Wallabies squad for Lions tour

[Ken Gargett]

Backline injuries obviously took any chance of cohesion off the Wallabies. Losing our first choice kicker and skillful playmaker after 50 seconds was an awful blow.

you sure he was first up for kicking? i understood it was to be o'connor? but it was a blow.

one thing about cooper (and yes, i hold out no hope at all that deans will relent and concede how wrong he has been but how good would it be to see o'connor, izzy, digby and beale running off his passes - lions was be in serious strife), he might not be the best kicker around but he almost never misses a pressure kick. a difficult one earlier this season but that is the only one i can recall. and he has made plenty.

an injury like that? you'd have to worry for the kid if they wanted to play him again this week.

[Ken Gargett]

i see that slimy grub deans has called three new players in - george smith, jesse mogg and ben tapuai.

smith understandable but if he drops gill then i hope someone shoots him. mogg should have been there from the start and tapuai is the bloke that deans himself declared was having a dud sesson, thansk to cooper. the bloke has been on the bench for the reds most of the year and even as a slightly one-eyed reds fan, not been in great form.

but no cooper. not in our best 40 players. deans claims the toxic atmosphere comment plays no role. deans is a bitter, miserable, dishonest heap of excrement and anyone involved in him being here, or staying here, should hang their heads in shame.

[ARRV]

I agree with what Ken posted above - tight 5 good, back row - Mowen great, didn't sight Palu, Hooper OK but missed tackles in second half albeit it out of position - except that on defensive lineouts between 22s dont most 7s play in the centres? Anyway - seriously - Barnes - played like a person who hasnt played for a while playing out of position - and what a surprise he went off injured - I am sure he tries hard but really that has to be his last game for Australia - he cannot finish a match - i think he's off to Japan anyway (no doubt to be shortly followed by deans)

JOC was also very quiet - which is really what you want from a 5/8 in a pressure game. Again playing out of position. Genia played for 2 people covering for JOC. JOC is not a 5/8. In fact I doubt he is a centre - must play fullback or wing.

Who knows what Deans will do - probably Beale to 5/8, JOC to centre and Mogg fullback? If AAC is injured then Tapuai? If Digby injured then Cummins? Far out.

By not selecting Cooper now, Deans has surely dropped the facade of it not being a personal issue - at least, unfortunately, Quade will not have to wait too long until he is back in the squad - with a new coach.

[frenchkiwi]

Great game, well the first half at least, it was a forwards midfield battle of attrition with a few gems of attacking ... in those rare times where someone got the ball in space.

The Aussie forward pack played well, hunted in a pack, tackled hard, accurate in contact, protected their own ball well, acquitted themselves ok in the scrum... much like the lions from whom it was expected. Nobody got much quarter close to the ruck. The Lions were better at building phases patiently going forward e.g. the Cuthbert try and the North refused try. At times they were victims of their own "northern hemisphere" deep backline style though - sexton standing miles deep and passing it onto centres even deeper - very hard to get past the advantage line with that.

The Folau solo-run try was an example of the opposite from the wallabies: a few phases going side to side with a flat backline gave him some space to move and a mismatch with a prop. Wallabies backs did very well considering they had a flanker at 2nd5 and later a halfback on the wing, but not surprisingly not very fluid play.

Kicking out of the hand was a mixed bag all round, a bit of aimless or inaccurate kicking from both sides and poor kick-chasing as well. The halfbacks both sinned repeatedly in this area. Sexton shined but especially in chip-kicking for himself! - unexpected.

Phillips was below par (his "effort" on that Genia try). Ioane worked hard but looked slow and still injured. Barnes was less than average while he was on (it's naughty but i laughed when i saw this comment on youtube "Best thing Folau did all night was knock Barnes out"). Beale should be allowed to punch whoever he wants if he plays like that - he is the spark in the wallabies backline and him and JOC read each other's play well (keep Beale at fullback but as alternate playmaker in later phases like Barnes). Lions forwards lacked an effective ballrunner - Heaslip and Croft had that job but didn't perform (time to bring on o'brien?).

Bring on the 2nd test and hopefully CL and AAC will be fit, and both teams drink more of the Beale-Folau-North potion.

