Fix the Wallabies
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<p>damn straight</p>
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<p><img src="http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2013/04/04/1226612/551017-larkham.jpg" alt="551017-larkham.jpg"></p> -
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<p>We can't all be right none of the time.</p>
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Sure NTA and his cobbers are right about the need to repair the 'funnel' feeding talented youngsters towards the pro game. <br>
But at the risk of being branded a heretic I think the woes of the Wallabies are well overdone. <br>
They may lack some fitness, and 12 is a disaster area with injuries/departures, but having been in France and just got to the replay of Bled 2 I don't think they were that bad for most of the game. In fact what most stood out for me was that the ABs looked like a well oiled machine whereas the Ws had the appearance of not having played much together.<br>
Nothing a decent tour couldn't iron out!<br>
I think they may give the Boks a surprise... -
<p>I was in Aussie some years ago and went to watch a nephew play an U15s game in the GPS Sydney School system. He is a kiwi boy and managed to make the NSW schoolboys that year as a fairly handy prop. The weather was a little wet, nothing untoward - but the respective coaches and referees decided to play the game uncontested scrums due to 'safety' concerns! I couldn't believe the nanny state attitude and felt at the time that if this is the main feeder for Aussie Rugby in the future, they will be in trouble. And so they are...</p>
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<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="GagaBoy" data-cid="611103" data-time="1472631520">
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<p>I was in Aussie some years ago and went to watch a nephew play an U15s game in the GPS Sydney School system. He is a kiwi boy and managed to make the NSW schoolboys that year as a fairly handy prop. The weather was a little wet, nothing untoward - but the respective coaches and referees decided to play the game uncontested scrums due to 'safety' concerns! </p>
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<p>Also the groundsman probably didn't want to have his nice turf wrecked.</p>
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<p>That's another thing we do like a bucket of shit here: turf management. I've repeatedly requested our local council NOT mow the ground like a fucking cricket field during rugby season. But nope - every fucking week they take it almost down to the roots.</p>
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And the silly bastards wonder why they have to re-turf every few years.</p> -
<p>...someone needs to light a fire under the Wallaby team because the potential is there... firstly though you have to question the coach and captain's ability to motivate the players....insert your own motivational/ leadership quote here...</p>
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<p>IMHO apart from improving their fitness (which wins us games ) it's more an attitudinal adjustment that's needed by Oz..</p>
<p>....i.e dump the apathy and sluggishness/ laziness, not forgetting to dump the useless Quadoh in the process then run at us hard Aussies as if we just banged your missus...</p>
<p>..then throw the ball around like the devil may care , bring some outside backs into the line on forays, string some passes together hoping some will stick and maybe get a roll on...oh and don't forget to tackle - that is the act of seizing and attempting to stop an opposing player in possession of the ball by bringing them to the ground .Defence like fitness wins games...</p>
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<p>...the Aussies though are confidence players so if they can get ahead on the scoreboard they will build confidence and start playing some good rugby...some smart tactical kicking is also required - trying to run the ball out of yr own red zone is not very clever...play in the opposition's half is the story...</p>
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<p>Admittedly the Aussie backline is a mess with all the injuries so some experimentation with combinations may be necessary... NZ has reconfigured their centre combos multiple times so must Oz...there's no synthesis currently...maybe throw a few more Fijians in the mix and play a more unorthodox sevens style of football which is less predictable and highly entertaining...risky I know but if you're going to fail it's better to fail spectacularly...</p>
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<p>Lastly can I say how exceptionally good the last two Aussie coaches have made Robbie Deans look...</p> -
<p>Not counting injuries, my Wallaby team would be :</p>
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<p>Kellaway</p>
<p>Tomane</p>
<p>Folau</p>
<p>Toomua</p>
<p>Hewlett-Petty</p>
<p>Foley</p>
<p>Genia</p>
<p>Fardy</p>
<p>McMahon</p>
<p>Mumm</p>
<p>Arnold</p>
<p>Douglas</p>
<p>Robertson</p>
<p>TPN</p>
<p>Sio</p>
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<p>I would drop both Hooper and Pocock to give McMahon a start. He's got mongrel and can break a tackle. Fardy, Mumm, Douglas and Arnold would give them more lineout options.</p>
<p>Robertson is worth a try as Keepu is clearly out of form.</p>
<p>Kellaway and Tomane would bring more speed behind.</p> -
<p>Fix the Wallabies? - pft, fuck em!</p>
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<p>Their administrators were all cock a hoop when winning the hosting rights for 2003. let their administrators fix the fluffybunnies themselves!!</p>
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<p>nah I don't really mean that, just been wanting to say it since the thread title first popped up.</p>
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<p>Thank you for indulging me, I'll go back to surveying phonetic mispronunciations, fuming about 3 striped undergarments and losing my shit with footwear abuse and poor losers :)</p> -
<p>2003 was probably the point where I hated the Wallabies the most , </p>
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<p>the hosting rights fiasco , then beating us in the semi ,the four more years thing , their smug CEO bragging about how much money they made at the WC.... while we choked again </p>
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<p>At that point I wanted Australian rugby to fail and fail miserably , </p>
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<p>Not sure if its the success or just older and mellower ,probably a bit of both, but im a lot more chilled these days , and dont have the same sort of hate towards them </p> -
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="kiwiinmelb" data-cid="611387" data-time="1472755218">
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<p>2003 was probably the point where I hated the Wallabies the most ,</p>
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<p>Singing when you are winning Australia is definitely the most hateable, so yeah after we thought we got the monkey off our back in Auckland getting the Bledisloe back and then tripped up again in Sydney - that sucked.</p>
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<p>It doesn't help that the Bledisloe series has been such low stakes since 2003. It only went to a deciding game three times and each time it was at Eden Park and the game was over by half time. Compare that to the years we were in the wilderness years when 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 all went to a decider - two of which were decided after the siren. The only series that didn't in 2001 also went to the wire with Eales' retirement on the line. Epic games like that are the best way to build a rivalry.</p>
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<p>The Wallabies/All Blacks rivalry much like the Black Caps/Aussie rivalry really relies on the underdog landing a few wins before things really get heated, or reappoint John O'Neil.</p>
