Waratahs v Samoa Trial - Tamworth - 10th Feb

[tranquility]

Ha ha, Lee always does that one, I get a giggle out of it.

 

[Moses]

Some rights free photos from the Waratahs media unit

 

[qwerty51]

Paddy Ryan looks a bit like Fat Cat.

Oh and thanks to LG for the updates/comments during the game.

 

[p.Tah]

Some rights free photos from the Waratahs media unit

I think I have spotted Samoa's problem... A winger (no. 14) is playing break away... See the last photo...

 

[Lee Grant]

Kirkpatrick scored 3 tries???

Bloody Kiwi backrowers turning out for Oz teams, something's got to be done about this.

Wish I had $10 for every time I have made that mistake. Yeah it was Fitzpatrick - and scoring 3 tries was a good trick whether from Kirkpa or Fitzpa.


Home now using a normal keyboard, not my wife's little laptop with tiny keys and a different set out with keys in funny places and "losing" the cursor lots of times and deleting posts inadvertently.

Also am at a desk and not sitting on a chair being elbowed by wet people obscuring my view - and not having to fight my way through queues to get in and out of the leagues club 4-5 times to get new security codes for the Wi-Fi [They were only for a certain time.] Bloody Walsh wouldn't stop the match for me whilst I did this either, the bastard. Otherwise he had a good game.

Some more coherent thoughts about the match:

- It was a good workout on attack but it's hard to judge defence because Samoa got back foot ball all night.

- Sarel Petorius was the real deal and a dominant player.

- Barnes seemed to be not working too hard on attack. Against those opponents he looked like Barry John or Bernie Larkham - so much time, almost yawning, always making the right decision, even with kicks.

- Backs from both Tahs team looked intent on using team mates rather than themselves. It will be different under pressure in a real Super game but it was good to have a run through using that discipline.

- 12. Foley and 8. Lopeti T. both had stand out games for Tahs A. I can't recall anybody having a bad game for either team really and all the "invitation" players played well.

- Tahs forwards looked too big for Samoa - or played too big - and were too fit - and hit rucks hard and early. The backs were getting stuck into the rucks too. B. Foley loves 'em.

- Scrums were great; mauls very good. Fitzy threw a few lineouts too high/long for Tahs A but was dynamite around the rucks, and was there to score his 3 tries.

- Tahs reserves (for Super Rugby) 3. Ryan and 5. Peterson very physical - will stand them in good stead. Kepu and Douglas = take no prisoners. McCutcheon was very good playing 8 at that level.

 

[Lee Grant]

How's brakin looking at fullback?

Looked OK but when running back for the ball once I noticed that he had to use his body to shield the line of run by a Samoan winger who was noticeably faster than he was.

Samoans putting on any big hits?

Not as many as you would expect. A few backs decelerated very suddenly sometimes but the Tahs fowards were on the front foot all night, so their opponents hardly got time to get set.

Shit. Bad? [Lachie's hamstring.]

Had to be helped off the park with a guy on each side. Was very ginger using forearm crutches at the end of the game. Will be surprised if we see him play again in the next month - at best.

How have the Samoans looked? Have the Tahs just been too good, or have their opposition been woeful or a combination of both?

A bit of both. The Tahs, even the invitation players, looked fitter and better drilled. As for the look of the scrums: the Samoa effort was poor to be honest.

Great to hear Lopeti is looking good.

I bet he will look elsewhere if he doesn't get a full contract for next year which he won't want to do because he has family in Sydney - and not just his brother.

 

[SuperGrover]

McCutcheon was very good playing 8 at that level.

What level would you equate it with Lee? It sounds like this trial may have even been a level below club rugby. Not many doubt his ability to dominate (or at least look good) at club rugby level... it's just whether he can do the same at Super level.

 

[SuperGrover]

... and let me join the chorus of thanks for your efforts Lee.

 

[SuperGrover]

A little more from the established media

Sarel Showed Some 'Real Class'
The Waratahs braved torrential rain to kick off their 2012 campaign with an impressive display, running in 13 tries against a physical Samoan side at Tamworth on Friday.
While centre Tom Carter scored twice and there was a second half hat-trick for hooker Damien Fitzpatrick, the real star was South African import Sarel Pretorius.

