Australia vs Wales RWC Pool A 10th October

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AUSTRALIA v WALES
10 October 2015
KO: 16:45
Twickenham, London

Live on [tbc]

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Touch judges: Jérôme Garcès (France) & Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

A. Head to Head

38 Played 38
27 Won 10
1 Drawn 1
10 Lost 27
897 Points 590

B. Recent Form

8 November 2014
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
28 – 33 Australia

30 November 2013
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
26 – 30 Australia

1 December 2012
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
12 – 14 Australia

23 June 2012
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
20 – 19 Australia

16 June 2012
Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
25 – 23 Australia

9 June 2012
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
27 – 19 Australia

3 December 2011
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
18 – 24 Australia

21 October 2011
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
21 – 18 Australia

TEAMS:

AUSTRALIA

I Folau; A Ashley-Cooper, T Kuridrani, M Giteau, D Mitchell; B Foley, W Genia; S Sio, S Moore, S Kepu; K Douglas, D Mumm; S Fardy, S McMahon, D Pocock.

Replacements: T Polota-Nau, J Slipper, G Holmes, R Simmons, B MCCalman, N Phipps, M Toomua, K Beale.

WALES

G Anscombe; A Cuthbert, G North, J Roberts, L Williams; D Biggar, G Davies; P James, S Baldwin, S Lee; L Charteris, AW Jones; S Warburton, J Tipuric, T Faletau.

Replacements: K Owens, A Jarvis, T Francis, J Ball, R Moriarty, Ll Williams, R Priestland, J Hook.

*************
The pool decider.

Damn those boys in the Canary yellow shirts look good, really good. Going through top of the pool Wales would be likely to meet Japan or Scotland...! Go through second and we meet a refuvinated Bok side.

And so it begins...............

This group has had so many drum roll moments, it's bordering on being the most 'arrogant' Pool in the Competition, sucking up all the fanmail.

But here goes.  Round Three. ( )

SecretFly wrote:And so it begins...............

This group has had so many drum roll moments, it's bordering on being the most 'arrogant' Pool in the Competition, sucking up all the fanmail.

But here goes.  Round Three. ( )

I am just very glad to be involved in round 3.

SecretFly wrote:And so it begins...............

This group has had so many drum roll moments, it's bordering on being the most 'arrogant' Pool in the Competition, sucking up all the fanmail.

But here goes.  Round Three. ( )

Fecking berstarde comment - You're RWC starts this weekend FFS - You might actually only have a 2 game World Cup

TightHEAD wrote:I can't see Aus fielding a weakened team.

I don't think they really have a weakened team to be honest...

Quade Cooper is a weakened team all on his own.

Nah, I jest. I like wild and whacky Quade. But he can always offer hope to an opponent side too. That's the beauty of genius - it's never perfect.

SecretFly wrote:Quade Cooper is a weakened team all on his own.

Nah, I jest.  I like wild and whacky Quade.  But he can always offer hope to an opponent side too.  That's the beauty of genius - it's never perfect.

Aye but he can also play some fantastic rugby when he is right...

Not a worth while drop in quality to me.

In just 2 years Australia have come a long way since Wales beat them in the 2013 test series. The Aussie side looks much stronger now and I'd rather us Welsh played a weakened team to allow some of the others boys to rest for the Saffers. I'd rather the game on Saturday just be a qualification celebration of getting out of the group regardless of who wins

Steffan wrote:In just 2 years Australia have come a long way since Wales beat them in the 2013 test series. The Aussie side looks much stronger now and I'd rather us Welsh played a weakened team to allow some of the others boys to rest for the Saffers. I'd rather the game on Saturday just be a qualification celebration of getting out of the group regardless of who wins

That's the attitude!

Here's the poster to celebrate. Get the steaks and hotdogs ready:

Steffan wrote:I'd rather us Welsh played a weakened team to allow some of the others boys to rest for the Saffers. I'd rather the game on Saturday just be a qualification celebration of getting out of the group regardless of who wins

Do you really mean that?

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

Steffan wrote:I'd rather us Welsh played a weakened team to allow some of the others boys to rest for the Saffers. I'd rather the game on Saturday just be a qualification celebration of getting out of the group regardless of who wins

Do you really mean that?

The last bit was exaggerated I guess

But yeah I don't see why resting some of the players would hurt when we know we have qualified for the knockouts

Steffan wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

Steffan wrote:I'd rather us Welsh played a weakened team to allow some of the others boys to rest for the Saffers. I'd rather the game on Saturday just be a qualification celebration of getting out of the group regardless of who wins

Do you really mean that?

