Team versus Cheetahs

[fatprop]

Both half backs weren't looking too good. Burgo had slow service, and sometimes just slowed it down, Holmes was similar. I hope to see McKibbin getting a run off the bench, he's exactly what they need at the moment.

After watching the tape, Burgess's service was pretty good

You have got to be joking. It was his loopy droopy passing that directly resulted in the Tahs not scoring in the Paddo corner early on in the game. Take a look a Chris O'Young for the Force last Saturday and then have a re-think.

:nta: I thought he threw the ball that way because of the blues players in the way.

To me, burgess made one key error when he missed the ball when it shot out (but I would not have been surprised that a blues hand had pushed it out, like the earlier one.) his passing was quick and accurate for the game when there were runners and sat on the ball when there were none

 

[#1 Tah]

Rest Waugh and barnes, bench TPN (been playing his heart out, overcomes a hamstring problem every week), Baxter and Palu. Mowen at 7 & McAffery at 8.
Robinson-Fitzpatrick-Kepu
Mumm(c)-Douglas
Dennis-Mowen-McAffery
Burgess-Halangahu
Carter-Horne
Mitchell-Turner-Beale

Bench:
TPN
Baxter
Caldwell/Jowitt(if fit)
Palu
Holmes
Sidey
Anesi

Thats my tip of the week

 

[CanadianRugby]

I'm all for starting the subs, for three reasons:
1) Resting the injured (as mentioned)
2) Playing the subs let you see them and get some game time. Caldwell, Kepu and Fitzpatrick are good players. Them playing lets you see whose playing well and gets them some game fitness. Which could be useful if anyone gets more seriously hurt or needs to be replaced.
3) Since I totally agree that the 'Tahs often play down to the oppostion (except the Lions) then give the subs a chance to prove themselves. Subbies with a chance to break into the starting 15 are very motivated people, maybe wakes some of the starters up as well.

 

[CanadianRugby]

Also, someone mentioned with Mowen being at 7 or whatever, that the 'Tahs should focus on counter-rucking.

Which brings me to my next question: WHERE did their counter-rucking go against the Blues. There have been a few games this year where the Tahs countered very well, but there were a few times against the Blues where it looked like there was an opportunity to counter-ruck and the players stood off. If the new Super 14 laws have taught us anything, its that counter-rucking is the best way to turn over the ball at the rucks. Why did they quit?

They should go back to it, with or without Waugh at 7.

 

[Langthorne]

I would always rest players who are injured, no matter who the opposition is. The bonus is that this week the match is against the Cheetahs (who have loads of injuries). I'm not saying bring on the B team, but if there are any injuries they should be out of the 22. If we want to give the reserves a good run, plan to bring them on early in the second half (hopfully the game will be under control by then too). If the coach is planning on making early changes he should tell the players who are getting replaced so they can leave the field with the tank empty.

 

[matty_k]

I don't think it has been mentioned but this weekend will see Baxter play his 100th Super 14 game for the 'Tahs

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/baxters-100-a-super-effort-20100330-rbjr.html

I wonder if they will break out the masks again.

 

[CanadianRugby]

Lang. I think the difference is playing through an injury or just sitting out to heal the odd bumps and bruises.

TPN hammy etc.... if you have a chance to rest TPN against an understrength Cheetahs team, sure. But he'd have to play against the 'Saders, Bulls or whoever.

I think that made sense.

 

[Newb]

HSBC WARATAHS
15. Kurtley Beale (Northern Suburbs)
14. Lachie Turner (Eastwood)
13. Rob Horne (Southern Districts)
12. Berrick Barnes (Sydney University)
11. Drew Mitchell (Balmain)
10. Daniel Halangahu (Sydney University)
9. Luke Burgess (Sydney University)
8. Ben Mowen (Randwick)
7. Chris Alcock (Gordon)
6. Dave Dennis (Sydney University)
5. Kane Douglas (Southern Districts)
4. Dean Mumm [c] (Sydney University)
3. Al Baxter (Northern Suburbs)
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau (Parramatta)
1. Benn Robinson (Eastwood)
Reserves
16. Damien Fitzpatrick (Eastwood)
17. Sekope Kepu (Randwick)
18. Will Caldwell (Sydney University)
19. Locky McCaffrey (Eastwood)
20. Josh Holmes (Warringah)
21. Tom Carter (Sydney University)
22. Sosene Anesi (Eastern Suburbs)

swiped from noddy's post is the other thread. thought it was appropriate here so as to not interrupt their pub discussions

only palu and waugh rested and that seems to be because of necessity. seems the conservative take no chances theory won out. unless you consider not resting players for down the road taking a chance....

 

[mark_s]

Your damned if you do and damned if you don't when it comes to resting players. But I am more from a bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush camp so I think they have picked the right team, even BB sookface.

Failure to get a BP win this week puts much more pressure on the players later in the year to win with BP's against harder teams which is a tougher scenario especially if the opposition is equally desparate, which they will be.

Other than the bulls, I believe that BP's will decide who makes the finals this year.

 

[Hawko]

And what do we do if BB has another howler? Still play him in the game we have to win to have a chance of getting a home semi? He is playing injured and without confidence. How bad does he have to be before he's "rested"? IMO the only reason to play him this week would be to give him one last chance before the drop. For me that week was last week.

