Australia v Fiji - The Aussie Perspective
Right, I've watched it. TBH it wasn't a complete disaster, but wasn't up to Tier 1 standard.
Rugby, like a lot of sport, is a game of inches. Mostly for us it is the top 2 inches that goes missing.
We had a chance to draw level with 10 to go and fluffed our lines. So many times through the match we made good ground and then didn't secure our ball. Wales will have watched that with interest.
A proper Tier 1 team would have finished that game off. Sliding doors but I'd have backed Rennie's Wallabies to win that game. There, I said it.
Our maul defence was rubbish. Our maul attack not much better. When you're no good at the breakdown, you're no good. The stupidity of some of the penalties was mind-boggling.
White needs to go. The increase in speed was noticeable when IFL came on. Lonergan from the Brumbies should be parachuted in. I don't really rate McDermott's passing either, and if you want to play quick rugby on the fringes you need quick passing.
Petaia does nothing, and in fact is a negative. Partly for his stupid kicking just outside Fiji's 22, but also witness him hanging out on the wing in one of our last attacking plays instead of being close in to support or take a short ball.
I'm fucking sick of over-hyped kids who come out of school or club rugby, having torn it up, only to get all their shit destroyed against grown men. This is why we need a third tier - to sort out this bullshit schoolboy rugby once and for all. But that is a rant for another thread. Put Uelese in that column. Marky Mark not much better but at least offers something on attack.
The inability of the back three to take the high ball cost us a lot. Gordon, Marika, and Marky Mark to take blame there.
But enough about the clods...
Frost was the shining light of the forward pack. Good in contact, great in the air. Poor bastard has one of his ears half-separated from his head and still going for 80 minutes. Champion.
Porecki also good in hitting all his targets.
Valetini was pretty good as well but zero support.
In general we looked flat.
Referee - jeez if we'd had a TMO like that Aussie dickhead the other night there might have been some cards both ways. Brace is someone I have trouble watching, but have no issue with his decision-making in general. Lot of shit missed both ways.
TBH we weren't far away but 1 point behind was too far at this stage of the campaign.
Fiji were pretty good. Dropped a lot of ball. Great scrum but had an advantage with Slipper there, and went even harder when Philip came into the second row and got the reward at the end.
They've always been good athletes. Weld a bit of set piece and discipline onto them and they'll go far.
Hope Tonga were watching.
@Winger said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@GibbonRib said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
I can't see how cutting Aussie SR teams
@GibbonRib said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@Winger said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Well done Fiji.
I want Aussie rugby to be strong. And, not run by a fool. So, I hope Aust lose to Wales and Jones and especially the fool who pushed to appoint him both get the boot.
Maybe too late to cut the teams in super rugby though.
I can't see how cutting Aussie SR teams helps Aussie rugby at this stage. Might make short-term sense purely from the perspective of playing resources, but it would just be yet another kick in the nuts to an already massively disillusioned fan base.
Probably a discussion for another thread.
Weak super rugby teams that almost always lose to NZ sides and have zero chance of being the overall top dog must flow into a weaker national side.
IMHO it must start here. Get this right with 3 teams max and it will flow through into the top side. But I guess it's not over yet. And this discussion needs to be on another thread.
Indeed, not over yet. The Wallabies might not make it out of the pool, but could quite possibly make the semifinals. The difference in how that would feel would be immense, even though it wouldn't change much about how good the team is, and even less about the underlying problems
@Higgins said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Australia look to have jammied their way in for the 2027 Webb Ellis Cup on a technicality
A technicality and a fuckload of money for hosting rights.
The system works.
@NTA said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@Higgins said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Australia look to have jammied their way in for the 2027 Webb Ellis Cup on a technicality
A technicality and a fuckload of money for hosting rights.
The system works.
USA Rugby emphatically agrees
@Billy-Tell said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Aus vs Wales not to be missed.
A cripple fight from two “tier 1” [wink wink nod nod] sides the likes a World Cup has never seen…
@chimoaus said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@MiketheSnow said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
In our own hands
Fiji need to beat both Portugal and Georgia scoring 4 or more tries in both matches to finish on a maximum of 16
Australia have to beat both us and Portugal scoring 4 or more tries in both matches to finish on a maximum of 16 points
We beat Aus, we’re through
We lose to Oz with no BP and beat Georgia with BP and we have 15 points, and if the others have accomplished the above then we’re out
At this stage it’s us and Fiji going through
What happens if you lose to Australia with a bonus point and everyone has 16 points? Is it down to points dif?
Seems there are a few ways this could pan out, in theory if OZ don't get 4 tries vs Wales but win, and Wales get a losing BP then they could finish higher? Also, Wales could just score 4 tries to get a BP and get to 16 even if they lose?
