Wallabies XV in 2010

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Carter and MCCaw being so good just gives a false sense of no depth. Our backup 7 and backup 10 is just as good as Australia's backups.

Hookers: Mealamu will start with Corey Flynn on the bench.
Locks: Boric, Thorn, Donnelly
Back row is strong
Centres are the only concern.
Back 3 is strong even with injuries!
 
Our back up 10 is Cooper atm and his attack is far better than Donald's, but of course Donald's defence is better than Cooper's. Donald is a huge step down from Carter but Cooper is not a huge step down from Barnes if he can make the majority of his tackles (big if, i know!).

BTW, great to have a Kiwi perspective on the board now! Keep the thoughts coming!
 
Swans120 said:
Our back up 10 is Cooper atm and his attack is far better than Donald's, but of course Donald's defence is better than Cooper's. Donald is a huge step down from Carter but Cooper is not a huge step down from Barnes if he can make the majority of his tackles (big if, i know!).

BTW, great to have a Kiwi perspective on the board now! Keep the thoughts coming!
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Comparing Donald to Cooper is flawed in my opinion. Compare Cooper to McAlister and Brett. All very very similar, although Cooper is more like Brett as he is not proven at international level.

I rate Barnes but is he better than McAlister? probably just in my opinion. Giteau is not a great 10.

Giteau/Barnes/Cooper/Beale(?)
Carter/McAlister/Brett/Donald

Thanks for the kind words! I will try not to be too biased :)
 

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Swans120 said:
Our back up 10 is Cooper atm and his attack is far better than Donald's, but of course Donald's defence is better than Cooper's. Donald is a huge step down from Carter but Cooper is not a huge step down from Barnes if he can make the majority of his tackles (big if, i know!).

BTW, great to have a Kiwi perspective on the board now! Keep the thoughts coming!
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He is the back up despite winning the Australian Super 14 player of the year. :thumbsdown: Should be rewarded for performing.
 
Absolutely 12 is Giteau's best position.

I don't trust Cooper's defence atm against the best of the best that SA and NZ have to offer. Same with Beale, i wouldn't be too confident with him playing 15 for the Wallabies. Both their defence is questionable still.

I hope he gets a half against Fiji so they can see how he goes, sure they're not the quality of the Tri Nations sides but the more he plays at the top level the better.

I'm far more confident with Barnes and Giteau playing 10 and 12 for the Tri Nations. Would be happy for Quade to prove me wrong of course.
 
Swans120 said:
Absolutely 12 is Giteau's best position.

I don't trust Cooper's defence atm against the best of the best that SA and NZ have to offer. Same with Beale, i wouldn't be too confident with him playing 15 for the Wallabies. Both their defence is questionable still.

I hope he gets a half against Fiji so they can see how he goes, sure they're not the quality of the Tri Nations sides but the more he plays at the top level the better.

I'm far more confident with Barnes and Giteau playing 10 and 12 for the Tri Nations. Would be happy for Quade to prove me wrong of course.
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Your right on there bro.

BTW Just found this on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320539680099 going for $1 and signed by 1991 front rowers Phil Kearns, Tony Daly and Ewen McKenzie. Will look sweet on my wall!!
 
Swans120 said:
Absolutely 12 is Giteau's best position.

I don't trust Cooper's defence atm against the best of the best that SA and NZ have to offer. Same with Beale, i wouldn't be too confident with him playing 15 for the Wallabies. Both their defence is questionable still.

I hope he gets a half against Fiji so they can see how he goes, sure they're not the quality of the Tri Nations sides but the more he plays at the top level the better.

I'm far more confident with Barnes and Giteau playing 10 and 12 for the Tri Nations. Would be happy for Quade to prove me wrong of course.
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That is the conservative option, which has not helped us beat the ABs and Boks in the past few years.
 
Ok now that the June Tests are all done, what are thoughts on what our side should be for the opening Tri Nations? Or if you like, what do you think the selectors will pick? Considering that Benn Robinson, Stephen Moore, Nathan Sharpe should be back for the start of the comp while Digby Ioane and Will Genia should be back during the comp (ie. for now we will consider them unavailable).

Who has played them out of the side? Who has worked their way in? And blah blah blah.