The last bit was exaggerated I guess

But yeah I don't see why resting some of the players would hurt when we know we have qualified for the knockouts

Because the goal isn't to qualify for the knockouts, it's to win the tournament. Beating the Wallabies would give us a better chance of doing that.

I doubt you'll see Ireland or France fielding weakened teams for their match, so they can 'rest' ahead of playing the All Blacks.

Aim higher lads, beat the Aussies.

I think while they are an amazing side we do have enough in us to beat the Aussies. It would could take hell of a lot out of us mind so I guess do we want to go to war with the Aussies and then play Scotland or take it easy against the Aussies and go to war with the Saffers. Decisions hey

Steffan wrote:In just 2 years Australia have come a long way since Wales beat them in the 2013 test series.

Jesus

Keep it going Steffan. they're loving it

Steffan wrote:I think while they are an amazing side we do have enough in us to beat the Aussies. It would could take hell of a lot out of us mind so I guess do we want to go to war with the Aussies and then play Scotland or take it easy against the Aussies and go to war with the Saffers. Decisions hey

I would go to war with the Aussies just to avoid the All Blacks in the other side of the draw.

Liam W, Bradley and Lydiate all past fit

liam is fit. on news.

RubyGuby wrote:Liam W, Bradley and Lydiate all past fit

That is good news

Great that the boys are back. Decided we should try and turn over those Aussies

We have to play our strongest side available and not just rest or rotate players for sake of it. If there is a chance of us winning then we have to go for it and hopefully have a possible easier route forward. No game will be easy in the quarters/semis but if we could avoid the side of the draw that includes SA and ABs then that has to be something to aim for.

I hope he gives Tyler another run out. At the end of the day we have nothing to lose. Australia are clear favourites for this match.

Welshmushroom wrote:I hope he gives Tyler another run out.  At the end of the day we have nothing to lose.  Australia are clear favourites for this match.

I hope he does and when you think he is the only other specialist centre we have seems crazy not to, the other options dont really fill me with confidence anyway.

Welshmushroom wrote:I hope he gives Tyler another run out.  At the end of the day we have nothing to lose.  Australia are clear favourites for this match.

Except for the match?

Any one think the Wallabies will have a bit of a come down after their game against England?

I'll be cheering Wales on and I think/hope Australia will be a little sloppier after such an emotional game.

Wales also have all the right components to actually counter Oz. A good set piece, fetchers, a dangerous mid field.

I think Wales can tame the oz attacks a little more than England did. Then again, with the state of our scrum that opinion sort of goes out the window. I'd start charteris and target their line out. I felt although the stats show it did well last weekend, there were also opportunities to steal plenty and someone like charteris can really cause them problems and disrupt quick ball off the top.

Give Tyler another go. Thought he did well vs Fiji and as our only remaining out and out centre, he deserves the chance to make a name for himself and get up to speed with international rugby. Can't be any worse than what cuthbert is atm.

If hooper is available then I'd match them and play tips and warbs. If hooper is out I'd stick with the usual back 3.

This is incredibly important for both teams due to the draw. If Wales can win it I'd back us against Scotland (if they finish runners up) and then whoever in the semi's. South Africa is a 60/40 game, 50/50 if we had a full side. All blacks game is 90/10 with our injuries and the fact they have beaten us for the last 50 odd years.

I think we can more than match them in the lineout and be on par with them in the backrow but our scrum overall will need to pull its finger out.

We have for sometime now played an obvious kicking game but if its not spot on then their backs will kill us.

You'd imagine the England game must have been quite draining for the Aussies. Even though they do have a full week turnaround, I think it may be hard for them to repeat the level they played at on Saturday - if they do, we're in trouble - and so is everyone else! Still, if Hooper's out (I guess he'll cop at least a one week ban), then their balance is slightly altered. Our boys should be well rested and raring to go. I see no reason why we can't pull off a bit of an upset - after all, this WC has been full of them so far!

Upsets are so frequent that to have a week of none of them would now in itself be an upset.

SecretFly wrote:Upsets are so frequent that to have a week of none of them would now in itself be an upset.

You aren't arrogant enough to even be thinking about matches from Pool A...

I think the reason it would be seen as an upset is our record against the SH sides even more given how many times we have played Australia of late and never been able to see them off even when we are leading.

Bring back Hook and please please no more Cuthbert. He's worse than poor he's a liability. He even looks miserable. In his pomp he was great but sadly no more. Funnily enough Notth isn't looking great either are they being starved of ball and made to look poor?

How can you champion Hook and say Cuthbert is a liability? They're both liabilities! Hook's last games for Wales should have come in 2011. It's a mystery to me how he's added to his cap collection since then.

