Waratahs may have lost their rhythm

Waratahs may have lost their rhythm
Bret Harris | May 05, 2008 Waratahs may have lost their rhythm | The Australian


That's life, that's what all the people say. You're riding high in April, shot down in May - Frank Sinatra

WHETHER the words of the Chairman of the Board are ringing in their ears or not, it appears the song That's Life could well be the signature tune for the Waratahs' 2008 Super 14 campaign.

The Waratahs produced a record equalling five wins in a row in March-April, only to lose their first game in May, which is the business end of the season, to the Bulls in Pretoria on Saturday night.

Even though they are still in second place on the table, the Waratahs now face the very real prospect of not reaching the semi-finals if they do not win their last two games against the Stormers (Cape Town) and Queensland Reds (Brisbane).

The idea of the Waratahs not making the top four seemed unimaginable when they embarked on their two-game South African tour last Thursday when all the talk was of securing a home semi-final.

But no one imagined the Waratahs would be upset 16-13 by the Bulls. Well, someone did. One international player, who preferred to remain anonymous, tipped the Bulls to beat the Waratahs solely on the basis of their late departure, which he found quite unbelievable.

Whether the Waratahs' preparation was poor or not, their tactics left a lot to be desired.

The Bulls are the defending champions, but they lost several key players, including lineout king Victor Matfield, who left to play in France, and they are not the same team as last year.

Waratahs attack coach Todd Louden, who assisted former Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer last year, also believed the South African side would not be suited to the experimental law variations being trialled this season.

At the start of the game it looked as if the Waratahs were intent on giving the Bulls a lesson in how to play under the laws. But by the end of the game the Bulls had shown the Waratahs a thing or two about playing on the high veldt, kicking much better in general play and taking away their strength in the lineout by targeting hookers Tatafu Polota-Nau and Adam Freier.

Even though it was raining hard this should have been an advantage to the Waratahs, who played most of their home games during Sydney's Big Wet, while the Bulls hardly ever experience such cold and wet conditions at home.

The Waratahs started well with number eight Wycliff Palu sending teenage outside centre Rob Horne over for a try in the ninth minute.

NSW five-eighth Kurtley Beale converted from 15m in from touch and the Waratahs were ahead 7-0. They looked set to secure another bonus point win for scoring four tries or more, but they collected the extra point for losing by seven points or less.

If the Waratahs had scored again when halfback Luke Burgess lost the ball over the line in the 17th minute, they probably would have broken the Bulls' spirit, but the longer the South Africans were in the game, the more self-belief they gained.

To be sure, the Bulls got a lucky break when outside centre JP Nel came off injured in the 15th minute and was replaced by Derick Hougaard.

Nothing against Nel, who is a solid enough centre, but if you are going to play wet weather football, you really want Hougaard at five-eighth.

The difference between the tactical kicking of Hougaard and Beale was like the difference between, as Mark Twain put it, lightning and the lightning bug.

Hougaard dropped a goal in the 20th minute and then inside centre Morne Steyn landed a penalty goal to reduce the gap to 7-6 at half-time.

Bulls hooker Derick Kuun put the home side in front with a converted try early in the second half to make it 13-7 and they were never headed, although Beale levelled the scores with a penalty goal and a field goal.

One of the stranger aspects of the Waratahs' approach was the fact winger Lote Tuqiri, who has been assigned the long-distance shots at goal, was actually taking, and missing, attempts within Beale's range.

Steyn broke the deadlock with a field goal from point-blank range in the 73rd minute and when the Waratahs needed to finish strongly, they looked as if they had run out of legs.

As Sinatra would say, having fallen flat on their faces, the Waratahs now have to pick themselves up and get back in the race.