Wallabies Team for First Tri Nations game v Springboks - Form Team?

1. Kepu
2. Moore
3. Alexander
4. Simmons
5. Horwill
6. Elsom (c)
7. Pocock
8. McCalman
9. Genia
10. Cooper
11. Loane
12. McCabe
13. AAC
14. O'Connor
15. Beale

Reserves: S. Faingaa, Cowan, Sharpe, Hodgson, Higginbotham, A. Faingaa, N. Phipps

Giteau, Timani, Davies, Gerrard out of the 22.

Would have have liked to see Higginbothan in for McCalman

Still has 5 Brumbies in the run team with 5 Reds.

With Waratahs and Reds, 7 in the run on side, so 8 players from brumbies and force in the First XV.

Didn't Robbie say he would pick on form?

didnt i read,hear, or dream that O'Connor had a hamsting problem?
But all round a mucher stronger side than last week.

Scans on O'Connor showed no damage so he is cleared.

Interestingly, I read today Robinson's injury is not as bad as first thought and he is a chance for WC, and Barnes is back playing club rugby this weekend.

well I'm sure Robbie wouldnt have played him without him passing a fitness test,in fact injuries like that iwould also have thought would be a good reason to announce the team as late as possible, But 5 days out ..
robbie wouldnt be trying to take media's attention of other recent rugby events would he?

His stated reason is he wanted to settle on the team and get them running together at training asap. I guess you can do that without announcing the team.

It'll be interesting to see if it works,the next 24 hours will tell....

Saturday's game is going to be very interesting indeed.

yes it will be. Anything can happen with this one.... fascinating...

Well no surprise to not see Rod Davies on the team list. That kind of test appearance will take a while to get over. No room for Giteau either so I think he´ll find it difficult to find a place again.

I wonder if those selections in the pack are still based on Super 15 burnout concerns. I think Deans is not rushing the grunts back into the pack to give them a breather after such a long season. Going to be a fascinating game. If anything, the pressure is on the Wallabies who will be keen to avenge the loss from last week. Nobody gives the Boks much hope but you can bet the Wallabies will take their shots at goal in the early minutes this time.

I certainly hope there is still some rotation happening in the pack. McCalman and Hodgson can consider themselves extremely lucky to be there. Moore hanging on by the skin of his teeth too.

Rob B, do you see McCabe holding on to the IC jersey? Couple of big hits at the weekend, decent distribution, but quieter than I'd expected?

Giteau has been dropped from the 3N which is as good as from the RWC as well. Does Deans try O´Connor at 12 and leave another space for someone on the wing? Plenty of options for the Aussie backline but ideally you want to settle on your preferred combination and get some time together for your combinations to gel.

With Barnes out for now, JOC clearly being seen as a winger, and Giteau out of the picture, it looks like Deans is giving him every opp to keep it. Playing outside Cooper, it is more critical to have a big defender rather than another playmaker and I think McCabe is solid there.

He looked a bit one dimensional in attack with Giteau catching the ball and passing it and McCabe running into a brick wall. With Cooper at 10 MCCabe might not see a lot of the ball anyway.

If he goes ok this week I think Deans will keep picking him there.

kiakahaaotearoa wrote:Giteau has been dropped from the 3N which is as good as from the RWC as well. Does Deans try O´Connor at 12 and leave another space for someone on the wing? Plenty of options for the Aussie backline but ideally you want to settle on your preferred combination and get some time together for your combinations to gel.

I would like to see JOC at 12, but Deans made a statement by selecting him on the wing against Samoa before he withdrew injured. I don't think he will get a run at 12.

If McCabe does not work out this week, some quick decisions will have to be made before the backline is settled. I would like to see A. Faingaa have a run at 12. He can play 12 and 13 - has come on in leaps and bounds this year - one of the most aggressive defenders in Super rugby this year. He is on the bench this week so hopefully he will get a solid run in the midfield.

As I read it both sides are at less than full strength but that Australia are favourites to win.Benn Robinson they did`nt say it was`nt as bad as feared.
What they said was alternative treatment would be tried before resorting to anoperation.
In the same way Tony Woodcock is named in 3Ns squad and is expected to start RWC.
For expected to read hoped to,Wyatt Crockett is in the form of his life and I will be amazed if he does`nt play in 3Ns and RWC at some point.

South Africa have named their team, top class halfbacks but probably not good enough to win on the road?

South Africa: 15 Gio Aplon, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Juan De Jongh, 12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Ashley Johnson, 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Johann Muller, 4 Flip Van Der Merwe, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Dean Greyling.

Replacements: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ Van Der Linde, 18 Alistair Hargreaves, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Adrian Jacobs, 22 Patrick Lambie.

In a way I think it´s a problem both NZ and Australia face at a moment: backline selections. Do you go with experience and rely on reputation or do you reward form, often at the expense of experience. e.g. Giteau is out with 90 caps so you go with someone who is obviously going to have a lot fewer caps. Same with Nonu. Put in SBW who is still a rookie at test level.