[michaelhealy]

Apparently AAC played with a dislocated shoulder for 10 minutes. CL should be good for game 2. Agree tight 5 was spectacular. 1 bad scrum early but that seemed to wake them up.

Ken. Im a massive Gill fan as well but i think Hooper played well enough to justify his spot in game 2.

My team for second test

15. Beale 14. Folau 13. Tapuai 12. CL 11. Ioane 10. JOC 9. Genia 8. Mowen 7. Hooper 6. McMenimem 5. Horwill 4. Douglas 3. Alexander 2. Moore 1. Robinson

Res: Faainga, Kepu, Gill, Palu, Phipps, Toomua, Mogg

I am obviously assuming AAC and Barnes are out. I think Toomua has been fantastic for the Brumbies this year and deserves the chance. Just saw that Paul Oconnell has been ruled out for the rest of the tour and McCabe out for game 2. Both are good news for the wallabies i think

[michaelhealy]

And of course im assuming that Cooper wont be considered.

[Ken Gargett]

Apparently AAC played with a dislocated shoulder for 10 minutes. CL should be good for game 2. Agree tight 5 was spectacular. 1 bad scrum early but that seemed to wake them up.

Ken. Im a massive Gill fan as well but i think Hooper played well enough to justify his spot in game 2.

My team for second test

15. Beale 14. Folau 13. Tapuai 12. CL 11. Ioane 10. JOC 9. Genia 8. Mowen 7. Hooper 6. McMenimem 5. Horwill 4. Douglas 3. Alexander 2. Moore 1. Robinson

Res: Faainga, Kepu, Gill, Palu, Phipps, Toomua, Mogg

I am obviously assuming AAC and Barnes are out. I think Toomua has been fantastic for the Brumbies this year and deserves the chance. Just saw that Paul Oconnell has been ruled out for the rest of the tour and McCabe out for game 2. Both are good news for the wallabies i think

if he isn't bringing cooper into the squad then fat chance of playing (the interesting thing is that it appears possible that cooper might bring about the downfall of deans, although a year or so later than he might have wished - if we do not win the series then no matter what, questions have to be asked about a coach so stubborn, so myopic and so bitter that he would not bring such a talent into the team. so much for doing what is in the interests of the team and aussie rugby, this is all about deans' pigheadedness and what it has cost australia).

my team assumed no l'fiano. if he is fit, becomes interesting (for mine, at least). word seems to be a a-cooper a likely starter.

if mogg goes in to the team at fullback, because surely beale (i am also assuming no cooper) must go to 5/8, then where was deans' justification for not including him in the extended squad to begin with.

please don't get me wrong about hooper - i am certainly a big fan. i just think gill is even better. in cricketing parlance, you'd want tendulkar in your team every time, except if the bloke challenging was bradman (not to suiggest that either of them are quite that level, but you know what i mean).

and even as a reds fan, i just struggle to think that tapuai will add to the team (unless the other options are barnes or mccabe).

as good as izzy was on the wing, what about o'connor to his spot on the wing and izzy to fullback. more room, more options for attack. i know the lions were keen to target him first test. i would imagine that they will be the exact opposite next time. then beale to 5/8.

just so frustrating to know what cooper could bring and to think we are deliberately denying ourselves. be a very long time (lynagh/horan/little/campo days) since we could boast a backline like - genia, cooper, o'connor, a a-c or l'fiano, izzy, digby and beale. i reckon that would scare the crap out of the all blacks, let alone the lions.

[michaelhealy]

Totally agree about QC. I dont like Izzy at fullback because of his kicking game. Maybe JOC at fullback? I really hope CL is fit because Australia are in desperate need of a reliable goal kicker.

[Ken Gargett]

to be fair to o'connor, he is usually an excellent kicker and normally one who loves the pressure. think of beating the all blacks in hong kong a year or two ago. and interestingly, apparently he tried to take the final kick. not sure if that is incredible hubris given earlier or great confidence in yourself.

[mazolaman]

Sorry Ken, Robinson not Richards.

Gutted about O'connell, I thought the Irish were the best players in the Lions in the first test.

