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PHIL Waugh will have his hands full tonight.
Waugh, who will lead NSW Waratahs against Western Force in their important Super 14 game in Sydney, will have two of the most crucial assignments in the match.
Not only will he confront rising Force openside flanker David Pocock at the breakdown, he will also have the main responsibility for containing the best player in the Super 14 this season, five-eighth Matt Giteau.
The clash between Waugh and Pocock is personal.
If the Wallabies' premier openside flanker, George Smith, decides to stay in Australia, the rise of Pocock threatens Waugh's place in the national squad and may force him overseas.
"It will be good, won't it?" Waugh said of his battle with Pocock. "Every weekend is a big weekend for backrowers. Tomorrow night is no different from that. The position we play is a very combative and competitive position.
"I've enjoyed battles like this throughout my career. He is young and looking forward to tomorrow night as well. It's a good clash."
But Waugh will have to contend with not just one, but two openside flankers in the Force backrow with Matt Hodgson playing on the other side of the scrum.
"They have had some success with that combination," Waugh said. "It is going to be a tough clash."
But the cat-and-mouse game between Waugh and Giteau may yet prove to be the most decisive aspect of the game.
Giteau has been in scintillating form and he was instrumental in the Force's wins against the other Australian teams, the Brumbies and Queensland Reds.
His ability to create opportunities for both himself and his teammates makes Giteau the consummate playmaker. But the Force has the added advantage of having a second playmaker at inside centre in James O'Connor, which will make Waugh's job even harder.
If Giteau and O'Connor can get the Force's all-Wallabies backline flowing, it will cause plenty of problems for the Waratahs.
"Number 10s guide teams around the field in this competition," Waugh said. "Matt has been doing that for the Force.
"(He's) an integral part of their team. Directs them around the field. Enjoys running the ball. Like every other team in the competition we will have close eyes on him."
After their loss to the Bulls in Sydney last Saturday, the fourth-placed Waratahs must win against the Force to avoid the necessity of a making clean sweep on their South African tour to reach the play-offs.
"We are focused on getting our season back on track," Waugh said. "It was a disappointing performance last week. We are fully aware of that.
"We let down ourselves. We let down our supporters. It's about turning that around."
If the Force beats the Waratahs for the first time in its four-year history, it will achieve a grand slam of wins against the other Australian teams.
But Force captain Nathan Sharpe said finishing as high as possible on the table was more important for a team that still hoped to make the play-offs following the heart-breaking loss to the Hurricanes in Perth last Friday.
"We have our own plans in place to get there. It's going to be a big game for both teams," Sharpe said.
Sharpe said the Force was expecting the Waratahs to take them on up front and also attack the relatively small inside backs combination of Giteau and O'Connor.
The Force was also conscious of the impact Waratahs reserve halves, Luke Burgess and Kurtley Beale, could have off the bench towards the end of the game
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au...015651,00.html
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so all I had was the excellant radio coverage by sportsfm 91.3 on the net
