What we learnt after a sublime month of rugby
So the next stop's a triple shot of Bledisloe action alongside a Rugby Championship, eh? Cool. Then a mouth-watering November in northern climes? Alright,…
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Will Macpherson is a British sports writer based in Melbourne, specialising in cricket and rugby union. He writes regularly for the Guardian, the New Daily, All Out Cricket and various other outlets in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. He's just about old enough to remember Michael Owen's mazy run at the 1998 World Cup, hopes he lives long enough to see a Melbourne Demons Premiership (but he's not holding his breath) and has a memory selective enough to have already erased any recollection of travelling around Australia watching the 2013-14 Ashes. He tweets at @willisss90
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So the next stop's a triple shot of Bledisloe action alongside a Rugby Championship, eh? Cool. Then a mouth-watering November in northern climes? Alright,…
Either side of the Tasman, the rugby results remained the same this week. The Southern Hemisphere sides notched a second win each, securing series…
What a day last Saturday was. First, I watched England take the All Blacks mighty close at Eden Park before, as I frantically filed…
So, after all our pontificating and bickering, we have a Wallabies squad to face France. There's 32 of them in the squad. Of those…
Just a few days before Ewen McKenzie names his Wallabies squad to face France next month, most of us are still conducting pained internal…
Three months ago, Michael Carberry believed his international career was over. He thought his single Test match in Chittagong three and a half years…
The return Ashes series is looming and England will head down under hungry to win four consecutive Ashes series for the first time since…
^^^Obviously meant to say 8 to 6 with regards to SH and BM
How does Ewen solve the Higginbotham problem?
I think this is a really important point and one I may look to expand on in a column next week. Looking at McKenzie’s positional selections, we can expect Fardy, Toomua, Beale and AAC all to play in positions they don’t occupy for their clubs, as well as the possibility of Higginbotham or McCalman shifting from 6 to 8. In fact, the squad contains a grand total of two appearances at blind-side all season – both for Fardy (as I say above, most recent on March 15th).
For mine, this isn’t terribly clever thinking. As you say, there are times when it is necessary, but I’m not convinced this is one of them.
As I say in the piece, I’m sure these moves aren’t set in stone, but they certainly give an indication into McKenzie’s thinking. Ironically, it may just have thrown fuel on our armchair selection fires.
How does Ewen solve the Higginbotham problem?
Thanks for flagging – my original copy didn’t contain first names so it’s an editorial error (but a very easy one to make!)
Plisson is a seriously promising young player (just 22) who had secured a spot ahead of M.Steyn by the end of the year, you’re right. He played four of the five Championship matches so his absence from this squad is a bit of a mystery. (But completely in keeping with PSA’s erratic selection policy).
Flamboyant French puzzle ahead of Wallabies tussle
Yep, there were seven (and nine Northern Hem). That would be some wrap and pretty tricky to cover in any detail or offer any level of insight. I’m in NZ covering the England series and the Wallabies are always going to be top of the agenda on an Australian site….
Same same... but oh so different