Waratahs 2012

[Lee Grant]

Lee, am I mistaken in thinking Rohan Saifoloi is very small for Super level rugby? or am I thinking of someone else?

No - you are right. He's only 85 kgs and somehow looks smaller; maybe because he looks so young.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

I've only seen him play once in the trial game v Fiji, but I was concerned for his safety at the time. You are right, I wouldn't have him pegged as being 85kgs - more like 75.

 

[Bruce Ross]

Bernard Foley is a real smokey but I've seen very little of him in XVs rugby, but what I saw looked promising.

Foley is a great talent, LG, who spent two or three years in Colts learning his craft. Unfortunately if he does not soon walk away from Sevens it is unlikely he will ever achieve his potential in real rugby. In Sevens there is no real quarterbacking role and tries can be created out of what in the 15-a-side game would be very risky and extremely low percentage plays.

With regard to promising young half backs Nick Stirzaker has the cleanest pass I've seen in many years. He's with the Brumbies Academy this year.

 

[Lee Grant]

Agree on Nic and his pass. I had him pegged for the Oz U/20 team this year but he missed out. Saw him play for the Runners this year (with Nick White at flyhalf) and he just kept whipping the ball out quickly like a machine (what a concept for a scrummie).

I saw B.Foley in only one Junior Tahs game this year. It was only for one quarter, but he just had that look of authority that no other Jr. Tahs flyhalf had in the series - including B.Seymour, Volavola and Saifoloi - but it's a small sample, I know.

But back to scrummies - does anybody have playing news about Grayson Hart who is supposed to be in the city?

 

[Slim 293]

Mwahahahaha...

Brumbies white-out claims Phibbs

Jim Morton
June 2, 2011 - 5:14PM
AAP

Jake White's cleanout just keeps growing at the Brumbies, with stalwart halfback Pat Phibbs the latest to be shown the door and two more backs set to follow.

Phibbs on Thursday revealed he was unwanted by new coach White, who was taking the bold move of running just two specialist halfbacks in his 30-man squad for the 2012 Super Rugby season.

But it hasn't stopped current coach Tony Rea giving the 29-year-old a gilt-edged chance to push his claims for a NSW contract by calling him up to start on Saturday night against Queensland.

Phibbs will team with skipper Matt Giteau in the halves, with the 91-Test back recovering from the fever which ruled him out of last week's 16-3 loss to the Stormers.

Regular starting half Josh Valentine - also unlikely to remain in Canberra next year, along with winger Francis Fainifo - has succumbed to a hamstring strain, but Rea has preferred Phibbs ahead of the uncapped Nic White to attempt a Suncorp Stadium boilover.

Rising youngster White has impressed for the Brumby Runners and Sydney club Eastwood, and is the only halfback the franchise have on their books for 2012.

It's understood Wallabies halfback Will Genia's Queensland back-up, Ian Prior, is in White's sights and is close to linking with the Brumbies.

Having already lost Giteau, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Mark Chisholm, Rocky Elsom, Mitchell Chapman and Salesi Ma'afu, winger Fainifo is expected to become the next to join the exodus by signing to play in France.

After 70 Super Rugby caps in seven seasons in Canberra, Sydney-raised Phibbs admitted it was a shame to be shown the door but was determined to go out with a bang.

"Being here for so long and (having) always played here, I feel like the Brumbies is a part of the family for me," he said in Canberra.

"It's the nature of the game. New coaches, if they don't want you around, that's the way it works."

Having lost French-bound Test halfback Luke Burgess, the Waratahs are in the market for a new No.9 and Phibbs is among the list of contenders which also reportedly includes All Black Andy Ellis.

"I've got a few things in the pipeline," said Phibbs.

"This (start against the Reds) is a great chance for me to show what I've got and really push my case.

"To play against the best in the country (Genia) is a good opportunity so I'm looking forward to it."

Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan also hinted journeyman Valentine might struggle to remain in the ACT after the end of the season.

"We'll just have two specialist halfbacks in the main squad," Fagan said.

"Jake and (backs coach) Stephen Larkham are assessing a few halfbacks and Josh is one of those, but we haven't made a final decision."

In a further sign of how forgettable 2011 had been for the Brumbies, another loss would give them 11 for the season - equal to the worst result by an Australian team, set in 2007 by the Reds.