Sexton and O'driscoll had the brains, Oconnoll was always at the ruck, working like an animal.

I thought Heaslip and Croft played well, always needing two tacklres to stop them.

I wish RFU would sort out the scrum...I know, change the record..but you spend the first 20 mins of every match hoping the sides will get it together (or get used to how tha ref fancies playing it), or it descends in to a series of pens....nobody seems to like the new "set" system.

Also some consistency in refereeing across the world would be good....

[Ken Gargett]

Sorry Ken, Robinson not Richards.

Gutted about O'connell, I thought the Irish were the best players in the Lions in the first test.

Sexton and O'driscoll had the brains, Oconnoll was always at the ruck, working like an animal.

I thought Heaslip and Croft played well, always needing two tacklres to stop them.

I wish RFU would sort out the scrum...I know, change the record..but you spend the first 20 mins of every match hoping the sides will get it together (or get used to how tha ref fancies playing it), or it descends in to a series of pens....nobody seems to like the new "set" system.

Also some consistency in refereeing across the world would be good....

so agree re scrums.

if you watch the tape, the last 4 min 30 approx of a fabulous game was simply trying to set one scrum and then the penalty. that is insane. if afl and the nfl can run time clocks, so should rugby (and league) - for penalties etc, at least. and perhaps re scrums. i'm sure that the lions were playing for time, to a large degree then and who could blame them. it almost backfired but instead of a game finishing with desparate attacking and defending, it was actually a series of failed scrums and a kick - also failed.

[Munts]

This is a good analysis from Green and Gold

http://youtu.be/icKlTOH1OmY

[frenchkiwi]

Sorry Ken, Robinson not Richards.

Gutted about O'connell, I thought the Irish were the best players in the Lions in the first test.

Sexton and O'driscoll had the brains, Oconnoll was always at the ruck, working like an animal.

I thought Heaslip and Croft played well, always needing two tacklres to stop them.

I wish RFU would sort out the scrum...I know, change the record..but you spend the first 20 mins of every match hoping the sides will get it together (or get used to how tha ref fancies playing it), or it descends in to a series of pens....nobody seems to like the new "set" system.

Also some consistency in refereeing across the world would be good....

I think the best forwards ball carriers on the night were the wallabies front rowers, strangely enough. Guys like "little" Benn Robinson who don't always run straight but dummy and offload end up breaking these strong defensive lines where straight runners like Heaslip and Palu don't.

I actually really enjoy the scrums as long as the ref is semi-clued in. The wallabies possibly have a weaker front row strength wise but strong tactically, so they need to get first to the hit like a sprinter with a starting gun. E.g. first scrum of the game they were demolished. After that they were really quick off the mark to get the hit so held their own, sometimes a bit too quick so the ref started half arming them. After that they adjusted by weathering the lions early push but then driving back full strength a couple of seconds later - that's what earned them the last penalty as well. I also enjoyed Adam Jones who played the ref once by screwing his opposites arm/shoulder in and down, knowing that because their scrum was going stronger he'd probably get the penalty, which he did, and then grinned like a cheshire cat.

also the lions hubris of trying to scrum out the game in their own half, in no hurry to get the ball out, almost cost them the game. they didn't have the smarter scrum on the night.

i'm no front rower but i love scrum tactics. more please. ... of course sometimes it's just messy and it's a complete waste of time but it was a game within a game on saturday.

[frenchkiwi]

This is a good analysis from Green and Gold

http://youtu.be/icKlTOH1OmY

it's ok but often naive at points, suffering from the spectator syndrome (who always shout to give it wide cos it looks like space). Modern defences don't worry about wingers standing 20-30m behind the advantage line on the touch line, that's not space as you can shuffle your d across faster than he can get going and isolate him. and he has no support so it's a risk.

but definitely a few times where JOC crabbed across, and ate up everybody elses space, as is his unfortunate custom. (having an openside outside him probably didn't help - he needs runners offering varied lines running short off him to be effective)

[El Presidente]

it's ok but often naive at points, suffering from the spectator syndrome (who always shout to give it wide cos it looks like space). Modern defences don't worry about wingers standing 20-30m behind the advantage line on the touch line, that's not space as you can shuffle your d across faster than he can get going and isolate him. and he has no support so it's a risk.

