Waratahs 2011

[fatprop]

Test prop Benn Robinson to sign new deal with NSW Waratahs

By Jon Geddes
March 24, 2010

Outstanding Test prop Benn Robinson will sign a new deal with New South Wales Waratahs in a major step towards ensuring the team remains a force in Super rugby.

He will also try to convince dynamic backrower Cliffy Palu to reject approaches from Melbourne Rebels and Japan to stay at NSW next season.

Robinson, Palu and hooker Adam Freier are the last three high-profile Waratahs players yet to be re-signed for next year after Wallabies star Dave Dennis agreed to a two-year contract with NSW.

An announcement on Robinson's future will be made once he has completed his negotiations with the ARU.

Robinson said Tuesday "the ball has been rolling for some time".

"Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will put pen to paper -- I don't want it lingering around any longer," he said.

"I have grown up in NSW going to the Waratahs games when I was younger, and hopefully I can be here for a long time to come.

"I think NSW offers so much at the moment. This is where my family and friends are and I love playing here and being here. There were a few teams looking but the Waratahs really stepped up to the plate."

His decision is a setback for Rebels, who had identified Robinson as one of their key local targets for 2011 -- understandable considering Robinson, 25, has established himself as one of the top loosehead props in international rugby.

Waratahs coach Chris Hickey said he was reasonably confident Palu would also remain next year.

"Cliffy has been a rock at the Waratahs for so many years and he brings so much to the team," Robinson said.

"I know he is still working things out and I'll have a few words with him and see what I can do. Maybe I'll cook him a meal once a week to make him stay."

Hickey said last week the Waratahs had spoken with Freier, who is getting closer to making his comeback after undergoing back surgery but said it was "difficult for him or us or any other person to make a decision on his future until he gets back on the park".

Dennis's deal illustrates his real change in fortune after going on Wallabies' Spring tour at the end of last year without a 2010 contract.

"At worst I thought I would have another club season with Sydney University and have a crack at the fifth Super 14 team -- that was my thinking at the time," Dennis said.

While NSW has lost prop Dan Palmer to the Brumbies, they have signed 21-year-old 120kg Sydney University front-rower Pat Ryan from the Junior Waratahs.

 

[topo]

For the front rowers, Michael Foley is a big reason to stay at the Tahs. He is a well respected coach. The only reason Palmer left was lack of game time. The Rebels are yet to announce their scrum coach. They have a forwards coach who is a back rower. I'm assuming they'll be getting a specialist scrum coach, like most of the other franchises. It will be hard to attract quality bookends and hookers without one.

 

[Godfrey]

I hate the waratahs.

 

[DPK]

I hate the waratahs.

I hate your dp, I've held my tongue too long.

 

[Godfrey]

I don't see what's to dislike about it, but everonye is entitled to an opinion

 

[DPK]

I don't see what's to dislike about it, but everonye is entitled to an opinion

Well now that we can agree on lol

 

[cyclopath]

Nice one naza.

No wind up.

If Hickey is shit then:
- why is there ZERO gossip/criticism out of the Tahs
- why has nobody bailed ?
- why are they still drawing talent like Naza at the Ivy ?

They pick up talent that looks like you??? :tard

 

[Newb]

i agree that these boys should be seeking out game time like the holy grail and getting their butts in a squad where they can truly develop. but having said that, isn't it up to them to make that decision? are the tahs/brumbs really to blame?

so maybe the players won't make as much, but they get the opportunity which in itself has value. this is even assuming that the tahs/brumbs/whoever is being blamed out-bid the rebels for these players to the value that no one would cross over. do i think that happened with every one of them? no. and if that was the case, the rebels are being a bunch of penny pinching bastards. or maybe there is something so unattractive about melbourne that we don't know about that players aren't interested.

but it strikes me as odd that so few up-and-comers are taking the chance to move out from someone's shadow.

I'm pretty sure this is not a money issue. From what I hear most of these guys are being offered more money to move. They're not going because:
1. They're happy with the coaching and structure at the tahs
2. They think the tahs have a reasonable chance of success in S14/S15
3. They think this is the best way to advance their career prospects
4. The fact that no one seems to be signing with the Rebels scares them. No one wants to lead the way (except Laurie Weeks who would do anything to get out of Qld)

quite right it seems. all good reasons to stay. i'm just surprised that so many have this view as opposed to taking the money and the chance to be a starter.

 

[rsea]

I just read Horne and Beale are starting this weekend and I'm feeling pretty upbeat about it
It must have been a grounding experience for Beale to spend so long on the bench. I'm optimistic it will have affected his game positively

 

[Lee Grant]

Rupert Guiness reported in the SMH on Fri morning that Cliffy Palu is staying with the Tahs


WALLABIES back-rower Wycliff Palu is expected to end speculation over his World Cup future by confirming a new two-year deal this morning that will keep him in Australia.

