The Waratahs Josh Holmes reacts to scoring against the Lions during their Super 14 rugby match in Sydney on Friday, March 12, 2010. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)
You can’t complain about a side that scores 11 tries, most of them from flowing interplay between backs and forwards. So full credit to the NSW Waratahs for finally getting their act together and playing the sort of rugby that would have made the Waratahs of 1928/29 proud of them.
The Waratahs of 80 years ago prided themselves on never kicking, a tactic they picked up from the wonderful 1919AIF side that toured Australia to bring back rugby back to the nation after the game, at the senior level, had been closed down during the First World War.
When Gary Pearse, as CEO of NSW Rugby, attempted to revive the state team now more than 20 years ago he deliberately re-branded it as the NSW Waratahs. The hope was that this homage to that wonderful side of 80 years ago would inspire the modern equivalent.
It’s taken all the games in the 2010 tournament so far (except for a brilliant 40 minutes against the Bulls) for the Waratahs to live up to the traditions of their name.
There were a couple of needless kicks early on (Lachlan Turner just run, don’t needlessly boot the ball away!) But then the running game started to be rolled out. The big forwards were rampant and Drew Mitchell was direct and lethal with his finishing.
Of course, the Lions don’t seem to regard defence as part of the rugby game. They are a side that is robust with the ball in hand. But on defence they don’t seem to have patterns or systems, or even a willingness to stop attacks once they are flowing towards them.
And dare it be said, they were not playing with a South African referee. Vinny Munro, the excellent New Zealand referee, handled the game with a fine understanding of the ebb and flow of the game, and a correctly tough approach to interference of the ball in the rucks and mauls.
When Carlos Spencer got stroppy about a ruling Munro put him in his place and suggested that he’d march the Lions back 10m at a time, back to the try line, if he continued the arguing.
Waratahs were more intelligent at the breakdown, too, than in the past. If the ball is correctly taken in and support it well, then the best thing to do is concede the ruck and wait for a mistake. This was done and we didn’t see Phil Waugh conceding penalties (or in danger of conceding if the referee was on to him) as in previous games.
I was taken to task by a reader of The Roar for suggesting a couple of matches ago (when he was bizarrely, in my opinion awarded Man of the Match) that Luke Burgess should be dropped. This match confirmed this opinion. It was noticeable how much lift the Waratahs attack got when Josh Holmes was running the play.
It’s time, too, to drop Tom Carter, a favourite of coach Chris Hickey who re-signed him last week for a couple more seasons. Carter was caught from behind in one dash to the line. His passing is ponderous and when Rob Horne came on at centre he gave the back attack a sharpness that has been lacking this season.
The Waratahs match against the ACT Brumbies in a couple of weeks time is shaping up to be a cracker. I thought the Brumbies were strong, physically and mentally, against the Sharks. They gave up too many penalties, which kept the Sharks in the game. But their attack looked good, especially when Matt Giteau took the ball to the line.
My main complaint about the Brumbies is that Josh Valentine tends to force his number 10 to stand deep in the pocket with the angle of his passes. He needs to pass flatter to give a strong backline (although Stirling Mortlock looked a shadow of his former powerful self) a chance.
The Brumbies in fact have played well all season. Their loss to the Bulls came after they were leading at half-time and then (they claim) conceded seven successive penalties.
This brings us to the issue of the refereeing. There were no complaints this round from any of the teams that had neutral referees. And this is as it should be.
Although John Smit won the quip of the round when a touch judge decision went against his team. ”Did Marks make the call?’ he asked.
Old captains are like old elephants in that they never forget. Smit plays at the pace of an old elephant these days, as well
Back to the Waratahs. It is one thing to be adventurous against the Lions, a team that has won only a handful of games in Australia in Super Rugby.
Now they have to start playing running rugby against stronger teams, starting with the Western Force next week. So have the Waratahs kicked the kicking habit?
