Hawko
Tony Shaw (54)
This sort of analysis is helpful but needs to be added to if it is to be complete. I'll take just one example of many to illustrate my point. Everyone, me included, thinks Taps has huge potential and could be another Tim Horan. But.... in matching up to Tom Carter he is playing against a 12 who has not been bested by anyone in Super Rugby and he has played against Nonu, SBW and de Villiers who would be three of the very best. I think that although Carter's attacking flair may not equal Taps that their battle on Saturday night may well end up with neither in the ascendancy.
I would point out that it will be Daley vs Kepu and Robinson vs Slipper when they pack down. In scrummaging at least this puts the whole Tah front row as superior to the Reds, though around the park it will be more even. I also expect that Douglas at TH lock might be at least scrummaging equal to Horwill, though Horwill is clearly superior around the park.
My main concern with the Tahs is that our top three wingers are out and we are going to replace them with two young, inexperienced players who are actually not wingers but who mainly play at 13. This weakness is so glaring that I'd actually play Trist this weekend with BKH on the bench, because Trist is more rugby mature and has played wing far more often, so he naturally knows where to stand in defence and where to run lines in attack without losing the half seconds they'll take to think it through.
I also think the Reds bench is significantly stronger in a number of key positions.
That said, if the Tahs forwards get on top, which I think they might, then the Reds will struggle no matter how much better their backs are. Few backlines operate well on back-foot ball. If it was not for the one piece of Cooper magic, the Brisbane game last year would have been a Tah win and a Red loss.
