Gill’s case he was unfortunate to be stuck behind some very good #7’s. He never even had the opportunities to build Wallaby caps… but he still played 70+ games for Queeensland.
At the end of it all it’s the fans and the players that miss out. All because of some restrictive, outdated arbitrary rules.

That backrow is absolutely tiny. Wallabies need to get Liam Wright into 7 (his natural position), which allows two big units at 6 and 8 (for me Valetini and Wilson at this stage). Wright is also a quality third lineout option. Hooper and McReight are not, and McMahon is just as short.
I wouldn’t have Vunivalu or Petaia anywhere near the 14 and 15 jerseys. Where the hell is Koroibete?
For me at this stage:
Slipper
?
AAA
Philip
Hosea
Valetini
Wright, L
Wilson
White
O’Connor
Koroibete
To’omua
Paisami
Wright, T
Banks
?
Sio
Tupou
Salakia-Loto
Swinton/Daugunu
Samu
McDermott
Hodge
Kerevi, McMahon, Arnold to be considered if fit and available.

Can’t wait for tonight. What are the rules on the crowd size?
Cheers from NZ.