God made rucks as an opportunity for 9 and 10 to look up and and see the opportunities. If no opportunities then crash ball to the first or second forward pod and a 3 second clearance.....all the time the 9 and 10 looking for an opportunity to exploit next phase or plan for the phase after.

O'Connor never looks up. he looks for either:

1. The Deans game plan written on his wrist.

2. The hole for himself to run through....normally accompanied by a 10 metre run across field.

3. His comb

4. Someone to blame.

Beale:

Does Not Suffer from point one.

Lives on point 2

Doesn't need point 3

Has given up on point 4 as he is well practiced in " I apologise and accept full responsibility. I am a changed person"

Barnes;

Normally concussed and can't remember anything

Cooper:

Believes Deans game plan is Toxic and at best a rough guide.

Looks up incessantly for opportunities (at times delusional ones). Doesn't believe in running sideways to engage outside backs. His line breaks are almost 100% in and around a ruck from quick ball.

Doesn't need a comb.

His PR agency apologises on his behalf.

Defensively, After the weekend game I think we can rule out that O'connor and Beale are better consistent defenders than Cooper. They are each average or below average at this level.

What the above vid shows is that we only have one 10 in this country who can exploit space out wide with a long pass quickly and effectively. Keep in mind JOC had a pack not being belted backwards (ala the world cup). With the fast "blitz" of the Lions defence it was not a night for the 10 to take on the line. It was a game of quick ruck ball left and right followed by long quick balls to the outside backs and kicks along the ground behind the wingers.

So the only player at 10 who can play this style of game we do not have in the squad.

That is why Deans is hated.

[ARRV]

God made rucks as an opportunity for 9 and 10 to look up and and see the opportunities. If no opportunities then crash ball to the first or second forward pod and a 3 second clearance.....all the time the 9 and 10 looking for an opportunity to exploit next phase or plan for the phase after.

O'Connor never looks up. he looks for either:

1. The Deans game plan written on his wrist.

2. The hole for himself to run through....normally accompanied by a 10 metre run across field.

3. His comb

4. Someone to blame.

Beale:

Does Not Suffer from point one.

Lives on point 2

Doesn't need point 3

Has given up on point 4 as he is well practiced in " I apologise and accept full responsibility. I am a changed person"

Barnes;

Normally concussed and can't remember anything

Cooper:

Believes Deans game plan is Toxic and at best a rough guide.

Looks up incessantly for opportunities (at times delusional ones). Doesn't believe in running sideways to engage outside backs. His line breaks are almost 100% in and around a ruck from quick ball.

Doesn't need a comb.

His PR agency apologises on his behalf.

Defensively, After the weekend game I think we can rule out that O'connor and Beale are better consistent defenders than Cooper. They are each average or below average at this level.

What the above vid shows is that we only have one 10 in this country who can exploit space out wide with a long pass quickly and effectively. Keep in mind JOC had a pack not being belted backwards (ala the world cup). With the fast "blitz" of the Lions defence it was not a night for the 10 to take on the line. It was a game of quick ruck ball left and right followed by long quick balls to the outside backs and kicks along the ground behind the wingers.

So the only player at 10 who can play this style of game we do not have in the squad.

That is why Deans is hated.

I know I am sounding like a sycophantic broken record, but - spot on prez. absolutely spot on. Pack had parity - even momentum at times and JOC did nothing. Cooper would have loved to have a pack working like that when he has played for the wallabies

[frenchkiwi]

.

O'Connor never looks up. he looks for either:

1. The Deans game plan written on his wrist.

2. The hole for himself to run through....normally accompanied by a 10 metre run across field.

3. His comb

4. Someone to blame.

Beale:

Does Not Suffer from point one.

Lives on point 2

Doesn't need point 3

Has given up on point 4 as he is well practiced in " I apologise and accept full responsibility. I am a changed person"

Barnes;

Normally concussed and can't remember anything

Cooper:

Believes Deans game plan is Toxic and at best a rough guide.

