Have the Waratahs kicked their kicking habit?
Columnist
By Spiro Zavos, 14 Mar 2010 Spiro Zavos is a Roar Expert
The Waratahs Josh Holmes reacts to scoring against the Lions during their Super 14 rugby match in Sydney on Friday, March 12, 2010. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)
You can’t complain about a side that scores 11 tries, most of them from flowing interplay between backs and forwards. So full credit to the NSW Waratahs for finally getting their act together and playing the sort of rugby that would have made the Waratahs of 1928/29 proud of them.
The Waratahs of 80 years ago prided themselves on never kicking, a tactic they picked up from the wonderful 1919AIF side that toured Australia to bring back rugby back to the nation after the game, at the senior level, had been closed down during the First World War.
When Gary Pearse, as CEO of NSW Rugby, attempted to revive the state team now more than 20 years ago he deliberately re-branded it as the NSW Waratahs. The hope was that this homage to that wonderful side of 80 years ago would inspire the modern equivalent.
It’s taken all the games in the 2010 tournament so far (except for a brilliant 40 minutes against the Bulls) for the Waratahs to live up to the traditions of their name.
There were a couple of needless kicks early on (Lachlan Turner just run, don’t needlessly boot the ball away!) But then the running game started to be rolled out. The big forwards were rampant and Drew Mitchell was direct and lethal with his finishing.
Of course, the Lions don’t seem to regard defence as part of the rugby game. They are a side that is robust with the ball in hand. But on defence they don’t seem to have patterns or systems, or even a willingness to stop attacks once they are flowing towards them.
And dare it be said, they were not playing with a South African referee. Vinny Munro, the excellent New Zealand referee, handled the game with a fine understanding of the ebb and flow of the game, and a correctly tough approach to interference of the ball in the rucks and mauls.
When Carlos Spencer got stroppy about a ruling Munro put him in his place and suggested that he’d march the Lions back 10m at a time, back to the try line, if he continued the arguing.
Waratahs were more intelligent at the breakdown, too, than in the past. If the ball is correctly taken in and support it well, then the best thing to do is concede the ruck and wait for a mistake. This was done and we didn’t see Phil Waugh conceding penalties (or in danger of conceding if the referee was on to him) as in previous games.
I was taken to task by a reader of The Roar for suggesting a couple of matches ago (when he was bizarrely, in my opinion awarded Man of the Match) that Luke Burgess should be dropped. This match confirmed this opinion. It was noticeable how much lift the Waratahs attack got when Josh Holmes was running the play.
It’s time, too, to drop Tom Carter, a favourite of coach Chris Hickey who re-signed him last week for a couple more seasons. Carter was caught from behind in one dash to the line. His passing is ponderous and when Rob Horne came on at centre he gave the back attack a sharpness that has been lacking this season.
The Waratahs match against the ACT Brumbies in a couple of weeks time is shaping up to be a cracker. I thought the Brumbies were strong, physically and mentally, against the Sharks. They gave up too many penalties, which kept the Sharks in the game. But their attack looked good, especially when Matt Giteau took the ball to the line.
My main complaint about the Brumbies is that Josh Valentine tends to force his number 10 to stand deep in the pocket with the angle of his passes. He needs to pass flatter to give a strong backline (although Stirling Mortlock looked a shadow of his former powerful self) a chance.
The Brumbies in fact have played well all season. Their loss to the Bulls came after they were leading at half-time and then (they claim) conceded seven successive penalties.
This brings us to the issue of the refereeing. There were no complaints this round from any of the teams that had neutral referees. And this is as it should be.
Although John Smit won the quip of the round when a touch judge decision went against his team. ”Did Marks make the call?’ he asked.
Old captains are like old elephants in that they never forget. Smit plays at the pace of an old elephant these days, as well
Back to the Waratahs. It is one thing to be adventurous against the Lions, a team that has won only a handful of games in Australia in Super Rugby.
Now they have to start playing running rugby against stronger teams, starting with the Western Force next week. So have the Waratahs kicked the kicking habit?
So far, so good is all that can be said for now.
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.
