'Strongly against it': The history lesson learned from 96-19 defeat as Tahs, Brumbies seek momentum

Two decades after paying the price for resting several starters against the Crusaders on the eve of the Super Rugby finals, the Waratahs have opted to take a strong squad across the ditch to face one of this year’s favourites.

It was two decades ago that Bob Dwyer opted to rest his chargers on the eve of the Super Rugby finals for their trip to Christchurch to face the Crusaders.

At that point, the Waratahs were flying. They returned an embarrassed side, with their confidence hit and their momentum stopped dead in its track after copping a record 96-19 hiding.

What intended to be an opportunity to give their wider squad some game time and its regulars a chance to recharge its batteries came back to bite them.

Worse still, they got smashed 51-10 a week later in their semi-final against the Brumbies and their season hopes were dashed.

Crusaders (NZ) Andrew Mehrtens (centre) and teammates Dave Hewett (L) and Daryl Gibson (R) wave to the crowd following their 96-19 win over the Waratahs at Jade Stadium, Christchurch. (Photo by Ross Land/Getty Images)

Whether or not the Waratahs’ ugly finish to the 2002 season dawned on them or not, Darren Coleman resisted wholesale changes to his side days after saying his squad was “a bit cooked” despite their position on the standings looking like they won’t move from sixth regardless of the results over the next fortnight.

Instead, only Michael Hooper has been rested, with Coleman naming his strongest squad possible, with Izaia Perese (back soreness) joining Test midfield partner Lalakai Foketi on the sidelines.

Former Crusaders academy back-rower Charlie Gamble returns to the No.7 jersey, while Mosese Tuipulotu earns a rare start at inside centre and will partner Joey Walton in the midfield.

The only other change to the Waratahs’ starting lineup sees Taleni Seu return at blindside, forcing Will Harris to drop to the bench.

Then-halfback Chris Whitaker couldn’t help but laugh when reminded of the ugly trip to Christchurch on Thursday but said the decision to name a settled side was more down to the fact of not wanting to let their momentum die after four wins on-the-trot for the first time since 2018.

“There’s been a bit of chat about that. I was strongly against it [resting players],” Whitaker told reporters on Thursday.

“I think everyone realises what happened back then. We had Burkey [Matt Burke] in here last week helping out with some kicking and he reminded everyone of what went down that time.

“That’s what can happen, with a team like the Crusaders, any type of opportunities and they’ll pounce on it.

“But there was no real chatter about outcomes, we’re confident that wouldn’t happen again if we do rest some guys.  It’s more about us and about [building] the momentum we’re on at the moment and where are we going. There was no real chat about 2002.”

Chris Whitaker says the Waratahs want to continue on their winning ways ahead of the finals. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

After a slow start to the year that threatened to spiral out of control, the Waratahs’ backline operated with the best fluency it has all year.

Central to their bonus point win over the Fijian Drua in Sydney was the calming influence of fit-again Walton but also the coming of age of Max Jorgensen.

Jorgensen, 18, was one of the many players that could have been rested for the match, but Whitaker said the group wanted to challenge themselves against one of the competition’s heavyweights on the eve of the finals.

“I just think each week we’re getting a bit better and we just thought it’d be a shame to change the team again,” Whitaker said.

“I thought the guys played some really good footy last week, some good combinations coming together and we’re starting to hit our groove.

“It’s a massive task for us to go over to Christchurch, but we just want to test ourselves against the pinnacle of the competition over the last few years and I thought it’d be a shame to break that momentum.”

Western Force celebrate their win over ACT Brumbies at HBF Park, on May 20, 2023, in Perth. (Photo by James Worsfold/Getty Images)

While the Waratahs are hoping to continue on their merry way, the Brumbies are trying to get their season back on track following last weekend’s stumble in Perth.

Stephen Larkham’s decision to make 12 changes and rest half-a-dozen Test stars backfired, as the Force snapped a nine-year, 14-match losing run against the Brumbies.

The defeat was a hammer blow to their hopes of not just finishing top spot, but also of a top two finish which would put them in pole position to host a home semi-final.

It leaves them needing to knock over the ladder-leading Chiefs on Saturday in Canberra to have any hope of finishing in the top two.

“The guys that played were obviously very disappointed,” Larkham said.

“We spoke about the energy in the room with the guys who didn’t travel versus the guys that did travel, it was a little bit deflating from an emotional perspective.

“We certainly went over there with good intensions and the right mindset but the game didn’t play out the way we wanted it to play out.

“There’s certainly disappointment in the result but the other guys have lifted the boys this week. We’ve had two really good training sessions this week.”

Nic White has been ruled out with injury against the Chiefs. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Larkham named close to a full-strength side, with only Test lock Cadeyrn Neville and halfback Nic White missing from their starting XV.

Wallabies captain James Slipper earlier in the week addressed the Brumbies by saying that the Chiefs would bring a Test-match intensity to the match.

Asked whether the Brumbies were approaching the match like the start of their run into the finals, Larkham said they weren’t looking beyond their penultimate match of the regular season.

“Yes and no, we’re certainly sharpening the edges,” he said. “But we’ve had the same focus all year in terms of focusing on the next game.

“We know that there are finals coming up, we don’t know what the finals look like at this stage but we do know we can control our performance this weekend. We’ve spoken about that, we’ve spoken about that there’s going to be external expectations and opinions from the outside, but internally we’re focussed about putting in a good performance this weekend.”