Folau hopes horror show will lift Waratahs
AAP
By Darren Walton
April 28, 2014, 7:03 pm
Israel Folau is hoping a video replay will jolt the NSW Waratahs out of the Super Rugby doldrums.
Israel Folau is hoping a confronting video review session will be the spark to jolt the NSW Waratahs out of the Super Rugby doldrums.
The freakish fullback was kept tryless for the first time all season in the Waratahs' bumbling Anzac Day display against the Blues and admitted having to sit through a replay of the Eden Park horror show on Monday wasn't too flash.
Folau said there'd be plenty of players cringing and squirming, but that's the way it had to be if the Waratahs wanted to bounce back against the Hurricanes at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
"It's not good when you're looking at the footage," he said.
"Sometimes during the game, you don't think it was that bad until you watch it back.
"Definitely the group was upset with the performance on Friday and we'll have a good look at ourselves and then move forward.
"It's the way you've got to do things and review. I think it gets the group a lot tighter."
Halfback Nick Phipps agreed that hard-nosed coach Michael Cheika's "confronting style" was the only way to go for the Waratahs.
"It's brutal, but it's good. It's got to be brutal," he said.
"Even after a win, we have quite brutal meetings in there. We're never going to rest our laurels.
"Cheik's always big on being equal no matter who you are. He's happy to show one of my mistakes and then he's equally happy to show one of (captain) Dave Dennis's.
"We've got to improve and the only way we're going to do that is if we start chipping at each other and we're hard on each other."
Despite barely clinging to sixth spot after five wins and four losses in 2014, Folau said it was far from panic stations for the Tahs.
"It's a positive that we're providing good opportunities, but we just have to finish them off now," he said.
"We've got a good team to do that. We need to focus on this week and get the win and slowly turn this around."
Playing his first season with the Waratahs, South African import Jacques Potgieter remains convinced NSW will still win their maiden Super title despite their chaotic display in Auckland.
"I just thought with all the talent that we could go a long way - and I still believe that. Otherwise I wouldn't have come to the Waratahs," Potgieter said.
"I just want to lift that trophy and I still think we're going to."
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