So far, so good is all that can be said for now.
max power
Guest
Bruce the aspects of Carter's play you highlight are not being questioned by anyway. No one can fault his defense (which is probably the best in the Super 14) nor his effort. The reason's people want Carter dropped is for those serious limitations that you have acknowledged that he has. I don't see how you can term Carter a "real innovator in terms of how the two centre positions are played." Defensive workload is dictate as much by the opposition and where they choose to run the ball as it is by the defensive player. And while it's admirable that he leads kick chases and acts as an extra backrower at the breakdown they're hardly innovative. As many Roarers have already pointed out he doesn't run lines that ask questions of the defense, seeming to prefer to run straight at his opposite number. Nor does he have the sleight of hand to put his outside players into space. Also, at 189cm at 103kg he is no bigger than plenty of other backs in Super 14 (Nonu, Mortlock, Cross, Kahui, etc) meaning he's probably not wearing down the opposition backs as you suggest. Also, due to his lack of pace he isn't actually that powerful as power is a product of force and speed (or time to be technically correct). Finally, the magic we did see from the Waratahs at the end of last season on their trip to S.A came once Beale had replaced Carter in the starting side.
Tighthead
Guest
Does Sydney Uni have a junior club that it can call its own ie u/5 > u/18 playing every Saturday whilst wearing Sydney Uni jerseys?
Bruce Ross
Roar Pro
Tighthead, let me bring you up to date about " the club that has no juniors". This is from the Juniors Report in the Sydney University Football Club Annual Report 2009: "Off the field this season there were two standout events that must be noted; firstly Ray Hudd took on the role as Juniors Coaching Coordinator and in the pre season for 2009 the Junior EDS [Elite Development Squad] was introduced under the management of Nick Ryan [Colts Technical Director] and Greg Mumm [Director of Rugby]. "Ray has been instrumental in raising the standard of coaching and in his creative thinking on ideas to raise player stocks and ability. Ray also steered his under 16's team to that impressive State Championship victory as Head Coach. The Junior EDS program provided valuable insight into SUFC culture and the professionalism which drives the club at higher levels. This pre-season program will be an ongoing part of our Juniors/Seniors structure into the future. "Recruiting the right calibre of coach is a challenge in rugby and no less in Juniors. So we were extremely pleased to secure Ray Hudd, Joel Rivers, Dane Cole-Clark and James Godfrey for the 16's, the indomitable Charles Carter and Wade Gudgeon for the 15's and Sam Williamson and Carl Tui for the 13's. "Once again the Juniors gained from the contributions from senior players who gave their time and expertise at coaching sessions. These included Tom Carter [*Red alert for the Carter haters*], Luke Burgess, John Morellato, Alex Kanaar and of course Nick Ryan and Greg Mumm. "This season we also took on the responsibility of hosting both the Under 16 and Under 17 State Championships at the University."
Bay35Pablo
Roar Guru
West harbour aren't much better than Uni in the juniors stakes. Two Blues always seems to be complaining about them similarly. And I can never work out why Drummoyne Juniors seems affiliated with North Sydney. Not a good look for West Harbour or Uni ....
Tighthead
Guest
and the website goes on "If you are registered with one of our feeder clubs (Canterbury or Petersham) and have been selected as a representative player for the State Championships. you may represent Sydney University Juniors in 2007. " Another example of Sydney Uni seeking to take the cream of players without making any investment in junior infrastructure. Oh and by the way we are now in 2010. Interesting that neither Petersham nor Canterbury make any mention of their realationship with Sydney Uni on their websites. This smacks of a diversionary tactic that conveniently gets trotted out whenever Sydney Uni gets criticised for their lack of community involvement.
Bored of the Haters
Guest
Intersestingly enough Syd Uni does have a very successful juniors side, a simple search on the SUFC site will take you to the juniors page, however for your reference I have posted here...... 'Sydney University Juniors is one of the 12 Junior Rugby Districts in the Sydney metropolitan area. We provide the opportunity to learn and play rugby from ages 5 to 17 years. Both girls and boys are welcome.'
Tighthead
Roar Rookie
Mate, what planet are you living on? Bruce is the one eyed mouth of Sydne Uni. The club that has no juniors, plunders the best players from other clubs and though it is located next to Redfern does nothing about promoting the game to our indigenous brothers or anywhere else, except providing one coach to a junior Canterbury team. Bruce spends his time trawling the Roar to defend and promote his precious Sydney Uni - a club that takes what it can and gives nothing back in return.
