NSW Waratahs
The Waratahs suck.
They were ordinary at the start of the 2014 season when they lost four of their first nine games including one against the Blues who were almost as bad as they were on the day. They looked crap in their tenth game also when the Hurricanes looked set to thrash them in Sydney when the Tahs were playing like the Keystone Cops. Michael Cheika would have been pulling out what hair he had left. They sucked.
Then their Fairy Godmother appeared and waved her magic wand. They wiped out the big Hurricane lead by half-time, won the match and lived happily ever after in the second half of the season, winning nine on the bounce including the final. It was a bit of a fairy tale but if they start the 2015 season the same way, chances are that their Fairy Godmother won’t be there for them two years in a row.
It could be the Wicked Witch of the West who shows up.
Kane Douglas – will be missed this year
They avoided too much suckiness by having luck with injuries to key players except for a couple at the end of the season—but will that happen again?
They won the chockies but only the Chiefs were worse in penalties conceded per game. The success rate of their own scrums was only middling and opponents got a whopping 91% success rate against them. Their lineouts were nothing special either and losing Kane Douglas is not going to help in that area.
Because they carried the ball so much they turned the ball over more than any other team. Exits from their 22 in 2014 were often scratchy because they didn’t have a cannonball kicker from hand, nor a decent left-foot kicker to clear the ball from the right-hand side of the field. That sucks.
And who is in charge at the Tahs? Michael Cheika is the Wallaby coach, for crying out loud; so how can he wear two hats at the same time? That sucks too.
Waratahs – did not suck too much last year
Why the Waratahs may not suck in 2015
Well, they won it last year.
They ran the ball more than any other team, often dangerously for opponents from their own half, and kicked the ball least. This helped them to score more tries than any other team yet they had the second lowest number scored against them—and they won all their home games. The same may be expected in 2015 because the usual suspects will be playing.
As for the coaching – if there is anybody who can handle two jobs at the same time it is Michael Cheika—and his off-siders, Messrs Grey and Gibson are handy anyway should he not be there full-time.
They’ve had fewer changes than other Super Rugby sides have had, and Douglas is their only significant loss. True, the replacements for Alofa and Crawford are young, but it’s an inevitable part of professional rugby.
And not least to reduce suckiness: they should finish their matches strongly again on this campaign because they are looking even fitter than they were at the start of last season.
Suckiness index – 3
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