Nowra Trials - Tahs v Force and Junior Tahs v Force A

[Lee Grant]

They announced 4,500 at the ground - nice little ground in the bush, but I had never been there before and had trouble finding it. The president of the local club who organised it was working the crowd near the end of the game and just as he said to the folks next to me that they made a few mistakes but would get things right next time one of the lights dimmed.

qwerty
To be honest I didn't see the guy in the dunny but somebody said there was though it may have been someone in the general area.

Edit

In the Ian Payten article on the previous page this was included:

As part of pre-match entertainment, a navy helicopter deposited mascot Tah Man in the middle of the ground - but only after its massive downdraft skittled a Portaloo with a bloke still in it.

 

[Lee Grant]

Both Latunipulu Brothers went to Endeavour SHS. Apo repeat Yr 11 at Newington. Sam has never played for Randwick. He was a Souths Colt, then went to Norths and Wests. He is back at Souths for 2011.

Rohan is also back at Souths for 2011

You're right - and it's not the first time I made this mistake either. Something in my noggin goes to a flanker who has a brother who plays too and I think of flanker Seilala Lam (brother of Jack) of Randwick instead of Samisoni, brother of Apo - and sometimes vice versa. Don't why I do that, nor why I keep calling Fitzpatrick, Kirkpatrick. I think it's old age but it may be the drink.

Rohan had a top game at 10 for the Junior Waratahs last night. I didn't rate him that highly as a Schools player though he got the Oz Schools Ones spot, but it probably had more to do with my bunk assessment than his play. Other SD guys: Prop Faulkner, 2/3 Ulugia and winger Nicky Price played in the 4th Qtr of the main game and went OK.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

FP, that's great news about Berrick.

 

[Bruce Ross]

qwerty
To be honest I didn't see the guy in the dunny but somebody said there was though it may have been someone in the general area.

LG, you've been around long enough not to let the truth get in the way of a good story. And when you're retelling it in ten years time I won't be surprised if it's Sonny Bill Williams and Candice Falzon who were both in the Portaloo.

 

[matty_k]

That is classic Bruce.

 

[Lee Grant]

On fire.

 

[chriss555]

Any idea of the crowd size? According to the local ABC radio station down here they were expecting around 4,000.

Over 4500

 

[topo]

I was there as well but Lee has covered all the main points. I was really impressed by the tahs scrum and especially Kepu who I have never seen look better at scrum time. He was up against Fairbrother who is no slouch and he absolutely dominated him. I wouldn't be surprised if Fatcat starts on the bench next week. WJ and Lee are also both correct when they say that "our Tom" had a blinder and his pass to Beale was right in front of me and was top shelf: soft, subtle and wonderful timing. For the Force Cummins was impressive but I was really pleased to see Alfi Mafi running freely and breaking tackles. Hopefully he will stay injury free and have the big year we have all been waiting for from him.
For the JWs McKibbin was a standout and looks to be more accurate and more reliable than Burgess. I am sure he will get plenty of game time this year and it will be interesting to see how he goes when he gets a bit more defensive pressure in the top side. I predict he will be one of the "finds of the year", although those who have been watching him go around in club rugby won't be surprised. Horne looked great and is not far away. S Timani looks to be a monster, and I hear he's been training hard and is keen as mustard. He might turn out to be a surprise at his 3rd franchise. Alcock has bulked up a bit and was pretty busy.

Overall it was a great night at a bush ground. I'm sure the local club and a few charities would have received a sizable injection of funds and the tahs won a lot of fans when they hung around after the game for photos and autographs until all the kids had left. Rockstars included. I think Kurtley was one of the last back into the sheds.
BTW: compared to SFS reports from last week. Beers were $4 for an icy cold can of Carlton served by a friendly volunteer with virtually no queues. Good steak sambo with onion cost about the same and the profits went to the local "relay for life" fundraiser. And seeing the portaloo blown over by a Seahawk helicopter was worth the admission price alone.

 

[Lee Grant]

Yeah the Tahs scrum was almost un-Australian in its dominance. I thought their scrum went off the boil last year and that their general play around the tackle and ruck was softer - and I'm not just talking about Invercargill. This was only a trial but it looks like they are on their way back.

Agree - Kepu's side of the scrum was rock solid, as was Baxter's; just a few early engages spoilt their copybook. When they had that series of scrums near the Force goal line, some of the Force players were popping up like blue meerkats. I nearly did a Tarzan yell.

Forgot to mention in my report and remembered whilst picking up dogshit from the lawn, of all things: I thought that Drew Mitchell had a better game than on Friday night. When there are try scoring chances between Kurtley and him this season I think they will take most of them; they seem to have a bit of synergy.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

They announced 4,500 at the ground - nice little ground in the bush, but I had never been there before and had trouble finding it. The president of the local club who organised it was working the crowd near the end of the game and just as he said to the folks next to me that they made a few mistakes but would get things right next time one of the lights dimmed.

qwerty
To be honest I didn't see the guy in the dunny but somebody said there was though it may have been someone in the general area.