I have just rewatched Nz v Georgia,Ref was amazing allowed Georgia to angle pack till
late in the Game.Causing Nz all sorts of trouble till Franks/Woodcock came on then they
did`nt win another.
Totally ignored Georgia playing offside all night,BUT everytime they left bodies wrong
side of the breakdown they were penalised.
Had they cared to NZ could have kicked at least 7 or 8 penalty attempts at goal.They
played accurately in two short bursts 7 tries plus several near misses.
By there standards they were poor wrong options,poor passing etc.BUT there idea
is to win the Group with minimal injuries whilst getting a workout.
Australia had several decisions go there way Hooper should have seen Yellow
for the "Flying Head Butt"[ for want of a better word]he has been cited.
But after the previous incident pre Sydney no further action will be taken.
Australia played well and deserved the win BUT were allowed to leave bodies
at the base of breakdown all night.Also were allowed to push before the feed
at Scrum time[Illegal in the Book according to Wayne Barnes]
They have an Argentina Scrum Coach it shows similar tactics,Slipper dropping
a shoulder to "win" two Scrum penalties for example.
I wonder how much the injuries to the to sides effected the game to,or not taking
kickable penalties on 2 or 3 occasions,to slow down the game and narrow the gap.
All that said doubt England would have won but at least the score would have been closer.
Wales probably won`t win the Scrum battle BUT use the Japan method get the ball
in and out quickly.Contest only the Breakdowns you think you can win if not stand off
Offside has hardly been policed use a blitz defence.
As an Anglo-Scot I hope Wales win,but as an All Black Fan hope you lose so they
can settle it in the Final.
IF the AB`s get there unlikely but possible on current form.

Please......NOT HOOK ........liability no1....had his chance in the warm up match...awful. absolutely dreadful performance. jogging across pitch. lateral,lateral, then run away from support . turned over. same again in Fiji game. plus knock on, the only thing he didn't manage in his 15 min cameo was his usual intercepted pass. the rugby world were fooled by the emperors clothes when he went to france .lucky lucky boy. million in the bank !!!! they soon realised their mistake.....10,,12,,15 couldn't nail it. down the slope to Gloucester , can kick a penalty but game management zero. ONE thing in his favour he is not as bad as Cuthbert in defence...just edges it......maybe.......came from 7's rugby says it all. can't see the wider picture .pity , maybe coaches have let him down by not getting rid of the errors in his game...70plus caps no improvement . same errors . picked up too many bad 7's habits for the 15's game . end of really. cry has always been " got to find him a place in the team " says it all ,what place? never good enough in one position.....we are full of injuries so please don t see his inclusion as anything other than a lack of depth in our squad.

I think the Wallabies will go full tilt at the game but I expect three changes with Horne, Giteau and Hooper all unlikely in my (uninformed) view.

If Hooper goes I'd expect McCalman to come into 8 with Pocock to 7, and young McMahon onto the bench.  McCalman is lower impact than Hooper with the main bonus being in the line out.  McMahon is a really exciting prospect that has been excellent against tier 2 teams but hasn't yet had an impact against a team of Wales calibre.

Probably Mitchell for Horne, with Speight and Tomane the other available candidates.  Each of these three potentially offer a greater attacking threat but are also more likely to offer up opportunities in defence or a case of the dropsies.  Mitchell adds a better kicking game.

I think Gits, even if not actually injured, might be rested.  He's 33 now and took some punishment in that game.  I'd expect them to add Toomua at 12 and maybe a winger or Quade to the bench.  Roberts will be important as all our options give a fair bit of size to him.

boomeranga wrote:I think the Wallabies will go full tilt at the game but I expect three changes with Horne, Giteau and Hooper all unlikely in my (uninformed) view.

If Hooper goes I'd expect McCalman to come into 8 with Pocock to 7, and young McMahon onto the bench.  McCalman is lower impact than Hooper with the main bonus being in the line out.  McMahon is a really exciting prospect that has been excellent against tier 2 teams but hasn't yet had an impact against a team of Wales calibre.

Probably Mitchell for Horne, with Speight and Tomane the other available candidates.  Each of these three potentially offer a greater attacking threat but are also more likely to offer up opportunities in defence or a case of the dropsies.  Mitchell adds a better kicking game.

I think Gits, even if not actually injured, might be rested.  He's 33 now and took some punishment in that game.  I'd expect them to add Toomua at 12 and maybe a winger or Quade to the bench.  Roberts will be important as all our options give a fair bit of size to him.

Good to read your thoughts on it mate..!

