Examining the Waratah paradox

 
itsuckstobeyou Roar Rookie

By itsuckstobeyou, 11 Mar 2010 itsuckstobeyou is a Roar Rookie

Tagged:
 , ,

25 Have your say

Related coverage



The NSW Waratahs are faced with a seemingly impossible choice: to win ugly or to lose pretty. Against the Sharks, their fans cast their vote.

It is no secret that the Waratahs have adopted a ‘negative’ brand of rugby over the past few seasons. In many respects, this decision has been justified by the success of sides who have adopted such a game-plan. Of the six finalists over the course of the last three seasons, it could be argued that four of the sides, the Bulls (twice), the Sharks and the Waratahs themselves, focussed on starving their opposition of territory and momentum with intelligent (albeit incessant) kicking and slowing down of the opposing breakdown, scoring tries, primarily, from the set piece. These sides followed the international model of ‘points accumulation’, made fashionable by the victorious English side in the 2003 RWC and likewise, the South African side in 2007.

The switch to the ‘points accumulation’ ethos saw the Waratahs move from 2nd-last on the table in 2007 to 2nd in 2008. This fact it seems, is hard to ignore for a new coach just entering the frame.

Since Chris Hickey’s appointment as coach for the 2009 season, it would appear that the objective for the Waratahs is to do what they did in 2008, only better. It appeared then that the fans were results driven, seemingly flocking to games when the Tahs were winning, regardless of their style of play.

The resulting season saw the Waratahs finish a respectable 5th, missing out on the finals by just one try and winning the same number of games as they had the season prior. Not to be ignored however, was the franchise’s all-time leading try-scorer, possession-starved winger Lote Tuqiri, finishing the season with a solitary try. This was symptomatic of a side who had stuck to ‘Plan A’ far too rigidly, playing the odds that tight rugby would win enough games for them to make the finals. The true impact of the failure of ‘Plan A’ was felt at the SFS, where despite winning their first four games, Waratahs home crowds dwindled, down 12 per cent (approx. 3500); a point seemingly ignored by Hickey and the powers that be at the Waratahs.

It was easy to see how the downturn in crowds could be dismissed as an anomaly. As promised, they did what they had done the season before, they won as many games as they had in 2008 and finished only one win behind the Bulls who finished 1st. There was a global financial crisis. The NRL was having its best season in at least a decade. The match against the flailing Reds, which in previous years would have sold out, not surprisingly came up short in crowd numbers. A 12 per cent drop could be acceptable under these circumstances. The Waratahs, tried and true, saw no reason to abandon ‘Plan A’.

During this season, Hickey made moves to strengthen his game-plan. The Waratahs signed Drew Mitchell in April 2009, a traditional winger with an ability to finish, but more importantly for Hickey, a prodigious boot and a solid defender. In July he signed Berrick Barnes. Of all the number 10’s in Australia, Barnes is probably the strongest at defending the vital channel one off the ruck. Despite showing little imagination or flair in attack thus far, he has an intelligent kicking game, almost equal to that of Matt Giteau.

These two players were ideal for Hickey’s version of the ‘points accumulation’ game-plan. Mitchell’s kicking ability made him preferable to Tuqiri, and Barnes would be the final piece in the jigsaw, a superior defender and kicker to his predecessors in Beale and Halangahu.

It wasn’t until January, 2010, that the franchises met with the ARU to agree on an edict that the sides would play an entertaining style of Rugby. The Waratahs had no choice but to agree. The franchises also agreed to new law interpretations which made turnovers far more difficult to execute.

Attacking from your own side of halfway would become a far more inviting prospect than kicking the ball to your opponents back three and defending the counter-attack.

Unfortunately for the Waratahs, they had built a squad on the basis that the defending team has all the rights. The wheels were set in motion long ago and it was too late for them to abandon their game-plan.

After 63 minutes of the Waratahs round 4 clash with the Shark, the Waratahs fans, rightfully, had had enough. They had watched the New Zealand sides, the South African sides (with the exception of the Sharks) and the Reds embrace an entertaining brand of rugby, unseen in Australia since the Brumbies golden era. They had paid their increasingly hard earned money to watch the same thing they had watched for the past few years, only this time, it didn’t cut the mustard. They booed their own team, the ultimate shame for any sporting side.

So how do the Waratahs appease their fans?

The obvious answer is to play ‘pretty’ and win. The problem is that Chris Hickey has assembled this squad on the notion that playing ‘ugly’ wins matches. Either the squad is incapable of winning pretty, or at the very least, Hickey believes this to be so. To play the style which the fans are vocally demanding would come at the cost of victory.

The fans have made it clear. They are prepared to wear that cost.

Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.

Get a daily rugby union email

Our daily emails are only sent if there is content for the sport. You can subscribe to multiple daily emails; or get the daily Roar email with all our content in it.

We value privacy. More.