Highlanders v Waratahs. Invercargill.

[Scarfman]

OPTIMIST - The Highlanders play this game all year long, and occasionally it works. They would have beaten any team in conditions like that.

PESSIMIST - Our forwards have got nothing. They got saved by the backs last week, and in conditions like that it was their turn to step up, but they didn't, not even to save the season.

 

[wamberal]

Firstly, I hope that the Highlanders had a financial disaster. No team should have to play at Invercargill, at night, this late in the season.

Secondly, as somebody who has been watching New South Wales play rugby since the days when we could beat the All Blacks, I have to ask - how on earth does it come to this? The Waratahs should always be the strongest franchise in Australia, based upon total population, playing population, you name it. But on last night's performance, they are easily the weakest link. It was boys against men.

 

[Reddy!]

Remember that time when the Waratahs were sitting 2 spots behind the Reds on the Super 14 ladder? I do :lmao: :fishing

 

[DPK]

Remember that time when the Waratahs were sitting 2 spots behind the Reds on the Super 14 ladder? I do :lmao: :fishing

Remember Round 1? :thumb

 

[Godfrey]

You're right, they have gone down hill. The Waratahs that is. (I think the Reds are third or something?)

 

[Biffo]

What is it about Adam Thomson that strikes extreme fear into all opposing Australian forwards?

 

[Reddy!]

Remember that time when the Waratahs were sitting 2 spots behind the Reds on the Super 14 ladder? I do :lmao: :fishing

Remember Round 1? :thumb

Wow good one, I have not heard that before. But seriously...round 1 does not determine whether your team plays finals or not :lmao: loser

 

[Hawko]

I wrote last night that the forwards didn't turn up to play; and I still think so now. But I think another factor is that our coaching staff did not put in place the right forward gameplan for the awful conditions. We don't often play when its like that; if it was like that at the SFS the crowd would be under 2000. Under those conditions we needed to play differently, attacking their pick-and-drives in pods of two or three and driving forward hard when the other team had the ball (bit like they did I guess). That's what coaches with wide international experience are for. Foley's had time in England and knows the drum, did he get over-ruled or is he just a skills coach?

I thought Lawrence's game was appallingly bad. He had absolutely no idea on the scrummaging whatsoever and gave a number of penalties which should actually have been penalties the other way. At the breakdown it was like he had gone back a year in time and was allowing tacklers not to release or roll away but instead play the ball. He allowed the Clan to go off their feet continuously without censure. He was way worse than Walsh last week but you won't hear zip about it.

That being said, the Waratahs did not adapt. They needed to go in and keep playing the ball on the ground, sealing off etc. and play the way the Clan did. They did not, even after half time with the coaches having had their input. It was not just a poor player performance - the coaching gameplan was totally off and did not react to what they saw in front of them even after they had time to change it at half time.

We can still get fourth place but that just means we'll probably get two games in SA. With massive improvement we might win one, but never two.

 

[Gagger]

Watching an Aussie forward pack get rolled in the wind and rain by an 'adventurous' side at the breakdown with an 'anything goes' at the tackle ref (we need to get over it, there's a few) had me right back to last years Tri-Nations. And that had me worried for the Wallabies.

But then I thought through the Tahs pack and realised that there is only one run-on Wallaby in it - TPN (and I wouldn't have him running on in the wet). Mumm still an incumbent bench rider, Baxter & Waugh yesterday's news. TPN stood out, the rest were anonymous.

If the Tah management isn't crapping themselves about this, they oughta be. It's one thing to be in a situation of forced blooding of inexperienced forwards through poor recruitment, another thing to be doing that while your game plan (what there is of one) relies so heavily on the pigs.

The Tahs need some big signings in the pack (Roodt and Jowitt aren't big signings) if they're not going to be dwelling in the bottom half of the table next year.

 

[cyclopath]

I haven't watched it, and probably won't, but is it all the personnel? Sure "attitude" is a lot of the breakdown, counter-rucking and so on, but tactics must be a big part. As others have mentioned, pods of 2-3. Too often Aussie sides (provincial and Wallabies) get done by teams doing this, and failure to adapt once it starts happening.
With the advantage firmly on the attacking side with the current interpretations, this is one of the obvious ways to do something about it. There are, I admit, too many "lightweights" running around in Oz rugby in backrow and lock spots, and I don't necessarily mean their physical size.
As you say, if they can't or won't adapt, they will fall well down the ladder.
The Reds need to watch out this doesn't happen to them too (talking more in weeks to come than tonight).

 

[Biffo]

The Tahs need some big signings in the pack if they're not going to be dwelling in the bottom half of the table next year.

The Tahs need some application and serious player selection and development. Perhaps we should have a five-year plan .. whoops .. we tried that with Matt Williams.

Seriously, there is a "culture" problem when the players don't put in. Blaming the coach or a fullback is quite pointless. In the last 20 years the Tahs have had some undeniably good coaches - Macqueen, Greg Smith, Dwyer and Link. Yes, the results were, at face value, better with those coaches than with others. However, the gap between performance and potential remains very large under any of the coaches. Macqueen is clearly not guilty - an unbeaten season and before S10/12/14.

I don't know what's wrong but it's obviously more than who is the coach or who plays in the backline.

 

[GC]

Seems like the wrong balance in the pack. No super-fit, high-energy players who hit every ruck. Except for Phil Waugh (who's too slow now anyway) and TPN, they're all lumberers who arrive at the breakdown a couple of seconds after the oppn then jog to the next ruck.

It is a good thing only TPN (having serious second thoughts about Mumm) from last night's game will be in the Aus pack

 

[Aussie D]

Does anyone know why Ben Coridas hasn't been given a run in the 'tahs S14 side? He has been in the squad for a few years now and played for the JWs but hasn't cracked the big time. Training / off-field issues or hasn't done enough for JWs?

 

[DPK]

Remember that time when the Waratahs were sitting 2 spots behind the Reds on the Super 14 ladder? I do :lmao: :fishing

Remember Round 1? :thumb

Wow good one, I have not heard that before. But seriously...round 1 does not determine whether your team plays finals or not :lmao: loser

Wtf are you doing on a Waratahs thread anyway? Im going to rename you Mao, because you really are "Reddy!" as in an extreme red.

 

[Nusadan]

We can still get fourth place but that just means we'll probably get two games in SA. With massive improvement we might win one, but never two.

That wins the optimist of the year award...

 

[cyclopath]

The way the table is opening up after this weekend's results, you just never know. Form would say otherwise, but things are going to be damn interesting. That said, if the Bulls clean up the Sharks, they'll all be vying for 3rd and 4th and probably the honour of getting reamed in the republic all round.

 

[#1 Tah]

50 bucks on Tahs to win the title. right here, right now.

 

[Langthorne]

50 bucks on Tahs to win the title. right here, right now.

Don't offer that bet here mate - based on this week's performance you could get amazing odds with a bookie. If you are going to put $50 on the line at least try to get 100-1 odds, or thereabouts.

 

[#1 Tah]

Guys, they played shithouse footy. And every team has an off night. Look at the crusaders V reds

 

[waratahjesus]

Guys, they played shithouse footy. And every team has an off night. Look at the crusaders V reds

the tahs already had a really bad game against the reds in round one though, probably worse footy than they played last night, but they still managed to win, they should have been able to grind that second half out and get over the line but execution was just so so bad.