The solution is for them too to get half-cut on spirits at Stadium Australia
International Club Rugby British and Irish Lions Tour of Australia 2013
- Thread starter robbieando
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Don't worry a new coach and Cooper back at 10 will make the Wallabies unbeatable
Scrum is still an issue (not good enough to beat NZ and suspect if the ref is from the North) and the backline all think they're rock stars.
Cooper? No. I suspect Toomua or Beale will get the gig in the future, regardless of the coach.
A new coach? Possibly. Jake White and Ewen McKenzie have done wonders with relatively weak squads in Super Rugby. Both have shown the ability to nurture and develop talent. With the Boks and the All Blacks looking fairly vulnerable, the Wallabies will, for the first time in a long time, have a genuine shot at the Bledisloe.
Don't underestimate this Wallabies side. Some dodgy defending from a winger who really shouldn't be there and a scrumhalf playing on one knee shouldn't define this Wallabies team. The referee was 100% accurate at scrumtime, but Deans was playing two looseheads at tighthead, and Slipper, a tighthead, was playing at loosehead. I'll call that a massive coaching blunder.
Mint Condition
Club Legend
Don't worry a new coach and Cooper back at 10 will make the Wallabies unbeatable
Scrum is still an issue (not good enough to beat NZ and suspect if the ref is from the North) and the backline all think they're rock stars.
I do actually think it might be as simple as that - if not Cooper then Toomua, Lilo or Foley. Add in the fact we now have a world class goal kicker in Lilo and the Wallabies could have a very good next few years. I haven't liked his tactics in the past couple of years but I will give Deans a fair bit of credit for building the depth we have now.
The scrum can be improved with different selection - I think Deans just made a tactical mistake by picking Alexander at tight head against that Lions front row. He was going for our best option around the field rather than our best option in the scrum. He'd get away with it against most other teams. Plus I think the new scrum sequence (I think it might be introduced for the rugby championship) will help make the scrum less of a vehicle for winning penalties. Though time will tell.
A well deserved win to the Lions. They gave the Wallabies a bit of a masterclass in defence last night-amazing to watch how tight they can be when their opposition is close to scoring.
Get rid of Beale and O'Connor and we've got the makings of a good team.
Injuries finally snuffed us out but that notwithstanding, Lions were just too good all over the ground and fully deserving of the win. Scrum was dominant, Sexton was very good in moving Lions around the field and heir backs were just far more imposing than ours behind a stronger pack.
Next time when the Wallabies have a 'Grand Slam' tour of Britain & Ireland, instead of playing against the Barbarians to finish off the tour, what about having the Lions as the Wallabies opponent instead? Better still, have a 4 game series against the Lions on their own turf?
A Lions v Wallabies series would look like this-
Game 1: Lions v Wallabies (Murrayfield)
Game 2: Lions v Wallabies (Dublin)
Game 3: Lions v Wallabies (Millienium Stadium, Cardiff)
Game 4: Lions v Wallabies (Twickenham)
A Lions v Wallabies series would look like this-
Game 1: Lions v Wallabies (Murrayfield)
Game 2: Lions v Wallabies (Dublin)
Game 3: Lions v Wallabies (Millienium Stadium, Cardiff)
Game 4: Lions v Wallabies (Twickenham)
Well the next time the Wallabies have a Grand Slam tour is in about 4 months so I don't think we can do that.
I take the point though. I don't think the Lions or SA/Australia/NZ would ever agree to it because of the money they receive from it. The traveling Lions fans are lunatics who will spend whatever they have to to watch their team and will do so in numbers. SANZAR won't want to miss out on that.
Mint Condition
Club Legend
It's not a bad idea but it will never happen. The Lions are exclusively a touring team and always have been. They've never played at home. I don't think that tradition will change. There'd probably be no commercial benefit of the Lions playing at home either and the negative is that it could diminish the individual nations.
The only time I could possibly see them play at home would be if it was against a legitimate ANZAC team or some other genuine combined team. The ARU have spoken about doing something like that after the 2015 world cup but I wouldn't bet on it happening.
- Thread starter
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- #510
This is true. The players Home Union and club are paid a fee out of the fee paid by the ARU/NZRU/SARU to the Lions so the players can be released. The Home Unions aren't going to cover that fee plus the fee for the Wallabies for a Home Lions Test.
They played a one off Test in Cardiff to kick off the 2005 Tour. Yes even we forget about that one
LukeParkerno1
Post-Human
Hey who were the people on here that said Smith was a GOOD selection and bagged me for saying otherwise! Stupid decision to bring that old bloke back, although the easiest money ever (Lions 13+), he was dead set the worst player on the field by a mile. Hooper did more in 15 minutes than Smith did in 65!
Mint Condition
Club Legend
I guess you think the massive head clash he had early in the game wasn't a factor. Or did the head clash occur because he is over 30?
The fact Smith came back on after that was a bit of a disgrace really. He was out of it so much he had to be assisted from the field but then a few minutes later he's okay to play? Was not a good look.
LukeParkerno1
Post-Human
He shouldn't have even been plying. We had Gill and Hooper who did well, Smith plays and we lose by a LOT! He is just ordinary and in fact he had more poor tests in the last 20 tests than he played well. It is why I was against it. We were slow at the breakdown, and Smith was a big factor there. I still maintain if Hooper started we had a fighting chance.
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- #514
You could of put Richie McCaw there for all it was worth but it wouldn't of changed the fact the scrum was dismantled. Smith being in the side had no impact on the result and picking Hooper instead would of made no bigger difference. The Lions turned up to play, Australia didn't
LukeParkerno1
Post-Human
If Hooper played 80, guarantee you we would have been closer, he is much better than old man Smith! Yes the scrum was bad but it wasn't the reason we lost, we lost it at the breakdown.
