Considering the injuries and some inept displays, the Wallabies have still managed to finish second (well maybe third as I'd give second place to daylight!) in the Rugby Championship. So despite much media hysteria, situation pretty much normal.
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Rugby Championship: Argentina - Australia (06/10/2012)
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I'll tell you the difference, Matt Giteau.
One of the many players Deans has driven out of the team.
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4 points for Argentina in their first ever Rugby Championship.
Very respectable! Hopefully (and I expect they will) they can push on from this in years to come.
Very respectable! Hopefully (and I expect they will) they can push on from this in years to come.
Amobokoboko
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I don't think AUs has to complain, they ended 2nd on the table. The games they played weren't always of the best quality (but injuries and the AB's on fire) didn't make it easy for them.
InsaneAsylum
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I have to say despite me being critical of the wallabies, they didn't do too badly on paper. Their performances against the boks in sa and both nz clashes were well below par.
Sam Owen
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They need solidarity as a squad and just solid wins. With all respect to the Pumas but I think the Wallies could've won by a lot if their passes wernt so messy. Are the Wallies trying to send out a SOS to the ARFU that they dont want Deans as their coach...
They just need solid performances.
I actually agree with the perspective that the Wallabies aren't being as 'attack' minded as they should. Part of that may be that their best players are injured, but there still doesn't seem to be the creativity that I'd like to see. Would love to see them use some set play moves which used to be a trade mark. When does Giteau's contract with Toulon expire?
Darwin
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Hmmm, what to say about this match. Scrappy and error-ridden would be an understatement for the first 60 mins, though there was some better rugby in the last 20.
Discipline really let Argentina down - Albacete was the main culprit getting penalized 4 times alone. Argentina didn't really get the dominance up front that many expected. Perhaps they themselves were expecting to obtain dominance, so weren't as committed as they have been previous, though I think fatigue played a big factor in this match. Argentina have played a largely unchanged pack during the entire tournament, and you could see they were becoming less effective as the tournament progressed. Though you would expect pro rugby players to be able to keep up the intensity throughout a 6 week tournament, if you look at the way the Argentina pack played in some of those early matches it is probably unsurprising that they failed to keep up the same intensity! To be competitive with the top teams Argentina do need to find a way to keep up the same intensity every match, and for this they need some depth. This isn't going to develop overnight, and I'm hoping to see more players given a chance during the end of season tour.
I thought the Argentine loose trio were pretty good yet again. However I wonder if it is time for them to look at a bringing in another dynamic forward into their loose-forward trio - especially if they are going to be playing a more expansive game plan. Farias Cabello has been very solid throughout the tournament, but I felt Senatore and Leonardi (barring this match) have looked very effective when they have been on the field, though ideally I think they should consider a genuine openside flanker (maybe de la Vega in the future?). Landajo looked threatening again with ball in hand, but his defense was poor for a second week in a row. I think he is worth persisting with, but he does need to be making his tackles, otherwise opposition teams will continue to make breaks around the halfback channel.
I'm sure Australia will be happy with the win, if not the performance they put on the park. I thought the tight 5 did ok, and Robinson made a good impact (particularly in the scrums) when he came on. I hate to say it (as I am one of his biggest critics), but I thought Higginbotham had a very good game. His defensive work was strong, he actually hit a few breakdowns, and he was quite effective with ball in hand (particularly his offloading). He seems to have improved as a test player as the season has progressed - it seems he has been told to get off the wing and start playing like a forward, and he obviously has listened! Hooper was good yet again, though did get himself penalised a few times. He made one superb 60 metre run breaking 3-4 tackles which was probably the highlight of the entire match. It will be interesting to see what they do when Pocock returns, as it would seem a waste not to have both Hooper and Pocock on the park. I think the Aussie selectors have to let Samo go back to his retirement home, as he really showed his age this match. He still runs ok, and tackles pretty well but his work at the breakdown is completely ineffective. He seems to arrive at the breakdown and ever so gently lean on it - I saw Argentina turn the ball over 2-3 times after Samo failed to clean out the breakdown effectively.
Beale was easily the pick of the backs for me, and looks far more comfortable at 10 than at 15. If Australia can get the likes of Genia, Ashley-Cooper, and O'Connor back they could be a deadly backline with Beale at 10. McCabe was solid as always, while Tapuai had a mixed debut. His defense was solid, and he made a couple of nice half breaks, but he did butcher a try scoring chance when he choose to run himself instead of passing to the unmarked players outside. Ioane had a big work-rate, but his handling let him down numerous times, while Harris was pretty solid at fullback (and his goal-kicking was very valuable). Cummins like Tapuai had a pretty mixed debut, with a few handling errors, but his defense was impressive.
