How are you still salty about Farrell this far into the tournament? Ford was excellent in the pool and good when he came on vs Aus, but the tactic to start Farrell clearly worked. You claim there is no obvious reason for not dropping Farrell, but if you've followed the development of the team at all over the last few years you should know that:
- Farrell is the Captain, dropping the Captain for a semi-final is not exactly best practice.
- He is the driving force behind the attacking strategy on the training pitch (along with Ford) and executing it on the pitch.
- He is the leader of the defensive line and the loudest voice/motivator/organizer whenever the team defends (you can literally hear him on the ref mic constantly).
- He is the first choice goal kicker and has been one of the world's best under pressure at international level and major finals (aside from when he took the head knock against Argentina).
- Ford has been good too, but he doesn't have the same presence as Farrell within this team, he cannot lead from the front in the same way and he will always be a bit of a liability in defense. He is a fantastic front-foot player and tactical kicker, which is why there is a great case for starting him alongside Farrell, but there is no strong argument for starting him INSTEAD of Farrell.
At this point of a world cup cycle, one would think that fans should get behind the team (and arguably its most pivotal figure) rather than suggest sweeping changes - that are simply never going to happen and would be terrible decisions - just to satisfy a long-held vendetta against Faz.
I'll leave you with a favourite quote of mine: A man who cannot change his mind, cannot change anything
