Author: Hawko

In the season preview I wrote: They will be third in the conference and miss the finals. To exceed that would be a surprise. But hope, that most dangerous of emotions, still remains a spark in every Waratah fan’s heart. The first comment I would make with 20/20 hindsight is that I totally got the Brumbies season wrong. I genuinely felt they had the cattle to do very well this year and with Pocock, Valetini and Naisirani, potentially the best backrow in the competition. Alas they didn’t really get going till round 16 and saved their best game for last.…

On Saturday night the Waratahs play another game no one but the rusted on die-hard gives them a chance of winning.  They’ve crossed eight time zones, so their body thinks its evening and time to go to sleep when its really lunchtime. They are taking their pop-gun pack to the high-veldt to face a pack loaded with behemoths and their game plan is just to run faster. They know that had they beaten the Brumbies two weeks ago they would have been at home, a fact that’s likely to worm its way into their mind at some unguarded moment. They…

Everyone’s expecting a slaughter. Waratahs fans would be happy with an honourable loss, just don’t let it be a wipeout. Conditions were forecast to be awful, real Crusaders weather. But the weather gods were kind and conditions were great for rugby. First half: Both teams have come to play, and the action was fast and furious. The Waratahs were playing with speed, the Crusaders with power. The first 20 minutes play was fairly even, with the Crusaders making some uncharacteristic handling errors as a result of the Waratah linespeed. But while the play was fairly even, the scoreboard was not.…

Are the Waratahs a real threat to overseas teams this year? Are the Lions too inconsistent away from home? We were about to find out tonight. FIRST HALF: The first half was full of action with the Waratahs on top for the first twenty, but just unable to make that decisive break. Malcolm Marx was the outstanding forward, making several turnovers and one almost-try. Then around 20 minutes in the Lions made the only score of the half. They pick-and-drove just over half way, chip-kicked to centre-field and the result was a try to Tambwe, who was dangerous every time…

On a windy day in Tokyo, the Sunwolves were looking for their first win and the Waratahs looking for 5 points to chase the Rebels’ top spot on the conference table. The first try of the game came in the fifth minute. The ball went to Big T in space and he monstered three tacklers before passing infield and Gordon ended up with the score. Foley converted for 7-0. After a period of good pressure, the Sunwolves equalised through Little for 7-7. The Waratahs kicked a penalty for 10-7 and then off a centrefield scrum the Waratahs ran a nice…

Well, for the second week in a row I’m just gob-smacked. In the forums and on the blog no one predicted the game turning out like that. The only hint we got was that Gibson said they would go to the air more often this week.  “Ha-ha,” I said, “just a coach blowing smoke.” With the Rebels picking a huge pack I expected an unstoppable steamroller, but it turned out to be more of unstoppable will-o-the wisp’s. The Match FIRST HALF: It was hot. Over 35 degrees hot. Not great weather for rugby. Play stopped midway through both halves to…

This game was against a team on the bottom of the table with 0 points after three rounds. They would be desperate to break their duck but they should be ripe for the picking. Should be, but Gibson will be asking “What the hell just happened?” The Match FIRST HALF: In what must be the fastest score in Super Rugby. the Waratahs kicked off, Newsome challenged, knocked it back, Jaguares regathered and Boffelli scored in the corner. Sanchez converted, 7-0 after 30 seconds! The Jaguares then scored in the same corner after a turnover. Two tries in 11 minutes. Sanchez…

In the lead-up to the game there was just one thing on everyone’s mind: Would the Waratah scrum hold up enough to allow the Waratahs running game to dominate? The Match FIRST HALF: Both teams lined up in a very windy stadium with the wind behind the Waratahs in the first half. All kick-offs went deep because of the swirling wind with several kicks finding the grass. Waratahs were first to score when the Stormers knock-backs finally went in goal for a 5 metre scrum. Gordon scooted, try converted by Foley 7-0. Next score was a Sharks penalty after desperate…

Conditions were great for rugby and we saw a really exciting game, albeit with lots of mistakes. This match see-sawed back and forth all night till the 81st minute, when the Stormers finally gave the Waratahs a get-out-of jail free card with a lineout overthrow that Hanigan finished in the corner. The Match FIRST HALF: Beale was the first to star, almost scoring in the corner from a chip kick. The second scrum resulted in a penalty to the Stormers, a problem that would continue all night. Then the Stormers chip kicked to Folau (why would you?) and then Foley…

At the start of the season its very hard to say much about the teams because we haven’t seen much of them. The Stormers got their first round away last week, with a win against the Jaguares, but they didn’t look that swish. Carefully analysing the last trial, the Waratahs didn’t look that swish either, despite their big win over the Rebels. WEATHER: This is the Waratahs, so its really important because at the first sign of rain or humidity the Waratahs are infected by knock-on syndrome. That means a Stormers scrum with the feed and that’s likely to generate…