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Rugby Union articles
- Will Super Rugby crowds continue their slide? (201)
- Will South African rugby force a Super 21 by 2018? (173)
- The real story of how John O’Neill turned Manchester City down (70)
- Dan Parks and the unsolved questions of expat rugby (65)
- Australian teams at Super disadvantage (58)
- Pocock set to be named new Force skipper (56)
- Can the ‘Tahs win the battle after losing the Waugh? (51)
- France turns to Parra and Trinh-Duc
- Rebels look to lift for formidable Blues in rugby trial
- Mr Fix-It Lucas wants to nail down No.10
- Force roost loses ‘Mother Hen’ Sharpe
- Victory beat Mariners with Kewell winner
- Waratahs romp to 83-5 trial win over Samoa A
- Quade Cooper’s return to the Reds goes up a gear
- Wales show Southern Hemisphere how to play running rugby (29)
- What opening matches of Six Nations taught us (19)
- Will Super Rugby crowds continue their slide? (202)
- Clinical Chiefs cost rusty Rebels in Corio (9)
- Six Nations shows rugby is a parochial game at heart (5)
- Goose’s Super Rugby up-and-comer XV for 2012 (29)
- What does the future hold for the Six Nations (50)
- Explore:
- Chris Hickey, Drew Mitchell, Josh Holmes, Luke Burgess, NSW Waratahs, Rugby Union, Super Rugby
sportym said | March 14th 2010 @ 6:02am | Report comment
short responce, no, the lions were very very ordinary. If you suggesting that the tahs have kicked the habits based on that performace, your kidding yourself. As soon as the tahs face a capable team, they will revert hack to thier old habits. Sorry this article is just so predictable, next week when they play ugly rugby, they will get hammered again, and the it goes around and around. A one off breaking a three year now habit, please give us a little bit more credit…..
Aaron said | March 14th 2010 @ 7:19am | Report comment
Sportym. “a capable team” such as the bulls perhaps? credit where credit is due my friend. However, I do agree that Spiros might be a bridge too far if he thinks 2 games in 5 years is changing any habits.
Chuck said | March 14th 2010 @ 6:20am | Report comment
Holmes plays for himself – loves to hog the ball. Also has a much slower pass through the air than Burgess. Your man-crush on Holmes is very weird Spiro.
Bay35Pablo said | March 14th 2010 @ 9:49am | Report comment
Pfff, Holmes is clearly a better player than Burgess. They were a better team when Holmes was on. Burgo is nowhere near the level that got him into the Wallabies almost 2 years ago.
sheek said | March 14th 2010 @ 8:11am | Report comment
Spiro,
How can anyone seriously contemplate the Waratahs “turning the corner” after basically a training run against the inept Lions?
The Waratahs did what was required of them – win & win well. Expectation wise, they were on a hiding to nothing. They did precisely what was expected of them – no more, no less.
Pressure is the thing that turns minds to mush, or forges strength in adversity. Let’s wait & see how these Waratahs play when they are under severe pressure. Then we’ll know if they’ve progressed or not…..
Even looser said | March 14th 2010 @ 8:22am | Report comment
“It’s time, too, to start Tom Carter, a favourite of coach Chris Hickey who re-signed him last week for a couple more seasons.” Maybe it’s the use of commas but I’m not getting this. TC is already starting. Maybe you meant it to read ‘It’s time, too, to bench Tom Carter………..’?
And yep I chuckled at John Smit’s little dig at Mark’s. And fair enough too. In the end though I think it was not Mark’s but the second Assistant Ref who completely missed Lauchie Turner stepping out before scoring his try. Reckon OPSM should be the sponsor on these guys jerseys.
bennalong said | March 14th 2010 @ 8:51am | Report comment
Indeed, let’s wait and see. It’s a pity, sheek, this hasn’t happened so far. Uurgh, with the ‘fans’ writing here, I mean!
Did you watch the Brumbies match last night? Did you perchance notice the kicking game to keep the Sharks out of kicking distance?
Except for the first game in which we were treated to a fantastic comeback (tick) despite a game played asleep, theyve gone out every week throwing the ball around (tick) Against the Sharks they played a shocker in the second half when running on empty.
But a week before hey almost beat the form team, on the road, playing an expansive game !
So Spiro ASKS HAVE THEY KICKED THEIR HABIT? and Sportym and yourself are moved to rush into print to bag him/them as if you’ve seen no change! How badly scarred are you? If this isn’t a case of ‘a glass half full’ (at least) I’ll go screaming, but you manage to see a glass half empty.
I doubt that we’ve seen a total conversion, after all it’s a team of good kickers. But we have seen a team ‘unleashed’, and we’ve seem them enjoying theselves. (we have seen that , haven’t we?)
I’d leap to the conclusion that there’ll be more of the same.
How much more? ………….We’ll have to wait and see.
But if the knockers started supporting the team from the sideline I reckon we’d see much more.
Try it. It feels quite good
sheek said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:53pm | Report comment
Yeah Bennelong,
But almost all rugby teams adopt a kicking game to keep their opponents out of (goal) kicking range!
That’s half if not most of the problem with rugby union – the players are too often preoccupied about the ref blowing his whistle for a penalty which just about nobody but the ref knows the reason why!!!