Yeah still plenty of permutations
If Oz score 4 tries against us in their win they deserve to go through
Can’t see it though
If they score 4, I reckon we score 4 also
If we also finish within 7 points that gives us 2 points and a 5 pointer against Georgia will see us on 17 points and through
Far from over
But if we play like we did against Fiji, we’ll win
@ACT-Crusader said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@Billy-Tell said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Aus vs Wales not to be missed.
A cripple fight from two “tier 1” [wink wink nod nod] sides the likes a World Cup has never seen…
The side least terrified of losing will be the winner.
Confidence must be terribly low in the Wallaby camp right now.
@MajorRage said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Injuries very important for Wales.
Team vs Fiji was decent, team vs Portugal a decent step down.
I’ll be gutted if Fiji don’t make it
We’re going well in that department
And players like Faletau playing themselves into great form
@NTA said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Frost was the shining light of the forward pack. Good in contact, great in the air. Poor bastard has one of his ears half-separated from his head and still going for 80 minutes. Champion.
A few years in the Crusaders system may have benefited Frost.
@LABCAT said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
who goes through to the QF's if all three teams finish on 15 points?
Good question ( he said as a desperate Scottish fan hoping for a miracle )
@LABCAT said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
who goes through to the QF's if all three teams finish on 15 points?
Several factors influence pool placings and a team’s qualification to the knockout stages. If teams are level on points at the end of the group stage, the list of criteria for deciding who advances is as follows:
- The winner of the match between two tied teams is ranked higher.
- The team with the best points difference in the pool stages is ranked higher.
- The team with the best difference between tries scored and tries conceded in the pool stages is ranked higher.
- The team which has scored the most points in the pool stages is ranked higher.
- The team which has scored the most tries in the pool stages is ranked higher.
Should the teams remain level after steps 1-5, official World Rugby Rankings on a set date will determine the higher ranked team
@NTA Interesting to hear one of the journos at the press conference ask Eddie if Kellaway is a chance to play against Wales. I'm sure I am not the only one puzzled at why he isn't in the starting XV when you see who Jones does select in the back three.
@Bovidae said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@NTA Interesting to hear one of the journos at the press conference ask Eddie if Kellaway is a chance to play against Wales. I'm sure I am not the only one puzzled at why he isn't in the starting XV when you see who Jones does select in the back three.
Hope Eddie selects the same team
@Bovidae said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@NTA Interesting to hear one of the journos at the press conference ask Eddie if Kellaway is a chance to play against Wales. I'm sure I am not the only one puzzled at why he isn't in the starting XV when you see who Jones does select in the back three.
Fucking weird eh?
It'll be interesting to see if Gordon gets another run after getting yanked with 30 to go. If he doesn't, Eddie will get accused of not taking a pick n stick approach.
If that happened, he could at least shoehorn in another Randwick player in Kellaway, moving Donaldson to 10.
Personally think we should start IFL with Donaldson in that case.
Keep up the good work fellas @mariner4life @NTA ...
Wallabies v Fiji - the Kiwi Perspective
The Fern's FNQ Correspondent shares his neutralish thoughts on Fiji's victory over Straya.
@booboo said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Keep up the good work fellas @mariner4life @NTA ...
The Fern's FNQ Correspondent shares his neutralish thoughts on Fiji's victory over Straya.
a few people over at GAGR will read that and join the dots.
I'm more diplomatic over there about people like Petaia because otherwise all the Queenslanders immolate 
@mariner4life said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Their young 10 they've chucked in teh deep end Eddie towed, and will now probably never play again
Gordon is super talented.. I can't believe how bad they've mishandled him
They were asking a lot by making him ten this year, but you could make an argument that he was ready. However, the only ten in the squad? A ten in side that lacks other kicking options? Crazy
How Fiji left the Wallabies shell-shocked and issued a World Cup warning
Australia lost all the pure power contests that the game has to offer against Fiji in Saint-Etienne, and that was all she wrote.
@Duluth said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@mariner4life said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Their young 10 they've chucked in teh deep end Eddie towed, and will now probably never play again
Gordon is super talented.. I can't believe how bad they've mishandled him
They were asking a lot by making him ten this year, but you could make an argument that he was ready. However, the only ten in the squad? A ten in side that lacks other kicking options? Crazy
and they took no old head to help him manage it. Foley or Cooper, even if you didn't intend to play them much, would have been huge for his confidence and to help him navigate it.
But no, you take only him, and as soon as it gets tough, you tow him? appalling man management (from the outside)
@Duluth flipside: if we took a Quade or Foley along as well, then Eddie would probably find it hard to say "squad picked on youth" to justify some other selections he made.
Additionally:
@GibbonRib said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
USA Rugby emphatically agrees
I'd back us to turn it around quicker than them. The USA is a basket case.
