[2017 Rugby Championship] Round 2: New Zealand v Australia (26/08/2017)

[Penne Rara]

Coles is back, I like the side. Think all the changes are positive even if the reasoning behind them is because of injuries and returns from injuries rather than form...

All Blacks: Damian McKenzie, Ben Smith, Ryan Crotty, Sonny Bill Williams, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read (captain), Sam Cane, Liam Squire, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Joe Moody. Reserves: Codie Taylor, Kane Hames, Ofa Tu'ungafasi, Scott Barrett, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Lima Sopoaga, Anton Lienert-Brown.

That side looks yummy!

I appreciate Scott Barrett's inclusion. He brings much more than Romano.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Wow thats a pretty awesome looking team.
Squire gets another run, thats nice for the young man, he deserves it.
I hope Dane Coles is alright.
I'd be tempted to let him have a longer rest. Codie Taylor is coming along nicely.
Young McKenzie gets another chance to show his flair.
Scott Barrett on the bench? I haven't seen enough of him.

 

[mania]

I cant see it being anything but worse for the Wallabies, they have shown no recognition that the defensive organisation was hopeless in game 1 and its probably not enough time to dump it and try a more traditional approach

apparently the defensive system has the traditional line but has designated rushers who sprint out of the line to try and shut down play.
this is dumb. having a premeditated rusher is very limiting. what if the correct rush should be done in an area where the designatedRusher isnt? theres a reason why its now traditional for the D line to be a wall

 

[mania]

I hope Dane Coles is alright.
I'd be tempted to let him have a longer rest.

Scott Barrett on the bench? I haven't seen enough of him.

agree about coles. no rush to bring him back. its only the RC. wrap him up in cotton wool for the rest of this season

i dont rate barret...nor romano. whats tuipolotu done to be on the outer? he's way more talented than the bench alternatives

 

[Brigantine]

This time Australia has no chance according to WRR calculus... If NZ win, the rankings don't move.
If Australia win, they will be ranked 3rd and South Africa won't be. This time NZ will only drop to within a home advantage of England if they lose by 15+.

Several people have suggested the last 30' of last week only went the way it did because the game was already over. I'm not so quick to give the ABs the benefit of the doubt on that.

But I still expect them to win this one by 40 points, though perhaps without the magic in the last 20' that we came to expect last season.

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

Wallabies:

1. Scott Sio (33 Tests)

2. Stephen Moore (121 Tests)

3. Allan Alaalatoa (13 Tests)

4. Rob Simmons (72 Tests)

5. Adam Coleman (13 Tests)

6. Ned Hanigan (4 Tests)

7. Michael Hooper (c) (69 Tests)

8. Sean McMahon (16 Tests)

9. Will Genia (79 Tests)

10. Bernard Foley (46 Tests)

11. Henry Speight (13 Tests)

12. Kurtley Beale (61 Tests)

13. Tevita Kuridrani (48 Tests)

14. Dane Haylett-Petty (17 Tests)

15. Israel Folau (56 Tests)

Reserves

16. Tatafu Polota-Nau (72 Tests)

17. Tom Robertson (10 Tests)

18. Sekope Kepu (81 Tests)

19. Rory Arnold (13 Tests)

20. Lopeti Timani (8 Tests)/Jack Dempsey (1 Test)

21. Nick Phipps (53 Tests)

22. Reece Hodge (14 Tests)

23. Curtis Rona (1 Test)

I think that Chieka has selected well this week, agree with all the changes and this is a better looking side imo. Only change I'd make is starting TPN. Still expecting a 20 point win for us.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Franks has been withdrawn from the match day squad (continued Achilles injury), Laulala moves straight into the starting XV with the bench remaining unchanged.

 

[Larksea]

wow that is crazy. Franks needs to get that injury right. Will be good to see laulala get a run again he was awesome in 2015 and his form has been good this season. Both he and Hames finished very strong for the chiefs.

Franks is so experienced, hard to replace that without charlie there.

