NSW Waratahs are set to field one of their least experienced backlines in memory for their opening round Super Rugby AU clash with old rivals Queensland on Friday.
Halfback Jake Gordon, centres Lalakai Foketi and Karmichael Hunt are all expected to miss the game at.Suncorp Stadium with hamstring issues.
Wallabies prop Tom Robertson (back) will be unavailable.
Test utility back Kurtley Beale was recently released, meaning the Tahs backline will be short on experience come Friday, though there should be one Test player in off-season recruit Jack Maddocks.
The Tahs’ backline stocks of proven performers has vastly diminished since the start of the 2019 season.
Israel Folau was sacked mid-season and fellow Test players Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps, Curtis Rona and Adam Ashley-Cooper all left at the end of the campaign.
NSW backs coach Chris Whitaker was excited rather than concerned at taking on the Reds with a depleted and youthful backline.
“One thing we’ve learnt out of this break is a lot of those young guys have really put their hand up.” Whitaker said
“There’s going to be some interesting selection dilemmas for (head coach) Rob (Penney) when it’s time to choose a team.
“You’ve got the guys who played (in Super Rugby earlier this season) making their debut (five-eighth) Will Harrison, (outside back) Mark Nawaqanitawase.
“Now you’ve got (five-eighth) Ben Donaldson (centre) Joey Walton, so there’s plenty of opportunities there and we’ve got a couple of sevens guys Nick Malouf and the other Angus Bell who have have both trained really well.”
Wallabies forward Ned Hanigan is in line to play his first game of the season on Friday, after missing all six of the Tahs’ matches in the earlier Super Rugby tournament through concussion.
The tournament will showcase seven law variations..
There will be goal line drop-outs to reward attacking kicks, replacements for red-carded players after 20 minutes, rewards for 50/22 and 22/50 kicks, and ‘Super Time’ for matches that end in a draw after 80 minutes.
Match officials will also be briefed to police the breakdown, limit the number of scrum resets, and get tough on cynical and repeated infringements to speed up play.
“We’ve come to acknowledge there’s probably going to be a lot less scrums throughout the game,’” Waratahs’ prop Harry Johnson-Holmes said.
Jacko
Guest
penney is brand new but Gibson made some shockers...never gave his young players a go and now Penney will pay the price for the next couple of years. But Thorn was attacked from day one by many here...Gibson got a free ride and was average at best...Developed no one and won nothing...Thorn is developing the future...People are saying the Tahs side is so young and inexperienced for tomorrow night yet the average age of the 2 teams is fairly similar and Thgorn has had some of these youngsters for 2 years now meaning they started very young indeed
Jacko
Guest
OOP I certainly wouldnt expect penny to be copping much yet as he has inherited an absolute mess. But Gibson was hardly given a hard time and rubbished anything like Thorn is.....wessels is a fail by any measure you can come up with. he has had far better talent than his results are showing and that is why Thorn should be seen as doing great...he has had a bunch of 19-22 yo players...and they have played some great rugby this year already...1 point behind the Rebels but just compare the draw...You keep saying results are what determines sucess...That unfortunately means all but 1 coach is any good come the end of a comp as only 1 coach wins.....
jeznez
Roar Guru
Nawaqanitawase has scored four tries in his first five games of Super Rugby, how has he never delivered? Harrison (41) made more tackles than any other flyhalf before the comp broke. please tell us what you think about the defence of JOC (28), To'omua (27) and Lolesio (22). He's second on tackle efficiency on that list (to JOC) which is outstanding for a young guy in his first six matches. https://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/super-rugby/stats/players?position=flyHalf&category=defence&sortBy=tackles
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
As I said, tough marker. On that logic you wouldn't have wanted Latham at the Reds. Maddocks has arguably showed more than Latham did by 22.
Davos
Guest
Marky Mark is another hyped up Tah that never delivered. HJH Robertson Hanigan Dempsey. etc etc Harrsion is a turnstyle, cannot tackle to save his life.
jeznez
Roar Guru
You’re probably right.
tsuru
Roar Rookie
I can’t wait to hear (certain) commentators deal with Will Harrison, Will Harris and Harry Wilson on the pitch at the same time.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
Well, you would, Rhys. Along with Jacko you’ve certainly been the most vocal and consistent Thorn fan. Maybe you have a point on the qualitative perspective, maybe you don’t. But at the end of the day the Reds came second last in Super Rugby 2019 (last if one excludes the terrible Sunwolves), third last on 2018 and were coming second last of the Australian teams this year. It doesn’t exactly make for pretty viewing from a quantitative perspective.
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
Wessels got gifted a squad jam packed full of stars, including one that Thorn was maligned for letting go, but only managed one more win last season than Thorn. In contrast Thorn has played an integral role in developing the next generation of players, not just for Queensland but for Australia. I think Thorn stacks up very nicely against Wessels, despite the later having far more coaching experience, including an apprenticeship under a World Cup winning coach. DW is the Super Rugby coach in Australia, who should be facing the real questions right now.
Paul D
Roar Rookie
You’ve really got to stop responding to this crap Jez. Nobody on The Roar is even remotely on side with “Realist” on this. And the more he pushes it, the more he diminishes the worth of his opinion on every other topic. The damage he does is to himself alone.
Guess
Roar Rookie
Ugh Gordon again. Thought he'd have plenty of time to recover during SR suspension...
Rhys Bosley
Roar Pro
Big deal, the Reds recently lost two starting locks and a highly rated playmaker. The game will reflect the efforts of each club to grow depth from young talent in recent years, which is why I think the the Tahs are I'm trouble.
Gepetto
Roar Rookie
Things are looking up for the Tags; Goon has left Sautia and JP Smith on the bench.
Trebla
Roar Rookie
Looking forward to seeing the whole team play. I am especially keen to see Joey Walton and Ben Donaldson. Both seemed to offer that touch of the sublime, magic hands and innate football sense. Great to see some rugby starting, good luck to both teams.
Oblonsky‘s Other Pun
Roar Guru
That should obviously be ‘apples with apples’ :laughing:
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Have to see it in context Train - in this Tahs side Maddox is their most experienced back. If he doesn’t play like it, have to wonder if he’s ready for the next level. 23 isn’t old but it’s too old to still be wearing the “shows potential” tag.
soapit
Roar Guru
Not to mention Qld has more fans than melb so more opinions
jeznez
Roar Guru
You are a sad, sad individual. Beale was a great servant of NSW rugby. It was however the right time for him and Fitzpatrick to move on. Still waiting for you to share my offensive comment. If you share it, I promise to self reflect on what I’ve said.
jeznez
Roar Guru
Agree. Nawaqanitawase has a lot of work to do on his defence. In Harrison’s case I wish the blokes around him would show a bit more desperation, he’s been making his own tackles plus some of his team mates.
jeznez
Roar Guru
A shame we missed him. I hope the Fighting Fund is still being maintained with all the cost cutting going on. We’ve seen from this latest group how important it is to invest in these young guys.