Waratahs V Brumbies. Sydney Olympic Stadium.

[fatprop]

I am not looking forward to this game, the Tahs are shit favorites and the Brumbies are talking them up big time

Love notes from Rocky scare me

'No weakness' Waratahs to provide stern test: Elsom
PETER FITZGERALD
April 21, 2010

BRUMBIES breakaway Rocky Elsom has warned his teammates they will face a side with no weaknesses when they line up against the Waratahs on Saturday night.

As the Brumbies strive to keep their Super 14 season alive, former Waratahs breakaway and No.8 Elsom has heaped praise on his old team before the must-win encounter at ANZ Stadium.

Elsom knows better than most how the Waratahs prepare for a derby against the ACT, having played 66 matches for NSW before switching this season. The 27-year-old has been impressed with what his former teammates have achieved this year.

The Waratahs are in fifth place heading into the weekend's contest, one position and three points ahead of the Brumbies. Whoever loses on Saturday night will all-but be out of the finals race.

The Brumbies' biggest issue this season has been their inability to execute off the back of a glut of possession. But Elsom believes the Waratahs have done everything right.

''They don't have any real weaknesses that are glaring or any strengths that are overpowering any other part of their game,'' the Wallabies captain said.

''They're just playing better across the park. Their completeness across the park is pretty evident. The way their backs have been playing has really helped their game. That's probably a big reason why they've got a lot more bonus points than us. It sounds pretty simple but we just need to play better than them.''

Brumbies coach Andy Friend described the Waratahs as ''the complete package'' which stuck to game plans and were well disciplined. ''We know they like structure, their set piece is sound and their organisation is sound,'' Friend said. ''They know what they want to do on a weekly basis and more often than not they go out and they do it.

''We've got to look at us and be better at who we are.''

 

[Spook]

Yes it sucks being the side expected to win. I'm quite enjoying underdog status

 

[naza]

Looks like being a big crowd, I had a look at ticketek and the A tickets are down to singles, and it is now a "major event" (I think a 50,000 crowd) so the free buses are on

How are they going to get 50 thou on a long weekend ?

 

[louie]

Yes it sucks being the side expected to win. I'm quite enjoying underdog status

does it feel like the old days spook? takes me back

 

[Spook]

Yes it sucks being the side expected to win. I'm quite enjoying underdog status

does it feel like the old days spook? takes me back

Not quite as that would require having a backline that could score from anywhere against anyone.

 

[Spook]

Looks like being a big crowd, I had a look at ticketek and the A tickets are down to singles, and it is now a "major event" (I think a 50,000 crowd) so the free buses are on

How are they going to get 50 thou on a long weekend ?

One of my mates is going up the Hume with 20 people. Could be a bigun.

 

[Spook]

Well the Brumbies will roll out their 200th centre combination with Andrew Smith making his debut. Looks like the starting 15 will be:

1. Alexander
2. Moore
3. Ma'afu
4. Chapman
5. Chisolm
6. Holies
7. C. Fainga'a
8. Holies
9. Valentine
10. Giteau
11. AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper)
12. T Smith
13. A Smith
14. McCabe
15. Huxley

 

[Langthorne]

"Rob Horne has a niggle in the buttock region"...is that a medical term? or maybe a euphemism? More monitoring is definitely needed.

 

[Hawko]

The addition of Sidey to the 22 (25) suggests Horne is under serious threat of missing the game too. The connectedness of glutes and hamstrings has me thinking that there's been a recurrence smokescreen put up and that one of our most dangerous backs will either miss out or be less than 100%. Given Sidey has had no game time for the last month or so, this is not good. The Brumbies are jigging their backline around again and if Horne was to be there 100% it would have provided a real opportunity to attack through that channel.

Everyone knows the game is crucial. After Saturday, one team will be almost out of it and the other building up a head of steam towards the finals. The key attacking weapons this year have been TPN, Palu, Mumm, Horne, Mitchell and Beale. Of that seven, one is gone and two are under an injury cloud. That means others will have to step up if we are to effectively penetrate. Douglas, Mowen and Barnes are probably the key candidates who need to have a blinder if the Tahs are to get a win (with BP?).