Making his debut in sky blue, the scrumhalf, Pretorius, showed his class - having a hand in three first half tries and almost crossing himself early in the second quarter.
"Sarel looked sharp and was a constant threat around the edges of the ruck," Waratahs coach Michael Foley said.

Foley was also pleased that his team experienced some testing conditions.
"We said we wanted to see how we could control the game in unexpected conditions, and with torrential rain we certainly did that," the mentor said.

"I thought our two forward packs gave us good platform and our No.9s and No.10s in particular made excellent decisions.

"One thing that stood out for me was our discipline, we retained our composure in difficult conditions, and on the back of that we were able to control the game by sticking to what we said we wanted to do."

The darkened skies and driving rain didn't dampen the Tahs' ambition. Although both teams had to work harder to hold on to the ball, Pretorius and Berrick Barnes did well to control the game in their first outing together, with Barnes' astute decision making and tactical kicking ensuring providing some early scoring opportunities for his pacey backline.

A Pretorius chip kick allowed fellow debutant Brackin Karauria-Henry to score on 15 minutes, before the South African was on hand again, this time off the back of a ruck to set up Lachie Turner, with Carter crossing for his second before the quarter was up.

"We moved the ball around well at times, I was impressed by how well we adjusted to the conditions," said Foley.

"Both packs had plenty to do, tidying up and getting us going forward. Our outside backs didn't get the ball in hand as much as we would have liked but their work rate in working back for the kick chase and in loose play was exceptional."

Keen to impress his home town crowd was Tamworth local Paddy Ryan, who made the most of his opportunities with ball in hand, making good yards on several occasions. Playing at No.8, Pat McCutcheon put in a try scoring performance in an unfamiliar position. His main rival for the openside spot, Chris Alcock, was physical and abrasive before being forced to leave the field to have a cut lip stitched up, shortly before the half hour was up.

It was a new look team that took to the park for the second half and a new set of conditions that greeted them, as the rain finally stopped.

"There are a few issues we need to work on," conceded Foley.

"But when you look at this as 120 minutes of rugby and our first of the year, and factor in the most unexpected of conditions, our discipline was the feature that most caught my eye.. What stood out was the way we were able to adjust when we needed to."

http://www.rugby365.com/tournaments/super14/news/2844444.htm

 

[Lee Grant]

,,, the real star was South African import Sarel Pretorius.

"Sarel looked sharp and was a constant threat around the edges of the ruck," Waratahs coach Michael Foley said.

"I thought our two forward packs gave us good platform and our No.9s and No.10s in particular made excellent decisions.


Agree with all of that.

What level would you equate it with Lee? It sounds like this trial may have even been a level below club rugby. Not many doubt his ability to dominate (or at least look good) at club rugby level... it's just whether he can do the same at Super level.

The Samoans looked like they could do with a bit of fitness and coaching but I don't think they would finish last in the Shute Shield as is. They'd beat The Rats.

McCutcheon - agree. I said, deliberately, that he looked good at that level last night. I did not purport to say that he would play like that at the Super level at 8. He's too small to start with IMO - or, plays too small. There he could just be a 7.

... and let me join the chorus of thanks for your efforts Lee.

No worries.

Many thanks should be offered to Tahs Media and Communications Manager, Nicki Drinkwater, for making it possible to do from the ground. Nicki played nearly 30 times as outside centre for the England Womens' team and has been employed by the (England) RFU in a role similar to the one she holds at the Tahs. We are lucky to have her here.
.

 

[lily]

Lee can you possibly add a team list . I was thinking of taking the kid's next Friday so I'd be interested to know whether it is a bunch of development players from Apia or a few ex pro's. I understand that most Samoans ply their trade in the Northern Hemisphere. Same goes for the Tongans who are also booked for next week.

 

[Lee Grant]

Both the Samoans yesterday and Tonga next week play locally. They will be the players who played in the PNC (Pacific Nations Cup).

As you indicate: the best players from Samoa, Tonga (and Fiji for that matter) play in Europe and never play in trials against the Oz Super teams because the northern season is going full blast at that time. There didn't seem to be any old pros in the team yesterday.

As for team lists: do you want it for yesterday?? The team list for next week is unknown right now.

 

[Moses]

HSBC Waratahs keep composure to demolish Samoa

The HSBC Waratahs braved torrential rain to kick off the 2012 season with an impressive display, running in 13 tries against a physical Samoan side, including two for centre Tom Carter and a second half hat-trick for hooker Damien Fitzpatrick.

