Australia vs Wales 2nd test - Teams and Live match thread

[Pete C (Kiwireddevil)]

First topic message reminder :

Australian playing 22:
Aussie team is:
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper (NSW Waratahs)
14. Cooper Vuna (Melbourne Rebels)
13. Rob Horne (NSW Waratahs)
12. Pat McCabe (Brumbies)
11. Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds)
10. Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs)
9. Will Genia (Queensland Reds)
8. Wycliff Palu (NSW Waratahs)
7. David Pocock (captain, Western Force)
6. Scott Higginbotham (Queensland Reds)
5. Nathan Sharpe (Western Force)
4. Rob Simmons (Queensland Reds)
3. Sekope Kepu* (NSW Waratahs)
2. Tatafu Polota Nau (NSW Waratahs)
1. Benn Robinson (NSW Waratahs)

Run on Reserves: 16. Stephen Moore (Brumbies), 17. Ben Alexander (Brumbies), 18. Dave Dennis (NSW Waratahs), 19. Michael Hooper (Brumbies), 20. Nic White (Brumbies), 21. Anthony Fainga’a (Queensland Reds), 22. Mike Harris (Queensland Reds)

Wales : Leigh Halfpenny (Blues); Alex Cuthbert (Blues), Jonathan Davies (Scarlets), Ashley Beck (Ospreys), George North (Scarlets); Rhys Priestland (Scarlets), Mike Phillips (Bayonne); Gethin Jenkins (Toulon), Matthew Rees (Scarlets), Adam Jones (Ospreys), Bradley Davies (Blues), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Dan Lydiate (Dragons), Sam Warburton (Blues, capt), Ryan Jones (Ospreys).

Replacements : Matthew Rees (Scarlets), Paul James (Bath), Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys), Ryan Jones (Ospreys), Lloyd Williams (Blues), James Hook (Perpignan), Ashley Beck (Ospreys). Richard Hibbard, Paul James, Luke Charteris, Justin Tipuric, Rhys Webb, James Hook, Scott Williams. (BBC has the bench wrong)


Venue: Etihad Stadium, Melbourne. Capacity ~56,000
Weather: http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/2158177 - ~12 deg C, showery. But there is a roof.

Tour Previews:
http://www.v2journal.com/wales-summer-tour-preview.html
http://www.v2journal.com/australias-june-tests-preview.html

[Guest]

IMV the MOM award is a sideshow and not worth much really, it is the sort of thing that should prob only be handed out on the occasion when someone really stands out.

Point is it doesn't really mean alot, trying to blame one person for a single incident and the loss after a whole 80 mins is a big thing tho. And as you have pointed out Red Dragon, others were at fault too.

The try in the first 4 mins? Was that the one with the double movement? Only kidding....kind of lol

I've said before on another thread that I don't agree with MOM's either so

We all have our "special" fans, and they tend to stand out more with their outrageous comments, but then that is sport. If it's not the ref, its a player or a group of players or the coach or the coaches etc etc etc

[wales606]

The majority of Welsh posters have been saying that we lost it fair and square, seems to me you're just picking out posts to focus on and not looking at what the majority are saying, to suit your own perceptions. You're also not the only poster to be doing so. It's getting quite tiresome now

Wales606 - yeah, I think we did lose it in the forwards again unfortunately. Not sure Phillips warranted a 5 mind, I'd have given him a 6 or 7.

I though he had a good first 20mins ish, then went off a bit. Rhys Webb did well off the bench. The forwards were underpowered again, we need Ian Evans back, and Tipuric to start next week (with Ryan re-instated as tempory captain)

[glamorganalun]

Wales606;

Agree with the addition of using our bench when players are not playing well, why take Hook if you are not going to use him and Rees should have come off mid way through the first half. I don't think Warburton is match fit, he should be on the bench.

[mckay1402]

Not sure why Priestland is getting the blame for the kick. He shouldn't have even had the ball with two minutes to go and Wales at half way. It should have been stuffed up the jumper and held by the forwards until the hooter went.
Also The kick in itself was perfectly ok but the chase was poor. Not Priestlands fault either. I have only seen the last few minutes of the game so i can't comment on anything other than that but I have to say that the captain and the most experienced forwards should have killed that game off and they didn't.

