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Season Pre-view: NSW Waratahs
Here is the Waratahs instalment of the Australian season pre-views. Sorry about the Tah love. I would slate them more if I could. Unfortunately, I actually think they will do really well this year. Life sucks, huh?
Form from 2010
The Waratahs contested the finals in 2010 finishing the round robin in 3rd place. The team had a slow start to 2010 with a last gasp win over the Reds to open the season followed by two losses in South Africa. The team kicked up a gear with 5 straight wins only to be toppled by the Crusaders in round 9. Highlanders aside, they won their remaining games for a record of 9-0-4 before the finals. They didn’t seem to gel through the season and there was a sense that a number of players could’ve done better. How and why they crumbled so badly to the Highlanders late in the season is inconceivable. The two games against the Stormers are also a point of interest. The two teams one position apart on the final table however in these two games the Waratahs didn’t pose any kind of threat to the Stormers. This is significant when you consider the Stormers are a team renown for being mentally fragile. Individually the form is looking pretty good. Kurtley Beale, Drew Mitchell and Berrick Barnes were in great form in their Wallabies tests in Spring. Luke Burgess was also red hot in the little game time he got.
Comings and Goings
There hasn’t been a large movement of players within the Waratahs camp. Four players who featured for the team last year, Kane Douglas, Locky McCaffery, Pat McCutcheon and Brendan McKibbin, have been promoted to the senior side. Former Western Force players Ryan Cross and Pat O’Connor have joined the Sydney franchise. Cross, originally from the Sydney Roosters, returns home with a view to playing himself back into the Wallabies. Pat O’Connor seems to have recovered well from two knee reconstructions and comes in as a replacement for Hendrik Roodt and Will Caldwell. Other incomings include Brackin Karauria Henry from the Brumbies academy, Afa Pakalani from ITM team Auckland, and Paddy Ryan from Sydney Uni. Last but not least, Dan Vickerman will be returning to Sydney in 2011. Normally this move would be met with jubilation for the implications for the Wallabies, however as he is only expected back in June he won’t get many games in and it is unlikely he will make a big impact.
While nine players have left the Waratahs since last year, they don’t seem to much worse for it. Probably the biggest losses will be Will Caldwell, who sat out 2010 and will sit out this year due to Crohn’s disease, Adam Freier, who despite having frequent injury problems would’ve provided depth and experience, and Dan Palmer, who is an emerging prop with great potential. The other six, Chris Alcock, Ben Coridas, Nemani Nadolo, Hendrik Roodt, Rory Sidey, and Chris Thomson, did not contribute much to the Waratahs in 2010. While the others have all departed, Chris Alcock returns to the Junior Waratahs for 2011.
Players to watch out for...
One player with everything to gain from a good 2011 will be prop Sekope Kepu. The 125kg beast is capable of playing both sides of the scrum and will likely be only close watch by Robbie Deans. There is space for him in the Wallabies squad and he would have almost certainly added to his test tally had he not torn a calf muscle in April. His size and experience would’ve been a great asset against England in Perth and Sydney. A Wallaby spot won’t be the only thing on Kepu’s mind. The time of Al Baxter is drawing to a close and Kepu will need to shoo off his competition for a starting spot alongside Benn Robinson and Tatafu Polota-Nau in what may become the future Wallabies front row. Let’s hope that Hickey gives Kepu a reasonable chance to show what he’s got this season.
The Waratahs pulled off a great coup when they lured centre Brackin Karauria Henry away from Canberra. This will be his first Super rugby season and it is unlikely he will see a lot of game time. However with a long season coupled with Rob Horne perennially injured and Ryan Cross in average form in 2010, opportunities may present themselves. BKH has already shown his potential with an excellent season in the 2009-2010 7s World Series and was Australia’s leading try-scorer. On the back of these performances he was selected to train with the Wallabies before last year’s spring tour. BKH is an exciting player who would complement the Tahs’ dangerous back three.
