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Tahs or Force: Which will surf home?
Wayne Smith | April 10, 2008 Tahs or Force: Which will surf home? | The Australian
IF William Shakespeare were coaching the Waratahs, he might have put it this way: there is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.
But given that Shakespeare pre-dated William Webb Ellis by the odd 3 1/2 centuries, coaching a rugby team would never have occurred to him. Instead, it's Ewen McKenzie at the helm of the Waratahs and he tends to rely on imagery somewhat more Australian: if we can get on the wave, who knows where we can end up.
Certainly in the affairs of the Waratahs, last weekend's crushing defeat of the Blues signalled a turning of the tide, but in order for it to lead them on to fortune - or at least a Super 14 title - they need to ensure the surge doesn't peter out against the Western Force in Perth on Saturday night.
"We'll be trying to catch the wave," McKenzie promised. "Build consistency and you build momentum. And right now is the stage of the season when the wave starts to form.
"The reason for that is that you now start coming across teams that are out of the running or almost, and at that point the mentality changes.
"Individuals start to think about things other than what they should be thinking about and that's when you get blow-outs that produce bonus points."
Not that McKenzie or his Force counterpart will be thinking of bonus points this weekend. Derbies tend to be fought tooth-and-nail and on the back of last year's 16-all draw, this one looks less likely than most to end in a blow-out. But for one of them, it could have the makings of a Shakespearean tragedy. The Force, equal fourth with the Chiefs, has played every team above it on the Super 14 ladder, while the Waratahs, one spot behind, have done the same, save for second-placed Sharks.
Potentially, it is going to get easier for both teams once they have cleared this weekend's massive hurdle, but, barring another draw, only one of them will be on the wave.
While McKenzie is looking for consistency across his team, he especially wants halfback Luke Burgess to demonstrate that his sizzling game against the Blues was not a one-off.
"There's a lot of candidates for the Test halfback position but everyone's waiting to see who pushes through," McKenzie said. "We had a vision early in the season of what Burgess and Kurtley Beale could achieve as our halves pairing but unfortunately Burgess took a heavy knock and we had to bide our time. He overachieved in terms of what we were expecting from him against the Blues, but that's the standard he has set and I'm now looking for consistency."
In Perth, 22-year-old second-rower Tom Hockings is expecting much the same thing from himself after making a resounding start to his debut season with the Force.
"At the start of the season, my goal was simply to get a couple of Super 14 games but my aspirations have been going up every week since then," Hockings said yesterday.
"I had never thought about playing for the Wallabies, but the more people mention it to me, the more it's becoming a goal of mine."
A highly achievable goal if his form is any indication.
The Bowen-born former Australia under-21 second-rower, who the Reds themselves admit slipped carelessly and almost unnoticed through their fingers when he headed west at the end of 2006, not only plays tough but smart.
The Brumbies have regained utility back Mark Gerrard but lost number eight Stephen Hoiles for Saturday's match against the Blues in Auckland.
Gerrard, a standout against the Reds and Waratahs before straining a hamstring, returns at fullback, pushing Adam Ashley-Cooper to the wing.
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