 

[Lee Grant]

That's bad news about Horne. Your remarks about his injury may not be far off the mark Hawko. I wonder if the Tahs trainers have given him a sympathetic programme as an NFL team would give to their guys with his problems.

I suspect that the NFL are a decade or so in front of what we do here in Oz sport and I wonder if the recurrence of Horne's injuries has been caused by inadvertent malpractice.

It's good to see Andrew Smith and 19 y.o. Colby Fainga'a are both getting a debut starting gig for the Brumbies. Smith was imperious form as 13 for the Brumby Runners in Huxley's comeback game against the JWs and looked every inch a starting S14 player.

Since George Smith was injured 18 y.o. Hooper has been starting and Colby F has been coming on for the last 25 minutes or so. Colby has played well and deserves his shot at starting.

Sidey has played for the Junior Waratahs this year in their series of matches against the Reds and Brumbies Twos - but with no great distinction in the games I saw. He has also played in two club games for Wests.

Sidey has disappointed me. He looked good playing for the Dragons in the games I saw him play and was pleased that he had returned to Oz - but then I was also pleased that Tomiki came back to Oz, to play for the Reds after seeing him play well for Castres. He hasn't got a run yet either.

 

[Brumby Jack]

Confirmed:

CA Brumbies v Waratahs
ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Saturday, 24 April, 2010
Kick-off: 7.40pm

1. Ben Alexander
2. Stephen Moore
3. Salesi Ma’afu
4. Mitchell Chapman
5. Mark Chisholm
6. Rocky Elsom
7. Colby Fainga'a
8. Stephen Hoiles (c)
9. Josh Valentine
10. Matt Giteau
11. Adam Ashley-Cooper
12. Tyrone Smith
13. Andrew Smith
14. Pat McCabe
15. Julian Huxley

Reserves
16. Huia Edmonds
17. Guy Shepherdson
18. Ben Hand
19. Michael Hooper
20. Patrick Phibbs
21. Brackin Kaurauria-Henry
22. Alfie Mafi

 

[TheRiddler]

Looking forward to seeing Mummy give young Fainga'a a dose of what his older brother got in Brisbane - this time hopefully without an over-zealous official deciding it is worth a couple of weeks off.

And call me a sceptic but I will be surprised if there is over 30,000 at the game. I wont be surprised however if the turnstile spinners at the ground come up with an attendance figure that is greatly exaggerated.

 

[PhucNgo]

I am clueless here, but Homebush is in Western Sydney right? So that would mean more of the Western Sydney fans might feel like coming because it is closer than SFS is? But 50k sounds a bit ridiculous, 40k plus sounds more like it. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see 50k plus though.

From 2011 won't the Waratahs be playing two games at Homebush, as well as all finals?

Canberra is in Western Sydney isn't it?

 

[PhucNgo]

That's bad news about Horne. Your remarks about his injury may not be far off the mark Hawko. I wonder if the Tahs trainers have given him a sympathetic programme as an NFL team would give to their guys with his problems.

I suspect that the NFL are a decade or so in front of what we do here in Oz sport and I wonder if the recurrence of Horne's injuries has been caused by inadvertent malpractice.

Yes, they have form. Just ask T Tahu.

Elsom really needs to have a big one this weekend, both for the Brums and his own Wallaby aspirations. He's been almost invisible since returning from RSA where he was in rampaging form. In contrast to this Huxley hasn't put a foot wrong since his return - its as if the guy is blessed or something. He should have been put in at 10 to give Giteau more room in attack. It'll take a miracle for the Brumbies to get up, but having said that, they're capable of miracles. Either way, without Team Tonga for the remaining rounds the Tahs are history anyway.

 

[Godfrey]

I think the Brumbies will come good well enough to beat the snoratahs. I'm predicting something like 35 - 8.

 

[fatprop]

That's bad news about Horne. Your remarks about his injury may not be far off the mark Hawko. I wonder if the Tahs trainers have given him a sympathetic programme as an NFL team would give to their guys with his problems.

