Waratahs vs Force - Super Rugby R7 2013 - Sunday 31st March

[mark_s]

As for the Tahs, someone in the post-match said that was a game they would have lost last year. I had a bad feeling for a lot of the second half. But they pulled through. They are certainly creating a lot of chances, if they fix up their execution they can push for a top 8 finish.
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That's probably right, we would have lost this game by 3 last year. However, I expected us to kick on in the second half with the wind at our backs so I was more optimistic than usual.

I should have mentioned izzy, I thought he was very good today but needs to work on his touch finding, he has the length but doesn't seem to capitalise on it by his angle. If he stays in rugby, he will become a very very good player, at least at the super level.

Crowd disappointing again, but maybe we can take comfort that we drew more than the penny panthers today. Message to The tahs, it's great you have pill Waugh offering comment before the game and at half time but I can't hear a thing he says due to the echo. Please address because I think it's a great idea.

 

[Quick Hands]

Crowd disappointing again.

Two weeks in a row about 15,000 on a sunny Sunday afternoon. If I could offer a couple of suggestions to Waratahs marketing types:

1. Stop charging 4 year olds $10 to go to the match. Perhaps justified if your'e getting 35-40,000, but that's not happening

2. Offer every junior club in Sydney 50-100 children's tickets for Sunday afternoon matches. You get the kids, you get the parents. The parents have to but their tickets and buy food, drink etc.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Great to see the womens 7's at 1/2 time.

The PA was woeful. Who were the teams?

No half time "singer". Priceless.

 

[Shiggins]

A lot of effort to crush some grapes there, Shiggins.
Waratahs conceded 12 penalties, Force 11.
By your reckoning the count should have been about 17-6. Well, I was at the game, and the infringing, allegedly or otherwise wasn't even close to that one-sided.

I think chieka is shocking as well. He whines more then me!

 

[Pfitzy]

I should have mentioned izzy, I thought he was very good today but needs to work on his touch finding, he has the length but doesn't seem to capitalise on it by his angle.

From what I remember, his first one was a gem - got back up to half way. Two others weren't so good.

What was the crowd figure?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

^^^ Didn't come up on the big screen.

One big screen not working.

I'm tipping between 13 and 14 k.

 

[#1 Tah]

^^^ Didn't come up on the big screen.

One big screen not working.

I'm tipping between 13 and 14 k.

Crowd figure did come up on screen at 15.5k

Actually a pretty good crowd for the Easter weekend, all of Sydney has taken off to Byron Bay to see Paul Simon and Robert Plant play. Driving around the city, northern suburbs and the east (i am a pure bred tahs fan) it has been eerily quiet this weekend.

 

[cyclopath]

Crowd figure did come up on screen at 15.5k

Actually a pretty good crowd for the Easter weekend, all of Sydney has taken off to Byron Bay to see Paul Simon and Robert Plant play. Driving around the city, northern suburbs and the east (i am a pure bred tahs fan) it has been eerily quiet this weekend.

Actually Sydney (well, the East) was dead as a doornail today - I went cycling this morning and there were 30% the normal number of riders in Centennial Park, and the roads round here have been quiet. Everywhere I went, it was sleepy.

 

[Badger]

The atmosphere was in stark contrast to previous home games this year. At times, it was deathly quiet for a crowd of 15,000+.

Probably a reflection of the game, which was hard to get into, especially in the first half with all the stoppages. Even though the Tahs won, I can't say the crowd was pumped after the game.

Sort of regressed this week with the errors and infringements. Look forward to seeing them on their first overseas trip against the Canes.

Great to see the womens 7's at 1/2 time.
The PA was woeful. Who were the teams?

Both the teams were members of the NSW womens 7s team, the Blue Belles.

Everywhere I went, it was sleepy.

Yeah, dead quite everywhere. But it was busy in Chinatown. People everywhere. You can trust the Chinese to keep things going when most other places were closed.

 

[fatprop]

Crowd figure did come up on screen at 15.5k

Actually a pretty good crowd for the Easter weekend, all of Sydney has taken off to Byron Bay to see Paul Simon and Robert Plant play. Driving around the city, northern suburbs and the east (i am a pure bred tahs fan) it has been eerily quiet this weekend.

