Welsh fans relieved the dangerous Raka has missed French quarter-final selection
If there is one thing predictable about France’s selection, it is its unpredictability. This has been shown by a succession of coaches, who select and drop players at will.
While Jacques Brunel has tempered this volatile reputation that France have been associated with, he is in no way perfect and he has made some peculiar calls ahead of their World Cup quarter-final contest with Wales this Sunday in Oita.
Back row/lock Arthur Iturria misses out on a place in the matchday 23 despite being one of France’s best performers over the past year. His ASM Clermont team-mate Alivereti Raka also misses out, which has been the cause of delight for many Welsh fans on social media.
The Fijian-born Raka made the RWC squad after making his debut during the warm-up Tests in August. He has since started against the United States and Tonga, scoring a try in both contests.
Neither of those performances were vintage from France, but the 24-year-old winger showed glimpses of how destructive he can be, particularly against Tonga.
(Continue reading below…)
It was always going to be tough to break into the team ahead of Yoann Huget or the recently recovered Damian Penaud, as both wingers have been staples of Brunel’s teams (not that that means much).
However, Raka also misses out on the bench, with Vincent Rattez getting the nod despite missing out on the initial RWC squad.
This is music to Welsh fans’ ears, as a player with that much individual brilliance will always be dangerous, regardless of how poorly France may be playing. This is what has been said:
…and a boost for Wales, they haven’t picked Raka!! pic.twitter.com/o09EtvnBVe
— CoDAtim (@codatim) October 18, 2019
Dangerous players everywhere but that’s always the case with France. No Raka is a boost. https://t.co/b8AbrV2Jhx
— Stuart Coles (@StuartJDColes) October 18, 2019
Happy to see Raka not involved
— Andrew Burton (@0787Burton) October 18, 2019
We're gonna struggle to begin with so it's unbelievable that they're not starting with Chat. Alivereti Raka not even on the bench!
Easy win for Wales.
— D A N T H E C O O L (@DanTheCool) October 18, 2019
No Raka in the 23? Is he injured? He's the one player I was having nightmares about. https://t.co/Gt3cHy3gBi
— Hywel Roberts (@HywelRoberts2) October 18, 2019
Quite happy Wales won’t have to face another Fijian force of destruction in Raka at the weekend. Just Vakatawa to deal with…
— Huw Stark (@starky88) October 18, 2019
France’s performances are as unpredictable as their selection, as they have already shown so far this RWC.
A brilliant opening 40 minutes against Argentina was followed by another 40 where they barely decided to play. No one knows which France will turn up on Sunday but in spite of some anomalous selections, they are always dangerous, particularly in knockout matches.
WATCH: The latest episode of Don’t Mess With Jim looks head to a massive World Cup quarter-final weekend in Japan
Comments on RugbyPass
Just such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
2 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
4 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to commentsI had not considered this topic like this at all, brilliant read. I had been looking at his record at the Waratahs and thought it odd the Crusaders appointed him, then couple that with all that experience and talent departing and boom. They’ve got some great talent developing though, and in all honesty I don’t think anyone would be over confident taking them on in a playoff match, no matter how poor the first half of their season was. I think they can pull a game out of their ass when it counts.
2 Go to commentsNot a bad list but not Porecki and not Donaldson. Not because they are Tahs, or Ex Tahs, they are just not good enough. Edmed should be ahead. Far more potential. Wilson should be 8 and Valentini 6. Wilson needs to be told by his father and his coach, stop bloody running in to brick wall defence. You’re not playing under the genius Thorn any more. He’s a fantastic angle runner. The young new 8 from the Brumbies looks really good too. The Lonegrans are just too small for international rugby as is Paisami, as is Hamish Stewart at 12. Both great at Super Rugby level. Stewart could have been a great 10 if not for Brad Thorn. Uru should be there and so should Tupou. Tupou just needs good Australian coaching which he hasn’t been getting. I don’t think Schmidt will excite him.
3 Go to commentsIf he wants to come back then he should. He will be a major asset to the younger locks and could easily be played as an impact player off the bench coming on in the last 30. He is fit, strong and capable and has all the experience to make up for any loss in physical prowess. He could also be brought back with a view to coaching within the structures one day. Duane Vermeulen played until he was 37 or 38. He is now a roaming coach within the South African coaching structures. He was valuable in the last world cup and has been a major influence on Jasper Wiese and other young players which has helped and accelerated their development and growth. Whitelock could do the exact same thing for NZ
10 Go to commentsBrett Excellent words… finally someone (other than DC) has noted that Hanigan is very hard and very good at doing what Backrow should do… his performance via the Drua sauna was quite daunting for those on the other side… very high tackle count… carries with good end result… constant threat to make a good 20-25 meters with those long legs… providing his mass effectively to crunching the Drua pack… Finally he is returning to quality form… way to much injury time over the last 2 years… smart-strong-competent in his skills… caught every lineout throw aimed at him and delivered clean pass to whoever was down below… and he worked hard for the whole 80 minutes… Ned has to be in the top 5 for backrow honors… He knows what is required as he has been there before…
20 Go to commentsI think Sam Whitelock should not touch a return with a bargepole. He went out on a high, playing in the RWC Final. He would be coming back into a team that will be weaker than last years, and might even be struggling to win games, especially against the Boks. Stay in France, enjoy another year with Pau, playing alongside his brother.
10 Go to commentsRyan Coxon has been very impressive considering he was signed by WF as injury cover whilst Uru has been a standout for QR, surprised neither of those mentioned
3 Go to commentsIt’s the massive value he brings with regard team culture/values, preparation, etc. Can’t buy that. I’m hoping to see the young locks get their chance in the big games though.
10 Go to commentsAll good, Gregor, except that you neglected to mention Sam Darry amongst that talented pool of locks. In fact, given Hannah’s inexperience and the fact that Holland won’t be eligible until next year, Lord and Darry might be the frontrunners this year, to join Barrett, Tuipoluto, Va’ii and possibly Whitelock. In fact there might be room for all of them if Barrett played 6 (like Ollie Chessum).
10 Go to commentsHis value is stabilizing the ship 20 - 40 minutes out from the final whistle plus his valuable experience to the underlings coming through.
10 Go to commentsWhat is criminal is she acts like it's no problem her actions have have cause the Italian player to lose her playing career, lose salary, if she did this in day to day life she would be in jail, she is a complete thug!!!
4 Go to comments