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I copied this of the tahs web site
Originally Posted by Moses
The MIGHTY NSW Waratahs have overcome a mountain of obstacles this year in order to finish 2nd on the Super 14 table. So that we can all appreciate the greatness of this team, I thought I'd go through some the challenges we've overcome this year.
Shit Draw
2008 is was our year for 6 home matches and 7 away matches, so it's an absolute tribute to the team to even make the finals with an away laden draw. Two of our home games being against 13th and 14th, who you'd fancy your chances away against. The worst part of our draw was weeks 12-14, with a trip to South Africa being immediately followed by a return to Queensland for a must win grudge match against our nemisis north of the border. Add to this our luggage was lost in Joberg (thanks to all those who donated to the appeal), and our preperation really couldn't have been any worse. Poor Queenslanders crying about us missing their sponsors do, boo f'ucking hoo.
Coaching Merry-go-round
After weeks of distraction and speculation, Ewen was sacked mid season. This was followed by many more weeks of speculation on his replacement and constant media harrassment of the players which appeared to galvanise the team into the force they are now. Everyone know's that Waratah Jesus will be the next coach anyway.
No Kicker
By far the most inexplicable decision by the Waratahs this year was releasing Peter Hewat from the final year of his contract without having a replacement. Hewat's form in the ARC was the catalyst for the Central Coast Rays to take the trophy, with his kicking out of hand and for poles being amongst the best in Australia. Sure Kurtley's tried hard and even has had some decent weeks (eg week 13 against the Stormers), but he's just a kid and would have benifited a lot more as Hewat's understudy this year - taking kicks through the season as circumstances allow but knowing that Hewat is there to fall back on. The issue was mostly covered up when SNK returned from injury, but the glaring hole persists if he goes off (or Link starts him on the bench again WTF!)
Bad Weather
This season the 'Tahs could really be called the rain makers. It seems everywhere we play thunderstorms follow. While you'd have to say our boys have played well in the wet, our lack of a kicker has really hurt us in this area (case in point Derek Hougard pushing us all over the field with his territorial kicking game). A true tribute to the pigs up front that we've stayed in these matches. The plethora of wet weather matches has been a significant factor in our low number of bonus point wins this season.
Unsettled backline
Disturbingly, our backline is still unsettled going into the semi's, with 13, 14 and 15 all up for grabs. I thought we had reached some consistency of selection going to South Africa, however for some reason Horne is on the outer and we seem to be bending over backwards to accommodate Cararro in the starting team. Sure he's big, but his positional play is lacking (see Stormers first try), and in leaving SNK out of the team we lose our one open play kicker.
Despite these obstacles, we've equalled our 2005 regular season as our best ever. The news gets even better as the Crusaders are suddenly looking beatable and there's a very real possibility that the final will be in Sydney vs the Hurricanes. 2008 has to be our best shot at the title yet.
Shit-hot defence
Our defensive effort this year has been remarkable. Of the 186 points scored against us this year, 34 were in one week against the Crusaders. We've the second best defensive record in the comp after the Crusaders, however bad weather doesn't lend itself to high scores by either side. Some of the pressure that we've withstood has been mirraculous - Les Kiss, take a bow. A shame we don't have a knighthood system in Australia as Les Kiss would be a sure thing.
Awesome Platform
Bill from QR was spot on when he said our forward pack have an awesome platform. The Dunning and BaxTAH have been on fire, Bennnn and Kepu have also been consistant along with TPN and Freier making an impact too. Three wins against the feed in the last two weeks is one stat that should concern the Sharks. It's not just the front row however, the entire pack have been awesome with great contributions from Aussie Dan, Dean Mumm scoring a few tries, and Rocky, Phil and Palu smashing everyone in site.
The possibility of losing Dan and Rocky at the end of the year hurts, and it's for this reason that 2008 is likely to be our best shot at the title for some time.
GO THE TAHS!
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