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Tahs to test Mitchell under high ball
Bret Harris | April 09, 2008 Tahs to test Mitchell under high ball | The Australian
NSW WARATAHS five-eighth Kurtley Beale will launch an aerial assault against Western Force winger Drew Mitchell in Perth on Saturday.
Mitchell is one of the most brilliant attacking players in Australian rugby but he has difficulty under the high ball.
It would not have escaped the attention of NSW coach Ewen McKenzie that the Stormers successfully employed the tactic against the Force in their win at Subiaco Oval three weeks ago.
Beale has spent time at training this week practising high balls and cross-kicks towards Mitchell's wing in a clear indication of the intention to turn one of the Force's strengths into a weakness.
"We've absorbed a lot of information from watching other teams play against them and there are certainly bits and pieces," McKenzie said.
"The thing about kicking in the game is the type of kicking and when you do it, who you do it to, whether it is long or short or contested.
"Kicking tactics are part of an effective strategy, but it's not the whole strategy.
"We'll have a plan for the game. The trick is executing it. The plan is easy but executing is the hard bit.
"They (the Stormers) put a lot of pressure there (on Mitchell). That might have been just a bad day for him.
"There are other opportunities. We'll see how it goes."
McKenzie has no doubts the Force will try to exploit the inexperience of rookie outside centre Rob Horne who has replaced the injured Ben Jacobs.
The 18-year-old will oppose in-form Force centre Ryan Cross in his run-on debut for the Waratahs.
A former Australian Schoolboys team-mate of Beale, Horne was very impressive when he replaced Jacobs during the Waratahs' win against the Blues.
"We like what we see," McKenzie said. 'We've had him around the edges for a few weeks.
"We have liked him from the start. He played the trial games. He is just ahead of where we thought he was going to be.
"He is a pretty good rugby prospect because he enjoys the defence part of the game as much as he enjoys the attack part. He is the fastest guy in our team. He is one of the fastest guys in Australian rugby at the moment.
"I don't think he's not going to make mistakes out there but he won't lack enthusiasm. I've never seen a guy more pumped up at half-time after he nailed a couple of their blokes last week. They are all good attributes to take into a game.
"I'm sure they will (target Horne). We've got people we are going to target. I'm sure they will have some on our team.
"You tend to look at guys who haven't played as much. One thing that Robert doesn't lack is confidence. It doesn't mean he is over-confident but he is confident about what he can contribute.
"He's just got a really good head for the game. He understands it pretty well.
"He is at least six to 10 months ahead of where I thought he would be. We had targeted him to play next year, but it's all happening a bit quicker."
Force five-eighth Matt Giteau is unfazed by speculation the Waratahs plan to target him in the same way that openside flanker Phil Waugh harassed Blues' five-eighth Nick Evans in Sydney last Saturday night.
"Every game you go into there is no player you actually don't go in there with a focus of tackling, so I don't see that as being any different," Giteau said.
"If they do want to target me, we've got some other great players in our side who have been playing really well this year that will probably get a bit more space."
The head-to-head clash between Giteau and Beale will be one of the highlights of the game.
"That's the best thing about playing Super 14," Beale said. "You play the best of the best in the world.
"I was fortunate to play against Dan Carter (Crusaders five-eighth) two weeks ago and now I'm up against Matt Giteau.
"I'm not going to change my game. Obviously, he is a very important player in their side.
"He organises their attack very well and that's what I'm going to try and do for the Waratahs."