The Waratahs host the Reds Saturday night at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 7:45pm AEST.
The Waratahs have beaten Reds seven games in the row. If the Reds do not pick up their try-scoring abilities, it will be eight. The bookies agree, giving $3.60 for an unlikely Reds away win.
The last two games were close, with a winning margin of three points or less. However, those were played in Brisbane.
All the losing matches in Sydney were one-way affairs with a New South Wales winning margin of at least 20 points.
Last week, the Reds were defeated by a more enterprising Brumbies by a similarly high margin. Dan McKellar’s attack finally clicked. I suspect Daryl Gibson’s Waratahs attack will do the same.
Their set piece seems to be functioning well, bolstered by the best set piece lock in Australia – the loyal yet unwanted former Red, Rob Simmons.
The Reds twin props, “Smith and Smith” will be a worry for many fans and the coaches, especially that Taniela Tupou is out due to injury. Their scrummaging has been under pressure in the past few games.
But the greatest pressure that Brad Thorn faces is the ability to keep the pill in multiple phases to deliver points and tries. They have also faded after 40 or so minutes – the result of an “immature” and young team.
The same can be same of the Reds coach. Last week, the lack of initiative to replace two injured players was the turning point of the game.
This is punctuated by the coach’s lack of recognition of this oversight after the match.
There are some adjustment to the Reds line-up this week, due to injuries and rotations. Samu Kerevi continues to keep his 12 jersey, which is a very good thing for him, the Reds and Australian Rugby in my opinion.
The Waratahs have not won four games in a row since 2016. Looking at their next few rounds, they may extend this to a tally of six with home games against the Lions then the Blues. While their attacking approach and pattern is not as dynamic as New Zealand teams – it works!
Quick breakdown cycles, a playmaker fullback and line busting backs has delivered the goods for New South Wales so far. As a sign of confidence, the coach retained 22 of last week’s 23 players.
While Kurtley Beale has not delivered too many exciting performances in the past few eight rounds, I suspect “KB” will cut the fading Queenslanders like hot knife through butter during the latter part of the game.
Make sure you don’t miss a minute of the Waratahs vs Reds by watching it on Fox Sports via Foxtel. From now until 21st April, you can subscribe to the Foxtel Sports and Entertainment packs from just $39 per month for 12 months.
Machiavelli
Guest
Have to disagree - wouldn't be surprised if its a Tah's Hurricanes final.
Stu B
Guest
My gripe is an old one. Kearns droning in the back ground commentary, mumbling excuses for every scrum/penalty/infringement dished to the Tahs, stroking and licking the Tahs the whole match never once paid the Reds a compliment, even worse new few of the Reds players names, just an incompetent boring old fart who had the expectation of becoming CEO of RA, you would have to be joking or not as he may have well fitted in.
Reverse Wheel
Guest
Saying it a thousand times doesn't make it any more true.
Reverse Wheel
Guest
What is bloody minded is your insistence that thorne bring back cooper when he has made it abundantly clear that he is going in a different direction. I'm sorry that your delicate sensitivities are so offended but you need to let go and move on. Cooper is not the answer. He wasn't the answer last year. He won't be the answer next year. Thorne sees that. Cheika sees that. They're the ones that matter.
Ruckin Oaf
Guest
Personally I would say that the jury is still out on Thorn. So far the Reds aren't setting the world on fire, far from it. And baring the Sunwolves the easiest part of the Reds season may already be over. Hopefully they'll find an extra gear soon otherwise this season is going to make the last couple look good.
Blinky Bill - Coffs Coast
Guest
So you wouldn't consider bringing Quade back then.
Malo
Guest
Foley has been the best and still is.
Adsa
Guest
Thorn saying Cooper had poor game management last year has come home to roost. Where was Lance's game management? The Reds forwards this year have given Lance more space than any other Qld ten has had over the past 4 years and all we see is the 10 shovel it on to Kerevi. Yes he can tackle and kick but we will not win games moving forward playing like that. Time for Brad to promote Pauai to ten and Stewart needs more game time. With Jono heading OS, it is time to give these two a better crack at nailing down 5/8.
