Thread: Will Bill be coming back to Australia

I think we've got a lot of work to do in a short period of time in order to even be competitive for this WC. I'm not impressed with Connolly as coach (although he couldn't be worse than Eddie), and even though we beat Wales on the weekend convincingly, a very good side would have beaten them by a LOT more - they were awful weren't they?

So I'm hopeful but not very optimistic.

I don't think we will get as close as last time. But you should never write off the Wallabies. The last game against Wales was pretty good but the first test was woeful and they didn't deserve to win it (or I should say that Wales didn't deserve to lose).

Have too agree with you Poppa a Im not a fan of Conolly either....I miss Rod.

Although the score may have been convincing...The rugby definately wasnt. I reakon the wallabies only played one good half out of 4 against wales...and wales didnt do better because they gave up and resorted to negative play.

I think your right a better team would have flogged wales by more...but if the wallabies play like that against the All Blacks, I think the score will be the other way round .

One positive though...as an x prop...its good to see the scrum dominate for a change


cheers
BD

Dont get me started! Ooops too late!

Around this time for the last world cup we were in a very similar position to where we are now. Our game was in a fair bit of disarray and there seemed to be little hope of us getting beyond the quarters. However then I was telling everyone who would listen to have faith, as it seemed we had a distinct plan for our run into the world cup.

This time though things are a lot different. We need a front row and a halfback beyond George. We seem inordinately slow to the breakdowns, and give away far too much free ball.

It has got to the point for me, that as of Saturday I have sold my tickets to the Rugby in France. I had tickets to the first four pool games and the quarter final but I decided to flog them off, because I just think this is going to be a World Cup shambles for the boys. ( I have kept my ticket for the Bledisloe Cup in Melbourne, which as it stands at the moment is looking like a 50+ shellacking)

The games against a third string Welsh team were amongst the worst games I have seen from any Wallaby team. Of 160 minutes of football, we only played at about 80% for around 20 minutes when George was at halfback, Bernie at Five-Eight and Giteau at Inside Centre. To beat the Kiwis or win the World Cup we would need to play every 80 minutes at close to 100% - I just can't see us bridging the gap. Whilst I think they are super players, sadly we are relying way too much on an aging half, and an injury prone five-eigth. And at the end of the day, Giteau is too disruptive at half - not providing the driving platform that the Wallabies team will need to attack the advantage line with the ball. But those aren't the worst of our problems, we just don't have a competitive front row - against the 3rd stringers from Wales is okay - but we won't be let off the hook by any of the rugby powers, in fact I think the Italian scrum would even give us a touch up when push comes to shove.

I hope it doesn't pan out like this, but I just can't shake the feeling of doom.

I feel similarly pessimistic. The first half of the second Test vs Wales was the worst thing I have seen on a rugby field for years.

I agree that Gregan and Larkham set things going in the second half, but I think that is mainly because they have been playing together for so long. I still worry about George running backwards to pass to the five eight. I sti. worry about what happens when Berny gets injured (as he will). We need a better half and a replacement five eight - Giteau may not be right, but what about Cordingley?

We are at a stage where we need to get replacements for ageing heroes up and ready to go. Can you see Connolly doing that? - I reckon he's so conservative that he hates the fact that they have to change ends after half-time!!!

I was at the semis and the finals in 1999 and 2003. I'm saving the time and money this time around.

I see most have the similar feeling of dread... that I have

Namtrak dont be too harsh on the poor old front 3....our props must be some of the leading try scorers for font rowers... and they also are more than willing to inject themselves into any back line movement they can
I would of got my ???? kicked for doing that shyte. The only try I came close to scoring in my 7 years was off a rolling maul that collapsed over the line. I was awarded the try because I happened to be on the bottom ...Hey who am I to argue.

I dont think you should have sold your tickets though..even with the possible impending doom....I reckon I would be willing to part with my left nut to be able to attend the WC in France. I have only ever been to one international game OS and that was only to see the Australian school boys flog Wales at Cardiff (the old cardiff arms park)....and that was pretty cool.

cheers
BD

I think the next game against SA will be interesting because it will show us what we are lacking against a competitive international side. I think the next game against NZ is just going to be a flogging because they look so good at the moment.