As I mentioned in a previous post changes to this wallaby side don't really weaken it, there is class throughout the squad.

Gatland eluded to "mixing it up a bit" in interview yesterday. Not sure anyone knows what he means buy that, we don't have many options to mix due to our blight of injuries.

Hoping things look better than we predict. It's going to need a monumental effort for Wales to get any points from this fixture.

Yes Boomeranga, I would go along with those changes to the line up for Saturday.

As an irrelevant aside - do you think Burgess should have also been cited for what looked like a tackle/forearm shot around Hooper's head? He lined him up pretty well and certainly didn't miss.

Also the reaction from Brown after Hooper's overeager clean out. Seemed like a clean punch to the head? Like how the subsequent replays conveniently stopped just short of that. Penalty could have possibly been reversed by Poite although Hooper has probably been correctly cited.

I'm staggered to hear Liam Williams is expected to be fit 2 weeks after being kicked in the head and left lying prone on the pitch

Obviously we don't know how he's been and how he's reacted to the incident, but I sincerely hope the Wales medical staff are being cautious - especially since they'll be under increased scrutiny after the George North farce.

As someone who has had 2 serious concussions on the rugby pitch I can safely say there was no chance in hell I would have been ready to play again 2 weeks later - I was still feeling the effects of it 2 months later!

I can see it causing a lot of controversy with those who really care about rugby's attitude towards brain injuries.

Boomer - where have you been?

RDW_Scotland wrote:I'm staggered to hear Liam Williams is expected to be fit 2 weeks after being kicked in the head and left lying prone on the pitch

Obviously we don't know how he's been and how he's reacted to the incident, but I sincerely hope the Wales medical staff are being cautious - especially since they'll be under increased scrutiny after the George North farce.

As someone who has had 2 serious concussions on the rugby pitch I can safely say there was no chance in hell I would have been ready to play again 2 weeks later - I was still feeling the effects of it 2 months later!

I can see it causing a lot of controversy with those who really care about rugby's attitude towards brain injuries.

I think that there has been such a response to concussion recently that no risks are taken for player welfare.

maestegmafia wrote:

boomeranga wrote:I think the Wallabies will go full tilt at the game but I expect three changes with Horne, Giteau and Hooper all unlikely in my (uninformed) view.

If Hooper goes I'd expect McCalman to come into 8 with Pocock to 7, and young McMahon onto the bench.  McCalman is lower impact than Hooper with the main bonus being in the line out.  McMahon is a really exciting prospect that has been excellent against tier 2 teams but hasn't yet had an impact against a team of Wales calibre.

Probably Mitchell for Horne, with Speight and Tomane the other available candidates.  Each of these three potentially offer a greater attacking threat but are also more likely to offer up opportunities in defence or a case of the dropsies.  Mitchell adds a better kicking game.

I think Gits, even if not actually injured, might be rested.  He's 33 now and took some punishment in that game.  I'd expect them to add Toomua at 12 and maybe a winger or Quade to the bench.  Roberts will be important as all our options give a fair bit of size to him.

Good to read your thoughts on it mate..!

As I mentioned in a previous post changes to this wallaby side don't really weaken it, there is class throughout the squad.

Gatland eluded to "mixing it up a bit" in interview yesterday. Not sure anyone knows what he means buy that, we don't have many options to mix due to our blight of injuries.

Hoping things look better than we predict. It's going to need a monumental effort for Wales to get any points from this fixture.

Gday Maes, I reckon you're right that it won't weaken us too much but for me it's more because we aren't really quite as good as we are looking after the weekend. Hooper and Gits would be a loss, but I think in the outside back, where we are traditionally good, we are not all that flash really. Personally I thought may, Watson and brown looked more dangerous than our guys did but ... and let me savour this ... Our pack was good!

I remember writing an article after Ireland pulled our pants down last time how I was embarrassed that we got beaten up, again, for the umpteenth time like we would never learn. I felt very proud of our pack on the weekend.

Anyways, good luck for the game. I've been following Samson's recovery on here for months and am nervous he's back. After all these years I think we deserve to bask in the glory of a solid scrum for more than a week!

The Loaded Dog wrote:Yes Boomeranga, I would go along with those changes to the line up for Saturday.

As an irrelevant aside - do you think Burgess should have also been cited for what looked like a tackle/forearm shot around Hooper's head? He lined him up pretty well and certainly didn't miss.

Also the reaction from Brown after Hooper's overeager clean out. Seemed like a clean punch to the head? Like how the subsequent replays conveniently stopped just short of that. Penalty could have possibly been reversed by Poite although Hooper has probably been correctly cited.