I suspect that the NFL are a decade or so in front of what we do here in Oz sport and I wonder if the recurrence of Horne's injuries has been caused by inadvertent malpractice.

Yes, they have form. Just ask T Tahu.

Elsom really needs to have a big one this weekend, both for the Brums and his own Wallaby aspirations. He's been almost invisible since returning from RSA where he was in rampaging form. In contrast to this Huxley hasn't put a foot wrong since his return - its as if the guy is blessed or something. He should have been put in at 10 to give Giteau more room in attack. It'll take a miracle for the Brumbies to get up, but having said that, they're capable of miracles. Either way, without Team Tonga for the remaining rounds the Tahs are history anyway.

:nta: The Tahs wanted Tahu to go through the same process that they had worked through with Elsom. Elsom also had chronic hamstrings until they had him work with a motion expert to fix his running style, that was actually causing the problems.

They had delayed Hornes return to ensure he was right.

 

[Moses]

Huge crowd expected for HSBC Waratahs-Brumbies clash

Officials are hoping for the biggest crowd of the Australian Super 14 season on Saturday night when the HSBC Waratahs meet the Brumbies at ANZ Stadium.

With estimates nearing 40,000 for the blockbuster clash, the event has been given major event status which means all twelve special event bus routes will be in operation on Saturday night, with public transport included with all tickets.

“This match is shaping up as a pretty special date on the Rugby calendar and the crowd is building accordingly,” said Jim L’Estrange, Waratahs Rugby CEO. “Last year when we ventured to ANZ Stadium we drew our biggest crowd of the season and this year it is no different.

“It’s not that long ago that Concord Oval was the home of Rugby in NSW and ANZ Stadium is only down the road, so it’s not surprising that our ticket sales in north-west and western Sydney have been extremely strong.”

Mr L’Estrange said that while a good crowd was always expected for the fixture, there is extra excitement surrounding the performances of both teams this year.

“The Tahs and the Brumbies sit in fifth and sixth respectively, and with three of the teams in the top four having to play each other over the next month there’s a real opportunity for one of these teams to springboard into a finals campaign with victory on Saturday night,” said Mr L’Estrange.

“There’s no doubt that the feeling between these two teams gets stronger every year, and with the number of Wallabies on show from both sides you know that neither team will give an inch.”

Mr L’Estrange added that while ticket sales were very strong, there were still plenty of good seats available for the match.

“I know that in particular the category one and two seating is getting near capacity, so fans should get in quickly and pre-book,” he said. “We want a big crowd, we want a passionate crowd and we want a loud crowd to get behind the team and make themselves heard. When the players have a passionate crowd behind them it can help them by 5-10 points and in local derbies such as this one, that may well prove the difference.

“There’s also a Brumbies Supporter bay which we know will be patronised well with a lot of people heading up from Canberra for the match.”

All tickets to Saturday’s match between the HSBC Waratahs and Brumbies at ANZ Stadium include entry and travel on public transport to and from the game on CityRail trains, Sydney Olympic Park Major Event buses, regular Sydney Buses, and Liverpool to Parramatta T-way bus services.

Direct rail services between Central and Olympic Park Station will operate every eight to 10 minutes from 5pm until 11:30pm, stopping at Redfern and Strathfield. For all other lines, fans should travel to Lidcombe Station and change for Olympic Park Station, operating every 10 minutes until midnight.

Sydney Olympic Park Major Event Bus services will operate on all 12 Major Event bus routes across Sydney, commencing between 4pm and 5pm (depending on the route).

The Stadium Ticket Box Office will open at 5:00pm, with gates opening at 5:30pm.

For more information on tickets and transport options, visit http://www.nswrugby.com.au/TicketsEvents/GameDayInfo/GameDay.aspx .

Tickets available at http://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/Show.aspx?sh=ANZWARA10

 

[RugbyReg]

that's awesome.

Shall be great to watch!

 

[DPK]

Is anyone from this forum apart from WJ instantly recognisable?

 

[RugbyFuture]

im a big fat half asian teenager who looks like a panda, sitting with an aboriginal guy who looks like a turtle and a hairy greek guy with long hair.... practically representatives of the australian people....