Looks up incessantly for opportunities (at times delusional ones). Doesn't believe in running sideways to engage outside backs. His line breaks are almost 100% in and around a ruck from quick ball.

Doesn't need a comb.

His PR agency apologises on his behalf.

Defensively, After the weekend game I think we can rule out that O'connor and Beale are better consistent defenders than Cooper. They are each average or below average at this level.

What the above vid shows is that we only have one 10 in this country who can exploit space out wide with a long pass quickly and effectively. Keep in mind JOC had a pack not being belted backwards (ala the world cup). With the fast "blitz" of the Lions defence it was not a night for the 10 to take on the line. It was a game of quick ruck ball left and right followed by long quick balls to the outside backs and kicks along the ground behind the wingers.

So the only player at 10 who can play this style of game we do not have in the squad.

That is why Deans is hated.

love it - the 10s analysis is complete. (except that JOC also has a Bieber photo on his mirror for the combing.)

the worst problem as said earlier is that the only none of these guys in the squad are bona fide 10s. Only Beale has had lots of time at 10, and that is not recent (and he's one of the world's best attacking fullbacks so a bit of waste). Maybe Toomua is the future, but there is basically no test standard 10 in Oz at the moment. So as you say, QC could be worth the gamble (and it is just that) but he opened his mouth last year and failed to show outstanding "Pick Me" form and He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Mentioned ain't one to back down for the sake of a punt... (although if JOC had been the one injured maybe...)

here's hoping for an aussie victory so the series stays alive. also to punish Gatland for saying the lions deserved that win - bollocks they deserved a draw at best, and after playing against a team with half the backline at hospital...

[El Presidente]

I know I am sounding like a sycophantic broken record, but - spot on prez. absolutely spot on. Pack had parity - even momentum at times and JOC did nothing. Cooper would have loved to have a pack working like that when he has played for the wallabies

I honestly believe that Cooper is lying in the bed he made. At the end of the day, a coach has the final say in selection (my belief...it is your job and you live or die on performance). Still, it is a coaches responsibility to get the best out of your squad. I know that i would want Cooper in that squad and it is my responsibility to get the best out of him or I have failed as a coach (assuming I am not winning without him!).

Deans isn't winning. As "brave" as the wallabies performance was, he knows, the country knows, that Cooper at 10 would have resulted in a win on the weekend. This is Dean's kryptonite, he knows but won't accept. Let him fall on his sword post series.

This is not a Lions team (with all due respect) that has a Wood or Martin J to cause fear. They are beatable.

Frenchkiwi, Cooper is the number 10 we should build the side around (Genia being the other). It has taken us 8 years to build a pack to compete at international level. Unleash the creativity out wide with a generational player. he is not perfect but entertaining and "asks questions" With Dean's running at a 50% test pass mark (that includes all countries including the minnows), one wonders how he survives.

Run up any stat's (google them) of Cooper against any other 10 (internationally or Super 15). The only one he falls short of (and that is in terms of missed tackles) is Carter. Try assists..No 1, Metres gained...No 1 etal.

Not in your our top squad...madness.

[Ken Gargett]

this is an article from a nz rugby paper/blog thingee - cut back for length.

sums up the scumbag vandal we have as coach. he cannot see the good of the team past his own tawdry bitterness.

if only pat howard had the balls to sack deans when he should have, after being complicit in appointing him. now he steps up and stuffs the cricket team doing it 2 weeks before the ashes. how does he get a job? a dimwitted rugby hack explaining cricket tactics to ian chappell - does it get more arrogant?

surely this dismisses any pretence that toxic has been forgotten? the lying kiwi scumbag should be sent packing immediately. we'd do better with no coach than this joke.

i'm fascinated by the smith comment - not aware of that.

ROBBIE DEANS has proven over the years that he is incapable of getting over personal differences for the good of the team, so his decision not to include Quade Cooper in his training squad should not come as a surprise.

Last week Greg Martin suggested that Deans was trying to sabotage Australian rugby. I don’t believe that is the case. However, he is making selections with his heart, not his head. He has left many good players on the sideline because of personal issues rather than legitimate rugby reasons.

