There is no doubt that the Tahs were well beaten by the Crusaders on Friday. They were blown away in the twenty-minute period around half-time, as the Cantabrians dominated most aspects of the game. Predictably, there has been a lot of doom and gloom in the Premier State over this result, with the most common opinion being that the abilities of this Waratah side were vastly overestimated after two demolition jobs on poor opposition.
But I am not so pessimistic about the prospects of the Tahs based on Friday’s performance. Here are five reasons why:
1. The preparation. The Tahs had a six-day turnaround from an intensely physical clash with the Reds. Most players were nursing niggling injuries, with some worse than others (e.g. Phil Waugh playing with a non-functioning arm). Meanwhile the Crusaders had a two-week break, and came out fresh as daisies. Obviously the break came in terrible circumstances, and a lot of those two weeks was spent helping the relief effort, but there was no doubt this difference in preparation was exposed on Friday.
2. The emotion. The Crusaders came out fired to the eyeballs, desperate to put a smile on the faces of those affected by both the earthquake and the Pike River mining disaster. You could see it on their faces during the minute’s silence. This game meant so much to them, and they played out of their skins because of it.
3. The last 37 minutes. After SBW’s try in minute 43 the Waratahs were beaten. Gone. Done like a dinner. Yet they kept making tackles, and held the Crusaders scoreless for the last 37 minutes, when they looked like they were going to run away with it. The late try to Pakalani meant that the Tahs were in range of the double bonus point if they could pinch another converted try. It wasn’t to be, but at least they denied the Crusaders a bonus point, and history has shown us individual bonus points can make a huge amount of difference come finals time.
4. It was the loss we had to have. There is nothing like a kick up the arse to motivate a side over a long season. With any luck this game will ensure the forwards refocus on the breakdown and first-up tackles, and the Tah backline sharpens its skills just that little bit more. Valuable lessons have been learnt, and you have to hope that the same mistakes won’t be made again when the whips start cracking in later rounds. It’s been said many times before, but sometimes a loss can be the best thing for a rugby team.
5. We have found a new back-up pivot. In the last ten minutes Kurtley Beale showed why he can now be considered our second string five-eighth. Albeit against tiring opposition, he repeatedly threatened the line, and put the efforts of Daniel Halangahu to shame. With Pakalani also putting his hand up, a backline without Berrick Barnes doesn’t look as scary a prospect as the first 70 minutes suggested it would be.
Am I grasping at straws? Maybe. There is still plenty of cause for concern, with injuries to TPN, Horne and Waugh (who is clearly not at 100 per cent) at the top of the list. The poor performance of our scrum is also very worrying, as was our lack of impact at the ruck. But for some reason I am prepared to overlook all that as the Tahs campaign rolls on. A week off will do the world of good, and then a good win over the Cheetahs (which is far from a foregone conclusion this year) will put things back on track.
I am not saying that the Waratahs were robbed, or that we should already be engraving their names on the trophy. However, I do think that as far as comfortable losses go this one has a greater silver lining than most.
But what do I know? I bet on the Brumbies last week.