Bored of the Haters
Guest
Thank goodness for Bruce Ross who can write an insightful, and educated comment regarding the waratahs. Spiro's articles continually slate Tom Carter, and he seems to hold some kind of personal vendetta against Carter, which is , in all honesty getting predictable and boring. Carter like ANY other professional sportsman does have limitations, however his consistant work rate, strength, defensive abilities etc are attributes that are an asset to the Waratahs pack. For all of Spiro's herd of Carter Haters, some of whom can barely put together an intelligent argument other than to resort to the 'man crush' type comments, I believe the continuing 'witch hunt' is not only unsportsmanlike and unconstructive but extremely un-Australian.
sheek
Guest
Glenn, Where have you been hiding..... ?
sheek
Guest
Yeah Bennelong, But almost all rugby teams adopt a kicking game to keep their opponents out of (goal) kicking range! That's half if not most of the problem with rugby union - the players are too often preoccupied about the ref blowing his whistle for a penalty which just about nobody but the ref knows the reason why!!! Wouldn't it be great if rugby players could just go out onto the pitch & play rugby without worrying about the ref blowing his whistle every second minute???
ballboy
Guest
Zeedok - you have 6 more days of sunshine. Enjoy it while it lasts.
chrisa
Guest
the worst of Carter on Friday was of course his petulant appeal to the referee that someone had dared to rake his back as he lay across the back of a ruck. I can say no worse than that he looked like an English footballer with a mock appeal for an agonising assault.
TembaVJ
Roar Guru
With those stats (no penalties and 40%) the top 4 teams would smear the Tahs into oblivion… They would have kicked even their mothers at the post had they faced the bulls so ill wait before claiming them as a renewed running team. The Lions defence is as good as using a strainer for a coffee mug. The reds look good, they are playing with passion and guts.
zeedok
Guest
Everyone loves to bash the Tahs . . . (**DISCLAIMER - I am a Tahs fan**) The Tahs performance was exceptional on Friday. They were brave in attack no matter what was happening and their first movement on every occasion was to run first, then kick if there was nothing on. Need I remind everyone that they did not take a single penalty shot at goal - not a single one. Oh, and also, they only had 40% of the pill (and still scored 11 tries). Their defense (apart from Drew's nightmare) was outstanding. The team that put 65 points on the Chiefs could only get one genuine try!! No doubt, the Reds are playing attractive rugby more consistently, and it could still go pear shaped for the Tahs if they back off the "run from any and everywhere" mentality, but Friday's performance was very, very good -- make no mistake about that. @Spiro -- I'm not sure which Brumbies game you were watching -- I thought they kicked at least as much as the Tahs did the week before. Giteau looked ordinary and the wingers didn't even get the ball. My wife, who was rivetted watching the Tahs and the Reds had to go and get her book to deal with the boredom of the Brumbies performance. How about a little balance here -- nail the team that performs poorly (and negatively) and praise the team that pretty much did what all of us (and the ARU) wanted . . . emphatically.
TembaVJ
Roar Guru
Lara’s Bingle is Brian Lara pulling a off cutter from Glen McGrath onto his stumps for a duck.
Rickety Knees
Roar Guru
This site should have a banner on the homepage "THIS IS A BINGLE FREE ZONE"
Rickety Knees
Roar Guru
Sorry Bruce - I don't agree either. Carter is at best a crash test dummy style of player. He was run down from behind in around the 5th minute with the try line wide open. He does not understand the running angle subtleties of an attacking 13. He should stick to playing 12 and given the playing strength the Tahs have in that position he should be, at best, on the bench. Carter should have joined his Uni mates in Melbourne.
Bruce Ross
Roar Pro
Excellent rebuttals of my arguments, gerald and Rick. And very clever of Rick to work out the club connection.
RickG
Guest
Yes Bruce, we know he's a uni boy, you can stop sticking up for him. I'm sure he can handle it.
LeftArmSpinner
Roar Guru
temba, got it in one.