Australian team of the week - FYI

Australian team of the week April 6, 2010 - 11:18AM
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15. James O'Connor (Force). Photo: Getty Images


Each week, Greg Growden and Rupert Guinness pick the form Australian Super 14 team.

15 James O'Connor (Force) (4)*
14 Digby Ioane (Reds) (6)
13 Rob Horne (Waratahs) (2)
12 Berrick Barnes (Waratahs) (1)
11 Drew Mitchell (Waratahs) (5)
10 Quade Cooper (Reds) (4)
9 Chris O'Young (Force) (1)
8 Matt Hodgson (Force) (3)
7 David Pocock (Force) (1)
6 David Dennis (Waratahs) (1)
5 Dean Mumm (Waratahs) (4)
4 Nathan Sharpe (Force)(6)
3 Al Baxter (Waratahs) (5)
2 Ben Whittaker (Force)(1)
1 Benn Robinson (Waratahs) (4)

Six Force men! And Whittaker in there too! Fantastic, and well deserved!

Interestingly, from rugby365, the S14 team o'the week is:

15 - Peter Hynes (Reds):
Quality players will stand out even in a losing cause!
Bubbling under: Kurtley Beale (Waratahs)

14 - Joe Rokocoko (Blues):
He is fast regaining his best form and could soon challenge for an All Black spot again.
Bubbling under: Sean Maitland (Crusaders)

13 - Rene Ranger (Blues):
What a revelation he has been in the midfield this season...
Bubbling under: Robbie Fruean (Crusaders)

12 - Ma'a Nonu (Hurricanes):
Perhaps not the most consistent player, but an awesome sight to behold when he hits his straps.
Bubbling under: Stephen Donald (Chiefs)

11 - Digby Ioane (Reds):
He would probably perform very well even if you play him at prop. Such a livewire.
Bubbling under: Drew Mitchell (Waratahs)

10 - Quade Cooper (Reds):
Without doubt Australia's best flyhalf and also the form No.10 in the competition.
Bubbling under: Mike Delany (Chiefs)

9 - Will Genia (Reds):
Much of the Reds' revival has been based on his genius.
Bubbling under: Brendon Leonard (Chiefs)

8 - Matt Hodgson :force: :
His physicality caught the normally impressive Stormers off-guard and knocked them off their stride in Perth.
Bubbling under: Pierre Spies (Bulls)

7 - David Pocock :force: :
Now the Stormers know why his nickname is 'Bam-bam'... he hits you twice as hard. (Yes, we know he is named after the Flintstones character!)
Bubbling under: Willem Alberts (Sharks)

6 - Jacques Botes (Sharks):
Without doubt his best game of the season... and just when people were beginning to write him off.
Bubbling under: Jerome Kaino (Blues)

5 - Nathan Sharpe :force: :
He has been a pillar of strength in a struggling Force side and gets just reward for yet another standout performance.
Bubbling under: Andries Bekker (Stormers)

4 - Steven Sykes (Sharks):
He has grown into the role of the Sharks' enforcer and is likely to have plenty of Green and Gold in his future if he keeps improving this way.
Bubbling under: Brad Thorn (Crusaders)

3 - Al Baxter (Waratahs):
He may not be everybody's first choice as a scrummager, but his all-round game was immense. And then there's that first-ever Super Rugby try, too...
Bubbling under: Owen Franks (Crusaders)

2 - Bismarck du Plessis (Sharks):
He showed just how effective he can be when his focus is on the game.
Bubbling under: Keven Mealamu (Blues)

1 - Benn Robinson (Waratahs):
Still one of the most destructive scrummagers in the tournament and he also gets around the park like a loose forward.
Bubbling under: Charlie Faumuina (Blues)

rugby heaven.com just looking at the aussies

Nathan has been in there 6 times....What a guy, what a player....what a Captain...
Congrats to Chris O'Young stirling effort...Well Done to all our boys...

Nice to see Chris O in there as well.

Genia was twice of O'Young for mine and agree Hynes over (a pretty good) JO'C.
Faingai for Barnes too, Barnes isn't really doing much for me lately.

RugbyHeaven teams tend to be picked based upon the result more than the performance.

I thought Genia was good in a well beaten team....I I thought Hynes and JOC was a bit of a coin toss.

I didn't think there was a 12 worth mentioning in Oz this weekend, maybe we could put Inman in 12 instead of Faingaa......certainly Inman was the second #13, and beat Faingaa as well IMHO.

I know that would never happen, but it should!

nO Brumbies last week either...BYE

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GIGS20

RugbyHeaven teams tend to be picked based upon the result more than the performance.

I thought Genia was good in a well beaten team....I I thought Hynes and JOC was a bit of a coin toss.

I didn't think there was a 12 worth mentioning in Oz this weekend, maybe we could put Inman in 12 instead of Faingaa......certainly Inman was the second #13, and beat Faingaa as well IMHO.

I know that would never happen, but it should!

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Close. It's based on the result + 2 Waratahs.

I actually thought JOC had a pretty average game compared to the norm. 2 missed penalties, a couple of dodgy decisions and a dropped ball or two.

Thats true James, But Hynes didn't exactly have a blinder either. and the Reds lost....look at how you have to play in a losing team to make it to that list.....Nobody on the planet played a better 11 or 10 than Digby and Quade this week.

I thought Genia had an average game, the Sharks targetted him, shut him down and he didnt break the line like he usually does, Chrisso had a similar game but was probably picked as he was on the winning team.

Yeah, that was one of several coin tosses there Zim. I certainly didn't think Chrisso had the game he had against the Bulls, but Genia was pretty ordinary.

I wonder if (like me) RH assesses performance based upon expectation.

When I fill in the player voting, I tend to give a 5 to a bloke who did pretty much what I think he should have and higher if I've got a nice surprise. I guess that's not really fair on Bam et al, but I've score a lot higher this season than others because of all the rookies (I think I gave Ted Postal a 9)

I tend to score the guys - bad game 0-5 average to good game 6-8 and great game 9-10

Well I do too, but a bad game is different between Bam and Chrisso for instance.

If Bam holds his own, I call that a bad game, if Chrisso holds his own I call that a good game