 

[mania]

sweet. I'm a big fan of laulala. he deserves a go
of course im a bigger fan of franks but we need to increase our depth

 

[galumay]

I dont get starting Moore, I guess the theory is TPN cant last 80 but I would rather have TPN starting and only bring Moore on if needed. I dont really understand starting Speight on the wing again, he was one of our worst last week - admittedly playing in the very odd defensive lineup that appeared to be a planned move. I would have started Rona and DHP on the wings. I have no idea why Simmons would start instead of Arnold (unless he has an injury ****le.) The K train starting is a good move, I am also not sure about McMahon, I am not a fan.

apparently the defensive system has the traditional line but has designated rushers who sprint out of the line to try and shut down play.

I heard that said by the idiots on Kick & Chase this week, I am not sure how a traditional defensive line has so many players out of postion!! Agree with your points about "designated rushers" - if in fact that was also happening. It certainly looked at times that players out of position, and rushing up, were contributing to the disintegration of the defensive line.

 

[The Jones Boy]

For the Aussie contingent...
Is Will Genia the right choice?
He has loads of experience... does he still have the pace?
What do you blokes across the ditch reckon?

 

[The Jones Boy]

Be warned, when Aussie are written off before the game is generally when they are at their most dangerous.

I don't see them winning but if they can get some kind of parity in the forwards they willl be a handful. Getting that parity though...

 

[galumay]

For the Aussie contingent...
Is Will Genia the right choice?
He has loads of experience... does he still have the pace?
What do you blokes across the ditch reckon?

I think Genia is still our best option, he hasnt lost much speed and has bulked up a bit. I cant think of anyone I would prefer in the position.

Be warned, when Aussie are written off before the game is generally when they are at their most dangerous.

That would imply they are at their most dangerous nearly every game these days!!

LOL!! I just noticed the serial trolls must have had a concerted capaign of 'unliking' my posts! I went from nearly all green to nearly all red in a couple of days!! I dont think I have posted anything controversial so I can only suspect its those nasty bridge dwellers at work.

 

[The Jones Boy]

Have a word to the sheriffs, that sort of behaviour is not on.

On Genia, he has filled out and he can certainly tackle for a little guy.

 

[mania]

For the Aussie contingent...
Is Will Genia the right choice?
He has loads of experience... does he still have the pace?
What do you blokes across the ditch reckon?

Genia did nothing wrong. Wasn't his fault. Can't expect him to single handedly win it all the time. Other s gotta help too.

 

[Gavin]

Australia have named their side for Saturday

Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Rory Arnold, 20 Lopeti Timani/Jack Dempsey, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Reece Hodge, 23 Curtis Rona

http://www.planetrugby.com/news/wallabies-change-three-for-all-blacks/

 

[galumay]

Have a word to the sheriffs, that sort of behaviour is not on.

On Genia, he has filled out and he can certainly tackle for a little guy

Will do, i had a look and its one troll who got on and disliked every post!

I think Genia really benefited from his time up north, which is not always the case! Despite the time he spent out with injury it seems to have been quite a positive experience.

 

[ncurd]

Will do, i had a look and its one troll who got on and disliked every post!

Did you accidentally dislike a trolls post or two? They take it rather personal....

 

[galumay]

Did you accidentally dislike a trolls post or two? They take it rather personal....

....maybe!

I have to admire the effort, finding 120 something of my posts to 'dislike',

Anyway, lets not worry about that, we have rugby to talk about!

Having lost $50 backing those Wobblies last weekend, should I double down this weekend? Statistically I should end up in front at some point, but using the past as an indicator of the future has its hazards! The fact that the Wallabies have won around 30% of games against the AB's in the past attracted me to the 7:1 odds last weekend, I can now get 15:1 for Saturday's game. What could possibly go wrong?!

 

[Caitlyn Jenner]

....maybe!

I have to admire the effort, finding 120 something of my posts to 'dislike',

Anyway, lets not worry about that, we have rugby to talk about!

Having lost $50 backing those Wobblies last weekend, should I double down this weekend? Statistically I should end up in front at some point, but using the past as an indicator of the future has its hazards! The fact that the Wallabies have won around 30% of games against the AB's in the past attracted me to the 7:1 odds last weekend, I can now get 15:1 for Saturday's game. What could possibly go wrong?!

dooooo itttttt