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All Blacks v Wallabies: The five most exciting matchups ahead of Bledisloe I

43 comments ยท 340 votes

Barrett just shades Foley- He owns him actually

Agree Ben Smith is streets ahead of Jordie

The AB selectors wont be foolish enough to start Jordie Barrett at 15.

Im with you on that...is it me or does naholo play better for the landers than he does for the all blacks?..I cant recall him recently having a real blinder for the abs...can someone enlighten me as I could be wrong there of course!

Taniela Tupou always angles in illegally because hes so short and always loses the direct head on battle. He has to try something so angles and twists illegally. Big Karl will mince him if Peyper rules the scrums correctly.

As an Aussie would love to see JB fullback and Smith on the wing. It reduces Smiths effectiveness and I dont rate JB to highly yet. Smith is a fantastic player and fullback is his best position why they would change that is beyond me but if you are going to make those selections, how about sticking Retallick at 6

Pity Tupous a little short and at 22 needs to start producing. Owen Franks was already a test regular by that age.

Australia at home paying up to $4.50. Pretty good value!

With that killer tash you could have told me that Karl was 35 and Id probably have believed you

I agree with you Austin. Murray in particular was outstanding all year.

Cant believe you called Big Karl and Tongan Thor a draw. Karl is by the far the superior scrummager while Tupou is good with ball in hand but his opportunities are limited because the Wallabies will struggle for front foot ball against the ABs pack.

5 ft 9 on the Reds website. Dont get him confused with the NFL player.

For me whats exciting is the ABs having the likes of McKenzie, Moanga, Jordie, and Milner-Skudder possibly coming of the bench. These are the last blokes you want running at tired forwards in the last 20 of a game.

Big Karl v Tongan Thor should be oresome.But two of the most important ones for me appear to missing.Smith v Genia - Will is sometimes under-rated these days but remains a vital cog in the Wallaby machine. Simply put, if he gets quick uncompromised ball he can make Foley, ordinary in my book, look extraordinary, and this will give the Wallaby backs some freedom too. Smith is simply the best passer in the game and gives Beauden that ball out in front which allows him to stamp his imprint on the game. Id still be interested in seeing what Mounga can do with the same. But the big and usually one-sided match-up is the benches. When the pine clears for the All Blacks they tend to ratchet up the contest in that last 20 minutes or so and is no small part of what separates them from most teams.

but only deserved it the first year. reiko or conner murray should have hot it the second year.