Barnes 50-50 but Tahu no chance

[jargan83]

Barnes 50-50 but Tahu no chance

By Jim Tucker


September 03, 2008 LOST midfield gamble Timana Tahu is certain to be dropped regardless of whether Berrick Barnes returns from shoulder trouble or not for the Tri-Nations finale.

There is no place for Tahu's naive defence at inside centre in the blockbuster against New Zealand at Suncorp Stadium on September 13, which is an all-or-nothing trophy night.

Captain Stirling Mortlock will shift to inside centre and partner Ryan Cross should Barnes, who is undergoing daily treatment on his AC joint injury, be ruled out.

Barnes 50-50 but Tahu no chance - Tri-Nations - Fox Sports

[Flamethrower]

I think Tahu has been pushed to hard. I never thought he deserved a place in the Wallabies squad this year.There is no way anyone can grasp a new game in part of a season.
As a comparison Cross now has 2 years of Super 14 and a season of ARC. This year he is playing rugby instinctively and deserves the position he now holds.

Give Tahu time. Don't break him before he gets the feel of the game.

[slomo]

a 50% fit barnes would be better than a 100% fit tahu.................

[AndyS]

Don't break him before he gets the feel of the game.

Yes, well, not much risk there - after the game he played, anyone who can say "I felt comfortable.....I missed one tackle there, which cost us a try - personally that was probably the down point of my game, but I thought I was doing everything right" is probably unassailable in his self-confidence.

Hopefully someone will sit down with him go through his game time in detail.

[waratahjesus]

you could always ask why an inside centre rushed into a game between the captain mortlock outside him and gits inside him wasnt given advice on the field if he was at fault!

the guy wasnt out there on his own, he didnt play well but it was a sink or swim experiment (and it was an experiment) but what happened with the experience around him?

playing forth grade in sydney, if i end up in the wrong spot in defence i have 14 guys yelling at me, plus the coach from the sidelines, the people around him deserve to be criticised just as much as tahu himself!

[robyn <3]

wj- you cannot possibly blame tahu's game on saturday on the other wallabies. rugby is a team game for sure, but noone can MAKE a player do well. its impossible. at international level, players should play there own position rather than babysitting some convert the entire game!

if everyone else is to blame, why dont we drop the entire squad, hey? tahu screwed up, dont blame the rest of the team

[waratahjesus]

can you read my post again and then reply?

[AndyS]

Yes and no, WJ...you'd certainly expect he was getting some feedback on the field, but no-one has time in a top 3 international to be babysitting anyone. I am more surprised that the structures collapsed so quickly. My understanding was that he has always been in line for the 12 slot, so he must have spent a lot of time between Giteau and Mortlock at training. There is maybe a question there regarding the drills they are running, or the time he is getting.

I am inclined to the view that, intended or not, it was indeed a sink or swim exercise. The EOY tour followed by a (hopefully) full S14 season would have been a kinder introduction, but then some players respond to the shock treatment. I suspect that it may have been intentional - the impression I get of him is that he is a player that doesn't lack self-confidence and maybe has always found the going a bit easy relative to his peers. That would gel with him saying that the switch to Union was to challenge himself, which would make the smoothing of the way through to the Wallabies a bit counterproductive. I wonder whether the deep end was exactly the place Deans (and maybe Hickey) wanted him, to let him know that he has a lot to learn. I hope that is the case, and that it motivates rather than discourages. I'd love to see how good he could be, but he'll need to be able to tune out all the flavoured smoke the media blows up his way.

[BLR]

That's two dramatic Tah burnouts this year. Force for the past three years? All successes!

[waratahjesus]

Yes and no, WJ...you'd certainly expect he was getting some feedback on the field, but no-one has time in a top 3 international to be babysitting anyone. I am more surprised that the structures collapsed so quickly. My understanding was that he has always been in line for the 12 slot, so he must have spent a lot of time between Giteau and Mortlock at training. There is maybe a question there regarding the drills they are running, or the time he is getting.