[mystiroakey]

Its not individual players- your just flakes v SH teams.Your mentality needs sorting out. All teams make mistakes every game- not sure why your trying to apportion blame on anything bar the attitude of the team

[wales606]

Not sure why Priestland is getting the blame for the kick. He shouldn't have even had the ball with two minutes to go and Wales at half way. It should have been stuffed up the jumper and held by the forwards until the hooter went.
Also The kick in itself was perfectly ok but the chase was poor. Not Priestlands fault either. I have only seen the last few minutes of the game so i can't comment on anything other than that but I have to say that the captain and the most experienced forwards should have killed that game off and they didn't.

Yep. The 2 penalties were the problem. In hindsight the kick was probably the wrong option and the scrum might have been better, but pushing Aus deep into their 22 and making them win it from deep was the right idea, just a pity they are forced those penalties.

[Shifty]

I think Wales can be very proud, they were very competitive against Australia. The lead changed hands many times, sadly we were just edged out of a tight test match. I didnt really see any bad refereeing either, he cut it down the middle and was fair.

If we'd played a 6 nations team we'd of won but Australia are better and more clinical and any mistakes cost you dearly and we made a lot of them. Against a 6 Nation team you can get away with it, but this is a different level.

[Guest]

It is gutting to lose, and difficult to be positive. But we've had 2 close games where we have not got close to performing the way we can..... a sign of a great team is winning while playing badly... we're not far off I guess?

[mystiroakey]

"
If we'd played a 6 nations team we'd of won but Australia"

total rubbish pal- ireland and england based on todays performances would have done ya- and aus as well. Both teams dont have issues beating them anyway. You lot have mental issues with em and you need to start being honest with your apprsails and show abit more humilty

[Pal Joey]

Well the good news is Beale may be back next Saturday.
AAC back to wing with Ioane suspended.

[glamorganalun]

"
If we'd played a 6 nations team we'd of won but Australia"

total rubbish pal- ireland and england based on todays performances would have done ya- and aus as well. Both teams dont have issues beating them anyway. You lot have mental issues with em and you need to start being honest with your apprsails and show abit more humilty

I agree with the first statement, rubbish, Ireland and Wales did well and showed they can compete at this level, Wales should/could have won had they not had an inexperienced captain. Wales in 2008 wound the clock down in the forwards against England and Ireland away from home (Wales had a decent captain), Wales should have done the same against Aust, they gained two knock ons and should have taken the scrum/s but did not. There are other examples where Warburton did not manage the ref or changing the way Wales played (or not). Your claim about Ireland/England beating Wales and Aust is rubbish, England were being stuffed, SA took their foot off the peddle and when they needed to score they did!

I think a lot of the reaction from Wales supporters is due to the fact Wales can play much better but the tactics and implementation has not been great partly down to team selection.

[bedfordwelsh]

I fear for next Saturday, in that will the boys be able to pick themselves up after yesterday.

I hope I am wrong but if we don't win then I feel it wont be a close game.

[Pal Joey]

I saw England's performance the same as you did, Alun... nothing special there at all and the final scoreline was very flattering. SA had the courtesy to make their changes so early on again ??? and England seized a couple of opportunities when the Saffers went to sleep.

A bit annoyed to discover the final Wales match is on at the old footy stadium (now called Allianz) and not the Olympic Stadium. It's not only an insult to Wales but to us Aussies as well. A bit tricky considering I purchased them through the ANZ Stadium website. Oh well, at least there will be more options for food afterwards in that part of town.

[mystiroakey]

"
If we'd played a 6 nations team we'd of won but Australia"

total rubbish pal- ireland and england based on todays performances would have done ya- and aus as well. Both teams dont have issues beating them anyway. You lot have mental issues with em and you need to start being honest with your apprsails and show abit more humilty

I agree with the first statement, rubbish, Ireland and Wales did well and showed they can compete at this level, Wales should/could have won had they not had an inexperienced captain. Wales in 2008 wound the clock down in the forwards against England and Ireland away from home (Wales had a decent captain), Wales should have done the same against Aust, they gained two knock ons and should have taken the scrum/s but did not. There are other examples where Warburton did not manage the ref or changing the way Wales played (or not). Your claim about Ireland/England beating Wales and Aust is rubbish, England were being stuffed, SA took their foot off the peddle and when they needed to score they did!

