Waratahs v Highlanders trial - Thursday 16 February 2017
- Thread starter Braveheart81
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40 all with about 10 or so minutes to go
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Try to Con Foley after a kick and chase from Robinson. Tahs lead 47-40.
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Brumby Jack
Steve Williams (59)
47-all with a couple of minutes to go.
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After being hot on attack the Tahs turn it over and then give away a penalty 40 metres out.
Highlanders nail it to win by 3.
Very entertaining game.
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Highlanders nail it to win by 3.
Very entertaining game.
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WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Send Jones back to Club Rugby. It's where he belongs. He's missed tackles, misread tackles and been bumped a lot tonight. And I'm yet to see his fabled kicking game. Cannot connect.
waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
So FT Clan 50-47 'tahs?
T
TOCC
Guest
Defence optional?
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Lee Grant
John Eales (66)
Just back from the game. Was disappointed in the Tahs run on team v the Clan's version - it was boys against men.
And how gifted was Sopoaga and how brutal Naholo?
Every time the Clan got the ball it was a surprise that they didn't score; often they only had blades of grass to stop them because tacklers weren't there to tackle.
As bad as our starting team was our second half players were excellent - our scrubbers just swarmed as the Clan did in the first half.
The bloke who took the first goal kick for the Tahs looked so much like Reece Robinson, until I realised it was Reece Robinson.
One worthy asked me why the Tahs were taking a kick at goal, and I said because it was a trial and they were giving him a trial to see how he kicked at goal - didn't seem too hard that one.
He had a nice rhythm to his kicks too.
There was some ugly inaccurate play too throughout the night from both sides especially their defensive patterns.
You could say it was the good, the bad and the ugly.
I'll see myself out.
PS - Spoke to Jed Holloway and he said his hamstring injury was very mild and he should be right for South Africa (which is Rounds 2 and 3).
But they all say that don't they?
.
And how gifted was Sopoaga and how brutal Naholo?
Every time the Clan got the ball it was a surprise that they didn't score; often they only had blades of grass to stop them because tacklers weren't there to tackle.
As bad as our starting team was our second half players were excellent - our scrubbers just swarmed as the Clan did in the first half.
The bloke who took the first goal kick for the Tahs looked so much like Reece Robinson, until I realised it was Reece Robinson.
One worthy asked me why the Tahs were taking a kick at goal, and I said because it was a trial and they were giving him a trial to see how he kicked at goal - didn't seem too hard that one.
He had a nice rhythm to his kicks too.
There was some ugly inaccurate play too throughout the night from both sides especially their defensive patterns.
You could say it was the good, the bad and the ugly.
I'll see myself out.
PS - Spoke to Jed Holloway and he said his hamstring injury was very mild and he should be right for South Africa (which is Rounds 2 and 3).
But they all say that don't they?
.
Partly.
There was also some referee optional moments and I think with TMO a couple of tries from each side would have been called back.
Micheal
Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Making sense of my notes from the game:
- The first quarter and a half was very different from the rest of the game from a Tahs perspective. Obviously we started with an A-team, but when we made a late resurgence I noted to myself "Ahh well it means nothing as the Highlanders have subbed all their starters", but so had we. We finished with Toleafoa, McDuling, Hanigan, Wilkin, Hegarty, Lucas, Horwitz, Roach, Taqele and Foley all getting game time.
I think that is the real merit of the Tahs squad this year - the depth across the park. Everyone seemed to be able to seamlessly slot in which is great to see.
- In the 1st / 2nd quarter our defense was all over the shop. 10/20/30s too bunched and space was left out wide; or 10/20/30s too spread out and holes everywhere in the middle. Further, our linespeed was inconsistent and space was left inbetween rushing players. Very, very poor effort which was then compounded by poor one-on-one defense from several players.
Kellaway and Dempsey were the biggest standouts in this area for me. Despite what a poster said earlier I thought Jones stood up a bit in defence. In the rugby circles I follow he's always been scoffed at because, whilst he's rated highly, he was always a bit of a pretty boy in defence. He proved me wrong against the Brumbies and I think he proved me wrong again today. He was also very good in attack and looked for a ton of work.
Conversely, Kellaway was someone I always rated so highly at schoolboy, u20 and Shute Shield level but he's done nothing this year or last year to show me he's up to it. He pulls out the rare cracking 1 on 1 tackle but his positioning is very poor and he often drops off tackles on the outside. Outside of that, he doesn't even offer much x-factor in attack as I think he's no relatively faster than the players marking him at this stage in his career. This was a main tenant of his strike running. I thought he had a really really poor game.
He's also adopted (or attempted to adopt) a bit of a physical edge to his game? He looked for big shots when a simple tackle would have done, and he ran the ball straight into heavy traffic a few times when it simply wasn't on and it almost cost us the ball a few times. His decision making was quite poor.
Folau's positioning was also very poor but he hasn't played any footy of late (especially at 13) and he looked rusty. Also, can you really blame him if he doesn't care that much at this stage in the season? Trials are for fringe players and I think that really showed tonight.