Mate I thought Farrell was unlucky and Sam was very lucky. Farrelll's hit seemed about the same as the one Douglas put on I thought. Bad, but just a result of the setup coming at them. The way Burgess' momentum had him twisting Hoops by the neck as they went down looked uglier in my opinion.

Y

boomeranga wrote:

maestegmafia wrote:

boomeranga wrote:I think the Wallabies will go full tilt at the game but I expect three changes with Horne, Giteau and Hooper all unlikely in my (uninformed) view.

If Hooper goes I'd expect McCalman to come into 8 with Pocock to 7, and young McMahon onto the bench.  McCalman is lower impact than Hooper with the main bonus being in the line out.  McMahon is a really exciting prospect that has been excellent against tier 2 teams but hasn't yet had an impact against a team of Wales calibre.

Probably Mitchell for Horne, with Speight and Tomane the other available candidates.  Each of these three potentially offer a greater attacking threat but are also more likely to offer up opportunities in defence or a case of the dropsies.  Mitchell adds a better kicking game.

I think Gits, even if not actually injured, might be rested.  He's 33 now and took some punishment in that game.  I'd expect them to add Toomua at 12 and maybe a winger or Quade to the bench.  Roberts will be important as all our options give a fair bit of size to him.

Good to read your thoughts on it mate..!

As I mentioned in a previous post changes to this wallaby side don't really weaken it, there is class throughout the squad.

Gatland eluded to "mixing it up a bit" in interview yesterday. Not sure anyone knows what he means buy that, we don't have many options to mix due to our blight of injuries.

Hoping things look better than we predict. It's going to need a monumental effort for Wales to get any points from this fixture.

Gday Maes,  I reckon you're right that it won't weaken us too much but for me it's more because we aren't really quite as good as we are looking after the weekend.  Hooper and Gits would be a loss, but I think in the outside back, where we are traditionally good, we are not all that flash really.  Personally I thought may, Watson and brown looked more dangerous than our guys did but ... and let me savour this ... Our pack was good!

I remember writing an article after Ireland pulled our pants down last time how I was embarrassed that we got beaten up, again, for the umpteenth time like we would never learn.  I felt very proud of our pack on the weekend.

Anyways, good luck for the game.  I've been following Samson's recovery on here for months and am nervous he's back.  After all these years I think we deserve to bask in the glory of a solid scrum for more than a week!

Mate you can have your day in the sun, you guys should proud of that pack. Haven't seen a wallaby pack do that to England anywhere for a very long time.

Giteau and Folau are a big omission but Beale would be an ample replacement at the back... 

Still waiting on the Hooper trial result... Hearing started an hour ago. No verdict published yet

The Loaded Dog wrote:Also the reaction from Brown after Hooper's overeager clean out. Seemed like a clean punch to the head? Like how the subsequent replays conveniently stopped just short of that.

I thought he'd thrown a punch too, but as you say, we didn't get to see it a second time.

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

The Loaded Dog wrote:Also the reaction from Brown after Hooper's overeager clean out. Seemed like a clean punch to the head? Like how the subsequent replays conveniently stopped just short of that.

I thought he'd thrown a punch too, but as you say, we didn't get to see it a second time.

It was a definite swing, dont think it contacted though but intention was clearly there.

bedfordwelsh wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

The Loaded Dog wrote:Also the reaction from Brown after Hooper's overeager clean out. Seemed like a clean punch to the head? Like how the subsequent replays conveniently stopped just short of that.

I thought he'd thrown a punch too, but as you say, we didn't get to see it a second time.

It was a definite swing, dont think it contacted though but intention was clearly there.  

I agree he missed him, I think he Swung Low

George Carlin wrote:Boomer - where have you been?

G'day George, I still visit everyday but really just enjoy having a read. I've kids now and keeping sensible hours makes it hard to get in a conversation across these timelines unfortunately. I really like 606 though. Good for getting away from the hardcore southern view of the world and to keep up with what your teams are up to. Mainly I just have a bit of a snoop!

RubyGuby wrote:

bedfordwelsh wrote:

Luckless Pedestrian wrote:

The Loaded Dog wrote:Also the reaction from Brown after Hooper's overeager clean out. Seemed like a clean punch to the head? Like how the subsequent replays conveniently stopped just short of that.

I thought he'd thrown a punch too, but as you say, we didn't get to see it a second time.

It was a definite swing, dont think it contacted though but intention was clearly there.  

I agree he missed him, I think he Swung Low

He is a feisty little customer..! He ran in from the other end of the pitch to swing one at Sam Warburton last week after Tom Wood tried to jump over Lydiates tackle.