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They may have world-class players, but the Waratahs are in a rebuilding phase

6th April, 2016
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Israel Folau. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
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6th April, 2016
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Before the season I said it was likely the Waratahs wouldn’t make much noise this year. Watching them tamely go down to the Rebels confirmed my thoughts.

The Rebels aren’t bad, but they aren’t especially good either. The truth is, the Waratahs have fallen a long way since they won their first grand final in 2014 and even since their purple patches last year.

Because NSW is a large state, Tahs talk in the media and places like The Roar comment section tends to be delivered looking through spectacles with the slightest of rose tints. Their perennial February-champions status is one example. That might explain why some didn’t agree with my lowly assessment of their chances in pre-season.

Their squad depth was never anywhere strong enough to compete with the best this season. As Brett McKay said yesterday, the remarkable feat of the current Chiefs juggernaut is they are doing it with players in the injury ward. Other teams at the pointy end have extremely capable benches to supplement their stars.

This year injuries to Tatafu Polota-Nau, Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale have already shown the Waratahs’ fragile depth at key positions.

Jack Dempsey looks a lively sort, but he is 21, has played only a handful of senior club matches, and is starting in Super Rugby. Other options on the side of the scrum behind Dave Dennis and Michael Hooper are barely worth investigating.

Israel Folau is the sole full-time fullback in the squad. Beale can play there, but would surely be picked at No.12 over David Horwitz given the choice. Supplementary squad players Henry Clunies-Ross and Harry Jones are the only other options.

With Beale injured, if Foley was to get hurt last weekend, Horwitz would have been the Waratahs’ flyhalf.

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Those names aren’t names of a championship side entering the third year of its prime. They aren’t rubbish either, especially if the first XV could stay on the field, but we’re talking about Super Rugby; it’s the toughest competition in the world.

Pointing to Michael Hooper, Beale, Folau and Foley and saying you have four genuine world-class players isn’t enough anymore.

This is a rebuilding squad, plain and simple. No one is admitting it but it’s true. It’s enlightening to remember just how different the 2014 Waratahs were to the ones that we see today.

Sekope Kepu, Jacques Potgeiter, Mitchell Chapman, Kane Douglas and Pat McCutcheon were in the Waratahs’ victorious Super Rugby squad but have since departed for greener pastures. And that’s just the forwards.

Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Betham, Alofa Alofa, Cam Crawford, Jono Lance and Brendan McKibbin are some of the backs from two years ago.

If you add the advancing age of Benn Robinson and Wycliff Palu to that list of departures, then you build a picture of a vastly different team.

Not every departure was an Ashley-Cooper or Potgeiter, but many were quality squad-depth at Super Rugby level. Their replacements haven’t yet attained a similar status and it shows.

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As a quick aside, I’ll take a moment to be thankful for that one championship, as a NSW fan. The Waratahs had a very short window where the timing was right – great coach, strong squad-depth, established stars, eager youngsters – and they nailed their moment.

So, the Waratahs are rebuilding, not contending; what sort of building should we expect?

Will Skelton needs to take another step and become an every-week monster. It isn’t enough for him to be powerful for ten or 15 minutes of each game anymore. If the Waratahs’ pack are to be consistently good they need him to become their enforcer. He needs to bend and break the line, not just fall through it. He must also stop dropping the ball.

Handling mistakes aren’t just the domain of Skelton and they are eerily reminiscent of 2013, the first year of Michael Cheika’s stewardship, where the team was adjusting and the lack of clarity showed. This year’s team is unsure and poor skills are amplifying that. As they learn how to play to Daryl Gibson’s patterns and with new players the handling should sure up.

The first-up tackling has been horrible this year and it could definitely improve before the season’s end. They are still employing a rush defence often, as is in vogue, but the line is jagged instead of flat and consistent. That leaves holes all over the place for short passes, offloads and shifty footwork to exploit. Improving that is a matter of time, communication and commitment.

We haven’t seen the best of Foley or Folau yet this year. Foley has only just returned from injury and Folau is partly the victim of poor structure and handling. But they are genuine stars now and need to find ways to take control of games. Their young team needs it.

If all of these improvements are made this year, could they still sneak into the playoffs? I doubt it. But it would signal the team is getting ready to re-load next year, rather than continuing the decline and drain seen since the championship team.

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