Steven Sykes, right, of the Sharks of South Africa hooks Dean Mumm of the Waratahs’ of Australia during their Super 14 rugby union match in Sydney, Saturday, March 6, 2010. The Waratahs won the match 25-21. AP Photo/Rick Rycroft.
The Waratahs victory over the Lions last Saturday finally proved the perennial underachievers are capable of playing running rugby. But it is no time to mention the F word.
The Super 14 Finals are notoriously difficult to make, and without, say, the Bulls, this season’s semi-final spots look to be wide open.
With this is mind, the mindset for the Waratahs should be to follow a grand old cliché, and take it one week at a time.
They appear to be building nicely.
After copping a battering from every corner for their lucky escape over the Sharks, the Waratahs ripped apart the defenceless Lions in a totally dominant display.
While it was fantastic to see the small SFS crowd on their feet, cheering at the sight of a blue stampede, one is brought back to earth quickly after considering the quality of the opposition.
The Lions had conceded an exorbitant amount of points in their previous four matches, and it was easy to the see that this would again be the case early on Friday night.
However, the Waratahs should ride on the back of this performance, and continue the momentum generated from the Lions game in order to put away a struggling Western Force.
A win this weekend is imperative and will come if they stick with the same approach and look to play with ball-in-hand.
The ball-in-hand game the Waratahs used to thrash the Lions was laid up front with the Waratahs able to retain possession in attack and limit their penalties in defence.
The Lions were able to build multiple phases on a number of occasions but because of the well-organised Waratahs defence, their progress was more lateral than forward.
In attack, perhaps the finest sight of Friday’s victory was not Drew Mitchell streaking away for any of his four tries, but more the link work of numbers 4-8 in the midfield.
The Waratahs locks and back-row combined wonderfully on a number of occasions both from turnover and phase ball, allowing them to showcase their short passing skills and support play.
David Dennis, Dean Mumm and Kane Douglas exploited the poor Lions defence one and two-out from the breakdown and after their initial busts were made, it was great to see a number of players lining up for the final pass.
Reserve halfback Josh Holmes was the beneficiary of this on two occasions, perhaps showing he is not too far away from a starting jersey.
The forwards will need to set the same strong platform again in Perth on Saturday night so that the backline has the time to display the running rugby we were told were was going to be a feature of their 2010 season.
If they are able to do that, then a Waratahs win should be the end result putting them in a healthy position heading into a tough stretch of games that includes the Blues, Crusaders and Brumbies.
The Force on the other hand will be desperate for a win after failing to secure a single point from any of their previous games. They will also be keen to put a dent in their Australian rival’s finals ambitions.
If the Waratahs can strike a win in the west, and in the process score four tries, then it may just then be the time to start thinking about the F word.
Even so they shouldn’t mention it.
bennalong
Guest
I guess you're a Waratahs supporter. Right?
Midfielder
Guest
Tahs to make the grand final ...
funmaster
Guest
The warathas shouldnt feel so optimistic about their chances of making the finals just yet. Iam gonna trow out the "what if's" and just get straight to the piont. Here's my two cent's... 1- I say the tah's will lose againts the force. Simple because it'l be an aussie derby. 2- I say the tah's will lose againts the brumbies. Simple because the brumbies are better. 3- Dont forget they havent played againts a kiwi side yet. And will lose againts the saders, the blues and the canes. Now thats 5 losses for the warathas ive predicted, plus the two they already have. So that will make 7 losses plus probably 6 wins. Now is that enough to make the top two? or let alone a semi-final place? Like i said...the warathas shouldnt feel so optimistic about their chances of making the finals just yet.
Blinky Bill of Bellingen
Guest
Yes Nashi we're all excited about Cooper and no doubt other Wallaby 10 hopefulls are watching him closely too. He seems to have come good and is thriving off the quick ball and ability to put teams in two minds that Genia provides. They are a good duo. But as you rightly ask 'what of plan B'?
Brett McKay
Guest
hey Pablo... FINALS!! FINALS!! FINALS!!
Nashi
Guest
I agree Blinky, there are still a number of facets of the game that are just not working as well as expected. Restarts come readily to mind, midifeld penetration for another. Still I am encouraged that the ethos from the Bulls game has been carried forward, I certainly expect the same in Perth unless it is wet. One thing I think that holds the Tahs in better stead than the Reds is their ability to play tight defensive rugby. I can applaud the wizardry that Cooper is producing but at the back of my mind a little voice is saying "so what if it rains and everyone starts dropping the ball - what is plan B?" It is indeed fortunate that the Tahs have a run of a few easy games to get back into their stride.
Farmer
Guest
The Tah's loked very good in the first half, scoring 6 tries when the Lions were at least putting up some resistance in defence. Interestingly, Holmes was playing for most of the first half after Burgess went to the blood bin very early. Passing was a lot better, quicker and well directed. The backs had more time and space. Burgess has the ability to screw up a back line.(eg Tah's and Wallabies) Too slow, 3 or 4 steps before passing the ball, poorly directed passing. By the time the balls gets out, there is much less space. He stands at the ruck, refusing to play the ball quickly, with his hands outstretched trying to milk a penalty. The contrast between Burgess and Genia is day and night. Burgess is a significant reason for the Tah's inability to score tries. He has had his chance. Cheers.
Bay35Pablo
Roar Guru
The crowds aren't silly. They want to see that style of play bedded in before they come back. The Blues will be the big test. If they are still playing that style and winning (or at least losing well in Christchurch, and winning otherwise) when we get to the Brumbies we might see a half decent crowd.
Blinky Bill of Bellingen
Guest
I think that there's many Tahs fans sitting back and hoping like hell that what we saw against the Lions with ball in hand versus aimlessly booting the pill away, is here to stay. However the real concern now has to be about the small amount of possession that we had in that Lions game. That simply won't do against good teams. While there's a lot to like about the Tahs at the moment, we must improve on the restarts or we will starve when we meet the better teams. The Force game gives us another chance to consolidate many of the improvements and really get down those patterns before meeting stronger opposition. You are what you practice.