Waratahs are playing without intellect
Waratahs are playing without intellect
Spiro Zavos | April 14, 2009
ON MY way out of the Sydney Football Stadium after the Waratahs' lacklustre loss to the Bulls, I heard a couple talking about the game. "At least now," the husband said to his wife, "we won't have to worry about buying tickets for the semi-finals."
The disappointing aspect of the Waratahs' play, which still rankled as I trudged home along with a stream of morose supporters, was the lack of nous and skill. Against a disciplined Bulls side that played a simple game of high balls, pressure and width on the turnover ball, the Waratahs made a number of careless, tactically clueless mistakes that indicated that they're not thinking clearly about their play.
Players within their 22 were kicking downfield and giving the Bulls possession inside the Waratahs' half. The golden rule under the kicking sanction of the ELVs is that if you can kick out on the full, then do it. Yet time and time again, and this applies to some of the other teams (the disappointing Stormers are a case in point), players continue to kick the ball back to the opposition who then run it back at them with an intent to score tries.
Early on in the match the Waratahs' blindside breakaway, Ben Mowen, ruined an outstanding breakout by not passing to an unmarked player. Then as the movement continued he put a chip kick into the 22 when the correct play was to continue the attack with the ball in hand. Why was the ball kicked away?
And why did hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau, a strong player but a shaky thrower, attempt a long lineout throw near the Waratahs' try line? The throw missed its mark and a couple of phases later the Bulls scored a try.
Waratahs coach Chris Hickey says he will continue with the practice of 15 minutes of fun cricket before training sessions. He should use this time to improve the players' basic skills of passing and catching. Also, the Waratahs need to be exposed to a detailed analysis of the game videos until they understand why some plays are appropriate at a given time and others are not.
When I got home I watched the Cheetahs-Sharks match and saw one of the great upsets in the history of Super rugby. Like all the matches of the round (except the Waratahs match, unfortunately) this was a terrific game and an endorsement of the ELVs. As the Cheetahs smashed the Sharks at the ruck and maul and then put the ball wide for their outstanding wingers, Jongi Nokwe and Bjorn Basson, to score three tries, you wouldn't have known that the winning team was bottom of the competition, without a win, and the losing team was leading the competition, with seven wins to its credit.
The Cheetahs did a great thing for the tournament. They brought the leaders back to the field. There are now nine teams with a chance of making the finals. The Sharks lead with 30 points. Then there are three teams, the Chiefs, Bulls and Waratahs on 27 points, followed by the Hurricanes (24), Blues (23) and the Highlanders, Crusaders and the Western Force (all on 22).
This table is slightly misleading because the Sharks and the Waratahs are yet to have their bye round, unlike all the other contending sides. In theory, therefore, the Force, who Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper predicts will make the finals, are level pegging with the Waratahs.
Victor Matfield, the captain of the Bulls, made a telling observation that the victory over the Waratahs was "almost worth a double win". On Saturday night this will be the case again when the Waratahs play the Force - and indeed for all the other matches in the round.
If the Waratahs win, that couple might have to start thinking once more about how to buy their finals tickets …
http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/news/n...474817210.html