There was a shed load of tahs members seats empty

 

[#1 Tah]

Actually Sydney (well, the East) was dead as a doornail today

Wait, you mean there are other parts of Sydney?

 

[Badger]

There was a shed load of tahs members seats empty

The revenue target from ticket sales in 2013 must be shot to smithereens.

 

[Elfster]

Godwin wasn't as prominent as I was expecting

But he was better than Horne at 12 I thought.........

He does show potential. I would like to see him in another ranking team aside from the Force. Like Australia A playing in that comp with all the Islander sides and a baby AB side.

 

[fatprop]

The revenue target from ticket sales in 2013 must be shot to smithereens.

maybe, but those members/season tickets have been paid for, they just weren't there, but the money is in the Tahs bank

 

[Pfitzy]

The revenue target from ticket sales in 2013 must be shot to smithereens.

Well that was also fuct by the idiots who got a game scheduled on Mardi Gras night, forcing a hasty reschedule.

 

[Elfster]

I thought that the Tahs just held on. Some of the earlier posts were saying that though they may be a hard side to beat, they will struggle to win as they lack that X-factor. That may be the case, but they showed more "team" flair with some of their moves than the Waratahs. And they had some key players missing (in that I probably mean they are lacking depth). Unless you count people like Tom Carter as a "key player" you can't necessarily say that of the Tahs.

Still a win to the Tahs. A game with still too many penalties, played to a different set of laws to some of the other games this round and one in which the sides, to my liking, took the easy choice of penalty kick rather than exploiting any apparent strength over the other side.

 

[Badger]

maybe, but those members/season tickets have been paid for, they just weren't there, but the money is in the Tahs bank

Yes, you're spot on. Overall, they can't be pleased with an average crowd of less than 15K to date. Take out the SFS members and there's not many season tickets and casual sales in the crowd. This is perplexing as the Tahs apparently have over 16K in members. Granted some of these aren't full memberships, but it doesn't appear they are turning up.

Well that was also fuct by the idiots who got a game scheduled on Mardi Gras night, forcing a hasty reschedule.

Next home game is on at the same time as the Swans (vs Geelong) are playing next door at the SCG. No prize for guessing which will have the bigger crowd. Being a Friday night, driving around the Moore Park area will be awful to say the least.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Yes, you're spot on. Overall, they can't be pleased with an average crowd of less than 15K to date. Take out the SFS members and there's not many season tickets and casual sales in the crowd. This is perplexing as the Tahs apparently have over 16K in members. Granted some of these aren't full memberships, but it doesn't appear they are turning up.



Next home game is on at the same time as the Swans (vs Geelong) are playing next door at the SCG. No prize for guessing which will have the bigger crowd. Being a Friday night, driving around the Moore Park area will be awful to say the least.

Which is odd. Why pay for a membership and then not show. If I had forked up the cash for a membership package then I'd be turning up to get money's worth. I think we need to accept that it's going to take more than a few home wins to begin to see crowds returning to the SFS for Tahs games. They'll need to win the next two or three games to see an improvement on the current figures and probably a good season overall to get the average back above 20,000.

 

[ChargerWA]

The Force just seem to run out of ideas after about 60 minutes in each game. I can't put it down to substitutions and it doesn't seem to be fitness. It's like they get into a position where they could win it and then look down the line and remember they are playing for the Force and slip it into neutral.

Don't get me wrong, I am heartened by our performances since the Kings game and feel the Force are performing to or above their potential but there is still a mental barrier they need to break through to completely free themselves from the previous era, where they couldn't close out a game to save their lives.

MMM was immense. Also though Hodgo was good. I still think Alcock is better but the subs tonight were pretty good. Just one question..........SNK............WHYYYYYYY? Would have been 10 times better off with Mafi still on the field.

 

[Henry]

Not getting all the Izzy love. Sure he made some nice breaks, but he never seems to pass to his support. He'll always try to beat his man one on one and will either lose the ball or be held up. He never bloody passes it.