NPR

Obviously I'm very much looking forward to this match. However I am wondering why they have chosen to play this game on a Sunday? In fact, both the upcoming Bledisloe Cup tests are being played on Sunday.

Playing on consecutive Sundays avoids the second test falling on Election Day.

I’m looking forward to these matches and having top level tests with afternoon kickoffs is exciting.

Jb1981 wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 1:13 am Playing on consecutive Sundays avoids the second test falling on Election Day.

I’m looking forward to these matches and having top level tests with afternoon kickoffs is exciting.

That makes sense about the election.

I don't mind afternoon tests, but the Sunday schedule seemed strange to me. In saying that I watched every Sunday match during Super Rugby Aotearoa, so that day obviously fits in to my lifestyle, even if it isn't the normal day for Bledisloe Cup tests over recent decades.

The XXIII I think that Ian Foster will select;

15. Beauden Barrett
14. Jordie Barrett
13. Rieko Ioane
12. Jack Goodhue
11. Caleb Clarke
10. Richie Mo'unga
9. Aaron Smith

8. Ardie Savea
7. Sam Cane
6. Shannon Frizell
5. Sam Whitelock
4. Patrick tuipulotu
3. Ofa Tu'ungfasi
2. Codie Taylor
1. Joe Moody

16. Dane Cole
17. Karl Tu'inukuafe
18. Nepo Laulala
19. Quentin Strange
20. Hoskins Sotutu
21. TJ Perenara
22. Anton Lienart-Brown
23. Will Jordan (possibly McKenzie playing the 1st test and Jordan playing the 2nd)

untested clarke over bridge or reece? nah

if anything, more chance of reece at 11 with Jordan on the right wing..pretty sure they were testing reece there last night per Fozzie's call, he scored 2 tries off it..i do expect WJ in the 23 but it can be at 14/15 or 23

The idea of Jordie Barrett on the wing is an intriguing one. I think it could be a creative and effective way to utilize his undoubted talents and minimize the effect of his comparative lack of pace to other contenders at 15.

EDIT: Realized after posting that’s a pretty garbled last sentence. What I mean is, Jordie isn’t a good enough 15 at test level. As a 14, his strengths would negate his weakness more.

Jordie might be the reece hodge of the ab's, the only reason he is there is for his kicking...not fast enough for wing, not good enough to start for another position..only other advantage... his height making him a threat on the wing if he is up against a shorter left winger like koroibete..so if jordie s chosen at 14, expect a lot of high kicks by mouga'a for him to catch..its a shame the AB's have not been able to find another Dagg

Will be interested to see what BB is like if selected at 15. Not sure he made more than a handful of line breaks in super rugby, maybe he will offer a bit more of a threat in the AB environment

if AB's will take 11 more players, they might as well secure midweek games against Aussie soup teams, make it feel like a B&I tour lol

stemoc wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 2:53 am if AB's will take 11 more players, they might as well secure midweek games against Aussie soup teams, make it feel like a B&I tour lol

The initial two Bledisloe Cup tests are both in NZ, so there will be no need to expand the squad just yet.

Carter's Choice wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 6:47 am

stemoc wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 2:53 am if AB's will take 11 more players, they might as well secure midweek games against Aussie soup teams, make it feel like a B&I tour lol

The initial two Bledisloe Cup tests are both in NZ, so there will be no need to expand the squad just yet.

Barring any injuries in the meantime, who do you think the additions will be?

Gumboot wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 6:57 am

Carter's Choice wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 6:47 am

stemoc wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 2:53 am if AB's will take 11 more players, they might as well secure midweek games against Aussie soup teams, make it feel like a B&I tour lol

The initial two Bledisloe Cup tests are both in NZ, so there will be no need to expand the squad just yet.

Barring any injuries in the meantime, who do you think the additions will be?

Depends on how many they choose to take, but I think this group of 10 players will be well in the mix;

Liam Coltman
Ayden Johnstone
Angus Ta'avao
Manaaki Selby-Rickett
Lachlan Boshier
Marino Mika'ele-Tu'u
Finlay Christie
Joshua Ioane
Peter Umaga-Jensen
David Havili

It was reported 11 would be added.