Ken Catchpole’s Other Leg
Guest
No Mr Wheel, in a year or two it will be way too late. We are talking about a brief window, soon to close. We have lousy 10 stocks, and yet we have otherwise intelligent people completely missing the point. Circumstance : Scarcity of 10’s RA (collectively) Response : Put a fit internationally experienced 10 in club rugby while 3/4 Franchises struggle in attack. I do think he is the best 10 in the country. And your need to attack the messenger (aka playing the man not the ball - “bloody minded few”) indicates the paucity of your logic. Is Nicholas Bishop bloody minded? Is Harry Jones bloody minded? Maybe they are. Maybe I am too. By a number of measures of core 10 skills Cooper is the most capable 10 in the country. Your recourse to name calling brings a level of even mindedness to the debate that we,on the “let’s have a proper 10 playing 10” side of the argument, can only be grateful for.
Fionn
Guest
I dunno, I think that there would be few 8s faster than Naisarani amongst the Kiwi teams, and after watching Cusack I would say he is closer to an open-side flanker in terms of speed than a blindside flank. I would have thought that Pocock was by far the slowest of the trio, although he seems to have slimmed down and sped up.
Highlander
Guest
We will agree to disagree Fionn, No issues for those guys going north/south, bigger issues going east/west for mine
Fionn
Guest
Don't think you're right here. Cusack and Naisarani are both very quick for a 6 and an 8. They lacked imagination in attack Hawera kicking the ball away again and again was a coach killer. Also didn't help that our line out was a shambles. Mostly though, we just don't have the counter attacking skills and instincts of the Landers.
Fionn
Guest
He was from 2016-17
Highlander
Guest
I would replace 'not fit' with not quick in specific positions especially for game plan the Brumbies are trying to play. A loose forward trio of Pocock, Naisarani and Cusack is just not laterally fast enough to support a game plan which attempted to go side to side for large chunks of the game, the Highlanders dealt with this with relative ease. It does support the forward offloading middle of the park game which worked for them in stages last night and worked really well against the Reds, but they went away from this quite quickly yesterday, no idea why. The longer last nights game went on the more evident it was the Highlanders were using their backs to spread out those Brumbie loose forwards, and then simply hit them where they were not. Clean break stats of 15-6 bear this out.
Reverse Wheel
Guest
In 50 years time while Cooper scoots around in his wheelchair there'll still be that bl00dy-minded few insisting he's the best man for the wallabies job.
Reverse Wheel
Guest
So what's the deal with the roar not even bothering to post an aap summary of the games to give us a platform to chat on?
Fionn
Guest
Hawera is playing flyhalf and doing most of the kicking
Ruckin Oaf
Guest
Next Saturday might well find me at Ipswich Road Annerley
Ruckin Oaf
Guest
Yeah - not looking forward to Saturday when they play the Chiefs.
Ken Catchpole’s Other Leg
Guest
Double Agent, haven’t heard too many people putting Lance above Foley. (There is another 10 though that blind Freddy can see is uniquely capable of unlocking defences with passes and kicks from hand) Ruckin Oaf I don’t believe that Thorn is a lousy coach. Quite the opposite actually when you see the teamwork, scrum and success of a team playing with one hand tied behind its back. Thorn is a good coach. However those who have announced his infallibility on this site around a certain player’s non selection deserve a serve it seems. Thorn for all of the minor victories while building a young team has picked a side with 12 tackling forwards and three dancing finishers. Thorn was one of the best right forwards of the modern era but has fallen into the trap of overcompensation. “Defence and scrums are our major problems? I will fix our major problems” He has done this (almost). However in the same process he has created another problem - no creativity in attack. When the only tool you have is a hammer then every problem starts to look like a nail.