Sorry its late folks. Been Busy.Will post the Force report when I get home from the pub. :)
The Tahs. The team everyone loves to hate. These guys are the George Bush of the Super 14 and just like George 2009 is time up for the Waratahs.....
Form from 2008
The Waratahs made a pretty remarkable turn around from 2007 to 2008. Going from second last to second best. They do say thought that shite always rises to the top. The surprising thing for anyone watching the Tahs though is that they made the finals without ever playing particularly well. So what happens this year? Are they going to keep it up or are they going to sink back into the mire. The NSW rugby ‘journalists’ have been cranking out story after story about how Kurtley Beale, Rob Horne and Timana ‘lame duck’ Tahu are in the form of their lives. With three from three in all of their pre-season matches, will the boys in girl blue be able to live up to the hype? Methinks not. It’s gonna be another year of Tah fans running home and crying themselves to sleep after the game, upset that their team has lost, that no one understands their complex ‘special’ feelings. This will be followed by erotic dreams about Tah-man.
Comings and Goings
After a good many years with Ewen McKenzie at the helm the Tahs have brought in former Eastwood coach Chris Hickey. Chris got straight to task with the first order of the day: convincing Kurtley ‘fatboy’ Beale that he was not in fact a prop and that the 30kgs of pie and beer he’d stacked on over the off season had to go. Following McKenzie on the way out are the big three from the Waratahs pack Dan Vickerman, Rocky Elsom and David Lyons. Vickerman and Elsom were automatic selections for the Wallabies and both would have been hard to argue against in a World XV. Class of their kind is irreplaceable. Lyons, on the other hand, hasn’t seen much test or Super 14 action in recent years due to injury and isn’t such a casualty. It does leave things a bit bare in the aggression stakes. Despite not playing in 2008, Al Kanaar deserves a mention after retiring due to repeated injury. Attempting to fill the void, although barely touching the sides, are former Force vice-captain Scott Fava, who becomes the first player to represent all four Australian franchises, and big lock Chris Thomson. The pair bring perhaps more mobility to the Tah’s pack but leave it a bit short on horsepower. Young prop Dan Palmer is also a fully contracted player in 2009.
The 2009 Tahs will be without scrumhalf Josh Valentine, centres Sam Harris and Ben Jacobs and winger Alfi Mafi. After slipping to third in the pecking order, Valentine has made the trek west in an attempt to get the eye of Rob-dog Deans. Harris and Jacobs, who was a player’s favourite in the Tahs backline, have both gone on to Japan and England respectively. Alfi Mafi is trying his luck in Canberra. Giant winger and cousin of Lote Tuqiri, Ratu Nsiganiyavi comes in for Mafi and tips the scales higher than some props. He will be a bit of a danger man in the Tahs backline with ball in hand but will likely to be an impact player due to his laziness. Rob Horne is also on a full contract with the Tahs after a very solid debut season.
Keep and eye out for...
I want to say Damien Fitzgerald but chances are he won’t much get a run in 2009. So I’ll go with the guy who is going to keep him off the field. Tatafu Polota-Nau. After a couple of seasons sorting out his throwing and a few other minor issues, TPN is really starting to come good. He capped off some good games throughout the year with a superb showing against the Barbarians in December. The nuggety little hooker gets into everything- much like a loose forward- and the way he shook off a high impact collision with Jerry Collins and kept going against the Barbarians was impressive stuff. TPN will have the heat on Freier for the starting 2 jersey but without the reliable hands and management of Dan Vickerman he will need his throwing to be flawless. If it is you will probably see Freier sucking his dust.
Tough call. Very tough call. For us non-Tah supporters the Tah’s backline is a bit uninspiring. Gun to my head though I am going to have to go for Lachie Turner. Turner had a great debut season as all new wingers do and as all new wingers do fell into the second year rut after taking his foot off the pedal. He started out as an unknown with speed to burn and scored a fair number of tries for the Tahs in 2007. But he didn’t perform so well in 2008 when coaches and players started knowing what he’s all about. It’s 2009 now and that means time to shine. The lessons have been learnt the hard work has been put in and Turner will come in as a more complete product this year. I’d put money on him being the Tah’s highest try scorer too as we all know Lote can’t buy a try.
The Strengths
The Tahs are confident. They finished last year on a high and will come into 2009 believing they can do it again. They are already on top of the mental side of things. Their backline is also a lot stronger in 2009 than it has been in previous years with a fair bit of depth and some interesting players. The back three are settled in well and Beale and Burgess have had a year to get together and are forming a good combination. The team, which is littered with Wallabies, plays very well at home and will notch at least a few wins there.
The Weaknesses
The pack has lost so much in Elsom and Vickerman that it’s hard to see this season going well for the Sydneysiders. Add this to injuries to Matt Dunning and promising prop Sekope Kepu and depth is looking a bit shallow in the forwards. The last time that kind of skill and experience was absent from the Tahs pack they came 13th. Gone with those players is a lot of the leadership required to iron out those tough games. Without the solid set-piece ball the backs are used to they will also be a whole lot less threatening. Goal kicking remains a big question mark with no one impressing in the job in 2008. It’s these kinds of things that make the difference between the top four and the double digits and they aren’t going the Tah’s way.
Prediction for 2009
The team that made the finals last year just isn’t the same team as it is this year. How different it will be is hard to say. Sports writers always like to waffle on about the ‘top two inches’ and truth be told they just don’t seem to be there for the Tahs. I think the Waratahs will start the season pretty well but things will become a bit unglued there in the middle and won’t get set straight until the final rounds when it will be too little too late. Hickey is in for a bit of a tough year. He’ll be trying to explain away 9th.