Given the Sydney weather forecast (rain till Tuesday), it'll probably be a field position forward slog anyway. Maybe that explains the curious selection of Alcock over Mowen at 7. I know Mowen is only a converted 7 but I'm told that Alcock is too? Is Alcock a good mud runner? Or is it just that Hickey has zero confidence in McCaffrey?

This game is tailor-made for Caldwell with the weather, why not rotate him and Douglas? And why not give Kepu a full game this week and make sure Baxter is right for next week? Ditto Fitzpatrick and TPN?

Weather may make a BP very hard anyway. We much more need to win next week than get a BP this week. No win next week leaves us one loss away from the danger zone, with four hard games to go. As I stated elsewhere, Stormers have an airchair ride to the top of the table from here if they are good enough, and form to date says they are. Bulls to get second. Whichever team of the Reds, Tahs and Saders can restrict themselves to three losses will get third, otherwise its a bonus point free for all. Note the Brumbies have 1 BP to date and the Chiefs 4 BP's. That's nearly an extra win at the half way mark, although the Chiefs play almost all top teams from here.

 

[RugbyReg]

I'm prepared to declare now that the Tahs will be on top of the table come the end of this round.

Canes to do the Crusaders

Force to do the Stormers

Blues to do the Bulls

Tahs to do the Cheetahs, and well.

For and against may be the stumbling block, but if Tahs win by 20 and Bulls go down by 10 then its on like Donkey Kong.

 

[Ishmael]

I like the look of that side. Mowen, Dennis, Mumm and Douglas looks like a combination designed to run the opposition off their feet, which isn't too hard a proposition against this Cheetahs pack. Can anybody shed some light on what Alcock's like as a player?

 

[mark_s]

Hawko, I agree BB’s form is off but I see no benefit from resting him this weekend. If he can’t recover form playing at home against a weaker team like the cheetahs then he should be dropped. Conversely dropping him this weekend serves no purpose in my view, unless he has an injury which needs recovery time.

Also, I wouldn’t be too concerned about the weather here on Sat just yet. Yes its cloudy and we had some rain last night, but the SFS has a great surface so we should see a good game unless its raining for the actual match.

I still don’t buy the argument about making wholesale changes for games like this. It just breaks up combinations and introduces doubt into the team. It also fires up the opposition and makes them think they may have a chance of an upset. I would rather start with our best 15 and then get subs on early if the game permits. If the game doesn’t permit, well then it would probably have been a bad idea not to start with our best 15 anyway. Finally, if Kepu was going to start against the Cheetahs, I think it should be at LH as I am not confident in his skills at TH.

I have no idea about Alcock but would be interested in other views.

 

[gone]

I watched Alcock play most weeks last year be it in 1st or 2nd grade.

He is a natural 6/8 who is a strong physical ball carrier and good support player with good pace. Solid defensively and can on rare occasions put on a big hit. The Tahs school of thought is that he is not big enough to make the step up at 6/8 so have proceeded to train him as a 7. Personally from what I have seen his on the ball work at the breakdown is not good enough for a super 14 openside but I hope this week he proves me wrong. Having said that the new rule intepretations may suit a 7 with his skill set...

Apologies for any bias but I am a gordon supporter. I guess we will know a lot more about him after this weekend.

 

[Pfitzy]

I like the look of that side. Mowen, Dennis, Mumm and Douglas looks like a combination designed to run the opposition off their feet, which isn't too hard a proposition against this Cheetahs pack. Can anybody shed some light on what Alcock's like as a player?

Lack a bit of crash with Palu out though. Mumm and TPN now have to take this role while Douglas, Baxter, Dunning, and Dennis cover the rucks.

If we're up by a few I'd take TPN off at halftime.

 

[Hawko]

Let me ask the question again. What do we do if BB has another shocker this weekend? If he does then we will have painted ourselves into a corner without successfully-tried options.

The only tried options are Anese to 15 and Beale to 12 or Carter to 12 for BB. Neither fills me with joy playing the Crusaders.

 

[Pfitzy]

Carter to 12.

 

[Blue]

I'm prepared to declare now that the Tahs will be on top of the table come the end of this round.
Canes to do the Crusaders
Force to do the Stormers
Blues to do the Bulls
Tahs to do the Cheetahs, and well.
For and against may be the stumbling block, but if Tahs win by 20 and Bulls go down by 10 then its on like Donkey Kong.

Spent an extended time on the potty mulling this over and I think half you're do's are not getting done. The Crusaders and Stormers will be doing the doing.

Bulls will get the bonus point though.

 

[Scarfman]

Ewww. Too much information.

 

[Scotty]

I'm prepared to declare now that the Tahs will be on top of the table come the end of this round.
Canes to do the Crusaders
Force to do the Stormers
Blues to do the Bulls
Tahs to do the Cheetahs, and well.
For and against may be the stumbling block, but if Tahs win by 20 and Bulls go down by 10 then its on like Donkey Kong.

Spent an extended time on the potty mulling this over and I think half you're do's are not getting done. The Crusaders and Stormers will be doing the doing.

Bulls will get the bonus point though.

Saders might get done, but can't see the Force getting over the Stormers. Noddy, you'd get some awesome odds to pick all those upsets.