Edit

In the Ian Payten article on the previous page this was included:

Yeah it's a bit of a difficult ground to find when not familiar. Back in the day (as a junior) you had to travel up a dirt track to it. Which pitch was is played on the top or bottom?

 

[Hawko]

Lee, Topo, WJ,

I am getting really concerned about the tone of the match reports. From these, and worryingly also from the You Tube highlights, it looks like we will start the Super comp in good form and possibly are showing the sort of ammunition in the locker that is required to finally take the grail. Smashing other peoples scrums, forwards imposing themselves in the tight, lineouts and restarts working well, Tom Carter playing like Mark Ella....Please don't tell me you had the rose coloured glasses on and that your match reports are gilding the lily.

As the song says, "I'd rather you be mean than love and lie, I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye, I'd rather take a blow, at least then I would know, but baby don't you break my heart slow, baby don't you break my heart slow."

 

[Lee Grant]

It was the truth, but it was only a trial.

WCRugger

It was on the lower ground, but after the first match McKibbin said that he doesn't often play at a ground where the warm up pitch is as good as the one they play on.

PS

had a chat to Hickey when he was on the way down to chat to the troops still on the field. He was chuffed about how the Academy guys played in the 4th Qtr.

 

[waratahjesus]

Lee, Topo, WJ,

I am getting really concerned about the tone of the match reports. From these, and worryingly also from the You Tube highlights, it looks like we will start the Super comp in good form and possibly are showing the sort of ammunition in the locker that is required to finally take the grail. Smashing other peoples scrums, forwards imposing themselves in the tight, lineouts and restarts working well, Tom Carter playing like Mark Ella....Please don't tell me you had the rose coloured glasses on and that your match reports are gilding the lily.

As the song says, "I'd rather you be mean than love and lie, I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye, I'd rather take a blow, at least then I would know, but baby don't you break my heart slow, baby don't you break my heart slow."

how good is carters footwork for his try, subtle step off both feet, shows up oconnor for pace, world cup bolter.

 

[nathan]

how good is carters footwork for his try, subtle step off both feet, shows up oconnor for pace, world cup bolter.

Shit yeah WJ. Your best mate Spiro seems to agree.

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...ust-be-faster-not-bulkier-20110211-1aqh3.html

A defiance of this formula over the years by Waratahs teams is a primary reason, in my opinion, why Australia's strongest state side has not been able to achieve a Super Rugby championship. On paper, the Waratahs should be strong contenders for the title this season, as in all the other seasons since 1996. The Waratahs have a pack and a back line stacked with Wallabies. The back three, especially if Kurtley Beale can repeat his Wallabies form, should be as brilliant and lethal as any finishers in the tournament. But the obsession with bulking up is a worry.

Why? The experience of Beale is interesting. It was only when he entered the Wallabies camp last season and Robbie Deans prepared him like a New Zealand fullback, de-bulking him as it were, that he started to play with brilliance.

Something similar should happen to Tom Carter, a mainstay of the Waratahs back line (with 42 consecutive matches) since 2008. He is listed in the media guide at 189 centimetres and 98kg. But he plays heavier. In my opinion, he tends to slow down the back-line attacks. In the trial game against the Fiji Warriors, the Waratahs back line plays often broke down when he got the ball. The pace of the backs …

 

[waratahjesus]

spiros article is very interesting and misses a large point the tahs have made this year. that the forwards have bulked up as they were outmuscled by south african opposition last year. the same south african opposition that outmuscled the crusaders and contested the final between themselves.

in fact with a real coach south africa would probably still be ranked number 1. this constant want of jurnos to play like new zealand is strange and ill concived our two world cup wins have come from playing in a new way not copying.

i hope the tahs continue to play whatever way they feel will bring them the best result as i do each of the franchises..

 

[Jets]

Some footage of the game

http://play.viostream.com/?play=a403b83f-b21e-4877-a39f-143bbb2c7e31&player=fv&speed=medium

 

[Hawko]

Some footage of the game

http://play.viostream.com/?play=a403b83f-b21e-4877-a39f-143bbb2c7e31&player=fv&speed=medium

That footage played clearer on my PC than the you-tube one. A couple of comments:

The Force have huge problems with their scrum. That was ugly unless you're a Tah supporter.
Carter had a blinder.
Tahs 24 needs tackling practise (a lot of practise).
What was Greg Petersen doing sea-gulling for that try?

 

[RugbyReg]

That footage played clearer on my PC than the you-tube one. A couple of comments:

The Force have huge problems with their scrum. That was ugly unless you're a Tah supporter.
Carter had a blinder.
Tahs 24 needs tackling practise (a lot of practise).
What was Greg Petersen doing sea-gulling for that try?

were you there or you got that from the footage?

 

[Jets]

He stepped someone for the first time in his career and also passed to someone in space. That's looks like a blinder to me when talking about Tom Carter.:fishing

 

[waratahjesus]

He stepped someone for the first time in his career and also passed to someone in space. That's looks like a blinder to me when talking about Tom Carter.:fishing

he certainly raised a.finger, can the plain man of the reds backline respond?