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[2014 EOYT] Wales vs Australia

TheSaffycen said:
He is a good attacking player for the Brumbies but does he really translate that onto the intl' level ? Like the way Alex Goode is good for Saracens and average for England, maybe I am talking crap though.
Anyway I think that Cooper should have started the game personally. Wales do rush up quite quickly in defence and I think he could have utilised his long range of pass to get on the outside. Still I think that Oz will win by 9
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Could not agree with this comment more. He's a good super rugby player but not Test quality, much the same way I don't think Foley is able to make the translation either. Personally, I think it's a pretty lackluster side. Where the hell is Henry Speight now that he is eligible? What more does Scott Higginbotham need to do to start? I'm expecting the Wallabies to win but I feel as though this is a pretty average selection of players. Nice to see Sean and Joe getting the nod!

I've said it before on this site but the problem with the Wallabies is not the backs or the back row but the tight five. Really disappointing to see the usual suspects still hanging in there.
 
My prediction has now changed to 33-0 to Wales.
 
goodNumber10 said:
Wobblies Team:

Australia:
I Folau;
A Ashley-Cooper,
T Kuridrani,
C Leali'ifano,
J Tomane;
B Foley,
N Phipps;
J Slipper,
S Fainga'a,
S Kepu,
S Carter,
R Simmons,
S McMahon,
M Hooper (capt),
B McCalman.

Replacements (from): J Hanson, T Faulkner, B Alexander, J Horwill, W Skelton, M Hodgson, W Genia, Q Cooper, R Horne.

they will beat Wales.
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No Speight, Phipps still there ahead of Genia, Faingaa, that lock combination. McCalman really their best 8? Look, I know Aus manages to work around these weaknesses more often than not but I wouldn't be surprised if Wales managed to sneak it even with their own shufflings going on.
 
Guilty said:
Could not agree with this comment more. He's a good super rugby player but not Test quality, much the same way I don't think Foley is able to make the translation either. Personally, I think it's a pretty lackluster side. Where the hell is Henry Speight now that he is eligible? What more does Scott Higginbotham need to do to start? I'm expecting the Wallabies to win but I feel as though this is a pretty average selection of players. Nice to see Sean and Joe getting the nod!

I've said it before on this site but the problem with the Wallabies is not the backs or the back row but the tight five. Really disappointing to see the usual suspects still hanging in there.
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Higginbotham went off injured after 20 minutes last week, McMahon is on because of that.

Speight had an awful game last week, Tomane isnt much better but he's in because of that.

Foley has been one of the stand out players for the Wallabies this season, not consistently amazing, but there have been times he's been on another level. Lealiifano has made two clean line breaks and brought a gain line midfield passing game that fatoomua (not atypo) just doesn't have and the Wallaby attack has looked far better for him being there.

In contrast Phipps and Foley have had the Wobblies at least playing on or around the gainline, whereas what we saw against the barbarians was a set of halfbacks who walked their team backwards at pretty much every breakdown.
 
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Bean said:
Nope, it'll be 0-0 until the 70th minute :D
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then you'll turn the TV on and see them furiously chasing the game 20 points down, only for everyone to praise the welsh come back kings despite the fact they've been pummled for 70 minutes?
 
But in all seriousness, I think the game will be close.
 
Pretty well all of the past 10 games have been. Cheika will bring a lot of mongrel back to the Wallabies - something we're been in dire need of for years - but at this stage I expect the team to still play a bit more like they did under link.
 
goodNumber10 said:
then you'll turn the TV on and see them furiously chasing the game 20 points down, only for everyone to praise the welsh come back kings despite the fact they've been pummled for 70 minutes?
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Ouch, this hits close to home
 
I suspect the Wallabies will improve under Cheika but I'm not sure if you'll see those kind of results right away. Wales at home will give them a good run, and like others have predicted - it should be close. Wales have a few players returning from injury, they've been in this position plenty of times before against the Wallabies, word has it Wales have put in some hard training weeks, and the Wallabies are going through a transitional period. George North at centre will be interesting.

Although the Wallabies have snatched tight victories in Wales in the past, I do think if it's close they'll need to be very wary. Australia has a habit of switching off when they are actually in a position to win (when they played Springboks away, All Blacks in Sydney, All Blacks in Brisbane). Even against the Baa-Baas they were dancing with danger.

I'll be bold and say Wales. Not by much. Wallabies have a lot of potential and talent to be a real force, just not sure if they're able to harness that at this moment.
 
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A few interesting selections for the Wallabies. The tight-five is as expected, though I cringe whenever I see the name Saia Fainga'a in the starting lineup. McMahon gets a chance at test rugby earlier than expected. He was outstanding against the Babas - the open style of rugby really suited him (as he's a quality 7's player) - but I suspect he will find it tougher this week playing a real test match. He looks to have all the qualities to be a top quality test player one day, I'm not quite sure he is ready for test rugby yet.

The backline selections are particularly intriguing. I think sticking with the Super Rugby combinations - Phipps/Foley, Genia/Cooper - is a good option, so it was just a matter of which combination to start and which to use as impact from the bench (I feel they have made the correct choice here). I'm not so sure about the selection of Lealiifano at centre though. He's played well in recent matches, but I'm not confident in his ability to contain the big Welsh midfield. He's a pretty solid tackler overall, but can be a bit passive at times, so I feel Wales may be able to make easy meters in his channel. Toomua would have offered a much stronger defensive option, though I still think he a better 10 than a 12. I'm disappointed to see Speight miss out on the 23 altogether - he should be starting in my opinion. He didn't have a great match last weekend, but that is only one match. He's been far and away Australia's best wing at Super Rugby level for the last 2-3 years IMO - the sooner they get him established at test level the better...

I'm thinking this will be a close game, but I'm picking the Wallabies to win (again), by around 5 points.
 
Darwin said:
A few interesting selections for the Wallabies. The tight-five is as expected, though I cringe whenever I see the name Saia Fainga'a in the starting lineup. McMahon gets a chance at test rugby earlier than expected. He was outstanding against the Babas - the open style of rugby really suited him (as he's a quality 7's player) - but I suspect he will find it tougher this week playing a real test match. He looks to have all the qualities to be a top quality test player one day, I'm not quite sure he is ready for test rugby yet.
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Yeah, I also cringe when I see his name in the starting lineup, but he has been pretty good at these games, ie, he would be much worse. Sean McMahon is the next Michael Hooper, if he manages to hold at 6, would be a very dangerous combination: "McMahon-Hooper" as flankers

Darwin said:
Quade Cooper misses out on a spot on the bench (http://www.espnscrum.com/australia/rugby/story/247021.html), the Wallabies carrying picking 2 locks. Can't say I really understand that move, but the Wallabies do love having a 6/2 split on the bench...
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Makes sense, Aussies have problems in the second row and will be a long and tough game
 
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21-21 at half time. Bit of a question mark over that last try for Alyn Wyn Jones, but other than that, all very high octane stuff.

Feels a bit flat at the ground. Perhaps a bit unsure over which Wales will turn up?
 

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