The Strengths
The big strength within the Waratahs group is quite simply their depth. Along with the Stormers the Waratahs have the best depth in the competition. They have no less than 17 former or current internationals alongside some of Australians brightest young talents such as Kane Douglas, Damien Fitzpatrick and Brackin Karauria Henry. The Waratahs can handle the inevitable injuries of an extended competition and in some areas this will have little impact on the team.
The Waratahs’ set piece will again be a potent force. They boast an all Wallaby front row they will win some good ball for some of Wycliff Palu’s devastating runs. They have some great locks as well as a few back rowers who have good skills in the air. With guys like Palu, Kepu and Douglas who are all over 120kgs and handle their weight well you can see the Waratahs using the rolling maul to great effect. The Waratahs set piece will win ball and punish oppositions.
A further strength of the Waratahs will be how well they use turn-over ball to counter attack. Kurtley Beale and Drew Mitchell were inspirational in the last test year in gaining ground and scoring tries from kicked away possession. With Lachie Turner, who made the most of the little time he received, to round out the back three this will be a danger area for opposition teams. Kicks will need to be industriously chased and to go comfortably in to touch. If the ball doesn’t go out the defence will need 110% commitment to snuff out the counter attack before it gain momentum. With the pressure exerted by the Tahs’ scrum and line-out you can see Beale, Mitchell and Turner being among the competitions’ highest try-scorers.
The Weaknesses
I hate to say it but there aren’t a whole lot of weaknesses to the Waratahs squad. There are a couple of small things but only one potentially significant weakness. Let’s start with the small things....
A quick look at the Waratahs squad sees an interesting mix of the conservative players- your Phil Waughs or Berrick Barneses- and your opportunistic players- your Kurtley Beales and your Luke Burgesses. Now it’s entirely possible that these styles will complement each other nicely, but it is also possible that it will lead to division, miscommunication, lack of support and, ultimately, loss. It’ll be interesting to see how that pans out.
2011 sees yet another year in which the Waratahs complain about their draw. Boohoo boohoo. It seems the first thing the Waratahs do as soon as they receive the fixtures. Admittedly they do have some tough away games- the Crusader, Bulls, Blues and Sharks- but the Force, for example, have to play these four at home and to be honest I’d take the easier home games. Plus the Waratahs get a gimme to start off the season. The Rebels won’t be a threat in the season opener and the Tahs get a chance for easy points. Stop whining Tahs.
The final small thing is the question mark over Chris Hickey. Hickey hasn’t impressed a lot in his previous two seasons and won’t be reapplying for his job after this year. This says a lot about the backrooms of the Waratahs. To his credit he has been able to maintain a very handy player group in his time.
The big concern is for the mental strength of the Waratahs. They have a squad capable of winning the competition and yet only scraped into the finals last year. As mentioned earlier, why did the Waratahs lose to the Highlanders and why couldn’t they put more on the scoreboard against the Stormers? Do they have the self-belief or the leadership or the ruthless streak or the mental toughness or whatever it is that is needed to win this competition? The Stormers and the Crusaders will once again have excellent squads and will give no quarter. Has enough changed within the Waratahs that they will be able to beat them this year where last year they could not.
Prediction for 2011
The Tahs will definitely make the finals in 2011. They have too good a squad not to. Where exactly they feature in these finals will come down to how well they can assert themselves over the Reds, Western Force, Brumbies and Rebels. They have the luxury of coming off a clean sweep of the Aussie franchises in 2010, however they should count themselves lucky for scraping out of Brisbane and Perth with a win. I don’t like to admit it but I think the Waratahs have the good this year. They did enough to make the finals last year and the cohesion and experience within the team has only improved since then. Their depth is solid and they will cope well with the extended competition. My prediction: Tahs to top the Australian conference and come 2nd on the overall table.
James’ Waratahs XV
1. Benn Robinson
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau
3. Sekope Kepu
4. Kane Douglas
5. Dean Mumm
6. Ben Mowen
7. Phil Waugh
8. Wycliff Palu
9. Luke Burgess
10. Berrick Barnes
11. Drew Mitchell
12. Josh Holmes
13. Ryan Cross
14. Lachie Turner
15. Kurtley Beale
Thoughts? Comments? How do you think the Tahs will go?
