Waratahs sign ex-All Black Anesi

I guess instead of getting wingers from RL now we are going after Kiwis, jesus I hope this bloke isnt the marquee player we have have been after, we could at least get a decent forward, thats what we need... bloody Australian rugby seems obsessed with spending bucketloads of money chasing after backs, when everyone else seems to know the game is won by having good forwards...if we continue to adopt this mentality, the Wallabies might have to compete in the Pacific Nations Cup, hoping the set piece of the Fijians doesnt give us trouble!! I cant wait to see Scott Hamilton lumbering up the field in the sky blue jersey.

Why would we continue to support the waratahs , no local grade players are ever considered , just shows how bad the players are who coach the nsw acadamy are ,as no one is coming from them to be signed.

And Fiji... :)

As couchnorm says above, the Tahs just need someone to coach the backline. But having Barnes there helps. He will make better decisions than his predecessors and might even direct the ball wider than crash ball to 12 and inside balls to loosies. Gasp! We'll not even recognise ourselves! I think Kafe showed on his chalkboard one night that he couldn't find a single time from set piece/first phase play in super rugby this season that the waratahs got the ball to the wing - he may have even noted to 13! That clearly must change. Successful teams in this competition stretch the opposition from wing to wing and create space and mismatches (inside backs against front rowers in midfield etc.)

And what did the signing of Australian, Steve Devine for the Auckland Blues say about kiwi rugby? Nothing. Exactly.

Sure but the topic of this discussion is not "Anesi wasn't good enough for repeated AB's selection" or "Henry is a twat for selecting a number of players like Anesi" but rather, Anesi was signed to play for the Waratahs. How good the signing is will play out over time. Speaking as a Waratahs supporter, we don't get too excited about much any more. It just hurts too much come April/May. Barnes was the key signing, as it's the first time we've had a world class fly half in my living memory.

Blues and Otago ?????

Here we go... Who did Caucau and Vunibaka play for guys?

All Black Fan, The message to the kids for a long time has been 'Go play rugby league'.

Keep this up and NZ will have the fifth S15 franchise by default. How can Aust ask for an extra team when their biggest province signs an ex-All Black? To only a one-year deal? I can see what message this sends junior players -- if you want to play for the Wallabies, go learn the game in NZ? Maybe that way they can learn composure (if nothing else).

So the Waratahs have signed an All Black ( one test) who was concerned about not getting a starting spot for his super 15 team in NZ. I still await the Shute Shield player they have selected to replace Tahu their 2009 back of the year. Are we getting the message we are not producing our own in any viable depth

I never said he wasn't a good player Fox, do read the post correctly I said he was special but obviously not special enough in the eyes of AB selectors. It will be interesting to see how he goes for sure. I just hope with that ONE test on his CV doesn't lead to mass hysteria about how good the guy actually is and inflate the expectations of Waratahs fans. Hickey is so wrong in his statement and that makes me laugh. Every Kiwi around the world knows that guys have been given a run in the Black Jersey when quite clearly they haven't deserved it. Henry like him or hate him the guy has himself cheapened the Jersey greatly especially in 07 with the rest and rotation policies

I really can't see who they would have rather then him Greg. What NSW really need is a dominant tactician in their midfield. Someone like Conrad Smith would be ideal. Or even better Aaron Mauger. Someone to insist that the outsides get to stretch their legs at the correct time.

This is an interesting signing for NSW in that Anesi has extreme wheels, a quality not as common as it should be in Australian S14 sides. However Anesi's skill-set is limited, he is injury prone, and he has been nowhere near All Blacks selection for several years now. So at the very least the epithet 'marquee' is not warranted. For example, compare him with Daniel Braid. He was NZ Player of the Year in 2007 (winning the highly presitigious Kel Tremain award), and in 2008 he was undisputed as back-up no. 7 to McCaw, one of the premier players in world rugby. So Braid could legitimately be termed a 'marquee' player, but I am struggling to see that this is justified for Anesi. Is he even certain of a starting spot for NSW?

http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/08/25/wests-tigers-withdraw-bid-as-tuqiri-aru-settle-out-of-court/

Where's the Roar article on Tiquiri? Its an unprecedented development in Australian Sport that a player gets sacked and the reason is not disclosed by either party, particularly the ARU.

The backline once again looks handy. Now all they need to do is get some ball in hand instead of playing 10 man Rugby. Which is a worry. Hopefully Hickey has been watching the Shute Shield this season and has realised that you can win playing flowing attractive Rugby. Jameswm Rory Sidey does play outside centre. Has played Magner's League so I'd imagine he'd be useful. Though Horne should be given first chance next season.

I think this is good for the Tahs but bad for the Wallabies. What happened to Big Ratu - or is he sulking now his cousing is gone? And what about D'arcy - am in HK so haven't seen him play but his stats look very impressive and we (do I need to clarify that I'm a Tah's supporter?) definitely need a consistent goal kicker. Everyone bagged Tuquiri (me included) for dropping the ball over the line against the Cheetahs. That drop was raised by some as the reason the Tahs missed this years finals on for/against. However to be fair the goal kickers left far more points behind this year than Lote did with that fumble. The back line looks to be shaping up nicely especially as I expect to see Barnes in the 10 jumper - it won't matter how good the backs look if the breakdown work is as ineffective this year as last though. Who is coming through to put pressure on the backrow positions? Cannot see any contenders for Waugh, Mowen and Palu's positions.

Yes - I agree with couchorm - typical Sydney rockstar backline. I can see the posters being printed as we type. Some big question marks still hang over this team. Not least of which is: Will the inside backs be able to distribute the ball?