For the obsessive fan the end of January brings a subtle change of thought and mood. Trials have started and despite the heat its only a couple of weeks away from the first game. Indeed the Saffers kick off their first games this weekend. Hope, long dormant since last seasons’ disappointments, begins to rise again, however irrationally. What will this season bring for the Waratahs? THE SQUAD: For Waratahs fans, that hope appears misplaced. Since last year’s debacle, for which nobody but a few assistants were held responsible, we have seen a distinct lack of recruitment activity. All the best…

COACH AND PLAYER RATINGS HEAD COACH: There’s an old management saying, known as the Peter Principle, that holds a germ of truth – that everyone gets promoted till they find their level of incompetency. So how was it that a very good Assistant Coach, liked and respected by all, was promoted to Head Coach and performed so poorly? Maybe the Peter Principle in practice. People still talk about Gibson with respect and say he is still the man to lead NSW next year. But I really don’t see how he can survive this year’s results. He’s in his second year,…

It is with a heavy heart that I begin to put pen to paper (dinosaur, I know) to review the Waratahs 2017 season. Long time Waratah supporters will remember some pretty awful seasons. Remember in the 70’s and early 80’s when Shaw and Loane only had to turn up and we went to water? Those with shorter memories will remember 2012 and the Foley experience, which followed the Hickey years. But those pains have reduced to a dull ache. This year’s pain is still raw and relentless. Watching the Brumbies come up short yet again to a NZ team in…

The game was played away from Wellington, in Napier where the ground has a 22,000 capacity. The conditions were soft and slippery underfoot, but the players made a nonsense of that with their play. The Match FIRST HALF: The Hurricanes started furiously and soon had the Brumbies on the back foot. The first scrums were looking ugly for the Brumbies and Sio had to be replaced with a knee injury in the first seven minutes. Mayhew came on to steady the ship. The Brumbies were not committing enough players to the ruck and were getting blown off at will. Aso…

In my preview on Thursday, I suggested that this game was between one team high on confidence and one at the other end of the scale. And, in the nature of confidence, one team played its game plan with confidence and the other played its gameplan without any. The result was ugly watching. The Match A summary of the game could be made from the first minute of play. The Sharks kicked off, Waratahs fielded the ball, couple of rucks and Phipps did a box kick which was charged down. There were a couple of rucks and the Sharks spread…

This week in South Africa there will be two teams playing at the opposite ends of the confidence spectrum. The Sharks are on a high after beating the Brumbies on the buzzer in Canberra. The Waratahs were on the end of a thrashing from the Lions in Bloemfontein. At 4:30 am AEDT only the tragics and the insomniacs will be watching, but a Sunday morning replay should be well attended. THE WARATAHS: There were some good things done in the last game but the overall feeling was that the Tahs are a team with deep-seated problems. Poor maul defence, bad…

The comp starts for both teams with a must-win game. The Force desperate to stay in Super Rugby, the Waratahs desperate to re-establish after the disappointment of last season. All the players desperate to lay down their individual markers. And then the rain, desperate to ruin the spectacle. THE MATCH In conditions in which only a Kiwi team would have looked good, both teams battled hard. The Force had the better of the first half but as the game wore on the Tahs expressed their dominance and won the match. THE RESULT Waratahs 19 – Force 13 FIRST HALF Conditions…

Well, what a difference a week makes. This week there were some surprisingly average games and one absolute shocker. No one’s going to criticise the number of nines given; there won’t be any. Rewatching, the scrum dominance by Australia was clearer than at first look; the refereeing of the lineout was poor so that clouded the catcher ratings. So, here’s my thoughts after another close look, fire away in the comments. [one_third last=”no”] 1. Scott Sio Played 72 minutes, dominated his side of the scrum despite the Scottish tight head illegal binding, tackled and ran well. 8[/one_third] [one_third last=”no”] 2. Stephen Moore Great…

This, surprisingly, was a hard game to rate. Nobody had a shocker, lots of players went really well. Do you give Haylett-Petty a 9 despite his mistakes? How many moments of brilliance wipe out a dud Foley clearance or a missed conversion? We were totally dominant in the game, but since we wasted about 50 points through errors at the final moment, should all players get their score discounted? So, I’ve gone with these – feel free to disagree below. [one_third last=”no”] 1. Scott Sio Some great runs, especially in the first half. Scrum penalty against him in the second half.…

Individual report cards:  Well done good and faithful servants: So many squad members will not be suiting up next year. Most acquitted themselves with distinction. 10. Kurtley Beale: Up until he wrecked his knee against the Bulls he had been our best player and had he stayed healthy the season might have ended better. His ability to read the play and his combination with Folau was so instictive it was a joy to watch. 9. Dave Dennis: Had some exceptional games, particularly in the second half of the season. He will be missed. 7. Matt Carraro: The very definition of…