He still had some absolutely heroic runs, with one huge one through immense traffic to set us up to score in the corner (albeit after a blatantly forward pass from Taqele).
At this stage I'd prefer Folau at 15, Horne at 13, Jones and Horne at 11 and 14 respectively.
- Wells and Skelton had very physical games. Wells seemed to be everywhere! Good physical presence and quite athletic. Really impressed by him. Gordon also looked good.
- Hanigan was better than against the Brumbies but he dropped / misjudged another kick off. He's got to improve on this as its becoming a trend.
- Hooper had the team in his fucking backpack for the first 2.5 quarters and made 3-4 linebreaks. Was completely out of breath but you can't blame him as he was doing enough work for 15 people. Australian Rugby and the Tahs owe a huge debt to that man.
- Reece Robinson can kick! His technique is weird as though. He stabs at the ball and has relatively no follow through.
- Lineout was absolutely atrocious as per. Scrum was good however.
- Simone is the real deal. Good in defense, good in attack. Can run over people or around them; can set up people outside with a cut out or inside with a pop-ball. Very excited to see him play this season. He scored a wicked try as he broke the line and cantered around the fullback with a bit of deceptive footwork. (Simone / Kerevi 2017? Too early but holy moly).
- Grubbers behind the line for Reece Robinson work really well. Make it a foot race and he'll win everytime. He's turning into a true footballer.
Overall.
We looked really good in the second half and I was convinced we were going to win in the final few passages of play but it wasn't to be. Not that I care - preseason trials aren't about the result but rather about what you get out of them. We certainly found out a lot tonight about who our best players are and I'm thankful for that.
A bit of rust from the returning Wallabies (can't say the same about the returning All Blacks) but they haven't trained much or played much footy so thats to be expected.
The squad players on the other hand had it all over their Highlander counterparts. Not only that but their fitness levels and skills look really really good. Some amazing offloading in traffic and quick hands following a turnover.
I had a really really enjoyable night and I think the entire season will be similar. A good crowd at Brookvale too (5004) - its a fantastic stadium for it. They should try playing a home game or two there a season as the Northern Beaches really does have a big rugby community.
Thats all for now.
Edit: the atmosphere was great at the ground but fuck me some Tahs fans are shit. My brother went to get an icecream halfway through the second quarter and some old hag who he had to walk past (read: do the awkward shimmy lap-dance for) to get out of the seats scowled and goes "Jesus Christ are you going to be doing this all game?"
Its a fucking sporting event - people are going to move. I bet you she would have been the type when she was younger to complain about people bumping into her in mosh pits at concerts ("Yeah its really weird theres 5000 people in this confined area and no one cares about my personal space").
Compound that by all the old farts sitting behind me complaining everytime the players did something they didn't agree with and I think its time we round up everyone under 30 and sit in our own section (Chook Pen? The Burrow? Yeah, nah: try the Flower Bed).
Edit edit: Oh and as much as I hate to say it I actually thought Mumm had a really good game. Covered a lot of ground and made some good tackles. He'll probably do just enough to get into the Wallabies where he'll do just enough to not get dropped and so the cycle will repeat.
- The first quarter and a half was very different from the rest of the game from a Tahs perspective. Obviously we started with an A-team, but when we made a late resurgence I noted to myself "Ahh well it means nothing as the Highlanders have subbed all their starters", but so had we. We finished with Toleafoa, McDuling, Hanigan, Wilkin, Hegarty, Lucas, Horwitz, Roach, Taqele and Foley all getting game time.
I think that is the real merit of the Tahs squad this year - the depth across the park. Everyone seemed to be able to seamlessly slot in which is great to see.
- In the 1st / 2nd quarter our defense was all over the shop. 10/20/30s too bunched and space was left out wide; or 10/20/30s too spread out and holes everywhere in the middle. Further, our linespeed was inconsistent and space was left inbetween rushing players. Very, very poor effort which was then compounded by poor one-on-one defense from several players.
Kellaway and Dempsey were the biggest standouts in this area for me. Despite what a poster said earlier I thought Jones stood up a bit in defence. In the rugby circles I follow he's always been scoffed at because, whilst he's rated highly, he was always a bit of a pretty boy in defence. He proved me wrong against the Brumbies and I think he proved me wrong again today. He was also very good in attack and looked for a ton of work.
Conversely, Kellaway was someone I always rated so highly at schoolboy, u20 and Shute Shield level but he's done nothing this year or last year to show me he's up to it. He pulls out the rare cracking 1 on 1 tackle but his positioning is very poor and he often drops off tackles on the outside. Outside of that, he doesn't even offer much x-factor in attack as I think he's no relatively faster than the players marking him at this stage in his career. This was a main tenant of his strike running. I thought he had a really really poor game.
He's also adopted (or attempted to adopt) a bit of a physical edge to his game? He looked for big shots when a simple tackle would have done, and he ran the ball straight into heavy traffic a few times when it simply wasn't on and it almost cost us the ball a few times. His decision making was quite poor.
Folau's positioning was also very poor but he hasn't played any footy of late (especially at 13) and he looked rusty. Also, can you really blame him if he doesn't care that much at this stage in the season? Trials are for fringe players and I think that really showed tonight.
