australia...the most in form back division in the world right now?

handsomecake

9. will genia
10. quade (the cat burgler )cooper
11. drew mitchell
12.matt giteau
13.james o connor
14.digby ioane
15. adam ashley cooper


some really in form forwards too :
ben alexander ( 7 tries as a prop in super 14) :eek:
dean mumm
tatafu polota nau
david pocock
benn robinson
rocky elsom



bodes well for the 2011 world cup.this a youthful side with mercurial playmakers.interesting to see how they fare in the tri-nations this year.all depends on whether south africa want to play kicking tennis or rugby this year.

irishbucsfan

Should we take this to mean that you are now masquerading as an Australian fan instead of as a Kiwi?

:P

Yes, they are the best in the world. The only area in the backs where the are anything less than the best in the world is the back 3.

inbodwetrust

Yeh Lynagh on the sky coverage after the Reds game said that Cooper would not start instead Berrick Barnes would get the nod with Quade coming off the bench. Hard to believe they could leave out Cooper but Barnes probably brings more control and can manage a game better

Ciaran-Irl

I'd say Barnes might play 12 and Giteau might be on the bench. Giteau hasn't been that great this year, and neither he not Barnes have played much at 10.

Cooper must play, surely.

Stev_o

Cooper can't kick though. Any smart team will know they can give away penalties on their left hand of the field because Coopers kicking style means the ball always curves from the right side in mean that if your kicking right of the posts especially from a distance it's extremely difficult to nail the kick.

Question for the Aussies is who to play at 13. AAC and Chambers are playing for that shirt but i think AAC best position is 15.

sock puppet

handsomecake wrote: »

9. will genia
10. quade (the cat burgler )cooper
11. drew mitchell
12.matt giteau
13.james o connor
14.digby ioane
15. adam ashley cooper


some really in form forwards too :
ben alexander ( 7 tries as a prop in super 14) :eek:
dean mumm
tatafu polota nau
david pocock
benn robinson
rocky elsom



bodes well for the 2011 world cup.this a youthful side with mercurial playmakers.interesting to see how they fare in the tri-nations this year.all depends on whether south africa want to play kicking tennis or rugby this year.

Move Adam Ashley Cooper to 13 and put Beale in at fullback and I think it'd be a better side. If you want to shore it up defensively you could stick Faingaa in at 12. Of course then you have to either drop Cooper or make do with his poor enough goal kicking.
edit: Though I don't think his kicking is that bad. What are his percentages for this season? He doesn't seem to have a lot of distance though

What's so impressive is the depth of their talent now. Your backline doesn't include the likes of Faingaa, Hynes, Horne, Beale, Chambers, Barnes. All of them look/are international quality.

anonymous_joe

Reds have had a great season, same with the Tahs, shame about the Brumbies and Force. Thought Gits was meant to be having a mare?

bamboozle

watched Reds v Highlanders on saturday, Cooper was awesome. reckon this oz team might not be ready yet for world cup but will be fully primed to beat the lions in 3 years time.

profitius

Australia have surprisingly developed a habit of snatching defeats (or occasional draws) from the jaws of victory. Maybe they're concentrating more on team development at the moment. This years tri nations should be interesting especially from an Irish point of view.

themont85

I fancy them for the Tri Nations. They look primed for a run at 2011 too.