Wouldn’t it be great if rugby players could just go out onto the pitch & play rugby without worrying about the ref blowing his whistle every second minute???
Bruce Ross said | March 14th 2010 @ 9:27am | Report comment
Predictably, Spiro continues his witch-burning crusade, inflaming the mob to destroy his bête noire, Tom Carter:
“It’s time, too, to start Tom Carter, a favourite of coach Chris Hickey who re-signed him last week for a couple more seasons. Carter was caught from behind in one dash to the line. His passing is ponderous and when Rob Horne comes on at centre he gives the back attack a sharpness that has been lacking this season.”
This time Spiro has got himself so apoplectic that he can barely get the words out. What does “It’s time, too, to start Tom Carter” mean? It’s certainly not consistent with the rest of his rant.
He pours scorn on coach Hickey for re-signing the player before triumphantly proclaiming, “Carter was caught from behind in one dash to the line.” Presumably Spiro is referring to Carter’s run in the 50th minute. By this time, less than two-thirds into the game, the “ponderous” Carter had made 17 tackles, a massive number in arguably the most difficult defensive position in rugby, without missing one. He had also had numerous kick chases, after one of which he tackled the ball receiver and forced a turnover. And of course he had performed his usual busy involvement at the breakdown.
Rob Horne replaced Tom Carter after 52 minutes of the fastest paced rugby we have seen this season. Not surprisingly, given that he is a prodigiously talented young player, he gave the “back attack a sharpness”. Most of those who had played from the start of the match were buggered by this time.
If a very senior rugby journalist were focussed on analysis rather than personalities, he might have noticed after two-and-a-third seasons that Carter has been a real innovator in terms of how the two centre positions can be played. He is the willing work horse, absorbing a huge defensive work load, consistently leading the kick chases, and playing as an extra backrower at the breakdowns. At the same time, something which is never noted is that his very high-range strength and power enables him to continue to impose himself physically on the opposition backs, wearing them down so that they make mistakes from fatigue.
Of course Tom Carter has serious limitations as a player, something that Spiro and the rest of the Carter-haters take great delight in drawing attention to. But I doubt that any other player works harder to make the most of the abilities that he has. Fortunately his coaches seem to have realised that there is a need for someone who consistently does the hard graft, creating opportunities for the Flash Harries to work their magic. The fact that we have seen so little magic in recent seasons is not necessarily the fault of the honest toiler. Perhaps we should be looking elsewhere.
gerald said | March 14th 2010 @ 3:00pm | Report comment
Predictably, Bruce continues his man-crush and Tom Carter.
RickG said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:02am | Report comment
Yes Bruce, we know he’s a uni boy, you can stop sticking up for him. I’m sure he can handle it.
Bruce Ross said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:32am | Report comment
Excellent rebuttals of my arguments, gerald and Rick. And very clever of Rick to work out the club connection.
Rickety Knees said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:53am | Report comment
Sorry Bruce – I don’t agree either. Carter is at best a crash test dummy style of player. He was run down from behind in around the 5th minute with the try line wide open. He does not understand the running angle subtleties of an attacking 13. He should stick to playing 12 and given the playing strength the Tahs have in that position he should be, at best, on the bench.
Carter should have joined his Uni mates in Melbourne.
max power said | March 18th 2010 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
Bruce the aspects of Carter’s play you highlight are not being questioned by anyway. No one can fault his defense (which is probably the best in the Super 14) nor his effort. The reason’s people want Carter dropped is for those serious limitations that you have acknowledged that he has.
I don’t see how you can term Carter a “real innovator in terms of how the two centre positions are played.” Defensive workload is dictate as much by the opposition and where they choose to run the ball as it is by the defensive player. And while it’s admirable that he leads kick chases and acts as an extra backrower at the breakdown they’re hardly innovative. As many Roarers have already pointed out he doesn’t run lines that ask questions of the defense, seeming to prefer to run straight at his opposite number. Nor does he have the sleight of hand to put his outside players into space.
Also, at 189cm at 103kg he is no bigger than plenty of other backs in Super 14 (Nonu, Mortlock, Cross, Kahui, etc) meaning he’s probably not wearing down the opposition backs as you suggest. Also, due to his lack of pace he isn’t actually that powerful as power is a product of force and speed (or time to be technically correct).
Finally, the magic we did see from the Waratahs at the end of last season on their trip to S.A came once Beale had replaced Carter in the starting side.
chrisa said | March 15th 2010 @ 12:10pm | Report comment
the worst of Carter on Friday was of course his petulant appeal to the referee that someone had dared to rake his back as he lay across the back of a ruck. I can say no worse than that he looked like an English footballer with a mock appeal for an agonising assault.
