2012 Rugby Championship thread

[NCC1701]

Posting a new thread as the Super Rugby season is over so we kinda need a dedicated thread for this now. The Wallabies have named their squad for Saturday night's game against the All Blacks in Sydney. Berrick Barnes retains the number 10 jersey he had against Wales, and Quade Cooper loses out alltogether as he hasn't had enough game time this year to warrant a place in the national team. Which is a shame, we need someone to boo at when the Wallabies face us in Auckland next week

Thoughts and opinions? Maybe some South African or Argentinean fans want to comment on their upcoming game in Cape Town?

[Jono]

Pretty much the team everyone thought Deans would pick given the squad available. On the squad, mystified by why Mowen wasn't included for the series given he was one of the form Australian forwards of the Super comp.

Looking at the team for this weekend, hopefully Beale will show some form (I can't remember how much Super he played this year) because apart from Ioane and Barnes' boot, the backline is not one that looks to have a lot of points in them.

[NCC1701]

^ Beale is my favourite Austalian after gifting that try to the All Blacks late in the first half. From the talk during the week the game was a lot closer than I expected, then again it was Sydney and not Auckland we were playing at, 27-19 is pretty respectable after that performance by the Wallabies. Can Rolland please not referee another RC match this season? That man loves his whistle way too much, no wonder neither side managed to get any continuity going during the match. Dagg finally found his form again after not doing anything much all season for the Crusaders, and nice to see Cory Jane in action again. On the Wallabies side Nathan Sharpe did well, and Genia looked dangerous every time he touched the ball. And I think Berrick Barnes has a good shot of earning the number 10 jersey permanently after this game, he was the best thing about the Wallaby 15 in my opinion, nice way to step up to the pressure after the mid-year test series.

[Orac Zen]

Well, that was an embarrassment.

The All Blacks didn't have to do much more than hang onto the ball, something that was beyond several of our lot. Our non-involvement in the S15 finals series probably didn't do us any favours but the ability to execute absolute rugby basics like catch and pass shouldn't depend on when people last played a game. Beale's pathetic attempt to tackle Dagg is one of the reasons I wasn't that sorry to see him leave the Waratahs; he's not a Cooper-like turnstile but that was disgraceful.

Looks like the giant silver cup is staying on that side of the ditch, unless we somehow get next week's game moved from Auckland and lift about 5000 percent on last night. There were a handful of positives - Barnes in particular should have seen off Cooper (but that won't happen, sadly) - but yet again too many blokes didn't do enough. That doesn't cut it against anyone, never mind the ABs.

Seems SA didn't have much trouble with the Pumas. Not unexpected, but they'll be a different proposition at home.

[Jono]

As bad as the Wallabies played thankfully NZ wasn't on top form of they would have won by 50. Too much slow ball from the ruck, the few times the speed picked up the Wallabies looked much better...when they held the ball or weren't isolated and penalised for holding on. I guess the "good" thing is that the only way the Wallabies can go is up.

Rolland blew a lot of penalties, but to be fair to him, he needs the players to take that option away by not infringing as much as both sides did last night.

[NCC1701]

Both Pocock and Woodcock are injured and will miss Saturday's test at Eden Park, meaning Genia takes over captaincy duties and Hooper taking over the number 7 jersey for the Wallabies, and Crockett has been bracketed to take Woodcock's place. The captains of the Wallabies aren't having much luck this season, are they?

[Orac Zen]

Horwill isn't a loss, IMO - I really don't get the fuss over that bloke - but Pocock is definitely a significant one (and it will probably be for the rest of the season to boot). Here's hoping Genia stays in one piece as our halfback cover is pretty much non-existent.

[Jono]

Not helped by the fact that the other halfbacks are getting zero game time. Apart from Phipps starting against Scotland Genia has played the full 80 in all the internationals since.

Mowen should be brought into the squad to replace Pocock. Gil and Hooper can cover the 7 for now and he would offer more leadership if it's an issue.

Edit: Kepu is also out of the clash this weekend and maybe longer.

[NCC1701]

^ And Cooper is in. Not sure what Deans is thinking putting him on at Eden Park instead of starting him last weekend in Sydney. I'll certainly hoping for a World Cup semi final-like meltdown from him, and I have a feeling the crowd at the stadium will as well.

[Orac Zen]

How marvellous to see the human turnstile back for a crunch game. His legion of fans in the media over here are in raptures; no doubt when he falls on his face yet again they'll go on about how it's anyone's fault but his.

Having said that, though... The one rugby writer in this country in possession of an actual brain and actual rugby knowledge has come up with yet another excellent article, which manages to hit several nails on the head with pinpoint accuracy. It doesn't make for pleasant reading for the discerning Wallaby fan, but it's spot-on IMO.

Hilariously, the waste of oxygen known as Alan Jones has apparently claimed Robbie Deans is "out of his depth" as an international rugby coach. This from someone who basically drove Mark Ella into retirement and reckoned Brian Smith was a better halfback than Nick Farr-Jones. I'm not convinced about Deans but that old saying about pots and kettles has never been more applicable.

[Jono]

So surprised that Jones would ever say anything bad about Deans. Sure he put his hand up in 2007 for the position, but Jones would never hold a grudge. The problem with Deans is he committed the mortal sin of been born outside of Australia and daring to find employment in this country and taking it away from the Aussie battler, now that is unforgivable!

I don't know what to say about the game. I got surprise partied during the half time break and missed the rest of the game. Probably fortunate as I didn't have to witness the Wallabies suffer the indignity of getting zip.

[NCC1701]

All credit to Cooper, he did okay tonight, certainly not the worst member in the Wallaby 22. The whole team looked lost, and even though it was a 22-0 rampage on the part of the All Blacks, we really were our own worst enemies this match, pissing away at least three more try opportunities. If we have any hope of surviving against the Springboks next month, we're really gonna have to step up from our form of the past two weeks. Argentina I'm sure we can beat even on a bad day, just like we did with the Wallabies tonight, the South Africans won't be as forgiving.

I almost feel sorry for the Wallabies having to face the Springboks in a fortnight. Almost. If Deans can keep his job after this championship it will be a miracle.

[Orac Zen]

We were okay for about 15 minutes and that was pretty much that. Once again the ABs didn't have to do much more than hang onto the ball and wait for mistakes. Once again, we were quite generous in that department. I don't see how Deans can survive, but it's not as though the players are making his task any easier.

Matthew Burke makes a good point. Our record against South Africa has been reasonably acceptable in recent years and better again against other sides, but we don't seem capable of getting near the ABs. I think Burke's theory is one of the bigger reasons (among many) for that.

Argentina secured a draw with SA. That doesn't exactly bode well for us, either.

[Jono]

I didn't think the Wallabies would win given their lackluster first half and poor kicking game. More injuries isn't good. Genia looks like he'll miss the rest of the series and Barnes I'm not sure about. He looked to get a similar injury in the second game against Wales but was good for the third game. Alexander also went off for a back complaint so they might be down another prop.

Beale continues to be poor. I don't think he deserves to be in the 22 and Deans should send him back to club rugby and tell Beale to shape up.

[Orac Zen]

I haven't watched the game yet (couldn't be bothered waiting for the other crap to finally end, plus I'm on a bit of a Who kick at the moment; one must prioritise ), but to put it mildly a win's definitely a step up for us. Genia is indeed out for the rest of the year (ACL), which given the lack of game time given to Phipps looms as an even bigger nightmare than it would already have been. The Wallaby injury toll is getting completely ridiculous at this stage; we'll be fielding a complete side of international newbies before long if this keeps up.

Not sure that I'm looking forward to the Argentina game, either.