Thread: Wallaby selections

Just had a chat to my mate John, ex Qld hooker, back in the day. He said something I didn't think of. The players rested against the Lions, for the Force, who are considered good enough to play in the Ist 15, in Super Rugby, probably will never have the chance to play against the Lions again. Ever. Yet, the players selected, some may not make it in Super Rugby, but they will have on their CV they played the Lions , he says it may backfire on the Force, in the long run. Team morale will suffer. The only thing Foley could be thinking, is that their are some members of his side who could make the final six for the Wallaby squad, in the battle of the wooden spoon of the Australian Franchise against the Waratahs. The team with 10 members in the Wallaby squad. Professional Rugby? an oxy-moron. Bob

At least there's one fair dinkum side in Aus Rugby, Bob

12:52 PM
Rugby - Reds vow: this won't be an exhibition

I agree with the above sentiment. That game did nothing good for rugby in WA. The Force are struggling to build some credibility here and that sort of performance doesn't help one bit.

Originally Posted by bob10

Just had a chat to my mate John, ex Qld hooker, back in the day. He said something I didn't think of. The players rested against the Lions, for the Force, who are considered good enough to play in the Ist 15, in Super Rugby, probably will never have the chance to play against the Lions again. Ever. Yet, the players selected, some may not make it in Super Rugby, but they will have on their CV they played the Lions , he says it may backfire on the Force, in the long run. Team morale will suffer. The only thing Foley could be thinking, is that their are some members of his side who could make the final six for the Wallaby squad, in the battle of the wooden spoon of the Australian Franchise against the Waratahs. The team with 10 members in the Wallaby squad. Professional Rugby? an oxy-moron. Bob

Hello, what did I just say? Its great the Reds are taking this attitude, but its a bit easier for them given that they lose 7 players anyway to the wallabies, AND they DO NOT HAVE A GAME this weekend.

Yours Still Feeling Robbed.

Originally Posted by Hastykiwi

Hello, what did I just say? Its great the Reds are taking this attitude, but its a bit easier for them given that they lose 7 players anyway to the wallabies, AND they DO NOT HAVE A GAME this weekend.

Yours Still Feeling Robbed.

They do indeed have a game this weekend, and I think if they had a game last Wednesday, they would be lining up to play, as well. That's the difference between the wooden spoon & finals contenders. Until that attitude finds its way into the Force, they will always be also rans. Anyway Fox Sport has some views on the Lions, Bob

Despite the Lions' devastating display against the Force, the Wallabies would have seen a few areas they can exploit.
Here's what we learnt from Western Force v British and Irish Lions clash.
LEIGH "SHARPSHOOTER" HALFPENNY
Leigh Halfpenny's right leg is a scarier proposition than Johnny Wilkinson's left. The fullback is a clone of the Wallabies' great adversary, slotting penalties and conversions from every corner of the ground.

The Welsh sharpshooter will be one man on the Wallabies' radar after he had a perfect night with the boot, and behind a powerful, grinding forward pack will be a threat to every team he plays.

The Wallabies must be disciplined around the breakdown and with their line-speed when Halfpenny is in kicking distance.
WHAT TO DO WITH WARBURTON
The young Welsh skipper was a contentious choice to captain the British and Irish Lions, and has done himself no favours after missing the opening two games of the tour.
Warburton's other worry is the fierce competition for his starting position with Sean O'Brien arguably the player of the match against the Force.
Other backrowers breathing down his neck are Justin Tipuric, Dan Lydiate and Tom Croft.
LET'S DO A HARRISON
Who can forget Justin Harrison's line out steal that ultimately won Australia the series 12 years ago.
The Lions line out looked disjointed against the Force and is an area the Wallabies will target. However, they will need to find the touch line with their open-field kicking as the Lions possess a potent back three.
Their scrum looked solid and will improve with every match.
BRIAN O'DRISCOLL
The evergreen veteran is back and as slippery as ever!

Yes they play the Lions, but they don't have S15 games clogging up the schedule.

Well the Reds gave it a good go last night, much, much better than WF. A few little runs from Cooper gave a glimpse of what he can do, but not enough to keep the Lions out.

The try by Morahan was a cracker, and the attempt by Warburton was well kept out by the Reds defence.
Good game - there will be lots of sore bodies today.

Yes, they had a go, & didn't dog it. There was more than one worried face in the Lions team. I would be happy, if only we had a different Wallaby coach. If you listened to Anthony Faainga being interviewed at half time, you would have seen the absolute exhausted state he was in, he normally interviews well, but he was totally spent. As a supporter, you can not ask for any more than that. The Force players, at full time, looked fresh by comparison. Bob