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Waratahs lack heart and soul
By David Campese
Randwick, New South Wales and Australia legend
April 13, 2007
NEW South Wales has lost its way. That might sound like the bleeding obvious given the Waratahs have not won any of their past eight matches.
But that performance against the Brumbies last week was incredibly lacklustre and limp compared with the fight they put up against the Crusaders the previous week.
NSW took wrong options in Canberra. They made some of the worst and most untimely errors you could possibly imagine. Their defence at times was non-existent and you had to wonder about the overall commitment.
These guys have to take responsibility for such poor displays.
I am sick and tired of hearing them, with hands on their hearts, saying "it's not much fun" or "it's frustrating" or "we're trying hard" or "we know we let our supporters down".
That stuff has now become meaningless. The rot has gone on too long.
People aren't listening any more. They just want to see some improvement.
These blokes are on big bucks. They live the privileged lives of professional footballers.
They don't have to do anything else with their time but practise and play the game.
So why do they keep serving up such mindless and error-riddled performances?
They make the same mistakes week in, week out. That is unforgivable.
What do they do at training?
Out on the field, they appear at times as though they have no idea what they want to achieve.
I can tell you that the sale of NSW jumpers at my shop in The Rocks in Sydney is right down. The crowds at Aussie Stadium are falling, too. The Waratahs are losing the support of the faithful, and that only happens when people get disillusioned, not just with results, but the effort attached.
The Brumbies were hungry last week. They defended as if their lives depended on holding out the Waratahs.
As for NSW, what did we see from their attack?
We saw blokes dropping the ball and we saw players looking to make holes but with no support players running off them.
The Waratahs need to work harder off the ball.
Take a look at the Sharks, the team I'm working with, or the Blues.
When someone makes a break, they have four or five support players looming to take the next pass.
The NSW players with flair - guys such as Kurtley Beale and Lote Tuqiri - tend to get isolated because their mates have not busted a gut to get to them and offer the offloading option.
You can't just pass the ball and think your job is done.
They can do it when they feel the urge.
Early in the second half, they got on a roll, scored a try and had the Brumbies on the back foot.
Then it all just died away again. That is inexcusable.
We can only hope there is significant improvement tomorrow night because the Waratahs could easily finish with the wooden spoon if they lose this one.
And, despite the injuries this season, that would take some explaining.
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