Tahu Warned Waratahs Officials he would Break Down

[jargan83]

Tahu said this would happen - Rugby - Fox Sports

Tahu said this would happen

By David Riccion

March 23, 2008 TIMANA Tahu warned Waratahs officials before Christmas that he was in danger of breaking down.

Pleading for a personalised training program, Tahu was ignored and the superstar rugby league recruit is now counting the cost of a hamstring injury he believes should have been avoided.

Tahu could be sidelined for the next six weeks after snapping his hamstring at training. The injury could cost the father of three up to $20,000 in match payments.

The former Eel has been branded a crock following yet another injury-enforced lay-off, but the centre has been at loggerheads with members of the Waratahs coaching and medical staff for the past four months.

"I just want to get back on the field and play good rugby, that's what I joined union to do. I'm committed to playing well for the Waratahs," Tahu said.

The former league international believes he has been pushed to do an unrealistic fitness program, worlds away from the monitored and player-specific training of his final season in the NRL at Parramatta.

Tahu was battling a back-related hamstring problem in December and called a meeting with Waratahs coaching and medical staff.

It's understood he wanted the meeting following a three-hour training block that included an agility session, weights session, treadmill session, followed by a high-intensity skills session.

Tahu is said to have asked NSW officials to alter their training methods, allow him to listen to his body and prepare a training regimen suited to a player with a history of fatigued-related injuries spread over 143 NRL games.

The meeting included coach Ewen McKenzie and medical and coaching staff.

McKenzie is understood to have supported Tahu, stressing their star recruit needed a specific program.

Despite his coach's support, Tahu was subjected to five consecutive days of training during the Waratahs' bye week.

Tahu was told he needed to train under "game conditions, when you're fatigued" and "this is what you have to do to prove your fitness in rugby union".

An hour later, Tahu was laid up with ice pressed to his snapped hamstring and his immediate future under a cloud.

He is said to be dejected and insulted that he is now perceived to be injury-prone when the entire drama could have been avoided if his concerns were heeded.

"He's not fed up with the code, but he's frustrated in that he's tried to tell them what he needs and what his body requires," a source close to Tahu said.

Tahu was also disappointed in media reports suggesting that he hadn't been running at 100 per cent in seven years.

"That certainly wasn't what he meant," the source said.

"He worked so hard to reach representative status in rugby league and it read like he was kicking his league mates in the teeth.

"In rugby league you make a break but then you're at a fast cruising pace. Then you clap it on again. It's here that he would definitely be reaching top gear.

"Also, how would he be able to slam dunk the footy over a crossbar every time he scores if his hamstrings were stuffed?"

Tahu has agreed to radical plans by the Waratahs to change his running style.

He remains committed to succeeding in rugby, telling friends that returning to the NRL is not an option.

[jargan83]

Time will tell on Tahu

John Connolly | March 23, 2008

You pay your money and sometimes it doesn't work out in the short term. I believe this is the case with Timana Tahu. The former Eels centre has played five Tests, 11 Origins and was a star for the 2001 premiership-winning Newcastle Knights side. He played outstanding football in the NRL last year and left rugby league as perhaps the top centre.

It was a great long-term buy for rugby. Tahu is a great athlete, the right age at 27 and the game will suit him even more if the experimental law variations are adopted. We saw some magnificent touches in his first couple of games and he got through the pre-season unscathed.

But there are times when you change a player's environment, weight training, coach and game, that creaks can sometimes appear in the body. This certainly appears to be the case with Tahu, who is out of action for six weeks. It needs to be remembered he finished the season strongly last year without any injury clouds hanging over him.

Injuries to marquee signings seem to affect many players when they first come across. English side Bath signed Butch James for a massive amount of money, only for him to be ruled out for the season with a knee injury. David Beckham arrived at the LA Galaxy to much fanfare but was on the sidelines for much of his first season. In the NRL, Benji Marshall, Craig Wing and Steve Price are some of the big names already in the casualty ward.

When it comes to Tahu, the cynics will say the Waratahs bought a lemon and that rugby should concentrate on the juniors. I can assure you that NSW and the ARU considered the Tahu issue long and hard before deciding to sign him.

You need to work from the top down and the bottom up. A lot of work gets done to identify junior talent, but it's vital to have a winning team now. Last year NSW had a bad losing season - with many close losses - then the crowds dropped off and the game struggled.

The coach is under pressure to produce a winning team year in and year out. We've seen the ridiculous situation with Ewen McKenzie, who will get punted if the Tahs miss the finals, regardless that he's a good coach. NSW need to get the best players, regardless of where they come from. Young players also like coming into a winning team to play with experienced players. With Tahu there, they will learn a lot. In Australian rugby, there are only 130 professional players across the country, so the amateur game is massive.

The professional coach needs to look not only at the juniors but at rugby league to ensure he puts a winning team on the field.

If the ELVs are approved across the board, league and union will be a lot closer together than they used to be.

Rugby is moving towards a quicker and more open game with less structure, bringing it more into line with league. We've seen the emergence of some very good players who are thriving under this looser style of play. At the Force, Ryan Cross, Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell are really firing. And last weekend we saw an outstanding performance from the Reds' Quade Cooper.

The one thing all those players have in common is they could be stars in either code. Selectors will need to re-evaluate how they select their sides. Rugby teams will always need a solid platform from the scrum and the lineout, but they can no longer afford to carry the cumbersome forward.

High work rate back-rowers such as the Force's Richard Brown have started the season strongly and will challenge the likes of Wycliff Palu. All Blacks No.8 Sione Lauaki and Palu have struggled under the new laws in terms of work rate and agility. The game is changing and we need to find the athletes who fit the bill.

[BLR]

What a bs article by John Connolly....

Mackenzie has proven to be a rubbish coach in the past...the finals ultimatem doesn't change that...

NSW is not the centre of world rugby, he writes the Tahs loving hurt rugby as a whole it seems? What a tosser...

He wants a top down and bottom up approach, it seems the bottom up approach is not being implemented, and the problem with this anyway is that the ARU took out the middle area, the ARC, so there is no guarantee at all that the grassroots improvements will help players transition into the big time....helping club rugby great, but club rugby is still largely amateur, and Super 14 is many steps above....

[jargan83]

I think that the NSWRU mistakes the NRL as it's next level down, it would make sense with all the League players they keep recruiting