Injuries complicate things on the wing. Mitchell is a big loss to the Wallabies. But plenty of names on offer. The same for the ABs. Jane is out with a broken finger and is fast running out on opportunities to convince the selectors he is a good bet. He didn´t seem to have a bad game in the black jersey but had a woeful super season. So who do you play along with Hosea Gear? Plenty of names on offer - Guilford, Kahui, Maitland, Sivivatu etc. - but ideally you´d like to have your A team pencilled in already and I get the impression with the backline that´s far from the case for both sides in certain positions.

So selections are going to be a bit of a cat and mouse game resting key players, testing out fringe players and not being able to select injured players. But sooner or later you have to decide on what your best team is and then give them some game time together.

The more I look at it, the more I think that this Aus backline (9. Genia, 10. Cooper, 11. Ioane, 12. McCabe, 13. AAC, 14. O'Connor, 15. Beale) could be the chuff's nuts if it clicks - really looking forward to seeing how it goes now

Tell you what those Samoans dont need a rest, Just watching the Hawkes Bay v Southland game (6-3 Sthld) and 3 of the Samoans from Sunday night are on the bench for Hawkes bay,,,,,,,,Plus they apparently had a "very big " party after the night.....

I would have thought Kepu / Alexander would be the other way around? And I don't understand picking Pek - is he even a good S15 player? At least it's not Ma'afu, but if we are going to struggle in the scrum whoever they pick, I'd play Daley as he is impressive outside the scrum.

If they want Vickerman up to speed, play him. Sharpe will remain consistent, and doesn't really need the game having played about a thousand. I agree that higginbotham could have started. We still don't know what level he is up to. The player with the most riding on this game (for us) would be Hodgson. I think he is close to being relegated to the good S15 player only category, with Robinson deputizing to Pocock, and that possibly only until Liam Gill matures.

I think we are heading towards a playoff between McCabe an Fa'aingaa for the 12 jumper, unless as you say Rob, Barnes returns with enough to offer. I wish Gits was going better, but it's been too long now.

Yes it is odd Kepu is LHP and certainly they could be changed around. Agree strange Sharpe is on the bench when Vick is the one who needs the game time. Maybe he has got him there in case the lineout blows up and he needs a steady/regular hand to fix it up. There's too much talent around in the backrow to be persisting with Hodgson and McCalman IMO

From an irish point of view, the thought of not having to face Giteau in the RWC is a huge relief. Can't say I watch super rugby a lot but he is a great player. Will JOC kick for you now?

Don't really rate Faaingaa but could be a good foil for Cooper.

Well that may explain your post Pete. Sadly Giteau hasn´t been in great nick for quite some time and now that he´s out of the 3N squad, it doesn´t look good for his RWC prospects. I think that was a tough call that needed to be made so it actually makes the Wallabies stronger in that respect. You don´t want a player in there on past reputation rather than form. Barnes is out injured so will be interesting to see who gets the nod between McCabe or Fa'aingaa. Personally I´d have liked to have seen JOC in that position but as has been mentioned wing seems to be his spot now.

I'd be very scared of JOC in the centre if our line wasn't together even to a very small extent. On the upside we wouldn't have to track crash ball runners as much other than AAC (at times).

What's McCabe like?

McCabe is more bull at gate than twinkling toes Pete. He's 22 or 23, 6'1 or so and 90 something kgs, so bigger than Gits, but not Nonu by any means.

I think McCabe is probably a more effective ball runner, but AFinger would be more accomplished defensively. Neither are going to end the year in a world 15, but I personally think someone like that will improve us.

pete (buachaill on eirne) wrote:What's McCabe like?

He gives good crash ball but I don't think I saw him pass once on the weekend... hope Quade brings his cut-out pass or the outside backs might get pneumonia.

I can't really fathom what Elsom's doing in the side either as player or captain. Higginbotham's a better 6 (on form) and Australia looked directionless and lacking in leadership. Give the captaincy to Genia as he mostly calls the shots anyway or Horwill.

Do you ever visit GAGR FC? A few weeks ago there was an interesting stats based analysis of our blindside options. It's worth reading if you can find it.

Suprised they have stuck with the same centres i thought they might of given faingaa a run there i would of also started with higginbotham.

With Robinson out they're really going to struggle in the scrum and if the forwards cant get them quick ball which they failed to do against Samoa then i can only see a comfortable South African win.

Cheers lads,

May make sense having a seriously good defender there at 12 with Cooper there you never know what can happen defensively with him

Just read that article, I guess the stats don't lie. I wasn't meaning to imply Rocky's not a quality player but he's seriously undercooked. I can understand Deans giving him some game time but I'm not sure about starting him as captain. I just feel we should be picking on form and it's impossible for someone who hasn't played all year to have any. Give him 20mins at the end by all means but we need to build momentum going into the WC.

boomeranga wrote:

If they want Vickerman up to speed, play him. Sharpe will remain consistent, and doesn't really need the game having played about a thousand.