 

[qwerty51]

Won't happen.

 

[Slim 293]

Won't happen.

I said the same thing about Giteau playing flyhalf this year...

 

[rustycruiser]

Saral Pretorius to the Waratahs in 2012?

The Waratahs, casting their net wide, may snare the Cheetahs' aspirant Springbok Sarel Pretorius as their scrumhalf for next season.

rugby365.com can reveal that the Sydney-based franchise is in negotiations with the management of the Emerging Bok No.9.

How far down the track the talks are is uncertain, but some reports have suggested it is a "done deal" and Pretorius will be one of the Tahs' marquee players next season.

Pretorius was also a target for New Zealand franchises earlier this year, but the Waratahs' cash offer far exceeded those of their trans-Tasman rivals.

Having lost French-bound Test scrumhalf Luke Burgess, the Waratahs are in the market for a new No.9 - with Pat Phibbs and All Black Andy Ellis the others being courted.

Pat Phibbs is unwanted by new coach Jake White at the Brumbies, while it is not certain how available Ellis is and whether the New Zealand Rugby Union would give him up without a fight.

The Australian Rugby Union allows each team - the Rebels had exemption for this season - to sign two marquee players, one young player that can qualify to play for the Wallabies through a three-year residency and the other a player that has already been capped by his country in the senior 15-man national or Sevens teams.

Pretorius played himself into the plans of Springbok coach Peter de Villiers this year and was named in a 51-man World Cup planning squad.

However, he may well not make the final squad, as he appears to be behind the likes of Fourie du Preez, Francois Hougaard and Ricky Januarie in the national pecking order, while Charl McLeod also has strong claims.

Pretorius, capped only by the Emerging Boks, can qualify for the Wallabies and is an attraction as a marquee signing.

The nippy scrumhalf, the joint leading try-scorer in Super Rugby this season, is deceptively quick and scored a hat-trick against the Hurricanes in a 97-point thriller in Bloemfontein, while he also featured on the wing this season.

His eight tries put him equal with Bulls wing Bjorn Basson and Crusaders flyer Sean Maitland.

http://www.rugby365.com/tournaments/super14/news/2742761.htm

 

[AussieDominance]

I fail to see why McKibbon isn't seen as the logical choice as Burgess's replacement and see them planning for a quality young-ling to be given bench time.

This fear of youth is just baffling

Obviously with Hickey's background he believes strongly in the virtues of club rugby. But little does he realise in this day and age of Super 15 professional rugby you have to tie talented young players to contracts or other franchises will pilfer them. Currently it seems Hickey has no plan for the future and as a result NSW's impressive back up they have had in the past is dwindling. Five franchises obviously affects this but Hickey is like a cancer and is affecting the Waratahs future playing roster by staying around.

 

[dobduff11]

Did a bit of searching for pics of Rohan to see what you guys were on about.

Found two, one was taken in roughly november 09. Where he was straight out of school and probably was about 75kgs. From the looks of it anyway.
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/V3B7WbUhll4/England+U18+v+Australia+Schools/45GUBd_ywCB/Rohan+Saifolo


The second was taken on 16th April 2011 and he looks much bigger especially legs, arms and shoulders. Probably closer to the 85 than 75 but maybe a bit padded out.
http://www.seiserphotography.com/cgi-bin/index.pl?image=1197367


At 175cm, probably 172 knowing the stats increase and around 82kgs. That's not bad for a 19 year old. Will probably finish somewhere close to 87kgs.

 

[Hawko]

Obviously with Hickey's background he believes strongly in the virtues of club rugby. But little does he realise in this day and age of Super 15 professional rugby you have to tie talented young players to contracts or other franchises will pilfer them. Currently it seems Hickey has no plan for the future and as a result NSW's impressive back up they have had in the past is dwindling. Five franchises obviously affects this but Hickey is like a cancer and is affecting the Waratahs future playing roster by staying around.

