Bledisoe I: Will it be another Austrailure? (probably)

[Tre]

FT 8-42, which flatters the Wallabies if anything. Absolute hiding.

Went easy on them in the 2nd half

[rowan]

I sense a Wallaby surprise or two this year.

I didn't say in this particular match tho

Right now if they beat Argentina it would be a surprise

[Dacre]

Does this put England's whitewash of Oz in perspective?

[canta_brian]

Does this put England's whitewash of Oz in perspective?

Not as much as all that. I just wonder how the aussies made it to the world cup final. Although they basically didn't beat Scotland and England were awful or they may not have got out of the group.

[rowan]

Because Australia, like France, nowadays just focuses on peaking every 4 years, and that's why they punch above their weight at the tournament proper. Still the 2nd most successful team in tournament history.

[rowan]

This result wasn't so surprising when you consider Super Rugby form. The next round will tell us more. Are the All Blacks simply that far ahead of everybody else these days? They've basically created their own 'superheavyweight' tier now, and it appears nobody can live with them. Meanwhile, Australia have had an awful summer series and an awful Super Rugby campaign coming into this.

[cashead]

I sense a Wallaby surprise or two this year.

I didn't say in this particular match tho

Right now if they beat Argentina it would be a surprise

Were you surprised at how shit they were?

[rowan]

Answered that in the previous message. No, definitely not. They had an awful summer (spring?) series and an awful Super Rugby campaign (collectively). The fact that it actually seemed quite inevitable they would have an awful Rugby Championship was precisely what inspired me to predict they'd cause a surprise or two - because if four decades of following this game has taught me anything, it is that it has the propensity to elude even the most logical conjectures. On this particular occasion that was not the case, however, and the opening round went according to script.

[zer0]

Old man Kaino also had another good game. Is he the new Brad Thorn? Rocking up to the 2019 RWC -- at 36 years old -- and still knocking people over and charging down kicks like no one else can?

[cashead]

Does this put England's whitewash of Oz in perspective?

Not as much as all that. I just wonder how the aussies made it to the world cup final. Although they basically didn't beat Scotland and England were awful or they may not have got out of the group.

They had a great run, and the way their games were set up, there was a good build-up of momentum. They were definitely helped by England's self-sabotage last year.


Re: the game itself, aside from the Aussie setpieces collapsing (particularly the line-out. Why use Hooper as a jumper?), the Wallabies were constantly getting overpowered, and the All Blacks were getting over the advantage line with ease every time. This just kept the Wallabies constantly scrambling on the back foot, and under pressure, which led to the same dumb decisions. I think Stephen Moore was the worst offender here, which is a worry, seeing as how he's their captain.

The other thing is that Folau rarely, if ever, kicks. The few times he does, it sucks. The All Blacks had multiple options here, in the form of Barrett hanging back, Ben Smith or Israel Dagg. That leaves multiple options available to chase after and contest. If Folau catches the high ball, he'll either run it himself, or rely on either Foley or Haylett-Petty to do the kicking, and he's suddenly not an option to contest because he'd be ahead of the kicker.

[cashead]

Old man Kaino also had another good game. Is he the new Brad Thorn? Rocking up to the 2019 RWC -- at 36 years old -- and still knocking people over and charging down kicks like no one else can?

I wouldn't be surprised if he takes another sabbatical option, and having a solid 8~9 month rest between seasons in Japan probably extended his career significantly. He definitely came back a better player for it.

[cashead]

It's turned out Giteau broke his ankle, and Rob Horne's shoulder pretty much rules him out of the rest of the Championship, probably the rest of the year.

With Nathan Harris's busted knee and Codie Taylor's concussion, the All Blacks are expected to call up two hookers to replace them - Hika Elliot and James Parsons are the likely candidates, along with Ash Dixon and Liam Coltman. Expect to see 2 of those 4 in the squad tomorrow.

Ryan Crotty may also miss the Wellington rematch with a head knock.

[rowan]

The Aussies have nothing to lose. Time to blood some newbies...

[scuzzaman]

The Aussies have nothing to lose. Time to blood some newbies...

Then the question becomes, how many successive losses can their coach withstand before they decide to start rebuilding at the top?

if they lose twice to Argentina and South Africa, and come home with the wooden spoon and 10 losses in a row, will they send the same coach on a 5 nations tour, to "rebuild" ... ?

Has any coach, ever, survived that?

[Lizard]

Does anyone know where I can get a vid of the whole match? I want to watch it again but someone deleted my recording.

[Lizard]

The Aussies have nothing to lose. Time to blood some newbies...

Then the question becomes, how many successive losses can their coach withstand before they decide to start rebuilding at the top?

if they lose twice to Argentina and South Africa, and come home with the wooden spoon and 10 losses in a row, will they send the same coach on a 5 nations tour, to "rebuild" ... ?

