Waratahs 2017

[waiopehu oldboy]

This is lazy journalism. The rugby equivalent of "have you stopped beating your wife yet".


Only one answer to the question is possible. A five year old kid knows that.

I ran that past my 5yo great-niece earlier today & after reviewing all of the available data she stated & I quote "he's toast"

 

[Twoilms]

Waugh was seen as a future captain, too. But would I have taken George instead? Bloody oath. With the benefit of hindsight, that is. Plus I am still a bit dubious about the timing of all this.

The other interesting thing is that Uni was not as dominant then as they are now.

Blasphemy. Waugh is a Tahs legend. Yeah Smith turned out better but you gotta have some loyalty to servants of the club.

 

[gowaratahs]

If the Tahs want to keep Gibson then watch the crowds further disappear and the team keep going further and further down the ladder. I thought our CEO was better then that. I hope it is all for show.

Another thing that'll drive the crowds away is that fucking on-pitch ground announcer - way to kill an experience, moron. Can you seriously think anyone enjoys that idiocy? My 8yo daughter said that she also wished he'd shut the fuck up. My bad.

Other poor-experience items from last Friday night include the other announcer who mis-pronounced nearly every Kings players' name, including the captain's first name (Lionel) - plus at least one of ours! (I remember at games in NZ, and commentators at their games who researched pronunciations by asking team officials before the game - this game of dumb-phonetics is symptomatic of "our" careless management of a once-valued product. Yes, Gordon Bray and Clarkey do a fine job too - but Friday night's announcement job was shambolic!). Also the fat dude in the light blue tailored jacket with the Tahs emblem on the back - featured on screen often - perhaps known to the administration, who didn't take off his hat during The Last Post. You dog. And I get the importance of rounding off the Anzac ceremony with the National Anthem, though not even an acknowledgement (or even the RSA anthem) for the visitors after they stood respectfully through a 15min-long ceremony? Way to under-value a core principle of rugby, Waratahs.

Yep, Gibson has these blokes struggling with uninspired play (can hardly call 2x 95m efforts the result of solid build-ups), though there are other things that'll keep the crowds away. Fucked if I'm heading back down the M1 any time soon, I'd rather throw things at the projector screen in the garage.

And if you're going to start with Big-T, bloody well use him Palu-style mid-field rather than keeping him in the train tracks. Is this not the plan, or does he just refuse to leave his wing?

I often joke with my wife that one of the reasons why I'll drive to a Tahs game but not walk across the road to see the Knights is an experience from a couple of years back when they played "You're the Voice" at half time - twice! And there you have it folks, lo and behold - at least they only played it once on Friday.

Bad, bad experience - but more than just Gibson.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

If the Tahs want to keep Gibson then watch the crowds further disappear and the team keep going further and further down the ladder. I thought our CEO was better then that. I hope it is all for show.

I'm no defender of Gibson.
Evidently there is a problem with NZ coaches coaching Aussies.
But this is not an aberration: with different coaches and different players the same results have been produced by the tahs for donkeys years.
As with the rest of oz rugby the problem is much deeper than poor Daryl Gibson.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Whilst I think Gibson needs to go as it's very hard to see him turning the team around, the trouble is who do you replace him with?

Let's assume you sacked Gibson today and put one of the assistants in charge for the rest of the season. Nathan Grey is under a ton of pressure at both Super Rugby and Wallaby level as defence coach which is struggling to contain points.

Then you've got Cameron Blades whose scrum just got towelled up by the worst scrum in South Africa. We might have been missing Sekope Kepu but the remaining players can't perform that poorly. Our lineout is average and our breakdown work is woeful. The number of times we fail to secure our own ball when we're on the front foot is startling.

So certainly you have to look for a new coach for next season and that search should be already underway, but if you sack Gibson now, who the hell do you replace him with?

Simon Cron - and we hold him hostage until l his uncle (?) agrees to fix all of our scrums

 

[I like to watch]

I'm no defender of Gibson.
Evidently there is a problem with NZ coaches coaching Aussies.
But this is not an aberration: with different coaches and different players the same results have been produced by the tahs for donkeys years.
As with the rest of oz rugby the problem is much deeper than poor Daryl Gibson.

Doesnt matter IS, the pitchforks are out, better him than no one

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Doesnt matter IS, the pitchforks are out, better him than no one

I know, I know.
But doing that means the real problems never get addressed.
I'm almost over the whole game - but I can't watch league or AFL: I suspect that's all that stops many from deserting.