Said Head Coach Michael Foley, “We said we wanted to see how we could control the game in unexpected conditions, and with torrential rain we certainly did that.

“I thought our two forward packs gave us good platform and our nines and 10s in particular made excellent decisions. One thing that stood out for me was our discipline, we retained our composure in difficult conditions, and on the back of that we were able to control the game by sticking to what we said we wanted to do.

Making his debut in sky blue, South African scrum half Sarel Pretorius showed his class, having a hand in three first half tries and almost crossing himself early in the second quarter.

“Sarel looked sharp and was a constant threat around the edges of the ruck,” acknowledged Foley.
The first of those tries went to inside centre Tom Carter , who opened the scoring after six minutes, leaving captain Berrick Barnes just enough time to slot the conversion before the heavens opened.

But the darkened skies and driving rain didn’t dampen the ambition. Although both teams had to work harder to hold on to the ball, Pretorius and Barnes did well to control the game in their first outing together, with Barnes’ astute decision making and tactical kicking ensuring providing some early scoring opportunities for his pacey backline. A Pretorius chip kick allowed fellow debutant Brackin Karuaria-Henry to score on 15 minutes, before the South African was on hand again, this time off the back of a ruck to set up Lachie Turner, with Carter crossing for his second before the quarter was up.
“We moved the ball around well at times, I was impressed by how well we adjusted to the conditions,” said Foley.

“Both packs had plenty to do, tidying up and getting us going forward. Our outside backs didn’t get the ball in hand as much as we would have liked but their work rate in working back for the kick chase and in loose play was exceptional.”

Keen to impress his home town crowd was Tamworth local Paddy Ryan, who made the most of his opportunities with ball in hand, making good yards on several occasions. Playing at No. 8, Pat McCutcheon put in a try scoring performance in an unfamiliar position. His main rival for the openside spot, Chris Alcock, was physical and abrasive before being forced to leave the field to have a cut lip stitched up, shortly before the half hour was up.

With McCutcheon already on the scorecare, Sekope Kepu soon joined him, courtesy of a driven lineout and although the HSBC Waratahs clearly dominated possession and territory, it wasn’t all one way traffic. The Samoan back row in particular tested the defence with some big ball carries that eventually resulted in a try for Maene Mapusaga, who touched down in the left hand corner on 52 minutes to give the Samoans a well-deserved score and take the half time score to 38-5.

It was a new look team that took to the park for the second half and a new set of conditions that greeted them, as the rain finally stopped.
Scrum half Brendan McKibbon opened the scoring after just three minutes, darting in from 15m out, after evading several Samoan tackles. Winger Nathan Trist touched down 10 minutes later, with fly half and second team captain, Daniel Halangahu converting both. A well executed blindside move from a No. 8 pick up set up full back Toby Browne shortly afterwards, before Damien Fitzpatrick crossed for his first, before completing his hat trick within half an hour. The 22-year-old hooker was on hand to capitalise on a 30m driven maul, before following up a disallowed effort with a further two touchdowns, all of which Halangahu converted.

With all the replacements getting a run, the second half was noticeably scrappy in parts but the Samoan attacks served as a robust test for the NSW defence, which held firm despite the personnel changes. Centre Michael Hodge’s try and Halangahu’s fifth conversion took the final score to 83-5, with the second half team notching up pleasing 45 unanswered points.

“There are a few issues we need to work on,” conceded Foley. “But when you look at this as 120 minutes of rugby and our first of the year, and factor in the most unexpected of conditions, our discipline was the feature that most caught my eye.. What stood out was the way we were able to adjust when we needed to.”

The HSBC Waratahs will now face Tonga at the Sydney Football Stadium next Friday, February 17. With Sydney University playing Samoa in the curtain raiser (5.30pm), fans will be able to enjoy two big games of rugby for the price of one in what promises to be an evening full of action. Family tickets cost just $20, with adult tickets $10 and HSBC Waratahs members admitted free. Tickets are available from www.Ticketek.com.au or by calling 132 849.

 

[Moses]

HSBC WARATAHS v Samoa
Woodleys Volvo Challenge Match, Scully Park, Tamworth
Friday February 10, 2012 (Kick off 7.30pm)

HSBC Waratahs 83 (tries: Carter 2, Brackin-Henry, Turner, McCutcheon, Kepu, McKibbin, Trist, Browne, Fitzpatrick 3, Hodge, cons: Barnes 4, Halangahu 5) d Samoa 5 (tries: Mapusaga) at Scully Park, Tamworth. Half-time: HSBCWaratahs 38 - 5 Samoa.

