For the vast majority of 535 minutes this Super Rugby season, Daryl Gibson’s Waratahs have left their fans blinking in disbelief watching basic rugby fundamentals ignored – passing, catching, support play, tackling, and lack of aggression.
And just for good measure, the Waratahs were constantly giving away penalties, and turning over possession.
Wasteful.
Last night in Perth, the Waratahs led the Force 17-6 at the break, and 20-13 at the 53rd minute.
Would the Waratahs butcher that handy lead, or would they kick on and take the points?
As if Gibson clicked the switch, suddenly the Waratahs poured on 29 points in the last 27 minutes with champagne rugby that featured quality passing, catching, support play, tackling, and aggression with precious few penalties and turnover ball.
Had the Waratahs been thoroughbreds, they would have been immediately swabbed for such a dynamic reversal of form.
They were simply brilliant, crossing for four tries that all included many hands, where even the dyed in the wool Force fans were applauding.
Israel Folau scored his Waratah record-setting 30th try in his 52nd game, beating Lote Tuqiri’s 29 set in 89.
Folau was followed by the flying Reece Robinson, Angus Ta’avao, and exciting young No.8 Jed Holloway while Bernard Foley’s boot gave the Waratahs 29 points in 27 minutes to the final hooter.
The game finished with a 49-17 scoreline – and a bonus point for the Waratahs. The 2014 champs had surfaced from their season-long slumber with a vengeance.
Before Waratah fans start celebrating, the more accurate question would be why did the men in blue play such rubbish rugby for so long?
The answer hasn’t surfaced, and probably never will.
Only Foley, Kurtey Beale, Folau, and Holloway can be excused as not impersonating Rip van Winkle.
And special mention must be made of not only Holloway, but two more top prospects: fullback Andrew Kellaway and prop Tom Robinson.
Kellaway is blossoming as the custodian which has allowed Gibson to pair Beale and Folau in the centres.
Despite his inexperience, Kellaway has proved how reliable he is under the high ball, how keen he is to chime into the backline, and his defence is solid.
Robinson is only 21, but is proving more than capable filling the tighthead prop void with Sekope Kepu playing overseas.
And it’s significant Holloway, Kellaway, and Robinson all re-signed with the Waratahs last week.
Next up for the Waratahs will be the Stormers in Cape Town where they need a repeat of those 27 magic minutes last night if they are to make up for seriously lost time and make the play-offs.
And for the record, congratulations to the ever reliable Dave Dennis on his 100th game, every one of them wholehearted performances.
Can’t wait for Newlands in the hope we see more of those 27 minutes.
Richard
Guest
Tahs were no World beaters - last 27 minutes against a very poor Force team is no indicator. Stormers at Newlands will be a far different proposition.
CUW
Guest
not really , if u look at the lines cut on the grass and the positions of players when they show slo-mo. when the ball from one guy to another travels like a meter (3 teet) max, a short pop pass shud not go so much forward , even allowing for momentum. flat yes but not forwards. look where horrell is and look where seta is when he gets the ball. it is clearly forward. in yesterdays champions cup match , owens went to tmo to chk a short pop pass that ended up in a try - the tmo and ref ruled the ball had gone forwards. again a short pop pass from 8 to 9 , ball went a short distance but went forward. a lot of refs are struggling to spot the short pass going forwards - but excusable in real time without aid of slo-mo. unless they go back and have a look especially when trys are scored.
Harry
Guest
Woken from their slumber? No! they just played the Force!
ClarkeG
Guest
Which are very good reasons that you may have perceived from TV coverage that passes were forward when they might not have been.
ClarkeG
Guest
Well Jerry actually its funny you say that. This probably explains why you can see these alleged forward passes so clearly and others can't. The angle from which we are viewing does give one a perception that the imaginary "line" is "pointing forward".
Harry Jones
Expert
Should be a great match. Waratahs rounding into midseason form, headed into the home stretch in which they have an excellent chance to catch the Rebels and the Brumbies for what might be the lone OZ spot. The Stormers have lived off a heavy 35-man rotation scheme, but will start to want their best XV on the pitch at the beginning. Excellent benchmark game for these two teams. Hope the Tahs bring their A game for 80:00+. And the Stormers better not mess around exiting the 22 with these Tahs. A smart tactical kicking game is the key.
