The scoreline at the SFS on Friday was Waratahs 33 – Blues 12, a five tries to two thrashing that could have been ever bigger if some luck had run the way of the Waratahs.
And leaving the ground, there were smiles on the faces of the true believers – a welcome change from the stunned and angry looks that usually go with a Waratahs crowd streaming out of the ground after their team has suffered another dismal loss.
Look, alright, I know this was a trial match, okay. The Blues left most of their starting pack back in Auckland. They lost the first five penalties. And the match was played in Sydney, not in Auckland.
But the fact of the matter is that I’ve watched the Waratahs since 1996 present sides that were poorly selected, over-trained and under-coached and were palpably unfit.
As a result, one of the greatest of all the provincial sides in world rugby, a side that has defeated the All Blacks more times than Scotland, Ireland and Argentina combined (they’ve never done it!), has not won a single Super Rugby title.
What one can say right now, after Friday’s trial match, is that the Waratahs, finally, look like the real deal. They are playing traditional Waratahs rugby, the rugby that led to the side defeating the 1937 Springboks, the ‘greatest side ever to leave New Zealand’, in the mud at the SCG.
True Waratahs rugby is the Randwick game when the team was famous, successful and the hatching ground of brilliant Wallabies with their glorious ‘Galloping Greens’ game. This game was based on tough, uncompromising forwards (think Simon Poidevin) and skilful, quick (of feet and head) backs (think Ken Catchpole, Mark Ella and David Campese).
In the glory days of the 1980s, Michael Cheika was one of those tough and uncompromising forwards. He appears to have coached some of this old Randwick mongrel into his Waratahs pack.
And the backline he presented towards the end of the trial match looked and played like one of those great Galloping Greens backlines: Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Kurtley Beale (playing like the cunning and occasionally dazzling Lloyd Walker at inside centre), Adam Ashley-Cooper, Alofa Alofa and Peter Betham on the wings, and Israel Folau at fullback.
The Blues just could not hold this backline. And I reckon few other sides in the 2014 Super Rugby tournament will be able to, either.
Cheika looks determined to play Folau at fullback, and his play under the high ball (he took one ‘Up there Cazaly’ leaping catch), his bursts after coming into the line and even his kicking indicated that fullback is his position.
After the match Cheika praised the work of Beale at fly half. Personally, I thought Beale, as usual, over-played his hand as the pivot. Bernard Foley, though, was simply outstanding.
My guess is that Cheika is trying to keep Beale’s confidence up and that he will field a Foley/Beale five-eighths combination. Certainly the backline purred like a Rolls Royce engine with these two working together as distributors.
This Galloping Waratahs game requires a really fit side. And on Friday night, the side showed that the hard work of running up the Coogee Steps seems to be paying dividends. The side looks like the best presented Waratahs side since… since before 1996.
Winning the Super Rugby rugby tournament requires a two-staged effort before the finals are played. First, a side really needs to win its conference. This gives it the home ground advantage for its first final.
Second, a side needs to win the second or preferably first-highest number of tournament points. This gives the side a good chance of having a home grand final.
The most likely local side that stands in the way of the Waratahs achieving this are the Queensland Reds. And on Saturday night the Reds showed their quality by defeating the Chiefs, who are going for a three-peat, 31-20 in front of 7,438 spectators at Toowoomba Sports Ground.
This win, like that of the Waratahs, is an impressive achievement even if several of the Chiefs’ All Blacks were left back in Hamilton.
The Reds have got an invigorated, confident (too confident, perhaps?) Quade Cooper trying to recreate the magic of 2011.
But, unlike the Waratahs with their massive pack, the Reds have a relatively small pack which might find the going tough in the later parts of the tournament. And outside of Cooper, they do not seem to have a killer back or backs capable of ripping defences to shreds – again, unlike the Waratahs.
There is another matter, too, that could tell against the Reds and that is the matter of the coach, Richard Graham.
I think it is true to say that in the top echelons of Australian rugby, there is not the same high regard for Graham as there is, say, for Cheika. Certainly, Graham’s stint at the Western Force was less than stellar.
Against that, Queensland is becoming the new powerhouse of Australian rugby, displacing NSW. This is rather like what has happened with rugby league. The QRU now has 26,000 members and a target of 50,000, and an enthusiastic home crowd that that on most weekends exceeds that of the NRL’s Broncos.
