Super Rugby W has been the most competitive to date but can anyone stop the in-form Tahs in the semifinals?
After missing out on the title the last two years the Tahs players seem laser focused to win this year.
The NSW Waratahs will look to avoid an offload battle with the Sunwolves in what shapes as a frantic, fast-paced Super Rugby clash.
The Tahs lead the Australian conference by four points from the Melbourne Rebels with two rounds remaining.
A loss to the Sunwolves in Sydney on Saturday could see them caught or even passed by the Rebels, who play the Reds in Brisbane on Friday.
While the Sunwolves have won just three games, they are coming off a fine win over the Bulls and rate highly in some key statistical categories.
“I think they are first on ruck speed in the competition and they are second on gain line so when you combine those two things, they’ve got a pretty brutal attack,” Waratahs’ forwards coach Simon Cron said.
“For us, we’ve got to make sure we shut those two things down for us to win.
“Teams that have nothing to lose often have a high offload count.
“They will throw the ball around a lot and so for us it’s just key we stick to our defensive systems and our attacking systems and don’t get carried away and stick to our structures.
“We don’t want to end up in an offloading throw the ball around battle with the Sunwolves.”
The Tahs had issues dealing with the Rebels’ offloading last week, with Cron admitting Melbourne got too many metres after contact.
“We just didn’t adjust to it well, a couple of our defenders got ahead and they were able to offload behind the back,” Cron said.
“I think we’ll fix that this week , but also it’s just being able to prevent that offload on first contact.”
Coach Daryl Gibson will make at least one change to his side, with star fullback Israel Folau available again after serving a one-match ban for his aerial challenge in the final Test against Ireland.
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After missing out on the title the last two years the Tahs players seem laser focused to win this year.
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