I am inclined to the view that, intended or not, it was indeed a sink or swim exercise. The EOY tour followed by a (hopefully) full S14 season would have been a kinder introduction, but then some players respond to the shock treatment. I suspect that it may have been intentional - the impression I get of him is that he is a player that doesn't lack self-confidence and maybe has always found the going a bit easy relative to his peers. That would gel with him saying that the switch to Union was to challenge himself, which would make the smoothing of the way through to the Wallabies a bit counterproductive. I wonder whether the deep end was exactly the place Deans (and maybe Hickey) wanted him, to let him know that he has a lot to learn. I hope that is the case, and that it motivates rather than discourages. I'd love to see how good he could be, but he'll need to be able to tune out all the flavoured smoke the media blows up his way.

even in a top three international you have got to expect that he would be covered or helped, its a question robbie deans has to answer!
with lote on the wing who has played outside and mortlock who can cover 12 as he did in the first test, if he wasnt going to sub tahu he could have at least been pushed out to the wing in defence, but they persisted in him which makes me question if he was at fault as much as it seemed, he was rather isolated which means as you pointed out there drills and structures were to blame.
i do think he had a shocker, but i dont believe it was to send him a message or drill his ego or anything, ive met him a few times during the season and he is the nicest guy you would ever meet. he trains extremely hard and has faught for his spot. i think he is in the side to early, but that is more to do with a lack of quality number 12's than him being the outstanding player.
deans wants to ball players and we dont have that if barnes is out. but the most worrying thing is with barnes out, there doesnt seem to be a plan b from deans!

[NTT]

you could always ask why an inside centre rushed into a game between the captain mortlock outside him and gits inside him wasnt given advice on the field if he was at fault!

the experience around him were either a: busy marking their opposition player or b: letting Tahu embarrass himself because they feel you shouldn't be able to walk into the Wallabies as a poached mungo on potential after they spent years earning their rightful selection.

i'll go with a (but think b isnt far off the mark)

he just simply wasn't ready WJ. quick prediction time: Tahu will win Horrortahs mvp next year.
i predict this based on: the embarrassment will eat at him and he'll unleash it big time next s14

[waratahjesus]

the experience around him were either a: busy marking their opposition player or b: letting Tahu embarrass himself because they feel you shouldn't be able to walk into the Wallabies as a poached mungo on potential after they spent years earning their rightful selection.

i'll go with a (but think b isnt far off the mark)

he just simply wasn't ready WJ. quick prediction time: Tahu will win Horrortahs mvp next year.
i predict this based on: the embarrassment will eat at him and he'll unleash it big time next s14

the notion on here that people in the wallabies team care about anything but winning (and getting payed for that matter!) is the funniest thing i have ever heard!
so your saying Gits was happy to throw the game to prove a point that he earned his jersey? cos thats what your saying!

ive said it was to early, the coaches are there to judge the players and they got it wrong, what im questioning is why more wasnt done on the field to adjust what was happening!
a plan b, or covering him in defence, which even at a top level can be done quite easily and with minimal disruption, its called coaching and there wasnt much of it on saturday night!

[The Lone Hydrangea]

Firstly i thought you got the arse. Secondly Tahu has to learn the game of Rugby, ie spend some quality time with your mob and get some nous on how the game is played.

[waratahjesus]

agreed, thats what im saying, but crucifying him when those around him fell apart as well and the coach didnt interveen for almost an hour isnt really an acurate analysis of what happened!

[NTT]

the notion on here that people in the wallabies team care about anything but winning (and getting payed for that matter!) is the funniest thing i have ever heard!
so your saying Gits was happy to throw the game to prove a point that he earned his jersey? cos thats what your saying!

no that was a joke so you'd embarrass yourself and over react

im pretty sure my post said the players around him were marking their opposition player (OPTION A) and Tahu was not quite ready to be a world beater 1st game but should improve with more games a la Crossy, Tuqiri ....