Hot Reds can seduce Tahs to come over to wild side
Hot Reds can seduce Tahs to come over to wild side
Wayne Smith | March 03, 2009
Article from: The Australian
FOR better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, the New South Wales Waratahs keep rolling along like a successful if somewhat boring marriage.
That, at least is Queensland Reds' assistant coach Damon Emtage's novel reading of the old enemy, leading into Friday night's interstate clash at the Sydney Football Stadium.
"Their greatest strength is that they know what they can and cannot do," Emtage observed.
"Regardless of what people say about how attractive or otherwise their rugby is, it works for them. I liken that to a good marriage. You know your boundaries."
Which is more than can be said for Emtage. Never one to drop a good metaphor just because it gets dangerous, he likens Queensland to red-hot lovers just getting to know each other.
"We're on our first couple of dates with our game and we're trying to figure out what we can and cannot do. And just as you can slip up on an early date, so we can make errors too."
Errors? The Reds deservedly had their faces slapped by the Bulls and Stormers in South Africa when they took way too many liberties with their game in their opening two matches of the Super 14 season. But the Cheetahs -- admittedly not an especially apt name to introduce to this tale of marital bliss -- got all hot and steamy on the weekend as the Reds made some bold, even improper advances.
Yet as so often happens, the pimply, panting Reds put their hands where they shouldn't, fumbling with catches, and the excitement quickly receded. In the end, they never quite consummated the deal.
Still, the debate rages, a debate that has has been around since Adam first nudged Eve in the ribs. Which is better, the uncertain thrill of a wild romance or the warm, satisfying glow of a safe and steady marriage?
That's not a question that necessarily will be answered on Friday night. But what is certain is that the Reds fancy their chances. They've got a few moves they think will make the Waratahs blush and might, just might, lead to a full-scale marital bust-up.
Still, they can't just rush in like lecherous Lotharios, red roses clenched between their teeth.
"We can't play frivolous rugby because that would very much play into their hands," Emtage cautioned.
"By the same token, we've got to ask questions of them they don't often get asked.
"If we can understand how they want to play the game, we then maybe can find the questions that take them out of their comfort zone."
The Waratahs, it must be said, have an absurdly large comfort zone.
Mahatma Gandhi might have first learned the concepts of non-violence in his marriage, but the Tahs take a slightly more robust view of things.
They don't mess with outsiders trying to bust up their orderly world and have been the most successful team in the competition at repelling those who try to cross the line.
Their set piece play, as Emtage ruefully conceded, leaves the Reds no openings. The Waratahs stick tight together in the scrums, lift each other in the lineouts and support each other constantly with nary a cross word spoken.
Still, as Quade Cooper remarked yesterday, it's boring.
"NSW are very much a structured side so if we can unscramble them a bit and try to pierce through them, it will really disrupt their defences," said Cooper.
Indeed, Cooper even believes it may be possible to seduce the Tahs into coming over to the wild side. Deep down, he feels, they want to cut loose. And astonishingly, he actually wants to shame them into it.
"If we can throw it around and score a few tries, they might decide to do that as well. I'd like to make this game quite an exciting one," he said.
Granted, he and the Reds are flirting with danger if they play too fast and loose.
Cooper has all-too-vivid memories of Eddie Jones' last game as Queensland coach, against the Bulls in Pretoria in 2007, when he surprisingly ordered his team to play with gay abandon.
"Eddie's words were: 'Go out there, throw it around and see what you can do'. We got beaten by 90 points (92-3)," Cooper recalled. "We played a game that we weren't suited to then. But now that's how we train. That's how we want to play."
It's the thrill of the chase the Reds have embraced. For better or worse.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html
