Convert battle gives Ryan Cross edge over frustrated Timana Tahu
WESTERN Force outside centre Ryan Cross has described fellow rugby league convert Timana Tahu as unpredictable in the build-up to their clash in the match against NSW Waratahs in Sydney tomorrow night.
And the Waratahs would probably agree, given the persistent rumours that Tahu is looking to return to the 13-a-side code.
Cross played against Tahu in rugby league, but this will be the first time he has directly opposed him in rugby union.
"He's obviously got his chance this week," Cross said of Tahu, who has been promoted to the Waratahs' run-on side in place of the injured Rob Horne.
"It's a good opportunity for him. I've played against him a few times in rugby league. It will be good to play against him.
"He is very dangerous when he gets some space and time, so hopefully we can cut his time down. That's the main thing.
"The best thing about him is he is very unpredictable."
Cross said he had benefited from playing week in, week out with the Force, while Tahu has been in and out of the Waratahs' line-up.
"It's hard to build that confidence up," Cross said. "If you are playing consistently, you get to know the team around you.
"I don't really want to talk about him anymore. I've said what I have to say."
Cross and Tahu will be competing for places in the Wallabies squad to be named in early June, but Cross felt his match-up with All Blacks outside centre Conrad Smith in the Force's loss to the Hurricanes in Perth last Friday night was more important from a selection point of view.
"Obviously, there is a bit more feeling playing against blokes you know, like the Reds and Brumbies," Cross said. "They are the games we lift for."
Two days after dismissing speculation he was looking at going back to rugby league, Tahu rubbished a story in a Sydney newspaper, which said a "third party" had approached the Sydney Roosters on his behalf.
"I don't know who this third party is. I think third party means the garbage man or the cleaner," Tahu said.
"My manager did talk to the bloke, (Daily Telegraph reporter) Dean Ritchie, yesterday and he denied everything. He said look, he's happy where he is, which I am.
"I just don't know where all of this comes from.
"It was a bit of a stressful morning because I turned on the radio to hear the news and the first thing was my name coming up. What's going on here?
"It's just lies. That article that Dean Ritchie wrote was pretty much crap."
Reporters reminded Tahu that before he signed with the ARU and the Waratahs two years ago, he said rugby was boring and he would not make the switch.
But Tahu insisted he had deliberately done that to avoid a media circus while he was negotiating with rugby officials.
"I'm a bloke (that) if I want to do something, I do it a little bit quieter," Tahu said. "I wouldn't want the circus.
"Some players love their limelight, but I'm a quiet bloke.
"I'm concentrating on starting for the Waratahs and hopefully starting for the Wallabies in the near future. That's my main goal."
Waratahs coach Chris Hickey accepted Tahu's version of the story.
"Timana is a fairly honest bloke and you take him on his word," Hickey said. "He has indicated a strong commitment to rugby and the Waratahs."
The Roosters have denied that they are chasing Tahu.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html
