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Caaaaan youuu feeeeel the luuuuuurve toniiiight?!!! The Tahs will rock your socks off
Tahs transformed
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Iain Payten
May 02, 2008 12:00am
IT was either a throwaway quote or a calculated sledge. Having just helped the Crusaders score four second-half tries to beat NSW in Christchurch, Kiwi centre Casey Laulala said he knew the Waratahs would wilt.
"We knew before the game . . . their fitness wasn't up to scratch," Laulala said.
"When we were running back after kicking the ball out we could see some of their forwards were breathing heavily as they were running to the lineout."
The quotes made the local press, and then Australian media and before long the Waratahs were under siege about their conditioning.
With a record of 3-2, was fitness really up to scratch? Were the ELVs too tough? Would they keep running out of puff in the second half? Did the season look wobbly already?
Fast forward six weeks and the Waratahs' record now stands at 8-2 - and all but one of their subsequent victories have come off the back of dominant second-half performances and late points sprees.
So while Laulala's comments managed to peeve the Waratahs - and still do - they had missed a nerve of self-doubt.
With faith in their methods and training, NSW weren't buying into the Crusader sledge.
"To me, it was a throwaway line but it got traction," NSW coach Ewen McKenzie said.
"We definitely didn't do anything differently, didn't start doing extra laps of the oval or anything.
"I knew exactly where we were at with our fitness and I knew the work we'd done. And I think the team itself was along similar lines. We have a lot of faith in our preparation and we knew it would show out."
Laulala's comments may have just been paper talk but in the context of this season fitness levels, and second-half potency, have become an even more vital part of Super 14 success.
Where previous years have seen points flow evenly throughout a match, the introduction of the ELVs in 2008 has seen an intriguing new trend.
Low-scoring opening halves have often preceded match-defining second periods where a late rush of points is racked up as fatigue kicks in.
Fitness and bench strength have come to the fore and - despite the doubters - this year the Waratahs believe that they are endowed with a strong blend of both.
"I have never had a vision in my time at NSW that fitness is an issue. It has never been an issue for us year in and year out," McKenzie said.
"(Conditioning coach) Peter McDonald and his crew have done an outstanding job. If it was an issue, we wouldn't be finishing off games like we are.
"We have been carrying the highest tackling rate in the competition, so we have actually been doing more work than anyone."
Waratahs and Wallabies prop Al Baxter, who is back in the starting line-up this weekend, said the players' fitness was hard-earned.
"We got absolutely smashed in the pre-season," Baxter said. "There was a bit of talk at that stage about how hard it was, with the Timana (hamstring injury)
stuff. But you have to push it exceptionally hard to get that base of fitness, and then it's a matter of managing players through that back end (of the competition).
"That (second-half strength) has had to do with how we have been training this year.
"There's been a lot of focus on recovery instead of flogging us during the season."
But even more importantly in the Waratahs' late-game success, believes Baxter, is the quality of reserves injected into the game.
Against the Sharks last weekend, the Waratahs had the impressive luxury of 106 Wallabies caps idling on the bench in Baxter, Adam Freier, David Lyons and Brett Sheehan. All came on in the second half and contributed to the Waratahs' eventual bonus-point win.
"We have great experience on our bench . . . you are talking about guys with multiple Test caps on the bench so it's really good when you hit the back end of a game to be able to take guys off and put Wallabies on," Baxter said. Statistics tell the tale. NSW have scored 130 of their 211 points in the second half, and just 81 in the first.
While ranked sixth in results of first halves, the Waratahs are equal first with the Crusaders and the Hurricanes in the seconds.
McKenzie added: "I mention the sorting out period and the fatigue element that didn't exist in the other game much.
"Across the competition there is a slight trend in that area. The Crusaders were down 6-3 to the Lions at halftime, and finished 30-odd points ahead so it's not unique to us.
"There is tactical and physical endeavour needed early, and eventually it leads to points when fatigue and other things come into play."
Fatigue - or lack of fitness - hits hardest when defending and again stats show NSW stack up.
They've conceded 74 (first half) and 72 (second) but if you subtract the Crusaders' last quarter 28-point spree, the Tahs have conceded an average of just 4.8 points in nine other final forties.
But just like Laulala's comments, the Canterbury loss still rankles at Waratahland [EDIT: Where the hell is that? Ian is making shit up again]. "There is no doubt that game was unusual in the way it panned out," McKenzie said.
"At 60 minutes (and with NSW leading 7-6) no one was questioning our game. But it was tough going. It always is when you play the Crusaders, that's why they're sitting on top of the competition, clear ahead of everyone."
As numbers one and two on the ladder, McKenzie hopes down the track there will be a chance to make good on that last 20 minutes.
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