What i think we'll see (not necessarily what i would like to see):

15. JOC
14. Mitchell
13. AAC (Horne's hamstrings are a big concern after another injury and AAC should be in the XV)
12. Giteau (i want Barnes, but they'll stick with Gits for now)
11. Hynes
10. Cooper
9. Genia
8. Brown (he's so lucky Palu and Higginbotham have been injured)
7. Pocock
6. Elsom
5. Sharpe
4. Chisholm (did ok on Saturday and is bigger and stronger than Mumm, i reckon he will get the nod, remember this is not necessarily what i want!)
3. Ma'afu (Daley can't play TH and the scrums improved and with Robinson taking LH, Ma'afu gets lucky)
2. Moore
1. Robinson

16. Faingaa
17. Slipper (can play both sides of the scrum and Daley can't)
18. Mumm (would love Douglas or Simmons to get a run, but too green for Tri Nations i reckon)
19. Hodgson
20. Valentine
21. Barnes
22. Beale

A majorly small backline. What i would give to have a '06 edition Chris Latham or a '07 edition Mortlock to plug in.
 
Chisolm sucks donkey balls, anyone but him please.

Just a word mate..don't be surprised to see both of the Benn's back in the front row- and Alexander is more certain than Robinson! Alexander is meant to train tommorrow.
 
Assuming that Robinson, Moore and co. return.

15. Beale
14. Mitchell
13. AAC
12. A Faingaa
11. Hynes (Ioane if fit.)
10. Cooper
9. Genia
8. Elsom
7. Pocock
6. Higginbotham
5. Sharpe
4. Chisholm
3. Ma'afu
2. Moore
1. Robinson

16.S Fa'ainga
17. Slipper
18. Douglas
19. Chapman
20. Hodgeson
21. Giteau
22. JOC

There are very very strong rumours that Deans is set to play Faingaa + apparently he was at the souths game yesterday.
 
bombersno1 said:
Chisolm sucks donkey balls, anyone but him please.

Just a word mate..don't be surprised to see both of the Benn's back in the front row- and Alexander is more certain than Robinson! Alexander is meant to train tommorrow.
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Interesting, i certainly hope that both Ben's are back. Those 2 plus Moore all coming back in certainly gives more starch and experience to the pack. A world class front row there.
 
Swans120 said:
Interesting, i certainly hope that both Ben's are back. Those 2 plus Moore all coming back in certainly gives more starch and experience to the pack. A world class front row there.
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Moore is an outside chance, Robinson and Alexander barring any mishaps in the next 5 days, will be there when the first tri nations game starts. Does help that I am very good mates with Alexander, so I did speak to him a few days ago to see how his rehab was going.
 

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I just hope that Hynes is given some game time. Good to see A. Faingaa in the mix. It is also interesting that Australia most missed Ioane's runs off Cooper's inside ball (Kafer commented on it during the game), which is why Ioane must play in the centres. I have said this all along. He is wasted on the wing.
 
bombersno1 said:
Moore is an outside chance, Robinson and Alexander barring any mishaps in the next 5 days, will be there when the first tri nations game starts. Does help that I am very good mates with Alexander, so I did speak to him a few days ago to see how his rehab was going.
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Great news in regards to the front row. :thumbsu:
 
Pawtucket Patriot said:
I just hope that Hynes is given some game time. Good to see A. Faingaa in the mix. It is also interesting that Australia most missed Ioane's runs off Cooper's inside ball (Kafer commented on it during the game), which is why Ioane must play in the centres. I have said this all along. He is wasted on the wing.
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I'm not sure if he is though. The attack when he was fit seemed to be very much tailored around his relationship with Quade and he seemed to be getting a lot of ball. I agree with bombers in that Ioane's reads in defence at 13 is troublesome and Horne and AAC are far more reliable there. They are also fine options in the midfield. Ioane gets enough of the ball on the wing, he comes infield a lot to find the ball too, so i have no problem with him on the wing.

I doubt Faingaa is in the mix at all really. Barnes and Giteau are going nowhere, unless injuries hit, so he is behind a few players for a XV spot.
 
http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...has-another-wallaby-on-way-20100706-zz2r.html

In the back line, coach Robbie Deans has shown interest in inside-centre Faingaa, whom he watched playing club football in Brisbane before the Australia-Ireland Test at Suncorp Stadium last month. It is known the Australian selectors - Deans, Jim Williams and David Nucifora - are impressed with Faingaa's solid defence and eagerness to play direct in attack. Rather than being a flashy centre, Faingaa is a reliable midfielder who makes few mistakes.

