Waratahs 2014

[Braveheart81]

If Folau is still out, I would put Beale at fullback and Horne at 12.

I think Beale has generally worked well at 12 but he has essentially become the Tahs main playmaker from that position and Foley's game at 10 has suffered as a result. With Folau missing, Horne could straighten the attack at 12 which I think would benefit Foley, particularly with his running game. His ability to take on the line last year was excellent and much of it came from having a strong ball runner outside him drawing attention from defenders.

Hopefully the ARU lets Folau play. If they make a decision that he can't play for six weeks or similar on the basis of a couple of phone calls they will quickly find that their golden goose is keen to move to another sport where he can make his own decisions based on the medical advice he receives from doctors he visits himself.

From the articles I've read, the ARU called the specialist in Perth who gave Folau the all clear as well as the specialist who'd previously cleared him to head to South Africa in Sydney. If the specialist in Perth gave Folau the all clear to his face then presumably he said the same thing to the ARU.

It seems they sought the opinion of another specialist who didn't actually treat Folau. It really is a bizarre situation. I think the ARU has got it totally wrong.

 

[Badger]

Deadset fucking genius.

Or hand out passes for two free kids with every adult if they're a bit shy of giving away money

My thinking is that lots of families go to the Swans matches so I would be inclined to just give the tickets away so they can't use $$$ as a reason not to turn up. The worst that could happen is that they “waste” a couple of hours if they don’t enjoy it. On the upside, the Tahs may get a few new fans. In any case, it should raise the awareness of the team. Definitely get Tah Man out there to drum up a bit of attention too.

It shouldn’t affect the bottom line as it is likely that they were never going to pay for a ticket anyway. Better to have some extra people turn up to occupy some of the swathe of empty seats appearing on TV, even if they are wearing red and white!

Also heard that many Waratahs fans who have stopped going to games are now going to Swans home games instead. So it could be a chance to re-engage with them as well.

The biggest downsides I can think of are that some people planning to come to the game don't pay as they get one of the freebies handed out and people who have already paid for their tickets get pissed off that freebies are being given away.

Also depends on whether the Tahs would be allowed to do this outside the SCG. There may be regulations against it and the Swans organisation may not take to kindly to it either.

But there shouldn't be an issue if they do it outside the SFS as people head towards the car parking, Central station by foot or Paddington etc.

 

[Pfitzy]

Fuck the Swans. Those dopey pricks paid top dollar for Duddy Franklin (see what I did there?) so they can eat a steaming bag of dicks.

 

[fatprop]

One of the quotes of the season

But Polota-Nau said the ARU had never intervened on any of his returns from injuries: "No ... mine are more lazy injuries like breaking bones and stuff. It's not as important as breaking your vocal chords. Izzy, if there is one thing he can do, he can sing – and sing very well."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/union-news/nsw-waratahs-confident-about-bulls-match-despite-blame-game-over-israel-folau-sidelining-20140414-zqulz.html#ixzz2ytK5vGpv​

 

[ShtinaTina]

He's a funny bugger isn't he.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

So the next Izzy Folau will be found from within the current 1st XV at Newtown High School of the Performing Arts?

ARU have it so wrong looking at the AAGPS, and CAS to do the junior elite development heavy lifting.

Try St Andrews Cathedral and St Marys Cathedral Schools as well. I'm sure that there are some lovely voices there as well.

 

[Brumby Runner]

We don't have a consecutive pair of home games at the SFS this year. From here:

Bulls SFS
Blues
Canes SFS
BYE
Lions SFS
Rebels
Chiefs
Brumbies Homebush
Highlanders SFS
Reds

And in fact that only other consecutive home games were Force (SFS) and Reds (Homebush). That worked out OK then the bye week fucked us.

So while I share the optimism that we're not stuffed yet, that Brumbies crowd will be very poor at Homebush unless we've done some serious carving up.

That can only happen if people get to these next two home games and start getting vocal.

Despite the loss to the Force on Saturday, I still expect the Tahs to join the Brumbies at the top of the conference table, and probably both in the Super semis. If the Brumbies don't start to earn winning bonus points, the Tahs could very well finish first.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

He's a funny bugger isn't he.

He is but doesn't this suggest that most of the players have a similar view of the ARU as most of us?

 

[JSRF10]

We don't have a consecutive pair of home games at the SFS this year. From here:

Bulls SFS
Blues
Canes SFS
BYE
Lions SFS
Rebels
Chiefs
Brumbies Homebush
Highlanders SFS
Reds

And in fact that only other consecutive home games were Force (SFS) and Reds (Homebush). That worked out OK then the bye week fucked us.

So while I share the optimism that we're not stuffed yet, that Brumbies crowd will be very poor at Homebush unless we've done some serious carving up.

That can only happen if people get to these next two home games and start getting vocal.

Despite the too-ing and fro-ing from the airport involved in that draw I'm quite confident we can get enough comp points to secure a home final in week 1 at the very least. We would be aiming for 24 points at the and 10 points away, that would give us around 54 points. Although in previous years this would be borderline finals, with the increased strength of the comp this should see us with a home game in the finals. As ever it all depends on injuries and the ARU not over ruling our docs.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

24 points at home means 5/5 wins and 4/5 Bonus points. That's a big call. I'd say 18-20 would be a good result, plus 10 on the road.

 

[JSRF10]

24 points at home means 5/5 wins and 4/5 Bonus points. That's a big call. I'd say 18-20 would be a good result, plus 10 on the road.

We're 15/15 at home so far, I dont think targeting BP wins against non Australian opposition who are among the weakest in the comp is too outrageous.