Bored of the Haters said | March 15th 2010 @ 11:29pm | Report comment
Thank goodness for Bruce Ross who can write an insightful, and educated comment regarding the waratahs. Spiro’s articles continually slate Tom Carter, and he seems to hold some kind of personal vendetta against Carter, which is , in all honesty getting predictable and boring.
Carter like ANY other professional sportsman does have limitations, however his consistant work rate, strength, defensive abilities etc are attributes that are an asset to the Waratahs pack.
For all of Spiro’s herd of Carter Haters, some of whom can barely put together an intelligent argument other than to resort to the ‘man crush’ type comments, I believe the continuing ‘witch hunt’ is not only unsportsmanlike and unconstructive but extremely un-Australian.
Tighthead said | March 16th 2010 @ 7:43pm | Report comment
Mate, what planet are you living on? Bruce is the one eyed mouth of Sydne Uni. The club that has no juniors, plunders the best players from other clubs and though it is located next to Redfern does nothing about promoting the game to our indigenous brothers or anywhere else, except providing one coach to a junior Canterbury team.
Bruce spends his time trawling the Roar to defend and promote his precious Sydney Uni – a club that takes what it can and gives nothing back in return.
Bored of the Haters said | March 16th 2010 @ 8:44pm | Report comment
Intersestingly enough Syd Uni does have a very successful juniors side, a simple search on the SUFC site will take you to the juniors page, however for your reference I have posted here……
‘Sydney University Juniors is one of the 12 Junior Rugby Districts in the Sydney metropolitan area. We provide the opportunity to learn and play rugby from ages 5 to 17 years. Both girls and boys are welcome.’
Tighthead said | March 17th 2010 @ 7:56am | Report comment
and the website goes on “If you are registered with one of our feeder clubs (Canterbury or Petersham) and have been selected as a representative player for the State Championships.
you may represent Sydney University Juniors in 2007. ” Another example of Sydney Uni seeking to take the cream of players without making any investment in junior infrastructure. Oh and by the way we are now in 2010.
Interesting that neither Petersham nor Canterbury make any mention of their realationship with Sydney Uni on their websites. This smacks of a diversionary tactic that conveniently gets trotted out whenever Sydney Uni gets criticised for their lack of community involvement.
Bay35Pablo said | March 17th 2010 @ 8:31am | Report comment
West harbour aren’t much better than Uni in the juniors stakes. Two Blues always seems to be complaining about them similarly.
And I can never work out why Drummoyne Juniors seems affiliated with North Sydney. Not a good look for West Harbour or Uni ….
Bruce Ross said | March 17th 2010 @ 8:46am | Report comment
Tighthead, let me bring you up to date about ” the club that has no juniors”. This is from the Juniors Report in the Sydney University Football Club Annual Report 2009:
“Off the field this season there were two standout events that must be noted; firstly Ray Hudd took on the role as Juniors Coaching Coordinator and in the pre season for 2009 the Junior EDS [Elite Development Squad] was introduced under the management of Nick Ryan [Colts Technical Director] and Greg Mumm [Director of Rugby].
“Ray has been instrumental in raising the standard of coaching and in his creative thinking on ideas to raise player stocks and ability. Ray also steered his under 16′s team to that impressive State Championship victory as Head Coach. The Junior EDS program provided valuable insight into SUFC culture and the professionalism which drives the club at higher levels. This pre-season program will be an ongoing part of our Juniors/Seniors structure into the future.
“Recruiting the right calibre of coach is a challenge in rugby and no less in Juniors. So we were extremely pleased to secure Ray Hudd, Joel Rivers, Dane Cole-Clark and James Godfrey for the 16′s, the indomitable Charles Carter and Wade Gudgeon for the 15′s and Sam Williamson and Carl Tui for the 13′s.
“Once again the Juniors gained from the contributions from senior players who gave their time and expertise at coaching sessions. These included Tom Carter [*Red alert for the Carter haters*], Luke Burgess, John Morellato, Alex Kanaar and of course Nick Ryan and Greg Mumm.
“This season we also took on the responsibility of hosting both the Under 16 and Under 17 State Championships at the University.”
Tighthead said | March 17th 2010 @ 9:50am | Report comment
Does Sydney Uni have a junior club that it can call its own ie u/5 > u/18 playing every Saturday whilst wearing Sydney Uni jerseys?
Sparky said | March 14th 2010 @ 9:32am | Report comment
I think it’s unfair to say the Lions were merely a training run. They went within 13 of the Stormers, currently 2nd on the ladder as i write this. Round 2 saw them score 65 and lose by 7 against the Chiefs who are running 4th on the ladder. They then lost by 15 to the Canes in Wellington. And last week lost to the Brumbies by 11.
