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Braved the conditions on Friday night to watch the Waratahs vs Rebels game – and in the first half, the Tahs were just awful.
The restarts and lineouts were a lottery – even in the warm ups they weren’t working – and there is a lot of basic skills work to be done too.
The Rebels easily won the breakdown, with the Tahs playing in about third gear – well behind the pace of the game.
Nothing much went right for Foley and while he played well against the Reds the week before last night was terrible.
The Rebels are building a formidable pack – Jones and Pyle were great all night – and their time will come.
It resulted in a match of two halves as the Waratahs changed gear after the break and increased the pace of the game.
Mitch Chapman was excellent, he is an astute acquisition. Cheika pulled the right lever in saying Robinson hasn’t reached his potential as he stepped up.
Izzy played well and featured in the lead up to all of the tries.
McKibbon played well throughout – his service was crisp and he took whatever opportunities came his way – and Lucas was also good when he came on.
Volavola is also special and with the right tutelage he could be anything.
Next Saturday night the Brumbies will be a stern test of the Waratahs and their commitment to the running game.
Shifting from the moribund winning-ugly mindset won’t be done overnight, but the signs are there that this team is breaking free from those shackles.
Somebody (it may have been Bret Harris) suggested that Kurtley Beale was thinking about coming back to the team, now that would be something special.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.