Thread: Wallaby selections

Wow. Now that was a game and a half. That really could have gone either way, hell of an advert for the series.

Hope the injured guys pull through ok.

Wow, congrats to the Lions, a win's a win but that's the best I've seen of the Wallabies in ages and most plans must have needed revision after the early injuries. Folau looks like he'll become a Wallaby legend with a few more matches behind him. Beale was great, bet he'll be dirty at missing 2 potential match winners, but then that's Rugby.
Boy those Lions fans really know how to turn it on!

Originally Posted by 2stroke

Wow, congrats to the Lions, a win's a win but that's the best I've seen of the Wallabies in ages and most plans must have needed revision after the early injuries. Folau looks like he'll become a Wallaby legend with a few more matches behind him. Beale was great, bet he'll be dirty at missing 2 potential match winners, but then that's Rugby.
Boy those Lions fans really know how to turn it on!

Hello from the UK guys

very tense game - I honestly thought the lions were lucky to win - Halfpenny's reliabilty with the boot proved to be the difference.

Some positives for the Wallabies:

Scrum came back well after shaky start - at last you have a couple of strong props with decent experience.
The excellent Horwill looks back to near his best
The whole team looked extremely fit
A superstar was born on the wing
Genia is a genius(although he should have been yellow-carded)
Beale seems to have got over his hangover and looked sharp.

Negatives:

Barnes is not good enough to play at the top level and is a weak link in the backline
Injury count - is there enough strength in depth to come out fighting next week?
Appalling place-kicking with no obvious solution.
No 'Nathan Sharpe' character to galvanise the pack if Horwill gets injured.

LIONS

The lions blew hot and cold and took too long to adapt to the Ref's interpretation of the breakdown.
They were definitely not as quick as the Wallabies to get over the ball, but got better in the second half.
They never adapted their game-plan to capitalise on the wallaby injuries and played too much rugby in their own half.

NEXT WEEK

Be interesting to see if Corbisiero is fit - if not we may see the arrival of the Toulon Wrecking Ball (Sheridan).Rumour has it he is fit, focussed and on standby.

I think the wallabies will bring in Cooper at 10 with Beale at full back - Lynagh will be rolled on in a shopping trolley to take the kicks at goal.

LIONS LIONS LIONS LIONS LIONS

Was good to see the scrum become a contest again in a Wallaby test. Have to agree about Barnes, we improved with Beale in his place. As for place kicking, I'm sure Beale sinks both those last ones over and over at training, nerves I guess, also the Lions supporters chant "Lions Lions", nobody else can turn that on, must have affected the mindset of a young guy like him. The look of disapointment on his face at the finish...

Originally Posted by 2stroke

Was good to see the scrum become a contest again in a Wallaby test. Have to agree about Barnes, we improved with Beale in his place. As for place kicking, I'm sure Beale sinks both those last ones over and over at training, nerves I guess, also the Lions supporters chant "Lions Lions", nobody else can turn that on, must have affected the mindset of a young guy like him. The look of disapointment on his face at the finish...

Yes mate- really felt for him.

He is such a gifted lad - reminds me of the young Mike Catt in many ways - outrageously talented but obviously has confidence issues.

Catty got through his inconsistencies and became a world-class operator - took a bit of time, but would have happened for him a lot sooner if he hadn't been dropped more times than a tart's knickers

ARU should nurture Curtley and reinforce his confidence with a commitment to a long run in the side irrespective of what happens - then he will mature quickly and fulfill his potential.

Originally Posted by 2stroke

Was good to see the scrum become a contest again in a Wallaby test. Have to agree about Barnes, we improved with Beale in his place. As for place kicking, I'm sure Beale sinks both those last ones over and over at training, nerves I guess, also the Lions supporters chant "Lions Lions", nobody else can turn that on, must have affected the mindset of a young guy like him. The look of disapointment on his face at the finish...

sorry mate - meant to mention the scrum as well.

The two lads you have at the moment are good solid props - I hope the youngsters coming up behind are of the same mould because next year the ball has to go in straight and there is no pushing before the ball enters the tunnel - actually these are the rules at the moment - it is just that everyone has ignored them for the past 15 years - but from next year they will be enforced.

Some of the puddings you have had over the last fifteen years have put Aussie manhood to shame. Eddie Jones also encouraged them to feign injury in order to have uncontested scrums when they were being clobbered (Roly Poly Dunning in that disgraceful con-trick at twickenham for example).

Alexander has a good technique and a good flat back but he needs to get lower on the opposition put-in.

Robinson is a genuine footballer with a decent scrummaging technique - he could become a great player - he needs to forget about all the fancy stuff and see Jason Leonard as his role model - scrummage well and the rest will follow............................................ .......................

Originally Posted by bob10

Now that is a sign of desperation, or fantasy, or both, Moriarty. You disappoint me, Have you opened the Rum locker? Bob

So it seems my 'fantasy' is one step closer, hey Bob?

Ouch! I hope you have a sore head this morning, I nearly fell out of my chair when kurtly missed that kick. He doesn't need that blow to his confidence, he was starting to hit his straps, too. The backs missed Ant. Fa'aingas' defensive skills, he also organises the backline defence well.North would not have scrored that try if he was there. Michael Hooper at centre? He last played there in his junior days, and with Phipps on the wing, they looked a bit disjointed. I'm amazed the Lions couldn't score more tries , they certainly did not look like Worldbeaters.

We knew about Folau's talent, now so do the Lions. With Mat Toomua at no. 10, Beale at fullback, Folau & lealiifano [ if fit] on the wings, Ant. Fa'ainga & Ben Tapuai in the centres, the Wallabies would more than match the lions. The forward pack matched the Lions, they will gain in confidence from that. Sexton was the pick of the lions, played all over O'Connor, stood very flat in attack, drew more than one defender, created room for his supports.Genia was man of the match, IMO. His control of the breakdown for Aus. and his cover tackling was excellent.

14 points lost from missed kicks! A terrible way to lose a game. One thing for sure,, the Lions showed they can be beat. Bring on Melbourne, can't wait, Bob