GWSingapore
Guest
"Champagne rugby." Hang the boots up David.
tui Lua Manu
Guest
Remember with conference and how it plays out the past few years the Tahs get to beat up more Aussie side not a good comparison really
Suzy Poison
Guest
No. The Stormers will but them to bed again. But a loss shouldn't kill off Tah hopes. The have the travel weary Cheetahs the next week. Realistically the Stormers are quite experienced at exposing another false Aussie dawn. The Reds beat the Highlanders and then went to go test themselves in the republic. Brimming with confidence, they got a little tickle up by the Bulls and a spanking by the Stormers. I mean look at the Stormers pack, no room for Schalk Burger, he has to come off the bench. Etzebeth and Vincent Koch are beasts. The backline you have De Allende and Juan De Jong in the centres. A good test for Izzy in his new position. Stormers by 15+ but the Aussie conference is quite tight and a win against the Cheetahs the following week, will make for a good tour.
baz
Guest
My Logic is max trys for Tah's is 30. That seems like a low number. However i don't know who are the top try scorers for each rugby team maybe someone can list them. Given there have been quite a few good players play for Tah's over the Years. I am surprised that the high try mark is so low. Izzy high try mark is also helped by the fact they get to play more crap teams in a super 15 or super 18 competition. Compared to the Super 12 days. but in Super 12 days NSW made many finals and lost.
CUW
Guest
the table looks to be settling . after 8 rounds some clear leaders emerging. the conference system favors the lesser teams at the expense of good ones but that is how the money is. after the start the NSW team looks to be in contention for final round. the Brumbies seems to be paying for their board room drama - it is clear their heads are not on the game / park..... going by the form atm , am saying crusaders - chiefs final. 1Chiefs 8 33 2Crusaders 8 32 1Stormers 8 28 1Lions 8 27 3Hurricanes 8 26 4Highlanders 8 24 2Bulls 7 23 1Rebels 8 22 2Sharks 8 21 2Brumbies 8 21 3Waratahs 7 17 5Blues 7 16
BluesMan
Guest
And I bet you'd also call the Waratahs a weak side. So what if Folau was playing for a strong Kiwi side instead...
BluesMan
Guest
Agreed, but if you compare Folau to current players as well it's pretty good.
BluesMan
Guest
Yes that's true. That's why I pointed out Julian Savea and Ben Smith both have played a lot more super rugby games. Both have a great strike rate in international rugby.
KW
Guest
Big deal...Tahs are gonski this year!
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
The pressure has certainly been applied to Gibbo very quickly, that's for sure.
Zero Gain
Guest
Gibson got the criticism for the losses, so he deserved the credit for the changes and this win. Maybe we need a few more to lavish the praise on the guy.
Zero Gain
Guest
I agree the passes in the RWC were OK to let go. But I also think the passes yesterday were also OK to let go, different maybe, yes, but there are three referees watching and none called it forward. Anyway, if I were a Canes supporter I probably wouldn't like it.
CUW
Guest
maybe he is alluding to the fact that the NSW team does not have high number of try scorers or NSW as a team does not score many trys - if 30 is the record. records need to be looked at in proper perspective - like how many trys has NSW Waratahs have scored during the time Folau played and scored 30 trys. sometimes he may have a high strikerate compared to the teams' stats. for example when Murali took 800 wickets for sri lanka , he was more or less taking over 60% of the wickets the team as a whole managed to grab. only other guy who took wickets at the time was VAss. on the other hand when Warne was taking 500 odd wickets , the team had McGrath et al who would take wickets up front leaving little for Warne. the point i'm trying to make is , if a team is filled with try scoring potential then u may have less chances ; on the other hand , if ur the only threat u may have a bucketload. now , if u look at the chiefs backs , all of them are scoring theats - and mckenzie has 4 .
CUW
Guest
@ Jerry the chiefs 2nd try - Horrell to Seta pass was forwards. simillarly in the Force match - the pass to Folau for his record was forwards. i think both were like a carbon copy of each other. a player passing while going to ground , to a close support runner. the ball did not go a long way but it did go forward. maybe both refs missed them becoz of the short distance the ball travelled and the speed at which the supoort runner took it.