With four rounds to play in the regular Super Rugby season it is clear that the competition is still very much open.
As an avid Waratahs fan I can honestly say that I will be hoping that the Waratahs can go back-to-back.
As a rugby fan I deep down know that they have Buckley’s chance of achieving this rare feat. My message to Waratah fans is to keep hoping but also not to get frustrated if and when they lose.
Last season I wrote article after article letting all and sundry know not to let the nay-sayers change your mind, that 2014 was going to be the year of the Waratah. This year is different. They do not look capable of taking out the title but that’s okay.
There is no doubt in my mind that with four rounds to go the inconsistent Waratahs are going to eventually usurp the Brumbies and top the Australian conference. The difference is that they are not going to have the luxury of a home final unless the Hurricanes falter at the penultimate hurdle.
That is doubtful because the Hurricanes look like a genuine championship winning outfit. They have the same swagger that the Waratahs had this time last year. It’s theirs for the taking. Yes, the Waratahs are the only side to beat the Hurricanes this year but I sincerely doubt that they could do this again in a grand-final. This is the year of the Hurricanes it seems.
The Waratah’s saving grace is that they will still top the Australian conference without really having hit top gear. I predict the Brumbies will obviously finish a very close second.
I predict that the Rebels will no doubt finish an honourable third but miss out on the quarter-finals, and that the Reds and Force will finish so far down the ladder it will make no difference. That seems obvious I know.
What may not be obvious is that with no sole successful side there will be a silver-lining. With no real standout side this year errors made by the Test selection panel will be minimal.
Sure we hope that the selectors get it right but if they opt for one player over another here or there it really won’t make too much of a difference. Compare this to July last year when Ewen McKenzie opted to ignore some of the championship form players from the Waratahs straight after their triumphant final.
It went far too unheralded that by ignoring too many of the Waratah players, who were in red hot form, for the opening couple of Bledisloe matches at least, we lost all the momentum gained from the Super Rugby victory.
This year will be different. There will be no real momentum. There will be no triumphant Australian franchise and so we can just get on with supporting the Wallabies. I for one am going to try my best to let the selectors select the side, to let the coaching team dictate the tactics, to let the players play the tactics assigned, and just get on with being a Wallaby fan.
Sure I’ll have an opinion as we all will, but I am also going to be at peace if selections and tactics don’t go my way. It’s all going to be much of a muchness and the Test rugby will be as tight as ever.
Sean Fitzpatrick said recently that the Wallabies have more depth across every position in 2015 than ever before. I believe that is true and so I predict a huge 2015 for the Wallabies in the way of some silverware. We will win at least one of the major trophies this year, mark my words, and frankly I’ll take that over a Super Rugby title every time.
Let’s support our franchises for the next four or six weeks and then really get behind the Wallabies!
44bottles
Roar Guru
Guru is a title based on how many clicks/comments your article(s) get. Anyone can become a Guru. Especially with click-bait
44bottles
Roar Guru
I doubt many Welsh supporters would agree with the statement that Roberts is better than Nonu either.
44bottles
Roar Guru
Train, clearly he should've thrown a hospital pass to Horwill, his only runner, who had no support and wasn't expecting the ball. That way Horwill would cop the blame and not Nic White.
MH01
Guest
PererK, that is a good assessment . I did not realize he went my the poster messa before, that explains a lot now. Strange that he was given an expert title at one stage, even guru.... In my opinion, does not make sense.
Red Menace
Guest
Richie Grey....lol
PeterK
Roar Guru
Agree with a caveat. Scott was amongst the most unbiased authors and blogger on this site. At least in most cases he could actually demonstrate his points in diagrams or in very logical well thought arguments. Of course it does not mean he was correct all the time. Michael's articles would be the most biased , agenda driven ones on this site as a collection. There have been more biased one off articles. Certainly more biased posters i.e. formeropenside and a lot of rabid kiwi posters come to mind.
