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Can Waratahs fans dare to dream?

4th May, 2014
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Michael Cheika. Y U SO BAD? (AAP Image/Julian Smith)
Roar Guru
4th May, 2014
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Can NSW rugby tragics dare to dream? Has Michael Cheika provided an exodus to deliver long-suffering Waratahs fans from the whip of the rugby gods?

Last week Jaques Potgieter stepped forward and boldly stated that not only were the Waratahs going to compete at the pointy end of the season, but they were going to run away with the title.

That’s right. Win the tournament… and he was sober.

At the 30-minute mark of the Waratahs clash against the Hurricanes you could have been forgiven for thinking otherwise. It seemed to be a replay of so many games in past years.

After Adam Ashley-Cooper gave Julian Savea the don’t-argue to feed Rob Horne a five-pointer in the second minute, the Waratahs revisited ghosts and began imploding under pressure. Hooker Jeffery Toomaga-Allen scored a soft try for the Hurricanes and then pounced on an ill-fated pass by Israel Folau in the goal area.

It seemed that the Waratahs – especially in Wycliff Palu’s case – were literally throwing the game away. The Hurricanes kept the boot on the neck with a length-of-the-field break-out that was finished off in the corner by Savea.

It was, as the unheralded fullback Yogi Berra would say, “like deja vu all over again”.

The Hurricanes were on a tear in their last four games with Conrad Smith composing their midfield to feed a rampaging Savea and Corey Jane. In a breathtaking 13 minutes the Tahs went from 7-0 in front to a 24-7 deficit with half time looming and a season sinking.

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Then it seemed that Potgieter’s words channelled into the hearts of the home team and we witnessed a turnaround of biblical proportions. Led by tireless captain Dave Dennis, NSW found flair and physicality to bully their way back into the game.

The final score of 39-30 could mislead one into thinking this was a touch rugby try-fest that our European counterparts often jealously accuse Super Rugby of.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

The man of the match, Michael Hooper, confirmed that he is the current premier openside flanker in the Australian conference with a performance that involved crucial try-saving tackles and scything runs. He was present at each breakdown and it seemed like their were two of him on the field.

Hooper’s tackle on Corey Jane at the beginning of the second half not only saved a try but halted the Hurricanes’ momentum with the game in the balance. With performances like this, Hooper will have David Pocock rethinking his own game to compete with the versatility of the Waratahs dynamo.

Another titan in the contact area was Will Skelton. Not since Owen Finegan has an Australian team been gifted with a giant of an athlete whose physical presence is simply out of proportion to the players around him.

When Skelton thunders onto the ball it almost always takes three people to slow him down. His soft inside ball to Stephen Hoiles showed that he is not just a scary big man with ball in hand. He singlehandedly dominated rucks against the Hurricane pack in the second half, freeing up the considerable firepower in the Waratah forward pack.

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This is “the knife in the teeth” mentality that Cheika spoke of at the start of the season.

Their forwards were standing up and offering X-factor rugby in the contact area to complement the star-studded backline. At the final whistle, NSW went on to score an upset with a four-try bonus point. In doing so, they have put a hand up as serious contenders for their inaugural Super Rugby title.

Dare we dream?

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