Private boxes served up some x-rated rugby
Greg Growden | April 20, 2009
Monday Maul
IN ONE of the private boxes at Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday night were numerous Waratahs luminaries, most of whom would walk straight into the best NSW XV of all time.
The food, the wine and the company were first rate. But what was happening on the field certainly wasn't. And several past stars weren't exactly impressed.
After enduring 80 minutes of relentless, often pointless, kicking by a home team that seemed to have no clue about proper back-line play, a renowned former Wallaby shook his head and said: "You can't play this way and believe you can keep winning. It is so flawed."
Other knowledgeable judges around him complained the Waratahs-Force match was "the best advertisement for rugby league in years". An understandable jibe from a spectator feeling the pain from repeatedly craning his neck to watch one Waratah after another mindlessly kicking the ball to the heavens, followed by a player getting smashed after taking the bomb. Then there was the time wasted as referee James Leckie mulled over who next to chastise at the breakdown.
Adding to the confusion, Leckie and his touch judges had trouble rewarding the rare moments of good play, unnecessarily calling back two legitimate Force tries. It just added to the farce.
As he followed another ball launched into the sky, one long-time sports observer wondered if he had mistakenly arrived at the SCG, where the Sydney Swans had played a few hours earlier. Others were laughing: "The only time the Waratahs' back line was quick off the mark all night was when they rushed in to pat the forwards on the backside for winning a scrum."
They all observed that the only time the crowd - disappointingly small for an Australian derby - stirred themselves out of its slumber was when several forwards opted for a bit of push and shove just before the break. Then it was back to snoozeville.
Mirth-inducing at the time but, overall, certainly not funny.
If the NSW Rugby Union is still unsure why their SFS crowds have dropped by more than 3000 a game this year, they should be herded into a padded room and forced to watch a replay of some of their team's recent performances. The two most recent losses will do, but several of their victories are not much better.
These performances display the failings of a team that has opted for tedious and predictable football. Often, the back line is merely observing. The high-ball game can work, as the Bulls have shown. But not when it isn't mixed with the odd chip kick in behind the defensive line and when the direction and length of the kicks, plus the general catch-pass skill level, is poor.
If the Waratahs powerbrokers walked out of that private showing still believing they are selling an attractive product, then there is something seriously wrong.
What has probably worked against the Waratahs this season is that they won many early games this way. That convinced them they were on the right track, but, as the standard and pressure of the tournament picked up, they have been exposed by opponents who have a plan B and give their back line some breathing space.
The tries have dried up. In their past seven matches, the Waratahs have been hit by the big autumn drought, getting over the opposition line only 10 times. Even the participants know there is something seriously amiss. After the game, Force coach John Mitchell remarked that he had just "endured one of the most boring games of football I've seen in a long time".
Mitchell, who has observed thousands of matches, was 100 per cent right.
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/n...079537115.html