I think a lot of the reaction from Wales supporters is due to the fact Wales can play much better but the tactics and implementation has not been great partly down to team selection.

yeah the reality is its all rubbish- however I was adding balance to the debate- do you understand. But understand that england performed well as well. Why is it when england are involved its allways because of the other team???- you need to look at that attitude as well dude

[Totallybiasedscarlet]

"
If we'd played a 6 nations team we'd of won but Australia"

total rubbish pal- ireland and england based on todays performances would have done ya- and aus as well. Both teams dont have issues beating them anyway. You lot have mental issues with em and you need to start being honest with your apprsails and show abit more humilty

Get knotted - humility my hat - like THAT's a true english quality! Seems a very english opinion.

I tell you what, I'll be proud, spit fire, despise losing and enjoy every victory I can get.

To be born Welsh
is to be born privileged.
Not with a silver spoon in your mouth,
But music in your blood
And poetry in your soul



And if there was an emoticon for the traditional British greeting you'd get one of those too

[mankiaow]

To be fair not sure I do need to go read it again, i have read through most comments after the game and I have already outlined my impression of it. I stand by that impression but will perhaps read the thread again when I am sober at some point.

You may not see a need to post on another nations thread after a game, but if the majority of a nations after game threads go pretty much in the same direction then sometimes it is difficult to stop the compulsion to post your own opinion. Especially if you've been drinking

Great way to form an opinion, drunk and without reading the thread... Honestly you Irish are all the same, uninformed drunkards.





















Of course I don't mean that, but it's not nice to be the subject of some ill-conceived slur on your nationality is it?

Suggest you also read the thread for the NZ Ire 2nd test match to see that blaming the ref is more common than you may care to admit.

I remember walking through Swansea town centre one Saturday afternoon and being struck by the fact that almost every second person had a can of beer in their hands. They didn't look very 'informed' to me.

Do I need to add a disclaimer?

If Welsh people want to blame the length of the grass or the other teams socks or whatever, it is their business. It's their team and they can say what they like.
No-one else has the perspective they have about their own team.

You'll get WUMs (and drunkards, informed or otherwise) everywhere you go in life.

[Pal Joey]

For a moment there I thought you were about to get 'struck' by something else....

Was so glad to hear it was a 'fact'.

[Guest]

Only every second person, blimey a quiet day then!

You have to be very careful in Swansea, there's loads of facts flying around.

Tongue in Cheek mankiaou, tongue in cheek.

[mankiaow]

A figure of speech. I'm sure you get my meaning.

Are we in a court of law here?

[Guest]

Not at all, and sorry if my sarcasm is offending you

[mankiaow]

Just the stereotyping.

[Thomond]

Wales mistakes and infringements is what caused the penalty. Not the ref.

I never blame the ref.

If a side needs referee's decisions to win then that side isn't good enough and doesn't deserve to win anyway.

That's the attitude to take and I'm happy to say most fans take that view. Of course there are a few fans from every conutry who will blame the ref but hey that happens. Ireland certainly have a few after yesterday. Don't like seeing it.

[Guest]

Just the stereotyping.

erm... need to nip this in the bud, my stereotyping was a direct response to the stereotyping of Welsh fans. That's why I added the "disclaimer".

[mankiaow]

Just the stereotyping.

erm... need to nip this in the bud, my stereotyping was a direct response to the stereotyping of Welsh fans. That's why I added the "disclaimer".

Fair enough.

I just came onto this thread to check out what all the fuss was about. Obviously nothing here to see.

I off back to the Irl/NZ thread to moan about Nigel.

[Guest]

I off back to the Irl/NZ thread to moan about Nigel.