If Matt Giteau's form remains erratic at No.12, the Wallabies back line could easily revert to the Reds' 9-10-12 combination of Will Genia, Quade Cooper and Faingaa - a partnership that worked extremely well during the Super 14 tournament.
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I actually had a conversation with Jim Williams about this exact topic at the GPS/Brothers game a few weeks back. At the time he didn't give anything away (which was understandable) but he said that Deans was extremely keen on Faingaa and that he was definitely in the mix. Seems that he has taken on board some of my advice:thumbsu: :cool:.

In the article it says that sadly Ben Alexander isn't in contention, which is a bummer. Got my hopes up that he would return.
 
Drew Mitchell, Mark Chisholm, Lachie Turner, Pek Cowan, Laurie Weeks and Dean Mummin danger of missing according to the article and Faingaa, Reds second-rower Rob Simmons, Brumbies back-rower Mitchell Chapman and Western Force utility forward Ben McCalman, Queensland back-rower Scott Higginbotham are all in contention to come in.

Mitchell should be safe, his S14 form was surely good enough to keep him close to the 22. Turner might miss having not been close to the side. Cowan and Chisholm i hope are gone as they are rubbish. And i really hope Simmons, McCalman and Higginbotham are ready to be moved into the side. I rate McCalman very highly.
 
Swans120 said:
Drew Mitchell, Mark Chisholm, Lachie Turner, Pek Cowan, Laurie Weeks and Dean Mummin danger of missing according to the article and Faingaa, Reds second-rower Rob Simmons, Brumbies back-rower Mitchell Chapman and Western Force utility forward Ben McCalman, Queensland back-rower Scott Higginbotham are all in contention to come in.

Mitchell should be safe, his S14 form was surely good enough to keep him close to the 22. Turner might miss having not been close to the side. Cowan and Chisholm i hope are gone as they are rubbish. And i really hope Simmons, McCalman and Higginbotham are ready to be moved into the side. I rate McCalman very highly.
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Retain Mitchell, but ditch the rest. Good ins, in particular Higgenbotham.
 
Lions1024 said:
In the article it says that sadly Ben Alexander isn't in contention, which is a bummer. Got my hopes up that he would return.
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Wrong, spoke to him this morning. He is well in the mix for the first match, if not definitely the 2nd match. He had his first run last week. It is more a match fitness thing. He'll probably be fit but will he be match fit, absolutely no idea. Would not surprise me to see Deans want him to have a run at club level first.
 
bombersno1 said:
Wrong, spoke to him this morning. He is well in the mix for the first match, if not definitely the 2nd match. He had his first run last week. It is more a match fitness thing. He'll probably be fit but will he be match fit, absolutely no idea. Would not surprise me to see Deans want him to have a run at club level first.
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Match fit or not match fit, Alexander needs to be at least on the bench. Ma'afu is not a viable option at THP.
 
Lions1024 said:
Match fit or not match fit, Alexander needs to be at least on the bench. Ma'afu is not a viable option at THP.
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That is what I think will happen, but who knows. I would rather lose 1 test than have him come back early and re-injure the knee due to match fitness. Also depends on the weather. Can't see them risking him if it is raining in NZ!
 
Most recent 22:

1. Robinson
2. Moore
3. Ma'afu
4. Sharpe
5. Chisholm
6. Elsom
7. Pocock
8. McCalman
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Turner
12. Giteau
13. AAC
14. JOC
15. Beale

16. Faingaa
17. Slipper
18. Mumm
19. Brown
20. Burgess
21. Barnes
22. Faingaa

What I reckon we might see for the Hong Kong and Europe Tour (with Horwill, Ioane, Palu, Chambers likely unavailable according to an article i read recently):

1. Robinson
2. TPN (will be short of match fitness though, so Moore would probably get the start)
3. Alexander (same as TPN, so Ma'afu might get another start)
4. Sharpe
5. Chisholm (save us)
6. Elsom
7. Pocock
8. McCalman
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Mitchell
12. Giteau
13. AAC
14. JOC
15. Beale

16. Moore
17. Slipper
18. Mumm
19. Higginbotham
20. Burgess
21. Barnes
22. Turner/Faingaa/Horne
 
Palu and Chambers will be available for the European tour, Digby is 50/50. Surely Vickerman will be picked for the European tour as his club season has finished by then.

Horne will be at 13 if fit, that is how highly Deans rates him.
 
Yeh I was wondering about Vickerman. I thought I read that he won't play Wallabies until next home season, after he has some Tahs games under his belt. I assume he is still studying during this coming European Tour.

I hope he is included though. There is no other currently unavailable player we need more right now IMO, not even Ioane.
 
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