HSBC Waratahs – first XV
1. Sekope Kepu (Randwick), 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau (Parramatta), 3. Paddy Ryan (Sydney University), 4. Dean Mumm (Sydney University), 5. Kane Douglas (Southern Districts), 6. Dave Dennis (Sydney University), 7. Chris Alcock (Eastwood), 8. Pat McCutcheon (Sydney University, vice captain), 9. Sarel Pretorius (N/A), 10. Berrick Barnes (Sydney University), captain, 11. Tom Kingston (Sydney University)12. Tom Carter (Sydney University), 13. Rob Horne (Southern Districts), 14. Lachie Turner (Eastwood), 15. Brackin Karauria-Henry (Southern Districts)

HSBC Waratahs – second XV
1. Jeremy Tilse (Sydney University), 2. Damien Fitzpatrick (Eastwood), 3. John Ulugia (Southern Districts), 4. Richard Stanford (Eastern Suburbs)*, 5. Greg Peterson (Manly), 6. Tevita Metuisela (Manly), 7. Seilala Lam (Randwick)*, 8. Lopeti Timani (Southern Districts), 9. Brendan McKibbin (Eastern Suburbs), vice captain, 10. Daniel Halangahu (Sydney University, captain), 11. Peter Betham (Sydney University)*, 12. Bernard Foley (Sydney University), 13. Michael Hodge (Sydney University)*, 14. Nathan Trist (Sydney University), 15. Toby Browne (Randwick)*

Replacements16. Damien Fitzpatrick/Seilala Lam, 17. Lotu Taukeiaho (Randwick), 18. Liam Winton (Sydney University)*, 19. Jono Jenkins (Sydney University)*, 20. Grayson Hart (Southern Districts), 21. Jesse Leota (Parramatta)*, 22. Tom Hill (Gordon)

Referees: Steve Walsh, James Leckie
Assistant Referees: Angus Gardner, Will Houston, Darrell Jones, Daniel Kahl.
Crowd: 4,000 (capacity)

 

[rugbysmartarse]

I guess this friday's curtain raiser will show the skill/fitness level of the samoan team as they take on a club side

 

[Lee Grant]

That Uni club side won't have a lot of 1st Grade players in it, since a lot of them are with Super teams.

Expect to see several Twos and Colts players in the team.

 

[qwerty51]

Uni have named their side, a lot of unfamiliar names.

NAME HEIGHT - CM WEIGHT - KG
1. Dylan Evans 182 113
2. James Riches 182 104
3. Sam Talakai 182 125
4. Liam Winton 195 110
5. Oli Atkins 200 117
6. Anthony Pohlen 191 102
7. Jono Jenkins 185 98
8. Dave Hickey 183 96
9. David Fong 173 76
10. Stephano Hunt 180 83
11. Terence Dodd 190 93
12. James Dargaville 186 94
13. James McMahon 180 92
14. Zubayr Abrahams 182 88
15. Angus Roberts 186 92

1. Pieter van der Merwe 183 125
2. Matt Mafi 150 150
3. Joe Horn-Smith 181 114
4. Byron Hodge 198 114
5. Edward Burrett 200 111
6. Kurt Larsen 191 107
7. Benn Melrose 185 95
8. Jack de Guigand 180 97
9. Cale Holmes 180 89
10. TBC
11. Mark O'Dare 181 90
12. James Swan 183 97
13. Levi Dodd 182 93
14. Will Du Plessis 183 86
15. Stuart Dunbar 175 80

 

[Lee Grant]

Only a couple of regular 1st graders then. I didn't know that Winton played for Uni. He may be a busy boy on Friday - he's on the reserves list for the Tahs game later on.

Watch out for 3. Sam Talaki. I rate him.

 

[Bruce Ross]

That Uni club side won't have a lot of 1st Grade players in it, since a lot of them are with Super teams.

Expect to see several Twos and Colts players in the team.

"Several" is an understatement, LG.

 

[dobduff11]

How long has Stephano Hunt been at Sydney Uni Bruce? Last I heard he was at Sunnyabnk.