All Blacks V Wallabies, Hong Kong, October 30th

[Darwin]

No surprises in the Australian side named - glad (from a NZ perspective) to see they brought back Drew Mitchell ahead of Lachie Turner, as I really rate Turner. The Australian team does instantly look stronger with the inclusion of Ben Alexander in the front row. I'm picking the AB's to win, though I'm expecting it to be quite a scrappy game, as it typically can be when the majority of players haven't played together (or at all) for over a month..

 

[Larksea]

Turner is a good player. But Drew has something about him, he has the ability to pull off the odd blinder and win games. IMO for the AB's Drew has an element of being an unpredictable threat. IMO though turner is a good player he's less of a threat.

 

[Darwin]

Turner is a good player. But Drew has something about him, he has the ability to pull off the odd blinder and win games. IMO for the AB's Drew has an element of being an unpredictable threat. IMO though turner is a good player he's less of a threat.

Except against the AB's.... his record while playing for Australia against the AB's reads Played 10, Won 0, lost 10

I'm certainly not doubting Mitchell's attacking prowess - I think from memory he was amongst the leaders in linebreaks in the Super 14, and he certainly has an uncanny lack of slipping through tackles. The reason I don't rate Mitchell that highly is that his defense is atrocious - I think he missed more tackles than any other player in this years Super 14! While Turner certainly doesn't pose the same attacking threat that Mitchell usually poses (though he was very dangerous in the last match against the AB's), Turner is an exceptional defensive player... I'd back most NZ backs to beat Mitchell on a 1-on-1 situation, but I wouldn't back any of them to get past Turner.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

How many tries has Mitchell got against the ABs though?
I'm a big fan of Mitchell, but also a big fan of Turner, so i'm not overly fussed either way

 

[Darwin]

How many tries has Mitchell got against the ABs though?
I'm a big fan of Mitchell, but also a big fan of Turner, so i'm not overly fussed either way

Mitchell has got 4 tries against the AB's (2 of these were against the AB's in Hong Kong two years ago).

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Ah, thought it was more than that
Still a good attacking player though

 

[Dizzy]

Except against the AB's.... his record while playing for Australia against the AB's reads Played 10, Won 0, lost 10

I'm certainly not doubting Mitchell's attacking prowess - I think from memory he was amongst the leaders in linebreaks in the Super 14, and he certainly has an uncanny lack of slipping through tackles. The reason I don't rate Mitchell that highly is that his defense is atrocious - I think he missed more tackles than any other player in this years Super 14! While Turner certainly doesn't pose the same attacking threat that Mitchell usually poses (though he was very dangerous in the last match against the AB's), Turner is an exceptional defensive player... I'd back most NZ backs to beat Mitchell on a 1-on-1 situation, but I wouldn't back any of them to get past Turner.

I see you didn't think very well whilst typing this opinion....

I see not just Nonu beating him but Gear, Toeava, Mils, Dagg, Jane and maybe even Rokocoko would beat close to any player in a one on one situation.

 

[Darwin]

I see you didn't think very well whilst typing this opinion....

I see not just Nonu beating him but Gear, Toeava, Mils, Dagg, Jane and maybe even Rokocoko would beat close to any player in a one on one situation.

I assure you my thinking was fine when typing this opinion, and was also based on statistical evidence. During this years Super 14 Turner made 78 tackles and missed only 3 (http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/2010-super-14-statistics/) - that's a tackling percentage of 96% (the best among Australian backs in the Super 14, and I'd suggest the best among all backs in the Super 14). While not all these tackles were in a 1-on-1 situation, you would imagine a large number of them were, as the majority of tackles made by outside backs are in a 1-on-1 situation.

