Bruce Ross
Ken Catchpole (46)
"Bungles and brain snaps cost dearly, says Gaffney" And that's just among the coaches and selectors.
"We can't go through a game playing with gay abandon," Gaffney said yesterday. The Waratahs have been guilty of most things you can do wrong on a rugby field but old Gaff is the first one to spot "gay abandon". That could be because most observers of the team tend to nod off for extended periods, as do many of the players; whereas Gaff is a chronic insomniac and therefore has to endure the entire excruciating 80 minutes.
"The other night, there were times where we just threw the ball away. ... in those first 20 minutes ... we did throw the ball away four times in their 22 metres - ridiculously, at times. That was never what we intended to do." I should hope not, Gaff, although it would have the advantage of catching the opposition by surprise. They wouldn't be expecting that - or perhaps they might.
"Throw[ing] the ball away four times" is bad enough but on some unspecified number of those four occasions we threw it away "ridiculously". I can cope with it being thrown away thoughtfully, cleverly or as a gesture of contempt towards the opposition, but to do it "ridiculously" was never as Gaff reassures us "what we intended to do". Just as well I didn't spot them doing that or I'd have thrown the cat at the TV screen.
"The former Ireland backs coach argued it was time for five-eighth Berrick Barnes to be given better protection from his teammates ..." I have heard that there is a lot of dissension and disharmony among the Waratahs players, but if it has got to the stage where your five-eighth is apprehensive about being physically assaulted by his own teammates, then it is surely time for him, as Gaff seems to be implying, to be allowed to take a minder onto the field with him. In a happy and united team players can expect protection by their teammates not from them.
As a very sensible precaution, the Waratahs' doctor Sharon Flahive will be assisted by an eminent neurologist; not just for Tatafu Polota-Nau who suffered a double head-knock against the Brumbies, but also to keep an eye on Berrick who rather worryingly told the Telegraph's Iain Payten, "they've got blokes [of] 130kg across the park". However, when interviewed by the Herald's Scoop Growden he seemed to be aware that he might have been hallucinating as he changed his comment to "they always appear to have 130-kilogram players right across the park."
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"We can't go through a game playing with gay abandon," Gaffney said yesterday. The Waratahs have been guilty of most things you can do wrong on a rugby field but old Gaff is the first one to spot "gay abandon". That could be because most observers of the team tend to nod off for extended periods, as do many of the players; whereas Gaff is a chronic insomniac and therefore has to endure the entire excruciating 80 minutes.
"The other night, there were times where we just threw the ball away. ... in those first 20 minutes ... we did throw the ball away four times in their 22 metres - ridiculously, at times. That was never what we intended to do." I should hope not, Gaff, although it would have the advantage of catching the opposition by surprise. They wouldn't be expecting that - or perhaps they might.
"Throw[ing] the ball away four times" is bad enough but on some unspecified number of those four occasions we threw it away "ridiculously". I can cope with it being thrown away thoughtfully, cleverly or as a gesture of contempt towards the opposition, but to do it "ridiculously" was never as Gaff reassures us "what we intended to do". Just as well I didn't spot them doing that or I'd have thrown the cat at the TV screen.
"The former Ireland backs coach argued it was time for five-eighth Berrick Barnes to be given better protection from his teammates ..." I have heard that there is a lot of dissension and disharmony among the Waratahs players, but if it has got to the stage where your five-eighth is apprehensive about being physically assaulted by his own teammates, then it is surely time for him, as Gaff seems to be implying, to be allowed to take a minder onto the field with him. In a happy and united team players can expect protection by their teammates not from them.
As a very sensible precaution, the Waratahs' doctor Sharon Flahive will be assisted by an eminent neurologist; not just for Tatafu Polota-Nau who suffered a double head-knock against the Brumbies, but also to keep an eye on Berrick who rather worryingly told the Telegraph's Iain Payten, "they've got blokes [of] 130kg across the park". However, when interviewed by the Herald's Scoop Growden he seemed to be aware that he might have been hallucinating as he changed his comment to "they always appear to have 130-kilogram players right across the park."
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