Cmon Aussie Cmon...Please Well its that time of year again, the time of year where Wallabies fans are filled with hope & expectation. All Blacks fans are already feeling victorious & counting on a win. Will this year be any different? Can the Wallabies end the greatest consecutive winning streak by a professional sporting team? After the recent success of the Waratahs in the Super XV most Wallaby fans seem to be filled with excitement & optimism- to return to the glory days. The days were most games went down to the wire. The John Eales, Tim Horan, Jonah Lomu & Kronfeld days. Days where Rugby always seemed to be the winner. Now, there seems to be predictability about playing the All Blacks. They seem to be competitive for 60minutes.Only to see them seeing the laps in the last 20, opening the gate for the opposition to punish them. So what will the first game deliver us? Many Wallaby fans thought that the selections for the first Bledisloe would be straightforward. A very similar backline to what we saw against the French, delivering some great attacking rugby. However, ‘Link’ (Ewan McKenzie) has again delivered on his standard “shock selections”. Many of us believe that Bernard Foley, who is quite possibly the form player of the Super XV, would easily retain his position along with the other backs selected for the French series. How wrong we all were! With the All Blacks seemingly dominate the last 20-30 minutes of games; Link must believe this will be the most critical period of the game. In fact, the All Blacks are so clinical in this period they generally outscore oppositions 3 to 1. With this in mind, we can now look at the selections. The Wallaby pack looks good, a little light on in the front row with injuries but so are the All Blacks. The rest of the pack is mobile & skillful and should be competitive. The Scrums & Lineouts will be critical, gaining ascendency in this area will go a long way to a positive result. If the Wallabies pack can bring the same aggression that the Waratahs bought to the Super XV and deliver good phase ball to the backs, anything is possible. I see a hint of predictability within the Wallabies back line; it may be somewhat easy to defend for the All Blacks. My fear is the wingers may not see much ball outside of Ashley Cooper who is reluctant to pass at the best of times. If the Wallabies are in a good position with 20-30 minutes to go expect the game plan to change dramatically. The Wallabies will bring on their big boys to speed up the game & ad some physicality. Skelton, Higginbotham & Kuridrani all have the ability to bend opposition defenses & retain quick phase ball. In summary we can say that the Wallabies believe they will be in a good position with approx. 20 minutes to play. However, the hard work needs to start upfront. Charles must have a good game (he has massive ticker, so he wont die wondering) Expect Beale to chip & chase at least once, also, expect him to rotate a lot with Toomua at first receiver which allows variations in attack (looking to unleash Folau with some space.) Expect the All Blacks to attack the wings frequently, as they will believe they are superior out wide. Also, the Wallabies should beware of the wounded bull (McCaw); he along with Kieran Read will be out to make amends for the Super XV final loss. Can the Wallabies win? Yes they can. If they unleash Folau, & use McCabe & Horne effectively, both, if asked, would run through a brick wall. Will the Wallabies win? I dont think so. It will take a monumental effort to stop the most successful professional sporting team in history. I believe Foley earned his spot in the starting side and having him on the bench is an injustice with the form he has been in, it also plays into the All Blacks hands making selections outside of the norm and expecting miracles. Enjoy the game; this is why we love Rugby! JOHN THE HORSE WALSH!
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 22:20:13 +0000
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