New South Waratahs captain Phil Waugh says Force can tame Bulls
WARATAHS captain Phil Waugh believes the Emirates Western Force can stun the reigning Super 14 champion Bulls at ME Bank next Saturday.
But he won't be putting his house on the upset.
After holding on to secure a tough 14-10 victory over the winless Force last night Waugh, who also captained the Tahs in their 48-38 defeat to the Bulls in South Africa three weeks ago, was perfectly positioned to call next Saturday's game.
"Tonight's game was exactly what we expected coming over here. We were always going to get a passionate performance from the Force coming off the (50-10) hammering they got last week," he said.
The Bulls had a good (19-18) win over the Hurricanes on Friday night and are sitting on 24 points.
"It's a big first game for the Bulls coming over here, but the Force will get a lot of confidence from (tonight)," Waugh said. "This is the Super 14 and any team can win on the day."
The fortunes of the Bulls, the only unbeaten team in the competition, and the winless Force reflect both ends of the food chain.
Force skipper Nathan Sharpe promised the Force faithful last night that his team would come out firing next Saturday.
"I think it is a legitimate point Phil makes that any team can beat any other in this competition. And that is what we are aiming to do. We will go into this game champing at the bit and see what comes," he said.
On a night where the Force were heavily penalised by South African referee Jaco Peyper, two scrum penalties and an offside ultimately tipping them to defeat, coach John Mitchell was too emotional to comment on the match official.
Peyper left the field with the boos of the crowd ringing in his ears.
"We will just leave it till the review and go through the proper process. I am too emotional at this stage to discuss that area. So we will have a look at it tomorrow and be very objective about it," Mitchell said of Peyper's performance.
Waugh, however, thought the referee did well.
"I thought he was pretty fair to both sides," he said.
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