 

[Tonkar1962]

I think even if Gibson is let go the crowds won't return.. NSWRU are to stuck in the pass.. They will blame the coach but its the players.. Gibson could go to any club out side of Australia and make them champions.. The problems lies in the players and the admin.. I am a Western Force supporter and Mitchell went thru the same here... We got Giteau and Mitchell here who don't like taking orders and having been told the truth.. Mitchell went on to get the Lions in SA to the top.. he is a coach not the players friend.. Kiwi coaches want 110% 100% of the time and won't take no for an answer.. I just wonder how long any waratah player would last in an NZ team.. That's whats wrong with the EAST COAST WALLABIES.. Some are over paid an it causing division in the team..Equality is what is needed players on 750 to 1 million a yr not pulling their weight so the 50k to 100k players think why should I bust my arse to make them popular..

 

[Inside Shoulder]

From what I hear Gibson is not a hard arse. Deans wasn't either.
I think we need hard arses from top to bottom - u7s up.
But these days the little darlings get the Tom tits if they're told to do anything - including told to get fit.

 

[wamberal]

Some interesting points. Are we too soft? Obviously the answer is yes we are.


Anyone who has played against Keewees knows that they are intrinsically hard men.


What is the answer? Search me, I just do not know. But requiring some of our young "stars" to go to play for struggling clubs would be a good start.


It is a bit of a paradox to say that Deans and Gibson's approach is not tough enough, even though they reached the top in New Zealand.

 

[Braveheart81]

Both debuted in 2000.
But Smith was a year younger and I guess something of an unknown quantity out of school, up to a point.
No doubt in my mind that Smith benefitted from being at the Brumbies because of NSWs perennial under performance.

Not really sure that Smith was that much of an unknown quantity. The CHS team in 1997 I think with David Lyons and George Smith was outstanding.

I have said this multiple times but I'm definitely in the camp that this was a timing thing.

There's no way you bypass Waugh in the hope that you can sign Smith a year later. You sign the first one and then hope you also manage to sign the second one. Obviously Smith got a better opportunity/clearer pathway at the Brumbies and the rest is history.

If the Tahs had that decision over again I think they still sign Waugh the year earlier then try harder to also sign Smith the year after.

 

[I like to watch]

Blasphemy. Waugh is a Tahs legend. Yeah Smith turned out better but you gotta have some loyalty to servants of the club.

A well paid servant!

 

[John S]

Seriously? Get your map out, check where Norths are based. Toffsville.

I'm pretty sure Berry is right off that map.

 

[wamberal]

I'm pretty sure Berry is right off that map.

Lots of toffs in Berry, last time I checked.

 

[John S]

Lots of toffs in Berry, last time I checked.

Only because we unfortunately didn't stop them coming from Sydney quick enough

 

[Jimmyjam]

I was sitting not too far away from the blue jacketed 'F@#%wit' and was quietly seething at the disrespect during the last post etc. Not to mention the foul mouthed 'supporting' throughout the match with his equally pissed mates.
As I had my two young blokes there I chose to move seats (unfortunately there were plenty of vacant ones) rather than offering him and said mates a short course in "old school attitude improvement".
Notwithstanding that, my boys did enjoy the night, and I was also pleased that a number of the Tahs stuck around and signed plenty of caps including for my young blokes.

What I did take out of the night was the opportunity to have long chat to a couple of squad members prior to kickoff (who have both played this year) who did mention that there is a fair bit of fear and uncertainty in the group re. the whole contracting saga with all retention and contract extensions on hold for non wallabies.

Not making excuses, but rightly or wrongly it's clear that this is affecting motivation with heads clearly not being focused on the job at hand. And unfortunately negative mental attitudes tend to be contagious and affect entire squads.

Anyway, that's my two bits worth.

 

[wamberal]

On the other hand, the Kings players are very much in the same boat.


I can understand players reacting by trying too hard. I cannot understand why their motivation is affected. I grew up with the adage "a hungry fighter is a good fighter". Surely if they are fighting for their careers motivation should not be a problem. Buggered if I know????


Anyway, thanks for sharing your experiences, glad your young'uns had a good time.

 

[Jimmyjam]

I think (pure assumption btw) that the Kings players would have all had a tougher road to travel to get where they are in the professional ranks and are likely far more mentally resilient and up for the challenge than our boys unfortunately.

Most of our young guys will have had a pretty stress and incident free life and these sort of road-bumps will either make or break them. It's all a learning curve, but the SA guys I can guess have been fighting for their weet-bix since they were kids and can deal with this sort of stuff like water off a ducks back.

 

[Twoilms]

Some interesting points. Are we too soft? Obviously the answer is yes we are.

You could put forward the argument that Australians are soft in all walks of life, not just rugby. We have it better than most. Comfort rarely breeds hard men.

 

[Strewthcobber]

How long does a hard bred kiwi need to be in Australia before they become soft?

Does it happen instantaneously it is there a half life?

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