The Waratah’s decision to starve their own lineout of spoiling opportunities cost them the Super 14 title.
Throughout the 2008 Super 14 final the Waratahs showed a genuine dedication to leaving their best rugby on the ground.
Despite fielding a scrum that seemingly offered little resistance to the Crusader pack, the men in blue were intent on playing glorious, open, running rugby.
At almost every opportunity the Waratahs backed themselves with wave after wave of attack blowing Deans’ men back like dust from an old book cover. It was great to watch as the likes of Elsom and Palu ran hard into the Crusader defence before offering the ball to their flocking hordes of support.
Out wide Lachlan Turner surely earned himself a gold star, impressing with two tries and a mountain of enthusiasm under the nose of the incoming Wallaby coach, Robbie Deans. Even with his ‘Donald Duck feet’ shoes, Lote Tuqiri also loomed as a constant threat at the end of a willing backline that was skilfully guided by Kurtley Beale.
But against a genuinely well rounded team, like the Crusaders, running rugby alone isn’t enough. You need a strong set piece and you need to use it.
The Waratahs’ strength all season has been their lineout’s ability to put pressure on the opposition. It is an area of play where the New South Welshmen definitely had an advantage over their New Zealand opponents.
Instead of kicking for touch and allowing their dominant lineout to put pressure on the Crusaders’ jumpers, the Waratahs were obviously directed to keep the ball in play and run again and again at their opponents’ defence. Rather than apply pressure to the Crusaders, they put themselves under pressure as Richie McCaw and his team manfully withstood the barrage and inevitably stole the Waratahs’ possession.
The resilience of the Crusaders’ defence should not have been a surprise to McKenzie and his brains trust. McCaw’s brilliance at the breakdown is well documented and his performance in the final was little more than ‘par for the course’ for the great flanker.
By taking his own lineout out of the game, Ewen McKenzie made a dumb tactical decision that should now remove the veil of lingering sentimentality that has fallen over Waratah-lane following his badly handled axing.
McKenzie took a team with all of the necessary skill, talent, heart and determination to the Super 14 final. Unfortunately he blew it on the day with bad tactics.
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