 

[Forcefield]

Despite the too-ing and fro-ing from the airport involved in that draw I'm quite confident we can get enough comp points to secure a home final in week 1 at the very least. We would be aiming for 24 points at the and 10 points away, that would give us around 54 points. Although in previous years this would be borderline finals, with the increased strength of the comp this should see us with a home game in the finals. As ever it all depends on injuries and the ARU not over ruling our docs.

This season teams don't get 4 point byes like previous years. Therefore last year's finals cut off was 46 points. This is roughly equal to 10 wins and a handful of bonus points.

Bear in mind that competition is a lot, lot more fierce this year and that as a result the cut off for finals is likely to be a little bit lower.

The Sharks will definitely top the South African conference. The Bulls haven't been than flash and have a huge injury toll. I think we'll either see the three wildcard spots go to two Aussies and one NZ or two NZ and one Aussie side. It'll be really interesting to see who takes the cake between the Crusaders and Chiefs this weekend.

 

[wamberal]

Darren Lockyer suffered a serious throat injury, and there is a piece in today's Austraian in which he applauds the ARU's decision. (I do not have access, maybe some kind person could post it).


Gee, there are a lot of medical experts around these days. Do you guys really, really believe that the ARU would rule Folau out for no good reason?

 

[Braveheart81]

Darren Lockyer suffered a serious throat injury, and there is a piece in today's Austraian in which he applauds the ARU's decision. (I do not have access, maybe some kind person could post it).

Gee, there are a lot of medical experts around these days. Do you guys really, really believe that the ARU would rule Folau out for no good reason?

The specialist who Israel Folau visited on the direction of the ARU declared him fit to play.

The ARU didn't take Folau to a different specialist to request a second opinion. They allegedly called another specialist (and the specialist who treated him in Perth) and then made a decision that he wasn't allowed to play.

Why isn't the ARU accepting the medical advice of the specialist they sent Folau to see?

 

[Sully]

I can't see an upside for the ARU. Number one player out of the game. Coping it from every direction. The player not happy.
They must be doing it for the players health.
Unless they are putting tests ahead of super rugby.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[Happy]

Darren Lockyer suffered a serious throat injury, and there is a piece in today's Austraian in which he applauds the ARU's decision. (I do not have access, maybe some kind person could post it)

Lockyer in 2004 sustained a throat injury not dissimilar to the one that prompted the ARU on Friday to override the Waratahs medical staff and rule Folau out of NSW’s Super Rugby clash with the Western Force in Perth on Saturday night.
Where Folau finds himself at the middle of a tug of war of conflicting medical opinions, Lockyer was at the other end of the attention spectrum.
“I never saw a doctor about my throat injury until years later,” a still gravelly voiced Lockyer told The Australian.
“I could hardly speak for 24 hours but I never realised the severity of my injury at the time. It was when I noticed that my voice wasn’t returning to normal that I knew something was wrong.
“But it wasn’t until I was getting an X-ray for a broken cheekbone that the damage to my throat was also discovered. Back then, unless there was concern that you had a broken limb, you didn’t get sent away for X-rays.”
Folau, diagnosed with a fractured cricoid in his neck, felt fully fit to play.
Yet he and the ARU have been warned by a Perth specialist that the injury could cause his throat to constrict, cutting off oxygen and causing him to black out on the field if he was to sustain another blow to the same spot. He could also suffer damage to his vocal chords.
“I can understand Israel’s frustration but I think the other option is that something bad happens and he doesn’t ever forgive himself,” said Lockyer. “And I guess the game would never forgive itself either. It’s better to be safe than sorry. There will be plenty of rugby for Israel to play down the track. The ARU should be congratulated for taking care of player welfare like that.”
Lockyer’s sentiments were seconded by the Rugby Union Players Association boss Greg Harris, who said the overriding consideration was Folau’s health.
“But the secondary issue in all of this is: who is his employer?” said Harris. “You’re only allowed to have one employer at a time. The question is whether there is some clause in the Waratahs’ participation agreement or high performance agreement that gives the ARU the right of veto.”

 

[Braveheart81]

Why did the ARU wait until the night before the game to make this decision?

He had visited at least two specialists in the previous weeks and been given hurdles to pass in order to play (which he passed before the Force game).

If they were going to decide they didn't want him playing, they could have done it two weeks ago.

 

[Train Without a Station]

BH, this was mentioned previously that the ARU weren't advised of all the medical information until late Thursday. That was why the call was made so late.

 

[rugbysmartarse]

I can't see an upside for the ARU. Number one player out of the game. Coping it from every direction. The player not happy.
They must be doing it for the players health.
Unless they are putting tests ahead of super rugby.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

This was my view: its not in the ARUs interest to keep him out of the game. I suspect they just fucked up the communication like they often do

 

[wamberal]

Why did the ARU wait until the night before the game to make this decision?

He had visited at least two specialists in the previous weeks and been given hurdles to pass in order to play (which he passed before the Force game).

If they were going to decide they didn't want him playing, they could have done it two weeks ago.

Presumably because the person who made the final decision (the ARU's chief medical officer, whatever his title is) was in two minds. No doubt if the decision had been clear-cut, it would have been made earlier. It obviously was not.

Would you prefer the ARU to err on the side of caution? Or say, bugger the risks, he can play - with the possibility of significant further damage.


This is obviously not a simple situation. I would prefer those best qualified, medically and in terms of access to other medical opinions (which must have been conflicting) to make the decision.

Complex problems do not always have a simple solution.