@mariner4life said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
and they took no old head to help him manage it. Foley or Cooper, even if you didn't intend to play them much, would have been huge for his confidence and to help him navigate it.
I'm sure plenty of people would disagree, but I would've had JOC standing next to him at 12
@Duluth said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@mariner4life said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
and they took no old head to help him manage it. Foley or Cooper, even if you didn't intend to play them much, would have been huge for his confidence and to help him navigate it.
I'm sure plenty of people would disagree, but I would've had JOC standing next to him at 12
That isn't a bad call - and let's face it: 2023 Kerevi is a shadow of the pre-injury version so no great loss.
There are other issues we have. At THP we're fucked - AAA, Tupou, and Pone all injured. Any nation missing its top 3 tight heads would be feeling it. But those are injuries, not selection issues, of which we have many.
Eddie's pursuit of a longer term plan for 2025 and 2027 is basically ignoring our paper-thin depth. He could have taken the older heads to France, got similar results, then cleaned house at the end of this year if he wanted.
@NTA said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Eddie's pursuit of a longer term plan for 2025 and 2027 is basically ignoring our paper-thin depth. He could have taken the older heads to France, got similar results, then cleaned house at the end of this year if he wanted.
However, on that point, I've never ever EVER seen a senior exec come into an organisation and not set fire to something.
Even if it was all working fine. Got to make a statement, and all the old farts probably loved it.
The same old farts who think we shouldn't have Super Rugby and that Club Rugby was good enough in their day...
Side note: I was at a rugby piston wristed gibbon's lunch a few weeks back.
Andrew Blades (RWC1999 winning prop) was a speaker. He did not hold back on Eddie during his time involved in the game, particularly as an assistant coach.
Another who had worked under Eddie was sitting at my table and had very little to say about him that was good.
You've really got to wonder why Rennie was booted.
@NTA Headlines! Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie! Prodigal son returns!
Fuck knows really
I have some sympathy for the idea of a cleanout
Maybe there's players who are too comfortable with being losers? Maybe there's other negative culture shit they need to get rid of?
However you can't go into a cup with one 10. You have to have at least one exception to the cull
@NTA said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@GibbonRib said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
USA Rugby emphatically agrees
I'd back us to turn it around quicker than them. The USA is a basket case.
True, however hard it will be to rebuild the Wallabies, at least there probably won't be a civil war on at the same time
@NTA said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Another who had worked under Eddie was sitting at my table and had very little to say about him that was good.
Joe Marler wasn't a fan based on recent comments.
@mariner4life said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@Duluth said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@mariner4life said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Their young 10 they've chucked in teh deep end Eddie towed, and will now probably never play again
Gordon is super talented.. I can't believe how bad they've mishandled him
They were asking a lot by making him ten this year, but you could make an argument that he was ready. However, the only ten in the squad? A ten in side that lacks other kicking options? Crazy
and they took no old head to help him manage it. Foley or Cooper, even if you didn't intend to play them much, would have been huge for his confidence and to help him navigate it.
But no, you take only him, and as soon as it gets tough, you tow him? appalling man management (from the outside)
Yes I agree, if they won't take Cooper they should have taken Samu. Hell, I don't know why they dropped Samu, he was a hardworking glue guy forward.
@nostrildamus said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@mariner4life said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@Duluth said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@mariner4life said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
Their young 10 they've chucked in teh deep end Eddie towed, and will now probably never play again
Gordon is super talented.. I can't believe how bad they've mishandled him
They were asking a lot by making him ten this year, but you could make an argument that he was ready. However, the only ten in the squad? A ten in side that lacks other kicking options? Crazy
and they took no old head to help him manage it. Foley or Cooper, even if you didn't intend to play them much, would have been huge for his confidence and to help him navigate it.
But no, you take only him, and as soon as it gets tough, you tow him? appalling man management (from the outside)
Yes I agree, if they won't take Cooper they should have taken Samu. Hell, I don't know why they dropped Samu, he was a hardworking glue guy forward.
Tainted with kiwiness
@NTA said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
@LABCAT said in RWC Week 2: Australia v Fiji:
who goes through to the QF's if all three teams finish on 15 points?
Several factors influence pool placings and a team’s qualification to the knockout stages. If teams are level on points at the end of the group stage, the list of criteria for deciding who advances is as follows:
- The winner of the match between two tied teams is ranked higher.
- The team with the best points difference in the pool stages is ranked higher.
- The team with the best difference between tries scored and tries conceded in the pool stages is ranked higher.
- The team which has scored the most points in the pool stages is ranked higher.
- The team which has scored the most tries in the pool stages is ranked higher.
Should the teams remain level after steps 1-5, official World Rugby Rankings on a set date will determine the higher ranked team
Or it could just be alphabetical order