Just ask Matt Giteau. The Wallabies desperately needed the five-eighth in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but Deans refused to select him, despite his top form.

But Australians you are not alone. Andrew Mehrtens and Christian Cullen were amongst a number of Kiwis who felt the full wrath of Deans’ axe while he was the All Blacks assistant coach between 2001 and 2003.

Head coach John Mitchell took a lot of the slack, but the reality was Deans wielded a lot of power, especially amongst the backs.

At the 2003 RWC, the All Black dearly missed Mehrtens’ goalkicking. Cullen couldn’t even get a look-in when an injury cut Ben Blair’s tournament short – Deans opted to call up debutant Ben Atiga, who would go on to wear the black jersey for all of 30 seconds, instead of the All Blacks legend.

If you look at Deans’ past, it is abundantly clear that once you cross him there is no coming back.

There is no doubt Cooper should be in the Wallabies this year, but it certainly won’t be a surprise if he isn’t. Cooper’s public spat with Deans last year effectively signed his international rugby death certificate, at least for the time being.

Just how Deans can let their personal feud get in the way of the team is baffling, especially considering there is no clear option to wear the No 10 jersey in Cooper’s absence.

James O’Connor, Christian Lealiifano and Berrick Barnes will battle it out, despite the fact they all spend plenty of time in other positions.

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that when Cooper combines with Will Genia, the results can be more magical than Disneyland.

But the sad thing is Deans’ past speaks for itself and he is unlikely to change now. Cooper is set for a spell in the international wilderness.

And I’ll give you another tip: don’t hold out hope of seeing George Smith in the Wallabies either. He has history with the coach as well.

With a British and Irish Lions tour on the doorstep, it is time for Deans to put the personal issues he has with players behind him, for the good of Australian rugby and for the good of his own career.

[Jeremy Festa]

Run up any stat's (google them) of Cooper against any other 10 (internationally or Super 15). The only one he falls short of (and that is in terms of missed tackles) is Carter. Try assists..No 1, Metres gained...No 1 etal.

Not in your our top squad...madness.

Well put mate. Was at the game on the weekend, and it was a little embarrassing to say the least. But when looking at the rest of the series, forecasting the same amount of bad luck, I think we have the series regardless of Cooper.

*edit: and regardless of Deans.

[Jeremy Festa]

this is an article from a nz rugby paper/blog thingee - cut back for length.

sums up the scumbag vandal we have as coach. he cannot see the good of the team past his own tawdry bitterness.

if only pat howard had the balls to sack deans when he should have, after being complicit in appointing him. now he steps up and stuffs the cricket team doing it 2 weeks before the ashes. how does he get a job? a dimwitted rugby hack explaining cricket tactics to ian chappell - does it get more arrogant?

surely this dismisses any pretence that toxic has been forgotten? the lying kiwi scumbag should be sent packing immediately. we'd do better with no coach than this joke.

i'm fascinated by the smith comment - not aware of that.

ROBBIE DEANS has proven over the years that he is incapable of getting over personal differences for the good of the team, so his decision not to include Quade Cooper in his training squad should not come as a surprise.

Last week Greg Martin suggested that Deans was trying to sabotage Australian rugby. I don’t believe that is the case. However, he is making selections with his heart, not his head. He has left many good players on the sideline because of personal issues rather than legitimate rugby reasons.

Just ask Matt Giteau. The Wallabies desperately needed the five-eighth in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but Deans refused to select him, despite his top form.

But Australians you are not alone. Andrew Mehrtens and Christian Cullen were amongst a number of Kiwis who felt the full wrath of Deans’ axe while he was the All Blacks assistant coach between 2001 and 2003.

Head coach John Mitchell took a lot of the slack, but the reality was Deans wielded a lot of power, especially amongst the backs.

At the 2003 RWC, the All Black dearly missed Mehrtens’ goalkicking. Cullen couldn’t even get a look-in when an injury cut Ben Blair’s tournament short – Deans opted to call up debutant Ben Atiga, who would go on to wear the black jersey for all of 30 seconds, instead of the All Blacks legend.

If you look at Deans’ past, it is abundantly clear that once you cross him there is no coming back.