[welshy6]

right everyone is criticising posters for complaining about the ref, this is just MY i repeat MY view, and i was concentrating what Aus were doing not Wales. but i have watched the match 3 times now and the ref allowed pocock to jackal the ball which he was doing legally however whenever a welsh player seemed to do that the ref called ruck and told welsh players hands out.
also i noticed that Aus players espicially pocock were interfering with players when he was on the ground and slowing down the ball illegally.
also the ref gifted Aus 9 points which should have ben 12 in my opinion. while priestland shouldnt have kicked it, there was no communication, but the resulting penalty which allowed for a kick to touch i saw no reason for a penalty and likewise when the maul was formed that wasnt a penalty as the welsh players didnt pull it down and frankly wouldnt be stupid enough to give away a penalty like that after the hooter had gone considering the maul was hardly going anywhere.

this isint a wum this is my view and as i said previously i was concentrating on what aus were getting away with and penalties for wales, so wales may and probably did get away with things.

i am also not saying that the ref cost us the game as we made far too many errors, kicked too much, and didnt show and attacking ability apart form the 1st 5 minutes.

[Ospreydragon]

"but the resulting penalty which allowed for a kick to touch i saw no reason for a penalty" -- Some people have criticised Priestland. But the reason why we ultimately lost that game in the last minute or so is because of what happened at the ruck that resulted in a pen, which was kicked to touch, which led to the lineout and the subsequent pen. Hibbard came into the ruck from the side and also flopped onto the other side of the ruck -- you can hear the ref referring to 16 as he gave the pen. You'd think that all players are primed in the dying minutes of a match they're winning to be ultra-disciplined -- this is not the first time Hibbard has given away stupid pens at rucks, flopping over the side or not keeping his footing. But it's a pretty awful way to give away a Test match. At rucks, people should keep their hands out, stay onside, and keep their footing -- everyone arriving at the ruck should be thinking the same way and be really switched on about it.

How hard is it for players not to infringe at rucks in the dying minute and a half of a game? Obviously, for some, it's too hard and they should be dropped to think about it.

[mystiroakey]

"
If we'd played a 6 nations team we'd of won but Australia"

total rubbish pal- ireland and england based on todays performances would have done ya- and aus as well. Both teams dont have issues beating them anyway. You lot have mental issues with em and you need to start being honest with your apprsails and show abit more humilty

Get knotted - humility my hat - like THAT's a true english quality! Seems a very english opinion.

I tell you what, I'll be proud, spit fire, despise losing and enjoy every victory I can get.

To be born Welsh
is to be born privileged.
Not with a silver spoon in your mouth,
But music in your blood
And poetry in your soul



And if there was an emoticon for the traditional British greeting you'd get one of those too

Yeah but your still not as good at 'music' as us english so go

[Feckless Rogue]

With regard to ref blaming, it's a natural reaction for me when I'm disappointed. Most of us do it directly after a narrow defeat. Because there's always contentious refereeing decisions really.

What annoys me sometimes is that some posters (a small minority) that are the most venomous, and delusional when blaming the ref when they lose, are also the least gracious in victory; sneering at opposition posters and rubbing their noses in it.

[maestegmafia]

Wales mistakes and infringements is what caused the penalty. Not the ref.

I never blame the ref.

If a side needs referee's decisions to win then that side isn't good enough and doesn't deserve to win anyway.

That's the attitude to take and I'm happy to say most fans take that view. Of course there are a few fans from every conutry who will blame the ref but hey that happens. Ireland certainly have a few after yesterday. Don't like seeing it.

There are also a number of posters who are frustrated by refereeing decisions for their inconsistency and inaccuracy. Their comments are more aimed at the logic of adjudicating the game as a whole and possibly where they think it could be improved, rather than at just one man with a whistle.

It can be positive to question refereeing, though I agree it is negative to use a referee as an excuse.

[bedfordwelsh]

We lost that game ourselves no good blaming anyone else but you must question the consistency, or lack of it when it comes to some decisions.

The incident on Halfpenny was far worse than a lot of so called spear tackles and IMO fully deserved a red card.

[maestegmafia]

I like many rugby fans would really like to see the IRB address many of the laws. OBrien seems to be a fan of interpretation rather than laws being specific.

The way that Interpretation is applied seems to discourage common sense decisions rather than improve them. This is very frustrating for fans and players alike.

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