He still had some absolutely heroic runs, with one huge one through immense traffic to set us up to score in the corner (albeit after a blatantly forward pass from Taqele).
At this stage I'd prefer Folau at 15, Horne at 13, Jones and Horne at 11 and 14 respectively.
- Wells and Skelton had very physical games. Wells seemed to be everywhere! Good physical presence and quite athletic. Really impressed by him. Gordon also looked good.
- Hanigan was better than against the Brumbies but he dropped / misjudged another kick off. He's got to improve on this as its becoming a trend.
- Hooper had the team in his fucking backpack for the first 2.5 quarters and made 3-4 linebreaks. Was completely out of breath but you can't blame him as he was doing enough work for 15 people. Australian Rugby and the Tahs owe a huge debt to that man.
- Reece Robinson can kick! His technique is weird as though. He stabs at the ball and has relatively no follow through.
- Lineout was absolutely atrocious as per. Scrum was good however.
- Simone is the real deal. Good in defense, good in attack. Can run over people or around them; can set up people outside with a cut out or inside with a pop-ball. Very excited to see him play this season. He scored a wicked try as he broke the line and cantered around the fullback with a bit of deceptive footwork. (Simone / Kerevi 2017? Too early but holy moly).
- Grubbers behind the line for Reece Robinson work really well. Make it a foot race and he'll win everytime. He's turning into a true footballer.
Overall.
We looked really good in the second half and I was convinced we were going to win in the final few passages of play but it wasn't to be. Not that I care - preseason trials aren't about the result but rather about what you get out of them. We certainly found out a lot tonight about who our best players are and I'm thankful for that.
A bit of rust from the returning Wallabies (can't say the same about the returning All Blacks) but they haven't trained much or played much footy so thats to be expected.
The squad players on the other hand had it all over their Highlander counterparts. Not only that but their fitness levels and skills look really really good. Some amazing offloading in traffic and quick hands following a turnover.
I had a really really enjoyable night and I think the entire season will be similar. A good crowd at Brookvale too (5004) - its a fantastic stadium for it. They should try playing a home game or two there a season as the Northern Beaches really does have a big rugby community.
Thats all for now.
Edit: the atmosphere was great at the ground but fuck me some Tahs fans are shit. My brother went to get an icecream halfway through the second quarter and some old hag who he had to walk past (read: do the awkward shimmy lap-dance for) to get out of the seats scowled and goes "Jesus Christ are you going to be doing this all game?"
Its a fucking sporting event - people are going to move. I bet you she would have been the type when she was younger to complain about people bumping into her in mosh pits at concerts ("Yeah its really weird theres 5000 people in this confined area and no one cares about my personal space").
Compound that by all the old farts sitting behind me complaining everytime the players did something they didn't agree with and I think its time we round up everyone under 30 and sit in our own section (Chook Pen? The Burrow? Yeah, nah: try the Flower Bed).
Edit edit: Oh and as much as I hate to say it I actually thought Mumm had a really good game. Covered a lot of ground and made some good tackles. He'll probably do just enough to get into the Wallabies where he'll do just enough to not get dropped and so the cycle will repeat.
Micheal
Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Also my brother (who is prone to making mistakes) said he saw Kurtley on the sideline watching. A meeting with Gibson / Cheik perhaps?
He said this on two separate occasions so I'm starting to believe him.
Is Kurtley coming back to NSW rugby (again)? I'd certainly take him.
He said this on two separate occasions so I'm starting to believe him.
Is Kurtley coming back to NSW rugby (again)? I'd certainly take him.
amirite
Chilla Wilson (44)
Maybe he was on holidays because only the British and Irish Cup is on right now. Doubt it though.
waiopehu oldboy
George Smith (75)
Daily Mail (UK) has Cheika in blighty right now & speculates he may be there to talk to KB (Kurtley Beale). Also he played for Wasps on Saturday & they've got Exeter this week so I seriously doubt he's in Straya ATM...........
Can anyone shed any light on Luke Whitelock's shoulder injury? Happened in the first half so did he spend the second half on the bench, in the sheds being treated, or at the hospital for scans?
Micheal
Nicholas Shehadie (39)
Haha. Right.
As I said my brother is good at getting confused. The bloody numpty.
Tbh I just think I wanted to believe him.
WorkingClassRugger
Michael Lynagh (62)
Kellaway was poor. We must have been watching different players in Jones. He was served up by Naholo a number of times. But what annoyed me with him was when Naholo got around him and through a gap and Jones who could have run him down instead strode along behind the play. Now the break wasn't his fault. It was poor one off rush defence but in that situation he should have been booking it to get back and make that tackle.
As a fan I want to see players who when in that situation to work as hard as to get back. He didn't. But that was also indicative of the sfarting 15. Too slow getting back up and into line finding itself often a pass behind the Highlanders. Which they exploited mercilessly.
2bluesfan
Nev Cottrell (35)
Not sure if this is a typo or not.
Rugbynutter39
Michael Lynagh (62)
Yep did not realise telecast was on - pity not kept up on the site to review after the game
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