So I think that the Lions while not playing a brand of rugby likely to win the competition will present some headaches for some pretty good teams this season and almost certainly take a few wins against some of their current fellow cellar dwellars.
The Waratahs displayed solid defence against the Lions which had been previously missing from their season and then managed to use the pressure that created to put a swag of unanswered points on the Lions. Anyway, I think this is a win that counts for more than is being suggested so far, but i agree, hardly season defining.
Ora said | March 14th 2010 @ 11:13am | Report comment
your kidding right????
Glenn Condell said | March 14th 2010 @ 9:45am | Report comment
Carter will probably not be going to the World Cup but I agree with Bruce that he is doing the job. Like his brother a few years ago he is strong in the tackle but lacks a yard of pace. He reminds me a little of Nathan Grey, who had his limitations, but whose strengths were very important to sides he played in. He could dominate or at least neutralise more gifted opponents with sheer physical aggression. Carter doesn’t have as much mongrel perhaps, but he does have better hands and more awareness of his outside men. He is providing good value, but if Horne can stay fully fit, he will force the issue sooner or later.
Burgess v Holmes is not as clear cut as supporters of either seem to think. Burgess STILL wastes opportunities with his dithering at the ruck, but seems more likely to spark something original, while Holmes is more of a scavenger in support. Jury still out.
What was encouraging was the form of new forwards like Dennis and Douglas, the growing cohesion at 10/12 and the sublime finishing (and starting too, on some occasions) of a bloke who cops plenty here – Drew Mitchell, who rivals Habana, Williams, Bowe and Sivivatu as the world’s most dangerous broken field runner. Those hands of his though…
Bay35Pablo said | March 14th 2010 @ 9:56am | Report comment
I like how they say Carter is usually a 12 and is playing out of position at 13. What type of 12 does he play? He can’t seem to run with any variation, and he can’t really kick or pass. He looks like a 13 to me, and a limited one at that.
He is very much in the vein of Grey, but he is a great Shute Shield player and a variable S14 player. Sometimes good, sometimes not, and often not when the pressure is on.
Everyone looked good against the Lions in the end. We should keep the roll on against the Force, and the Blues wil be the real test.
IronAwe said | March 14th 2010 @ 11:44am | Report comment
Carter would be awesome if he just learned to pass. His big crashball works at club level but not really at super 14. His defense is good as people say but you really need more than that to play at S14 level. The sooner Rob Horne comes in at 13 the better.
LeftArmSpinner said | March 15th 2010 @ 6:39am | Report comment
carter is a workrate player and a good team man. at the moment, the tahs need more than that and cant afford to carry him and his deficiencies.
Justin said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:45am | Report comment
Dont mention Grey and Carter in the same sentence. Grey was a far superior player to Carter.
max power said | March 14th 2010 @ 3:04pm | Report comment
Well considering the number of squandered opportunities due to no support once a player makes a break perhaps Holmes’ scavenging in support could be a massive benefit to the Tahs. He’s probably the best support player in Australia, not really a big call considering it seems to be a lost art. Most importantly, after Friday night it looks like he is no longer allergic to tackling.
sheek said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:54pm | Report comment
Glenn,
Where have you been hiding….. ?
Bay35Pablo said | March 14th 2010 @ 9:52am | Report comment
Spiro, repeat after me – one swallow a summer does not make, one swallow a summer does not make, one swallow a summer does not make, ….
Rockin Rod said | March 14th 2010 @ 10:38am | Report comment
I am a massive fan of Holmes and so is Hickey as he got him to the woodies. He will be starting within 2 weeks
Bay35Pablo said | March 14th 2010 @ 11:01am | Report comment
I thought Holmes was at Warringah?
max power said | March 14th 2010 @ 3:09pm | Report comment
He’s back at Warringah. He was a Warringah junior but moved to the Woodies for2 seasons (I think, possibly 3). He went back to Warringah last year.
Red Rooster said | March 14th 2010 @ 11:31am | Report comment
If Holmes is as good as you say (no argueing he is a very good support player in the open, where he gets his tries) then why was he let go by the Waratahs and Brumbies previously and played as a 12 while at Warringah when Brett Sheehan was preferred. My point is that lots of different coaches, in different environments, including the current NSW Tahs coaches have all decided the same thing – he is second string in terms of halfback skills but a great impact player due to his support play. As it has already been pointed out – one swallow does not make a summer nor does a 20min cameo make a player. despite all of this i am keen to see him do well