I like that list but would prefer Mitchell Drummond over Christie if they are adding a halfback.

Black over PUJ

stemoc wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 8:44 amBlack over PUJ

That would be four first-fives as well as the cover they see McKenzie providing.

Jb1981 wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 8:41 am It was reported 11 would be added.

I like that list but would prefer Mitchell Drummond over Christie if they are adding a halfback.

yeah Drummond has played really well all year. I just don't think Foster rates him.

I think adding 11 players would be ridiculous. Especially as it appears we will only be playing a couple of matches in Australia. 46 players is a very big squad.

Carter's Choice wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 8:57 am

Jb1981 wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 8:41 am It was reported 11 would be added.

I like that list but would prefer Mitchell Drummond over Christie if they are adding a halfback.

yeah Drummond has played really well all year. I just don't think Foster rates him.

I think adding 11 players would be ridiculous. Especially as it appears we will only be playing a couple of matches in Australia. 46 players is a very big squad.

I agree, even if there's an allowance for that many more players I just can't see the point.

I think that Foster's first selection of his tenure as AB Head Coach will tell us a lot about him as a selector, and how he is going to lead the AB's over the next four years. If he selects BB at 10, McKenzie at 15 and Ardie Savea at 8, then I think it's safe to say that he will spend the next four years making the same mistakes that Hansen did over the past four years. However, if he is prepared to learn from Steve Hansen's failings, and adopt a coherent and consistent selection strategy, then there is no doubt whatsoever that we have the talent to win the next RWC in 2023.

Shame about the time. Going to lose a lot of NH viewers who would have been exceptionally keen to watch Intl rugby.

Carter's Choice wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 7:05 am

Gumboot wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 6:57 am

Carter's Choice wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 6:47 am

The initial two Bledisloe Cup tests are both in NZ, so there will be no need to expand the squad just yet.

Barring any injuries in the meantime, who do you think the additions will be?

Depends on how many they choose to take, but I think this group of 10 players will be well in the mix;

Liam Coltman
Ayden Johnstone
Angus Ta'avao
Manaaki Selby-Rickett
Lachlan Boshier
Marino Mika'ele-Tu'u
Finlay Christie
Joshua Ioane
Peter Umaga-Jensen
David Havili

Laumape could be back by the time the extras are announced. He's running around at Turbos training with his cast off now

Is there any scenario here that shows Australia getting within 20 of the AB's ?

ASMO wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:14 am Is there any scenario here that shows Australia getting within 20 of the AB's ?

Of definitely. We don't know how good or bad the Wallabies will be, because since the covid-19 lockdown in March there have been no trans-Tasman clashes. Sure, Super Rugby Aotearoa looked a few levels above Super Rugby AU in terms of standard, but the reality is that's just someone's opinion. For all we know the Brumbies are a better team than the Crusaders.

One thing we do know though is that Dave Rennie is a superior head coach to Foster. That's not opinion, that's fact. So you'd have to think that will benefit the Wallabies.

It also doesn't clash with AFL/NRL finals.

Carter's Choice wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:23 am For all we know the Brumbies are a better team than the Crusaders.

On the basis of the super rugby AU final, the AB's could start a 3rd string team and win easily. Rennie has a massive amount of work to do

JPNZ wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:55 pm On the basis of the super rugby AU final, the AB's could start a 3rd string team and win easily. Rennie has a massive amount of work to do

Tbf, Australia has lost many of its elite players in 2020 to cashed up NH clubs. It really has been a terrible year for RA in terms of player drain. Rennie will get this team playing in a coherent and focused way, but he's not Superman.

So what would be worse ab fans? Poor selections but a good team performance playing with structure and cohesion? Or ambitious “good” selections but a team playing with no direction.

Most of us expect Foster to get both wrong. If he gets one right, which should it be?

Wild Beef wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 1:30 am So what would be worse ab fans? Poor selections but a good team performance playing with structure and cohesion? Or ambitious “good” selections but a team playing with no direction.

Most of us expect Foster to get both wrong. If he gets one right, which should it be?

I think any fan wants a good performance.

