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Waratahs Fan Forum is the sign of better things to come

19th May, 2011
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Roar Guru
19th May, 2011
28
2937 Reads

Last night I attended the first Waratahs Fan Forum. While some have interpreted it as a desperate, shallow and even vain attempt to bolster the falling crowds, I see it as a very good sign for the organisation.

From the Chairman, Ed Zemancheff down, the Tahs are a new organisation. New board, new CEO and new management opportunities.

New does not mean inexperienced or not suitably qualified. Often it is a chance to handpick the best team.

They are all successful people in their own right. They have their own ideas. Equally, they are self confident enough to realise that they need to hear and others in the organisation need to hear the message from the fans.

Board, management, coaches and couple of players that attended showed that they can listen to the fans. Now, ALL the players need to do the same. Management by example!

Last night was the expected mixture of fan opinions on everything from the amount of kicking to ticket prices to lack of atmosphere to lack of fan days. All valid, all annoying and all needing to be said.

However, for me, there is one fundamental issue that can solve all of these things. The Waratahs don’t believe!

Deep down, in those most intense moments, they don’t believe and as Phil Waugh said, “Our skill execution lets us down”

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It is clear that the skill execution has failed many times this year. But the answer is not just more practice of the skill. The players and the coaches, but more the players, need to make sure that the belief is there that they can execute that skill when the pressure is on.

The Waratahs strength is also their weakness. They are under intense scrutiny. They see it as a goldfish bowl rather than a wonderful stage on which to perform.

Today is a new day. The challenge starts today. The carrot is that they can create history for themselves and their teammates. The stick is that players who don’t show the belief will be departed very quickly and be replaced with players who do believe.

The new management team will benefit from the new two year player contracts and the centralising of the academies. The Wallabies are further ahead in the cultural change. Hopefully, the centralising will produce more complete players.

Luckily, the Waratahs have the Lions at home this weekend. They are the best opposition for a team seeking to build belief. The brief is to dominate the Lions in every department and score an emphatic win. Baby steps.

In the next five games, the Waratahs need to show that they believe. This takes courage and inner strength. It takes passion. The great Wallaby fullback Terry Curley spoke passionately about this last night.

What is belief? The Waratahs players should know. They are constituted from players who have experienced or observed it in action. Randwick, in days gone by, won more Shute Shields than anyone else with it. Joeys won more GPS premierships than the other schools combined with it.

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Sydney University has been the dominant force in Sydney club rugby, from 1st grade to third grade colts for almost a decade. And Ed Zemancheff, playing flanker for Sydney Boys High, beat Joeys in 1972 and 1973!

When you run onto the field, you know that you are going to win and that you are going to play great rugby. Invariably it happens!

I wish the Waratahs the best of luck and hope that they can achieve their ultimate goal this year: winning the Super Rugby championship in 2011.

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