While it is possible Nonu, Gear et al. would beat Turner 1-on-1, evidence from the Super 14 suggests that he almost never missed a tackle (which, you would assume would include tackling Gear, Muliana, Dagg, Rococoko etc.). Perhaps my thinking was logical after all :lol:

 

[Larksea]

even Tana! hehe

The comments on mitchell & Turners defence makes it sound like Drew's never made a good tackle and Turner's never missed one. I dont think there is too much wrong with Drew's defence and I'm pretty sure it was Steven Brett Who topped the missed tackle list for backs in this years super14 and if i remember correctly I think Nonu may have been 2nd though nonu's defence for the AB's has been very good over the last two years.

As for Drew's record against NZ it reads much like a lot of Aussie players right now, heck important players like Genia have never beaten the AB's same with any player introduced since sydney 2008.

I think that's one of the major issues with Aussie right now, hardly any of them know what it's like to beat the AB's and can't draw from that confidence & experience. And I really do think it was a mistake be deans to cast out the likes of George Smith and Phil Waugh - experienced players who know what it takes to beat the All Blacks.

 

[Sm00thice]

I want to see davies getting a few test caps under his belt and really pushing these guys for positions. Some of those tries he's scored this year looked like someone fired him out of a gun.

 

[Darwin]

even Tana! hehe

The comments on mitchell & Turners defence makes it sound like Drew's never made a good tackle and Turner's never missed one. I dont think there is too much wrong with Drew's defence and I'm pretty sure it was Steven Brett Who topped the missed tackle list for backs in this years super14 and if i remember correctly I think Nonu may have been 2nd though nonu's defence for the AB's has been very good over the last two years.

The fact that Mitchell was statistically the worst defensive outside back in Australia during the Super 14 suggests that there is something wrong with his defense.... meanwhile Turner was statistically the best defensive outside back in Australia - clearly there is a big difference in their defensive capability (based on http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/2010-super-14-statistics/ , I can't seem to access the foxsports.com.au stats I usually use). Though the stats will vary between sites, it is pretty clear to me that Mitchell is a poor defensive player.....

 

[Sam Owen]

Drews definately a good player though. Lucky for him defence is a easy thing to get on top of, with a bit more experience and work in that department Im confident Drew will improve.

He came out of the virtual unknown when he first stepped on to the scene for the Wallabies and played extremely well for a rookie international. He proved he could play with best of them straight away and he promised greatness IMO. However the last 2 years he seems to be travelling through a long grey cloud in terms of form but I think he is now becoming to pop out the other end of that cloud.

 

[Dizzy]

even Tana! hehe

The comments on mitchell & Turners defence makes it sound like Drew's never made a good tackle and Turner's never missed one. I dont think there is too much wrong with Drew's defence and I'm pretty sure it was Steven Brett Who topped the missed tackle list for backs in this years super14 and if i remember correctly I think Nonu may have been 2nd though nonu's defence for the AB's has been very good over the last two years.

As for Drew's record against NZ it reads much like a lot of Aussie players right now, heck important players like Genia have never beaten the AB's same with any player introduced since sydney 2008.

I think that's one of the major issues with Aussie right now, hardly any of them know what it's like to beat the AB's and can't draw from that confidence & experience. And I really do think it was a mistake be deans to cast out the likes of George Smith and Phil Waugh - experienced players who know what it takes to beat the All Blacks.

OOOOHHHHH You didn't!!!.... lol...

 

[Gavin]

Other than Sky Sports are there any channels which are showing the match? Hopefully there will be streams online.

 

[SpanishBob]

Concerning Mitchell. I think defense is something you learn, but the talent is something yo have or you have not. I think Mitchell is one of the most talented wings in the world of rugby right now.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Haka didn't seem as intense as normal

 

[Sam Owen]

No probably 'cos Kevin led it.

Nice guys dont do good hakas lol.

 

[Sam Owen]

Beale must think that the crossbars are at the top of the posts the way he's kickin. Too high.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Should've brought Weepu out on crutches, he's quality at it

Have ABs had any posession yet? It's all Wallabies, if Beale had his kicking boots on then ABs might be in trouble

 

[skittles]

Cooper!

(Guy Sebastian music not so great. Already heard him performing this song live at the horse racing on TV today as well.)