Has any coach, ever, survived that?

If we limit it to pro-era Aussie coaches, no.

Well, McKenzie got the flick following a 2 win/4 loss/1 draw RC/BC season. His worst losing streak was 3 tests in the 2013 RC, and again in his last 3 (last 2 in RC and BC3)
The last straw for Dingo was a 2-1 series loss to the Lions. (Worst run: 4 in a row, 2009 3N)
John Connolly got the DCM after QF exit in RWC2007. Worst run was only 2 losses in 3006 3N, followed by a draw in Wales.
Eddie Jones was shown the door after winning only 1 of his last 9 tests (in SA, 2005 3N, and NH tour). That included his worst streak of 7 losses including a whitewash in that 3N.
Rod McQueen bowed out on a reasonably strong note, 2-1 win over the 2001 Lions. He never lost more than 2 in a row.
Greg Smith lost his last two test (1997 3N) which equalled his worst ever run.

[canta_brian]

Does anyone know where I can get a vid of the whole match? I want to watch it again but someone deleted my recording.

Can't believe you allow other family members access to the remote!

[cashead]

The Aussies have nothing to lose. Time to blood some newbies...

Kyle Godwin is probably their best option. He's been in the system before, and he can provide a second playmaker at 12 that Cheika clearly prefers. He tried two centres in Kerevi and Kuridrani, and that was a total bust, and I don't think he'd want to go down that route again.

One of the biggest defensive issues for the Wallabies last weekend was the lack of kicking options. Folau will do only 1 of 2 things consistently - either run it, which is his default option but he was well shut-down for most of the game anyway, or throw it to a backtracking Foley or Haylett-Petty to clear it for him. On the off-chance he is made to clear it, it ends up being a dud kick. Either way, it means more often than not, the Wallabies will end up with a potential chaser and/or try-scorer sitting at the back, not really doing much.

[Lizard]

Does anyone know where I can get a vid of the whole match? I want to watch it again but someone deleted my recording.

Can't believe you allow other family members access to the remote!

It was a moment of madness.

[rowan]

To be honest, I don't think the Aussies will be too worried about this. If you're going to have a crap year best get it out of your system straight after the World Cup and start building from there. We all know the All Blacks are in a class of their own, only the Boks come close for depth, and so you're going to get thrashed by them every now and again. That's life. In fact, the Wallabies' form was fairly woeful after the previous World Cup as well. They lost to Scotland at the end of the year, then got hammered by the All Blacks, Boks and French in 2012.

As far as the bugging thing goes, I suspect that was more likely to have been the media than anyone else. Rugby's answer to the British phone-hacking scandal perhaps? Or was it Kiwileaks?

[morepork]

Stuart Lancaster for Wallabies coach?

The universe would smile...

[rowan]

How about Ben Ryan ?

[morepork]

How about Ben Ryan ?

There are more Fijians in the England team.

[Spy]

To be honest, I don't think the Aussies will be too worried about this. If you're going to have a crap year best get it out of your system straight after the World Cup and start building from there. We all know the All Blacks are in a class of their own, only the Boks come close for depth, and so you're going to get thrashed by them every now and again. That's life. In fact, the Wallabies' form was fairly woeful after the previous World Cup as well. They lost to Scotland at the end of the year, then got hammered by the All Blacks, Boks and French in 2012.

As far as the bugging thing goes, I suspect that was more likely to have been the media than anyone else. Rugby's answer to the British phone-hacking scandal perhaps? Or was it Kiwileaks?

The Australian mindset is great at bouncing back. Even so, a genuine hiding of this nature is not a good thing for the game in Australia. They've been a bit crap for a while, WC final and last years 4N success notwithstanding, but this utter pantsing will be hurting them. Surely.

Re the bug, there's probably 6 possibilities:

• Australian Rugby did it (at some level)
  Other Rugby interests did it (ie South Africa)
  Betting agencies did it (although I'm not sure as to what purpose)
  Media did it (again, not sure to what end)
  NZ rugby set it up as a mind game
  It's nothing to do with the All Blacks or rugby at all, and was left over from some previous operation

I wouldn't be surprised if it was nothing to do with rugby. Either that or Cheika's involved. He looks like a shady Chandler-esque PI. He'd have some underworld contacts.

[Lizard]

The Aussie Guy In The Next Office doesn't look like bouncing back any time soon. I was all prepared to give TAGITNO a bit of banter but I couldn't get a word as he explained in far better and lengthier technical detail than I could just how utterly shit the Wallabies were. He was seriously pissed off. I nearly felt sorry enough for him to remind him that Aussie won the 1st ODI in Sri Lanka, but not quite.