Just read that Vickerman has a back strain - that's why Sharpe is on the bench.

With the bench and backups looking so thin mssrs Cooper, Genia, Pocock and Beale cannot afford injury in the next 50 odd days as the absence of one or two of the 4 would have serious implications on the Oz WC hopes.

Now established as certainty's they're also far and beyond their backups.
Just puts so much pressure on these key players in that if they overdo it, they could end up on the wrong side of things as they'll clearly be targetted this 3N.

Have too admit I've never been a fan of Elsom's. Too slow, doesnt have a huge work rate and leadership doesn't exactly inspire- last weeks quick taps etc. Just never stood out for me.

All of a sudden things just look very fragile.

Taylorman wrote:With the bench and backups looking so thin mssrs Cooper, Genia, Pocock and Beale cannot afford injury in the next 50 odd days as the absence of one or two of the 4 would have serious implications on the Oz WC hopes.

Now established as certainty's they're also far and beyond their backups.
Just puts so much pressure on these key players in that if they overdo it, they could end up on the wrong side of things as they'll clearly be targetted this 3N.

Have too admit I've never been a fan of Elsom's. Too slow, doesnt have a huge work rate and leadership doesn't exactly inspire- last weeks quick taps etc. Just never stood out for me.

All of a sudden things just look very fragile.

I guess as captain Elsom is going to get more latitude than others to play himself in. Unfortunately I think Deans has committed to him for better or worse. His leadership and decision is poor. He is a lead from the front style of captain but he is not doing that. His best was in 2009. It sounds an awful thing to say, but another injury to him will force Deans to play the form backrow. Today that would be Pocock, Higginbotham and Samo OR Pockock, Robinson, Higginbotham. With Palu coming back and if fit it would be Pocock, Higginbotham, Palu.

Their injuries are stretching them but if they get the likes of Barnes, Mitchell, Robinson (all potentially long shots as season ending injuries), Palu, TPN, Slipper and with Vickerman in there, their 22 will start to look quite strong.

Henry's come out and backed Deans selections to a point. It does show what damage this sxv has imposed. That Samoan team was fresh as and Tournament hard as a unit which had played together recently.

Aus were a scratch team that Deans had for a week or two so in hindsight its understandable. The SA side will be 'bouncing off the walls' as well this week and they've a very good backline out there. But internationally theyre raw, but will have picked up with the Samoan result.

Just shows now anything from 1-10 can win tests now.

Yes, it's a step in the right direction with more changes likely to come.

I heard a piece on the radio today saying James Horwill himself prefers Rocky Elsom as captain... a scripted or timely admission perhaps? Or, is he also aware that others are calling for his style of leadership and he is merely trying to maintain team cohesion and not cause any distractions for coach, players and fans?

It's obviously a talking point at higher levels and maybe they have decided to nip any 'possible captaincy' speculation in the bud.

It is interesting. Speculation over the captaincy can be very damaging unless they nip it in the bud either by 1. making the change and moving on or 2. quashing all speculation. Can't remember a time when rugby fans in Aust were so against the captain. Reminds me of the Aust cricket team - in the end Ricky Ponting fell on his sword in acting in the best intersts of the team and to retain his spot on the team.

But will Rocky do the same for the good of the side and potentially increase his chances of retaining his spot?

It's similar to the cricket situation (the captaincy question) Rob, I just hope they don't follow suit and drop further down the rankings... or lose games with increasing frequency as we have been doing in cricket for the last couple of years.

I have a feeling we will lift our game in both sports though - we should have a few good years of rugby ahead and we have plenty of decent talent in cricket... (they just need to get that winning feeling back again)

I find that if a captain is questioned at all it can get pretty messy.

Remember BOD during the Lions 09 series and O'Connell was captain, that caused a few ripples and was dealt with very well thank god. Or when he stood down as captain of Leinster

Pete, it's got to the stage where we just have to cross our fingers and hope they are right.

If they are, then I'm a poor judge of things.

If not...well it's just like the cricket!

Linebreaker wrote:Yes, it's a step in the right direction with more changes likely to come.

I heard a piece on the radio today saying James Horwill himself prefers Rocky Elsom as captain... a scripted or timely admission perhaps? Or, is he also aware that others are calling for his style of leadership and he is merely trying to maintain team cohesion and not cause any distractions for coach, players and fans?

It's obviously a talking point at higher levels and maybe they have decided to nip any 'possible captaincy' speculation in the bud.

quoted from Horwill today:

"That's something that you come to when the time's right," he said.

"Everyone wants to play for the Wallabies and... it's obviously a tremendous honour to captain your country.

"I don't think you'd find anyone who doesn't want to do it, but that's something that's completely out of my hands."

Not exactly a rebuttal is it?

OK, so he left the door open. Great.

The thing I heard from the 'newsreader' on JJJ was a either a misquote or a badly/incorrectly paraphrase from that Horwill quote.

I feel better now... there is hope!