Author: 2bluesfan
On Saturday, the NSW Waratahs host the ACT Brumbies in a vital match for both sides. At stake is the carrot of a potential lucrative home semi-final for the Tahs and for the Brumbies, well they love (live?) to spoil any Tahs’ party and they can also qualify for a finals spot. There’s plenty to play for. Why should I bother? The Tahs have scored an average of 4.7 tries per match this year compared to only 3.3 for the Brumbies and have displayed a willingness to move the ball quickly once they have achieved suitable field position. Henry Speight…
Listen carefully ‘cos I have to speak quietly. I don’t want that bloody Daryl Gibson using my match preview as motivation for the Waratahs again. The nerve of the guy, he’s given no credit to me at all, not even a nod to acknowledge that my words “may have” provided the stinging motivation required for their recent improvement in form, but we know the truth. Like my mate Donald Trump says, this so-called Tah revival is all #fakenews. (Trump isn’t really my mate but mentioning him is good for search rankings on Google, so fair game. At this point I’d…
To despair, or to not despair? That is the question Are there any casual Waratahs fans left? You, you at the back, is your hand up or down? Right, well that makes two of you. But never mind, the true faithful will be watching come Saturday night with a morbid interest in just how long the Tahs can resist the might of the Crusaders. Yes, the true faithful, us few thousand, will settle into our favourite armchairs and mutter “this time, Tahs, this time” as referee Ben O’Keeffe blows his acme thunderer to start the carnage. The Crusaders have quaked…
I saw a Sunwolf with ginger hair Walking through the streets of Tokyo in the rain He was looking for the winger called Naiyaravoro Cos Big T bruised him again and again If you hear him howling in the wind Better not let him in Poor buggers getting mutilated this week Sunwolves of Tokyo again Apologies to the late, great Warren Zevon. The Waratahs and Sunwolves have only had one previous encounter, a comprehensive victory to the boys in blue. The Tahs have had a reasonably good start to their campaign with three wins and a draw from their five…
2018 is a watershed season for the NSW Waratahs and head coach Daryl Gibson. After a couple of disappointing seasons, the Tahs have had a reasonable start to 2018 with a win and a draw from the first two rounds but they continue on the long distance tour with a number of players under injury clouds and are facing a Jaguares team aching to record their first win for the year. Pundits everywhere have identified the Tahs forward pack as a weakness and their ex assistant coach Mario Ledesma is now head coach for the Jaguares and will no doubt…
The Match I admit it. I started to write my match report at half-time. Here is how I planned to open: I see my light come shining From the west down to the east Any day now, any way now I shall be released … sang glum Tahs fans. But, bugger me, the Tahs came back. Well, that’s true but my in-match notes show that at the 48 minute mark I wrote: Canes taking a smoko I didn’t realise then that they had actually pretty much knocked off for the night. Maybe that’s a bit harsh but it’s hard for…
The Waratahs, are still licking their wounds after a five-day turn-around from a mauling by the in-form Crusaders. They must be cursing the draw as they fly into Wellington for their do-or-die Round 7 match against yet another in-form Kiwi side, the Hurricanes. Why couldn’t they have drawn the Sunwolves this week? Oh well, they have a bye in Round 8. The Teams Waratahs The big news is that flyhalf Bernard Foley is fit to play and winger Taqele Naiyarvoro starts for the first time in the season, replacing Reece Robinson. In some late news, Rob Horne, who was slotted to…
An earlier preview has mentioned that the Stormers have the reputation of being the most under-performing team since Super Rugby began but surely the Cheetahs’ record during from 2006 to 2016 warrants a strong claim to that description (leaving aside the relative strengths of each team’s playing squads). They won only four times in 2016 (three times at home). Their best result ever: sixth in 2013, must be a fading memory now. Embed from Getty Images Francois Venter – Springbok and Cheetah’s captain The squad Coach Franco Smith will need to extract the maximum possible from a squad of lesser-known…
The Waratahs tested the faith of their supporters with a below-par performance against the Hurricanes last night, losing 17-28 at Allianz Stadium. The Match First Half The Tahs were led on to the field by Dean Mumm and Matt Carraro who were playing their 100th and 50th matches respectively. Congratulations to both of them on their achievements. As it transpired, there wasn’t much more for the Tahs faithful to celebrate. Referee Chris Pollock celebrated his 201st First Class match but was probably not quite up to his usual high standards. Early physicality by the Tahs was not sufficiently sustained throughout…
The Waratahs showed glimpses of the attacking spark their fans have been waiting for in their runaway 49 -13 victory over the Western Force. Unleashing their backs in the second half, the Tahs had too much firepower (see what I did there?) for their opponents as they outscored the Force six tries to one. The Match As referee Rohan Hoffman blew his whistle to start the match I gave a sigh and hoped this wouldn’t turn into another error-ridden, stodgy affair that so many of all-Aussie matchups have been in the past but with a silly penalty at the breakdown…
The 2016 season is halfway done for both these teams, although the unkind among us would say it is already done and only the formalities remain. The Waratahs will be desperate to retain some hope of making the play-offs while the Force will be hoping to rub the Tahs’ collective nose in it, aiming to continue their recent record against the Waratahs of W-W-W. Their overall record against the Tahs is five wins and a draw from 15 starts; so if you are that way inclined it may pay to put a few dollars on the home side sneaking away…
In their Round 5 clash against the Chiefs, the Western Force played themselves to a standstill. It was unfortunate that this occurred at the sixty minute mark and the Chiefs proceeded to run riot, eventually scoring nine tries. The Match The dark clouds are gathering over the Western Force as they capitulated yet again in another uninspiring and unimaginative performance that exhibited limitations in skills, vision and ability to react. As predicted by virtually everyone, the Force tried to play their “build pressure through multiple phases” game but the Chiefs countered with their high speed brand of rugby and the…
The tenth meeting of these two sides will see the Chiefs start as strong favourites but it should be remembered that the boys from Perth have beaten them twice before. The Force will be desperate to get back on track after an error-ridden performance against the Hurricanes and will be hoping to find that the Chiefs are vulnerable after the travel and injuries they have endured over the last two rounds. Teams At the time of writing, there are several Chiefs players under an injury cloud. Prop Pauliasi Manu ruptured an achilles at training and is out for the season,…