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- Rugby Championship Fixtures
| Fixture | Details |
|---|---|
| All times are local | |
| Rugby Championship | |
| Saturday , August 17 | |
| Australia vs New Zealand | TBC |
| South Africa vs Argentina | TBC |
| Saturday , August 24 | |
| Argentina vs South Africa | TBC |
| New Zealand vs Australia | TBC |
| More Rugby Championship fixtures | |
- Rugby Championship Table
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Zealand | 6 | 26 |
| 2 | Australia | 6 | 12 |
| 3 | South Africa | 6 | 12 |
| 4 | Argentina | 6 | 4 |
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Comments
jonesy2 says...
quade cooper isnt the best tackler in the world, big deal.
expattrussy-- ok well for starters if quade is a weak defender then there needs to be another level of description for cipriani's defence. plus, his attack is average as, only does something good in attack every 7 weeks or so
Posted 04:27 14th August 2012
eejbm says...
QC was defending in the 10 channel for The Reds when he came back at the tail end of the S15 this year. His defense seemed to have improved somewhat, but I doubt Robbie will pick him at starting 10 though.
Posted 12:45 13th August 2012
ruckingkiwi says...
It's not so new melkdave, Robbie and co used to do the same with Mehrtens and McDonald at the Crusaders years ago.
Posted 01:48 13th August 2012
Trinats2 says...
new_j4a:
now, now !!! Reds let the Sharks win, keep your word !!!
ArmchairGeneral:
Richie McCaw kicked (and not picked up by ref) Cooper in the game in Hong kong and after Australia scored to win the game, Cooper gave him a shove as he tried to touch up O connor while he scored the try. But all you hear is the shove on McCaw in the media. They have been niggling since, on and off the field.
McCAw is a great player, but not the saint everyone makes him out to be.
And we are finding that out about Henry now, thanks to his book.
Posted 15:28 12th August 2012
melkdave says...
Nothing new in GH saying QC cant tackle.It does say alot though ,that Austraila found a system to mitagate his frailities on defence ,so his unpredicabilty ect on attack could be used.Considering the parsity of quality FHs in Austraila with only QC -CL being the only specalists of any quality ,Austrailia just couldnt afford not to use him,so imho it was good coaching by RD to find away to use him to advantage..Love him or hate him one thing is true on the rugby field he can and does light up games.
Posted 15:01 11th August 2012
cuw3100 says...
What GH may have tried to say is that due to Quade Cooper's weak defence, the Australian team needed two defensive centers. For example the ABs have Nonu and Smith; while Nonu is an attacking center Smith is a defensive one (although he is good at attack as well). Even England have Tuilagi and Barret , one is more adapt at attack while other at defence. Many other countries have similar combinations.
Also it meant that the winger (Ioane) had to come in to cover the space created by the thinking that 9-10 channel or 10-12 channel will be defensively weak. This meant Australia could not employ a rush defence like Ireland or Wales for example becoz any side with a big guy like Nonu. SBW, Tuilagi or the Welsh giants could exploit the weakness.
In fact QC is not a bad defender, becoz he has the speed to cut the space out. However he seems weak in the tackle; somehow he gives the impression of touch rugby. At the same times this so called weakness can only be justified by facts or statistics. Say the number of line breaks in the 10-12 channel, number of trys scored from such breaks, tackles made vs tackles missed, etc.
Maybe PR will take time to analyse the available figures and at least try to tell all if in fact Quade Cooper is a bad defender, as the world seems to think so.
BTW is Australian Olympic swimmer Stephanie Rice, QC's girl friend???
Posted 08:55 11th August 2012
Tamjon says...
@ sukkadoits, no he's no good in the back, because he can't catch either. That was half of his problem in the world cup last year (the other half being that he cannot tackle). Really he should not be in an international team, it was to Australia's detriment that they did not use Giteau in the WC last year.
Posted 08:38 11th August 2012
KiwiKev says...
We love The Quadestile!
He is an easy target and would be a fantastic barrister for they only have to talk about defence!
Posted 05:15 11th August 2012
sukkadoits says...
I'd disagree with GH when he says that when QC defends at full back it weakens the OZ back 3. Kicking to him and Kurtley Beale is always a huge threat and he is a very good kicker for space and position from the back.
Posted 01:40 11th August 2012
carpelone says...
It is a very general and obvious comment. Ioane plays flyhalf defensively and he one of the most dangerous counterattackers. I think it is not necessary a weak point, it is about the mix you have.
Posted 22:20 10th August 2012
davodiablo says...
ArmChair G...I thought we were quite impressed with Cockrill.
Cooper is a dangerous player, it was just the cheap shots that got the Kiwi's on his back .....and wasn't it amazing how a little pressure from the crowd made him lose his game.
Posted 18:55 10th August 2012
expattrussy says...
Anyone else notice the parallels with Cipriani? Now, before I get bashed, i'm not saying Cipriani's up to the same standard as Cooper, but: free spirit on the field, can light up a game with ball in hand, defensive frailities, moody, issues off the pitch...... If Cipriani turns it on for Sale this year, will the english management go with the aussie's "as long as you create more than you concede" selection policy? I doubt it......
Posted 18:23 10th August 2012
APV1 says...
Joking aside, didn't NH Saints (it could have been Gloucester or L Irish...) used to play Ryan Lamb at #8 and their actual #8 in the 10 channel? I'm sure I didn't imagine this. Lamb wasn't as good in defence, so on a defensive scrum (which due to the propensity of the 9s to feed into the 2nd row, might as well be uncontested), he'd pack down at 8.
Dingo, take note. You've already had Samo on the wing, so why not?
Posted 17:25 10th August 2012
new_j4a says...
Cooper is a fine player, but is misunderstood....I promised I'd only nice things about Cooper if the Sharks beat the Reds. (Given that it was a double digit thrashing, let me rephrase that..."Cooper is a gentleman, a scholar, and I'd trust him with my sister and, ...er..., my laptop."
Posted 15:09 10th August 2012
masar says...
would like to see people giving the same attention for not being have to tackle even and old women to that show pony spies
Posted 14:14 10th August 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
If he's on form who cares if he can't defend. His attacking tallent is awesome! Just brilliant to watch. As a neutral I love the games he is in. Not sure why Kiwis dislike him quite so much when he makes their encounters so much more spicy. Reminds me of how they disliked Cockerill so much when he got gobbie and confronted the haka. I like players that take a bit of venom to the ABs. All good fun.
Posted 13:16 10th August 2012
Stellenbosched2 says...
The problem is that when things are not going his way in a game the ligaments that hold his neck firm weaken. This leads to his head sagging. It is a condition known as Cooper's droop I believe.
Posted 13:04 10th August 2012
rugbylover says...
@APV1
You started this.
Is it something in the air?
I just HAD to say something rude.
Sorry all.
Posted 12:16 10th August 2012
startledwombat says...
Well done APV1!
Also, did you notice how the defence didn't address the substantive point at issue?
Posted 12:14 10th August 2012
TheTruthHurts says...
@APV1, that was about as funny as a fart in an elevator! pffffttt...
All jokes aside.. Henry is entitled to his point of view and it is hardly a revelation that Coopers defence is suspect? We've all been blogging about it for ages.
Storm in a tea cup, as long as he helps the attack score more than the team concedes then it's job done, not all players are gifted defenders or attackers?? That's life!
Posted 11:37 10th August 2012