I think George has to go. Cordingley seems to be a good half but the Reds are a losing side and I'm not sure he knows enough about winning. I'm not sure who else we have? Some of our forwards (Smith, Lyons, Elsom) seem very good to me. But the front row does seem woeful - whichever combination we try. Where are our hard men? Are they all playing league???

I'm not a Giteau fan, I like Mortlock, Latham I'm still not sure of (has the skills but the heart??) after all this time. I'm not a Tuqiri fan either even though he is a fantastic player - but he's there for himself, not for the team or the country. I'm just really pessimistic about this WC like I haven't ever been before. I'm normally the never-say-die type (I'm a Qld'er after all).

But if I had tickets booked for France I'd definitely go!

Yep its certainly an issue at the moment. I am not a big fan of Giteua and I didn't think he had a real great game (even though he did score) at scrum half against Wales. The team seemed to click whe gregan took the field even though he seems to be at the end of things. I am not to sure about the way the captaincy is be set up either. I think that Waugh is doing a great job but then so does mortlock when he fires. Our front row seems to need a bit of work but we will get there. Dunning has come along in leaps and bounds but our hooker is a spot that needs some work as well. I thought that frier had a good game last weekas did vickerman but the big test will be tomorrow night against the Boks.

Well, well, well all is not lost!!

Great effort from the boys.

We only had about 15% of the possession in the first half and almost zero in the second half and yet we were leading with 3 minutes to go and looking solid.

The tight five stood up and were counted, Dunning had his best game as a Wallaby and one of the best performances I have seen by a loosehead in recent years. Their defence was rock solid, and Africans were reduced to chips and grubbers. Giteau caught a cold at inside centre, and I dont think the other outside backs touched the ball at all.

Effectively we beat the Africans at their own game and have sowed a great seed of doubt for the World Cup.

The only blip was Huxley's performance at fullback, whilst I wouldn't say that he lost us the game, had he played better then we would have won - I believe.

have to agree with you there Namtrak,

A much more promising and spirited effort, they seem to have returned to the old days when great defence was the platform they built their wins off. If only they awarded points for defensive effort instead of some back taking the soft option

Whenever the wallabies did have the ball they looked very dangerous, they pretty much had the springboks on the back foot the whole time, and managed to convert possesion into points whenever they took a little trip into SA's 22. As usual there probably would have been more points if SA didnt give away penalties everytime the wallabies got near the try line.

The forwards definately played their hearts out. And pretty much dominated in every aspect except for the line outs. I reckon Vickerman and Dunning where the standouts

Yeah, Huxely does appear to be the weak link in the backs, He just seems to be really inconsistent. One minute he is making try saving defensive moves, the next his poor kicking is keeping them under pressure they didnt really need.

All up though it was a great game and hopefully is some indication of what the wallabies are stepping up too.

cheers
BD

It was a great game and, while the Springboks deserved to win (just!) in view of their greater percentage control of the (second phase) ball, the defense of the Wallabies was inspiring. In the end they were unlucky to lose, and then it was down to two superlative drop kicks. There was no defense against that. I guess more work has got to go into working the rolling maul?

Regards from Perth

Derek (a True Blue Aussie but grew up in Cape Town and sat on the Newlands Stadium with his dad most Saturdays as a young boy).

I was certainly encouraged by last night's game, because our forwards were clearly able to match it strength-wise with the boks, and I agree that Dunning played a great game - now he needs to build on that. I also thought Tuqiri had a great defensive game - he tackled like a champion, but then again most of the team did, because we had to.

But, the fact of the matter is that SA had a huge amount of ball - why couldn't we combat that? I also felt we were lack lustre in attack, really lacking an imaginative spark. Still dreading the next game. This is going to be ugly....

Just listening to the news on the Telly....Tim Horan is predicting an 8 piont victory to the Wallabies...I think he is very optimistic, but I sure I hope he is right


Namtrak... Hope you still have your ticket for tonights game....you lucky bugger...Looks like it might actually be a good one. If you do still have them, I hope you have a good night.


cheers
BD

Quick match report!

We WON!!!!!!!

Now I regret selling the world cup tickets!!!!!

Our defense was great, and we got a second wind in the second half. Melbourne has way too many Kiwis!!!!

The MCG was great.

Bring on the SOOTH AFRICANS!!!!!