David Campese urges NSW Waratahs to show some guts in Super 14 matches
By David Campese
April 30, 2009 New South Wales have been miserable to watch this season and it's no wonder their crowds have dropped, writes rugby great David Campese in a stinging criticism.
I went to the last two games in Sydney and they were terrible.
There was no atmosphere in the stands and barely any action on it. The most excited the crowd got in the Western Force game was when there was a punch-up.
Why is it so boring? A lack of skill, and in terms of attacking tactics, a lack of will.
Rugby is about entertainment these days. Exciting play and good atmosphere gets people to watch the game, and when more people watch the players get more money.
To make the deal even more attractive, when you play with adventure and enterprise, you end up winning more games as well.
“So why watch the Waratahs play? It's predictable and boring, and it seems to me as if Phil Waugh is running the team and deciding tactics.” –David Campese The rugby great takes aim
Somewhere in the past few years, NSW have strayed off this path and got horribly lost.
Rod Kafer pointed out recently that NSW have had 76 scrums this year, and have never passed the ball all the way to the wingers.
The Waratahs have two great finishers in Lote Tuqiri and Lachie Turner, and the ball doesn't go anywhere near them. You have to ask why? Every other team does it. Every time there is a scrum, they go wide.
It has been very frustrating watching. I can only imagine what's been like playing as an outside back. They just don't get the ball.
It's not good for winning, and it's no good for the fans.
Look around the next rugby game you go to and count the kids. There won't be many.
This is our next generation of rugby stars, and they're drifting away from the game.
In between the hundreds of kicks, when NSW does use the ball they can't hang onto it. This is basic stuff, and it makes you wonder what they are being coached.
We hear of the problems after a game, but if there are problems, why aren't they fixing them in training?
Holding onto the ball is vital but it just seems everyone plays for themselves, and not for the team.
Look at the first five minutes against the Bulls. NSW flanker Ben Mowen ran down the sideline, had a player outside him but didn't pass it. The try was lost.
If you can't catch, pass, support, you'll never be a contender. And that's where NSW are lacking, in the basics of the game.
So why watch? It's predictable and boring, and it seems to me as if Phil Waugh is running the team and deciding tactics.
I am a bit worried about who is actually running the team - is it the captain or the coach?
The Waratahs have appeared to realise they need to go out and score points this weekend to make the finals. They've put Kurtley Beale in the centres, and moved Turner to fullback.
But it seems like it's all come a few weeks too late. Chris Hickey is well-respected but he still hasn't settled on his best combination - and we're nearly at the semis.
The Cheetahs are no mugs at home but if the Waratahs want to win, they can. But NSW have to show some enterprise. They have got to get away from the conservative tactics and take some risks.
Show some guts. A bit of get-up and go. Show some spirit.
There are two types of people in life. There are those who have the courage to go out and get what they want, and those who sit back and wait for it to come to them.
If NSW keep waiting instead of creating, they will be flat out making the finals - let alone winning any.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...002381,00.html