Utah
Guest
Michael was front and centre in calling Scott biased and claiming he had an agenda. Time after time he would throw that at him whenever he disagreed with something Scott wrote. The irony of it is is that Michael has turned into the most biased, agenda driven contributor this site has ever seen.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
No they weren't absolutely "best in their position at that point in time". All 3 had been poor at international level in the 12 months leading up. What reason was to expect they would be any better next time around? Douglas paid the price for a poor Lions Test series and poor 2013 EOYT. The fact he was leaving merely meant that instead of investing further time into him hoping he would benefit for it come 2015, that wasn't worthwhile. You cannot simply point to Super Rugby form of players and ignore their recent test form and say they are the best options. There are almost as many tests as Super Rugby games in a season, these are just as relevant (even more so actually) and there is a large sample size to look at.
Michael Essa
Roar Guru
go the Tahs... i'll be there cheering them on!
Michael Essa
Roar Guru
exactly... to mckenzie's detriment he went with White and Beale aghead of the inform scrum combination of Phipps/Foley.... plus he could've selected douglas but blacked him out of contention because he signed with Leinster for the following season... he was still very much available for the RC.... all three of these players were the best in position at that point in time.. anyways with a more even spread of form and talent this year, mainly because many of the Tahs are not in as good as form things should be easier to take when no one side dominates the Wallaby selection table... it's amazing that many haven't bothered to read what i've had to say... i thankyou for being one that actually read the article past the title.
Michael Essa
Roar Guru
cheers... it is amazing that all my articles are always varying degrees of being positive... yet this seems to bring out the worst in some.
Michael Essa
Roar Guru
I think we will top it as i said.... the wallabies are a better side thean both England and Wales... but you may be right... the best side deosn't always win... still the sun will still come up the next day though.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Clearly you do have a problem with him as you just showed. Your issues are nothing to do with what he does on the field, and everything to do with something that happened 4 years ago.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Righto bennalong. Let's take out the names to remove emotions and just base it on the facts. Would using your most experienced test flyhalf be considered bizarre? Especially when your form Super Rugby flyhalf struggled in 3 June tests? Nobody is arguing it's a selection master stroke. But it's easy to poke holes in hindsight. Beale played 7 tests at flyhalf in 2012. Australia won 4, lost 2 and drew 1 against the All Blacks. I could think of worse options. Clearly this is an anti-McKenzie biased comment as you judge the appointment of Patson, despite no evidence she was poor at the job she was employed to do.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Since the 2011 RWC there has been 4 halfbacks used. 3 of them were the 3 in the squad. If Beale needed a combination with these players to perform, perhaps he's not a test footballer.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
What was White's alternative option to his "clueless box kick" by the way? Forward runners were getting driven backwards, there were no running options, messiah Foley was not in position to take a kick. I always think that in order to criticize somebody's decision, you have to put yourself in their position and consider what would you have done. In that scenario, what's your genius alternative?
bennalong
Guest
I'm not willing to write off the Tahs yet Messa. Lets see what Saturday brings. This time last year I was wondering why we were spinning the ball wide, side to side, before the forewards smashed it up the guts! He's doing it again. I'm predicting we'll eke out a hard fought win this weekend and then go back to last years tactics to win in SA. GO the TAHS PS: I think there'll still be a lot of Tahs in the Wallabies and the usual Reds suspects will be spewing. Richard Graham and John Connelly to replace Michael Cheika. YAY!
mikeylives
Guest
I agree with most of the article. Except I am not at all certain we will make it out of the RWC pool stages.
bennalong
Guest
Were you at the first match against the Brums? Or the second? Let's wait 'til Saturday
bennalong
Guest
McKenzie was lost in a mire of his own creation. The Wallabies were a grab bag selection drawn out of a hat. The Beale selection was bizarre and the fact is that people who are arguing here for his selection wanted him kicked out after the Patston affair