Hickey is an all-round nice bloke and has taken some of the blows this season with politeness and dignity. So personally, describing him as a cancer is probably a bit emotive. But as a coach he suffers from a number of severe limitations mostly to do with his innate conservatism:

• He is very reluctant to develop and foster young talent. In QLD for example Shipperley and Gill have been given good game time and allowed to flourish. Contrast this with the treatment of Kingston, who had a couple of cameos and was then dropped, despite his impressive performances, in favour of Anesi. This was supposedly because of his participation in the U20 WC.
• He fosters a very conservative gameplan. Forwards are discouraged from passing in contact because they might lose the ball and backs are told to kick unless there is obviously something on. There is no way Hickey and Cooper would last more than a couple of games together.
• He has no concept of rotation of the squad or allowing proper recovery time from injury and several players have re-injured themselves coming back too early. Because of his conservative approach he wants the top players on the park for every minute they can be.
• This spills over into his use of bench players, where players like McKibben, McCutcheon and Alcock have had little game time till injury has forced his hand. These players are then not properly prepared when they have to come on.
• People think he values Shute as a selection preparation but this is not really true. It has only been when injury has left him short that he has had to go to the Shute bench. Bennetts has played well in Shute but has been consistently overlooked despite being in the juniors and playing for Eastwood and our stocks at 13 have suffered significant injury and form issues.

The end result of this is that we do not have a group of squad players coming through who have had regular game time and we do not have a group of juniors who have been blooded this year off the bench. Instead the roster has been clogged up with players like O'Connor, Jowitt, Tilse?, Anesi and Cross who are not, and never will be, quality super rugby players. They are always just experienced but limited players, who fit the coach's "limited errors" mindset.

In a time of limited contracts (30 plus 5 development contracts) coaches have to be able to run a squad of 40+ for injury coverage and development. How to do this? First you can't carry senior players not pulling their weight (like O'Connor, Cross and Anesi). Then you have to give development contracts to players who, while just outside the squad, could get significant play time. In the current development squad Bennetts, Woodhouse, Peterson, Lopeti Timani and Seymour will not see any game time this year. Some of them should have had time (small amounts but enough to give them and the coaches a taste) this year and others should not be on development contracts. Instead back-up players like Roberts, Perrett and Batger should have had contracts. Young players on the way up need to be in the training squad, but need to be kept in the squad and not poached by the quality of the development coaching and the real chance of promotion next year. This is also an area where a third party contractor could help immensely by providing enough assistance or Shute match payments or whatever so that the best of them don't get immediately pinched by other franchises.

Hickey has left his successor something of a poisoned chalice. Poor development, huge unknowns (like is McKibben up to Super standard?), and a development squad that does not have the talent that the current Reds squad has. Instead we are all over the shop trying to get Ellis and Pretorius because we have no one ready to step up. And would talented youngsters want to come anyway, knowing that the best way to get into the Tahs is to prove yourself at another franchise first and then come back as a 27 year old "experienced" player. The Waratahs should be Australia's premium development franchise. They're not because they are not being properly led.

Sorry for the long post but this could not be said in a couple of sentences.

 

[Scotty]

Good post hawko. Hard to disagree with anything there.

Dies anyone have any idea of how the centrally run academy's will work (is it next year)? I wonder if there will be some sort of draft system to distribute talent evenly out of them?

 

[fatprop]

Poor development, huge unknowns (like is McKibben up to Super standard?)

The guy has been club player of the year in both Brisbane and Sydney, he has a good pass, snipes well, can actually box kick (one of the few in the country)and kick goals if needed.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

I hear Hickey is also trying to sign Nick Farr-Jones for next season.

 

[barbarian]

I think Sarel wouldn't be a bad signing. Certainly better as a marquee player than Anesi. Has the excitement factor about him, would provide another point of attack.

 

[fatprop]

I think Sarel wouldn't be a bad signing. Certainly better as a marquee player than Anesi. Has the excitement factor about him, would provide another point of attack.

misses a third of his tackles ....................... but great in attack

 

[DPK]

I hear Hickey is also trying to sign Nick Farr-Jones for next season.

Gareth Edwards has been spotted in Sydney...

 

[waratahjesus]

You canstop the hickey hate, it's a 2012 thread he won't be around.

 

[barbarian]

misses a third of his tackles ....................... but great in attack

You could say that about most of the Cheetahs though. Once Foley and co get into him he will be a tackling machine.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

You canstop the hickey hate, it's a 2012 thread he won't be around.

until NSWRU announce the coach for next year I wont beilieve it isnt going to be hickey. not a hater, but I do think it's time for a change.