To round out a promising weekend for the Australian franchises, the Rebels defeated the Hurricanes 24-22.
It is true that the New Zealand teams are usually slow starters early on in the trial matches and in the opening rounds of the Super Rugby tournament. While the Australian teams are preparing for the next year’s tournament, giving them many months of preparation, most of the New Zealand players are contesting their provincial ITM Cup.
So we need to be a bit careful about the results of the trial matches when New Zealand teams are involved.
But you can report only what you see. And what I saw at the SFS was a Waratahs side that looked to me like the real deal.
So is this the season, finally, for the Waratahs to win a Super Rugby tournament?
The Waratahs will be in action against the Highlanders this Friday night in Newcastle, as part of the Hunter’s month of sporting madness. Find out all the details here.
IvanN
Roar Guru
And hows that Tahs prediction working out for Spiro now ?
Chivas
Guest
Yes rl, you are missing something. The fact that your contribution to this article is just to make a personally disparaging remark I think that is boorish and petty. The fact that you then go on to suggest I shouldn't express an opinion on an open opinion site does nothing to change this view. I responded in kind to express my opinion of a person who would contribute nothing to the conversation except to attempt to justify making a comment and adding so little of value. If you don't understand that, then you are missing sometiing. The fact that you require someone to spell it out for you would suggest that a bit of intellect is missing which I did also allude to after this long protracted meaningless conversation. As always it hasn't been pleasurable, enlightening or even interesting. But it obviously spins your wheels. Now I graciously bow out of this discussion and would appreciate it if you didn't tr0ll around to add your inane pointless comments to my posts, but as I have no authority over that nor do I wish to have any, you can do as you please. Good luck.
rl
Guest
boorish, small minded, and lacking intellectual capacity are your words friend, yet I stand accused of making personal attacks? I'm clearly missing something...
Chivas
Guest
Well I suggest you take it up with the roar editors who you determine who should and shouldn't express an opinion on an opinion site. My point to you was merely that it would be better if you contributed to the discussion rather than tr0ll around and make personal attacks. If you think that is an appropriate way to behave and shows maturity and intelligence then more power to you. You have made not a single comment here that could be construed as relating to the article in question, rugby or any theme represented. It doesn't require massive intellect to do so, but more than you have displayed. Anyway if it excites you to make personal inane attacks and posts, feel free to continue. I am sure my disappointment in your lack of intelligent input doesn't bother you one way or another. After all it is an opinion site and we don't get to choose who gets to comment.
rl
Guest
Simply having an opinion doesn't give one the right to inflict it upon everyone else old boy... It's a simple concept and clearly far beneath one of your intellectual depth (and graciousness)
Chivas
Guest
Easy to guess your intellectual capacity. Do you have an opinion on rugby the articles you read or jus it all a personal agenda for you to boost your little ego. For the record I have used the phrase twice. The first about 6 months ago. Nice to know you follow me around though. But perhaps you could find something more productive than tr0lling about, but then again.. Good luck.
rl
Guest
seeing as your idea of originality is traipsing out the "whine and cheese" over and over (and over) again, then I take everything else you said as a massive compliment, thank you. (and yes, it was an effort to trawl (troll?) through to this point, but to be fair I had to scroll over some fairly lengthy and unoriginal dissertations by... well, I'll let you guess)
Crazy Horse
Guest
" hire athletic , long-legged bodacious cheer girls ok ? " +10 Matthew. Why arw the Australan Union teamsthe only major sport in Australia and the only S15 teams that don't have them" The ARU seems to not understand the real demographics of the Australian Rugby community. Maybe its different in Sydney but Australia wide most of us did not come from priveledged private schools and a very large proportion born in South Africa, New Zealand where cheerleaders are the norm. They need to do more, a lot more to jazz up the off field entertainment.
Crazy Horse
Guest
Starting at zero the Force now have a very healthy locally produced contingent in their squad. Six newbies this year. Then there are the other players like Pock, JOC, Cummins, Ione etc, etc, etc who got their first big break at the Force.
George Hendrie
Roar Rookie
You now what you're right. The Blues team was so much stronger with out these pathetic losers. Making the Waratahs victory so much sweeter.