Discipline really let Argentina down - Albacete was the main culprit getting penalized 4 times alone. Argentina didn't really get the dominance up front that many expected. Perhaps they themselves were expecting to obtain dominance, so weren't as committed as they have been previous, though I think fatigue played a big factor in this match. Argentina have played a largely unchanged pack during the entire tournament, and you could see they were becoming less effective as the tournament progressed. Though you would expect pro rugby players to be able to keep up the intensity throughout a 6 week tournament, if you look at the way the Argentina pack played in some of those early matches it is probably unsurprising that they failed to keep up the same intensity! To be competitive with the top teams Argentina do need to find a way to keep up the same intensity every match, and for this they need some depth. This isn't going to develop overnight, and I'm hoping to see more players given a chance during the end of season tour.
I thought the Argentine loose trio were pretty good yet again. However I wonder if it is time for them to look at a bringing in another dynamic forward into their loose-forward trio - especially if they are going to be playing a more expansive game plan. Farias Cabello has been very solid throughout the tournament, but I felt Senatore and Leonardi (barring this match) have looked very effective when they have been on the field, though ideally I think they should consider a genuine openside flanker (maybe de la Vega in the future?). Landajo looked threatening again with ball in hand, but his defense was poor for a second week in a row. I think he is worth persisting with, but he does need to be making his tackles, otherwise opposition teams will continue to make breaks around the halfback channel.
I'm sure Australia will be happy with the win, if not the performance they put on the park. I thought the tight 5 did ok, and Robinson made a good impact (particularly in the scrums) when he came on. I hate to say it (as I am one of his biggest critics), but I thought Higginbotham had a very good game. His defensive work was strong, he actually hit a few breakdowns, and he was quite effective with ball in hand (particularly his offloading). He seems to have improved as a test player as the season has progressed - it seems he has been told to get off the wing and start playing like a forward, and he obviously has listened! Hooper was good yet again, though did get himself penalised a few times. He made one superb 60 metre run breaking 3-4 tackles which was probably the highlight of the entire match. It will be interesting to see what they do when Pocock returns, as it would seem a waste not to have both Hooper and Pocock on the park. I think the Aussie selectors have to let Samo go back to his retirement home, as he really showed his age this match. He still runs ok, and tackles pretty well but his work at the breakdown is completely ineffective. He seems to arrive at the breakdown and ever so gently lean on it - I saw Argentina turn the ball over 2-3 times after Samo failed to clean out the breakdown effectively.
Beale was easily the pick of the backs for me, and looks far more comfortable at 10 than at 15. If Australia can get the likes of Genia, Ashley-Cooper, and O'Connor back they could be a deadly backline with Beale at 10. McCabe was solid as always, while Tapuai had a mixed debut. His defense was solid, and he made a couple of nice half breaks, but he did butcher a try scoring chance when he choose to run himself instead of passing to the unmarked players outside. Ioane had a big work-rate, but his handling let him down numerous times, while Harris was pretty solid at fullback (and his goal-kicking was very valuable). Cummins like Tapuai had a pretty mixed debut, with a few handling errors, but his defense was impressive.
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Lasers are bad.
Digby is amazing.
Digby is amazing.
Darwin
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Digby's handling doesn't count, he has hands like feet at the best of times, everyone was dropping the ball. When he runs he reminds me of Moses parting the Red sea.Amazingly good at dropping the ball
madflyhalf
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Somewhere I read there was 93% of humidity.
If true, by putting your hand on the ground you can draw out catfish from it, and try to catch a ball is like catch eels with your hands!
Ok I'm stopping all these fishing methaphors, btw it was a tough condition to play!
If true, by putting your hand on the ground you can draw out catfish from it, and try to catch a ball is like catch eels with your hands!
Ok I'm stopping all these fishing methaphors, btw it was a tough condition to play!
End of this season with an option for an extra year. This was designed so he could come back to play against the British and Irish Lions. Though (as admartian stated) very unlikely with Deans as coach. More than likely he'll take the option for the extra year because he'll only play the Lions if he walks back into the team.
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I miss Giteau, he was amazing.
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