It is believed the barnstorming No.8 has signed with the Australian and NSW rugby unions after knocking back lucrative, long-term offers from Japan.


Though I'm not too enthused about

.... expected to end speculation and

.....It is believed

 

[Lee Grant]

Cliffy is not signing for 2 years. The Tahs report that he has extended his contract by one year.

I'm glad that he's hanging around for the RWC.

 

[fatprop]

http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/u...thank-mum-for-cliff-rescue-20100409-ryp2.html

Palu has not given up the prospect of playing overseas. He may still exercise this option after the World Cup.

''I have signed for one year with a one-year option, so we'll see how things go. We'll see what contract suits me best after the World Cup.''

 

[Spook]

We need Cliff for those Kittens.

 

[#1 Tah]

So a month or so on and Cat is on the sidelines and unsigned. any word out of the paparazzi (media)???

 

[jauzy19]

Chris Thomson (second row) has signed for french club Narbonne, and Nemani Nadolo (winger) has signed for french club Bourgoin.

 

[Scarfman]

Really? Shit, that's what I call breaking news Jauzy! Bad, very bad breaking news.

 

[jauzy19]

Really? Shit, that's what I call breaking news Jauzy! Bad, very bad breaking news.

For Thomson it was already official 2 weeks ago but i couldn't find the "Waratahs 2011" thread. :lmao:

http://pro.rcnm.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2299&Itemid=113

 

[#1 Tah]

Chris Thomson (second row) has signed for french club Narbonne, and Nemani Nadolo (winger) has signed for french club Bourgoin.

oh well, we got mumm, jowwitt, douglas, caldwell, dennis and (last resort) dud.

 

[Hawko]

Chris Thomson (second row) has signed for french club Narbonne, and Nemani Nadolo (winger) has signed for french club Bourgoin.

Good luck to Chris Thompson, at least he got a few runs to show what he could or could not do. I guess we'll have to watch Top 14 to see if Nadolo can make it at the next level. Sad to see really but hopefully someone will step up to the plate next year.

 

[fatprop]

Back to drawing board for outmuscled Tahs
RUPERT GUINNESS
May 24, 2010

CAPE TOWN: It was one of the most poorly timed and worded questions in a Super 14 post-match news conference this season, but it still stung Waratahs coach Chris Hickey into defending his players' future prospects.

''Is that it? Is that the end of the road for you guys?'' a South African journalist asked Hickey after the Waratahs lost their semi-final 25-6 to the Stormers at Newlands.

Hickey was initially stunned by the question, considering the match was a knockout game and the Waratahs' season was officially over, but he soon regathered himself.

''No, it's not the end of the road because it's a very young side,'' he said. ''Our average age at the start of the year was 23. This is an experience that they will have and won't enjoy, but if they stick together they'll learn and become strong for it.

''Look at statistics on Super 14 over the last 12 to 13 years. The average age of winning teams is about 27, about the average for the Bulls and Stormers.''

As Hickey spoke, his players were heading for the team bus. For them, the future no longer held the prospect of a trip back to Durban to prepare for a final against the Bulls at Orlando Stadium in Soweto. Instead, they faced the long haul back across the Indian Ocean.

Hickey was thinking to the future, albeit beyond the next day's travel and the inevitable jet lag.

He conceded that NSW needed to inject greater physicality into their game if they were to ever beat the likes of the Stormers or the Bulls. The weight difference between the Stormers' pack (922 kilograms) and the Waratahs' (880kg) on Saturday showed the enormity of the challenge NSW had just faced.

''Unfortunately, we lost 'Cliffy' Palu [for the season due to a knee reconstruction]. That has had a big impact on us in terms of physicality,'' Hickey said. ''Their back row has an average weight of 114kg. Our back row average is probably 103kg and that is significant. In their tackles, a big man coming in as second man has an impact. That's something we have to have a look at.

''Having said that, through 10 or 11 of the 13 games we played, we were up to scratch.

''It's just that at the top end, and particularly against a side who picks big teams, sometimes you can be exposed in terms of size.''

Hickey will soon start looking for players to fill the four remaining spots in a 30-strong roster for next year's expanded Super 15 competition. The second row, back row and outside backs are areas Hickey hopes to strengthen.

''There won't be any quick decision,'' Hickey said. ''It's pretty important to take a breath to give yourself a little time away and get things in perspective. But getting out and having a look at some players in club rugby becomes prioritised. We've identified a number of players we will look closely at.''

Sosene Anesi, who is sidelined with a broken collarbone, is yet to re-sign, as is fellow outside back Rory Sidey. And the search is on for a new second-rower, with Chris Thomson to leave for France.

Paddy Ryan is likely to join props Benn Robinson, Sekope Kepu, Al Baxter and Jeremy Tilse in the NSW front-row stable.

I expect a couple of ball running back rowers to be brought in, we have the work rate guys, we clearly need to bring in a couple of "Palu" style back rowers.