There is no doubt Cooper should be in the Wallabies this year, but it certainly won’t be a surprise if he isn’t. Cooper’s public spat with Deans last year effectively signed his international rugby death certificate, at least for the time being.

Just how Deans can let their personal feud get in the way of the team is baffling, especially considering there is no clear option to wear the No 10 jersey in Cooper’s absence.

James O’Connor, Christian Lealiifano and Berrick Barnes will battle it out, despite the fact they all spend plenty of time in other positions.

Love him or hate him, there is no denying that when Cooper combines with Will Genia, the results can be more magical than Disneyland.

But the sad thing is Deans’ past speaks for itself and he is unlikely to change now. Cooper is set for a spell in the international wilderness.

And I’ll give you another tip: don’t hold out hope of seeing George Smith in the Wallabies either. He has history with the coach as well.

With a British and Irish Lions tour on the doorstep, it is time for Deans to put the personal issues he has with players behind him, for the good of Australian rugby and for the good of his own career.

Nice article. Puts things in perspective. What ever happened to carrying out your task for the greater good. He has blinkers on, that's for sure.

Still think we will take the series.

[El Presidente]

Nice article. Puts things in perspective. What ever happened to carrying out your task for the greater good. He has blinkers on, that's for sure.

Still think we will take the series.

Can't see it. I have a bet with Rob Fox (JJFox) I just need one win to secure it

[Jeremy Festa]

Can't see it. I have a bet with Rob Fox (JJFox) I just need one win to secure it

Oh no

[mazolaman]

I think the best forwards ball carriers on the night were the wallabies front rowers, strangely enough. Guys like "little" Benn Robinson who don't always run straight but dummy and offload end up breaking these strong defensive lines where straight runners like Heaslip and Palu don't.

I actually really enjoy the scrums as long as the ref is semi-clued in. The wallabies possibly have a weaker front row strength wise but strong tactically, so they need to get first to the hit like a sprinter with a starting gun. E.g. first scrum of the game they were demolished. After that they were really quick off the mark to get the hit so held their own, sometimes a bit too quick so the ref started half arming them. After that they adjusted by weathering the lions early push but then driving back full strength a couple of seconds later - that's what earned them the last penalty as well. I also enjoyed Adam Jones who played the ref once by screwing his opposites arm/shoulder in and down, knowing that because their scrum was going stronger he'd probably get the penalty, which he did, and then grinned like a cheshire cat.

also the lions hubris of trying to scrum out the game in their own half, in no hurry to get the ball out, almost cost them the game. they didn't have the smarter scrum on the night.

i'm no front rower but i love scrum tactics. more please. ... of course sometimes it's just messy and it's a complete waste of time but it was a game within a game on saturday.

I also enjoy the scrum, although prefer them now as I watch them, rather than having my ear bitten, or a knee in my face!

I grumble is the RFU titting about with the rules,"crouch, pause, engage" seemed to work..but they changed it. Many recent matches I have seen have been won and lost due to some packs not getting what the ref expects of them...(another bugbear, referees differing interpretations of the rules, and their favourite points to pick on...btw, does any team roll the ball in straight anymore?

I also enjoyed Jones' little wind up in that scrum..experience!

But it doesn't look like the North can wipe out the Aussie scrum anymore!

As for Gatland, I've never been a fan of his, I don't think either side "deserved" the win, and it was going to be down to the roll of the dice who did. His Welsh team do not win as much as they should, with the players he has available, and he also suffers from a form of blindness to players that should be picked.

Paul O'connoll will be missed in the next test.

[Ken Gargett]

for me, one of those games where whoever won and whoever lost couldn't really complain. could have gone either way.

sadly, i am with rob on this. we play our best at suncorp. james o'beiber wants to play 5/8 again (and he seems to get his way more than enough to make things uncomfortable). no cooper, digby injured and all those other injuries (granted injuries to barnes and mccabe are to our benefit) and we still have that venomous rugby vandal as our coach.

we'll be lucky to get out of this 3-0. how embarrassing.

there will be champagne and cigars at chez swamp when we finally send that nasty little orc back to orcland.