For the record my issue with Steve Hansen wasn't about who he picked. I realise that assessing a player's relative worth is very subjective. My issue with Steve Hansen was that he rotated, chopped and changed his selections for the entire previous RWC cycle, even when we were winning and he wasn't under pressure to make changes. We went into the last RWC tournament with so many selection question marks because Hansen was obsessed with rotating players. I just hope that Ian Foster has learned from this and is prepared to let combinations settle over the next few years.

I agree AC/CC, I’m a big fan of combinations and bedding them in. That said, if there is a time to trial fresh faces and combinations, that time is now.

One thing I’m very curious about is if BB, JB and Mo’unga all start, who kicks? BB handed over the reigns in pretty much every team he plays so it surely won’t be him. JB kicked over Mo’unga for the south though didn’t he?

Carter's Choice wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 1:03 am Obviously I'm very much looking forward to this match. However I am wondering why they have chosen to play this game on a Sunday? In fact, both the upcoming Bledisloe Cup tests are being played on Sunday.

First one was moved to a Sunday to give Wallabies' more prep time I think as as said 2nd one to avoid election.

Wild Beef wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 4:44 am I agree AC/CC, I’m a big fan of combinations and bedding them in. That said, if there is a time to trial fresh faces and combinations, that time is now.

One thing I’m very curious about is if BB, JB and Mo’unga all start, who kicks? BB handed over the reigns in pretty much every team he plays so it surely won’t be him. JB kicked over Mo’unga for the south though didn’t he?

I agree that this is the time for new faces. I would be happy if Foster settled on his preferred 23 and only changed it for injuries or a serious drop in form. Rotation killed our last RWC cycle and I don't want it to kill this one.

Any Aussie posters want to have a crack at naming a likely Wallabies 23 for the 1st test? I've suggested an AB 23 a few posts up.

ASMO wrote: Sun Sep 20, 2020 8:14 am Is there any scenario here that shows Australia getting within 20 of the AB's ?

French refs - worked for the Lions

maybe NZ can lose to Australia just to build rennie's repertoire and maybe bring rugby interest back in australia..

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 5:38 am Any Aussie posters want to have a crack at naming a likely Wallabies 23 for the 1st test? I've suggested an AB 23 a few posts up.

My stab ...

1 Sio
2 Fainga'a
3 AAA
4 Philip
5 LSL
6 Valetini
7 Hooper (c)
8 Samu
9 McDermott
10 JOC
11 Koroibete
12 Toomua
13 Paisami
14 Petaia
15 DHP

16 BPA
17 Slipper
18 Tupou
19 Hosea
20 Wilson
21 Powell
22 Simone
23 Banks

Kiap wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 3:13 pm

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 5:38 am Any Aussie posters want to have a crack at naming a likely Wallabies 23 for the 1st test? I've suggested an AB 23 a few posts up.

My stab ...

1 Sio
2 Fainga'a
3 AAA
4 Philip
5 LSL
6 Valetini
7 Hooper (c)
8 Samu
9 McDermott
10 JOC
11 Koroibete
12 Toomua
13 Paisami
14 Petaia
15 DHP

16 BPA
17 Slipper
18 Tupou
19 Hosea
20 Wilson
21 Powell
22 Simone
23 Banks

Interesting. Not tempted to start Tupou at TH prop?

Overall that looks to be a well balanced team. A nice mix of youth and experience, and of x factor and solidity. This XXIII just shows how ridiculous some people are in writing off the Wallabies. Dave Rennie will get this team firing, and playing a style of rugby that plays to their strengths.

When will we know if Petaia is fit?

Carter's Choice wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 7:37 pmInteresting. Not tempted to start Tupou at TH prop?

I am, but decided to stick with a Brumbies front row to start after travel quarantine.

Thor can get the #3 jersey at Suncorp. In the decider ... McReight might get a start there as well. :)

Bit of a guessing game for now as to what Rennie will do. Is a tough start having your first three games playing the ABs. The opening two away tests I think will still have a light Rennie imprint.

After that possibly an Aus A game against the Argies and the team starts building into their work.

Jb1981 wrote: Mon Sep 21, 2020 8:11 pm When will we know if Petaia is fit?

Dunno, possible hip flexor? If so, probably a fairly quick recovery.

To'omua's groin strain might be more tricky.