Matthew Skellett
Guest
Oh you mean Tah "corperate dole-bludger " Man ! Hey hand him his hat and hire athletic , long-legged bodacious cheer girls ok ? If for nothing else they will take the fans mind off the Tahs looking good losing another season for at least 10 minutes :-) and as far as the 2014 Super Rugby season losing money -the way a couple of News Limited Journalists have been contempteously talking australian rugby down I'd say Murdoch has decided to abandon Super Rugby -it's doomed but a lot of the blame for the parlous state of Australian Rugby as a whole can be levelled at succeeding ARU Administrations (that means YOU Jon). The time of reckoning is coming on the ARU soon and if they fail to capture the public's imagination this year its all down hill and I don't have any sympathy for the main players in this whole saga at all
Toby from Narrabeen
Guest
Where was Tah Man?
atlas
Guest
This year, need the spectators as Bill Pulver says this year's Australian Super Rugby competition will run at a loss. "It will lose money in 2014, but we are putting plans together to try and address that," Pulver told Radio Australia. "On one hand we have an incredibly vibrant competition with five Australian teams playing in the best provincial competition in the world. We are just trying to get the financial model right." former Australia skipper Nick Farr-Jones, who is now New South Wales' chairman, said the future was not rosy. "Super Rugby is hard. We all know that Melbourne has been losing money. It has been tough in Perth and even for the Waratahs it has been hard to break even. We are facing very tough competition from the other winter sports. They are well funded and are getting a lot more out of television rights than we do." Although centrally contracted players have already taken pay cuts, Farr-Jones said that area still needed looking into. "Can we afford one third of our revenues to to be paid to players?" he asked. "Should they be more on incentive programmes?" http://www.espnscrum.com/super-rugby-2014/rugby/story/214371.html#xpaPH242TJeRp7YD.99
BOZ
Guest
I
Kuruki
Roar Guru
I mean for finals.
Chivas
Guest
Interesting comment. I guess everyone who supports the Warratahs can be simply categorised like this? Between you and rl, perhaps you could put your heads together and come up with a useful opinion piece on what makes open support of the Tahs so offensive to you or why you feel the need to defend people who post comments knocking those tag fans who show a bit of positivity and hope about their team. If we assume you are both supporters of rugby. Why don't you explain why when gates have been down and fans have been leaving the game in NSW, positive excitement which at least a builds up some positive energy is to be trashed and denigrated. Positive excitement actually attracts. Should people sooner say nothing until after they have won? Is that better for the game in your opinion? Simply put, marketing the game and selling it in a positive light is critical to getting people to the game. In a city of 4.5 million people, many people are just fans of teams and have never played the sport in their lives at any level. There are three other codes here apart from netball and minority sports all vying for the entertainment dollar. And you think anybody who is supportive of the game here and wants to see it do well is part of some elite group of tweed jackets and pipe smoking old boys club. Perhaps you might like to suggest how best to grow the enthusiasm in NSW and increase attendances while remaining silent? That would certainly be far more interesting than repeating stale rhetoric that has no substance behind it. Anyway that is just my opinion.
Chivas
Guest
Seriously. You trawled through the entire article to make this contribution? Maybe you should take your own advice rather than run around looking to take and give offence. I actually bothered to explain why I think the anti-NSW rants and comments are boorish as at this time of year as I believe it is good for all fans to be excited and in behind their teams. You don't agree, comment on that but just to make small minded quips like you offer up to attack someone individually. Well childish springs to mind, but good to see you some people never change. Here is an idea. Express an original thought of your own and post that. It could be an enlightening experience.
rl
Guest
YAWN... still on that old joke? Were you physically abused in a Qld prison cell? Move on...
CEDRIC
Guest
Touche ole chap.. Touche...Now get ready soon you will turn on that monstrous 600cm flat screen television in your den, light that Pipe, pour yourself that SAPPHIRE Gin & Tonic, Snuggle up in your best tweed jacket & heringbone slippers then prepare yourself for the WARATAHS to burst out of the SUPER 15 blocks round one, then watch them implode by round 8... ..Smashing stuff ole boy..
atlas
Guest
Kart racing - yes I'd say that is about as indicative of form as the pre-season matches have been. And OMG! that phrase was banned at my 9yr old daughter's school, on basis it was 'commonly used by low-class American youth' and therefore inappropriate. Not sure re rugby forums?