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Brendan Cannon From: The Sunday Telegraph
THE Waratahs organisation is quickly sinking into quicksand and most of us are wondering what exactly is the team's identity.
What are they about? What do they stand for?
In this highly competitive Sydney market, with its vast melting pot of codes and teams, if people cannot instantly recognise and relate to your brand, you are dust.
This past week we have seen the AFL dominate the sporting pages of a rugby league town. The A-League is now rating better than Super Rugby.
And the Waratahs were holding "truth sessions" four weeks into the competition. Yesterday afternoon, just over 18,000 fans were on hand to cheer the Waratahs home. While slightly encouraging, one swallow doesn't make a summer. It was a rare sight.
Overall, the Tahs have a huge problem with declining crowds, and those who attend games often leave early.
They are based in the biggest rugby market in Australia, yet the Waratahs have a little over 8000 members, compared to 30,000 at the Reds. That is an unacceptable disparity.
It is because people can identify with Queensland's brand of play, and they like it. The Waratahs have to be honest. Trying to use statistics to obscure what people are seeing with their own eyes only serves to patronise your supporters.
Sure, you may have kicked less than the Reds last year, but people only remember how the Reds played their running rugby.
The answer for NSW does not lie with one player who has the X-factor, it is up to the entire squad to develop an ability to think outside the square.
By playing a ruthless, effective and exhilarating style that can be identified as Waratah rugby, they can take on rival sporting teams in this city.
You don't have to preach to the converted, you must convert the indifferent people to get on board. You must convince those fence-sitters who support the odd game of rugby to feel compelled to watch you.
We had an Australian derby in Sydney last weekend that drew 14,000 people. That would be ringing alarm bells in the Waratahs' commercial division, but how do they find money in pots that don't exist?
Much of the dissent from Waratahs fans comes from constantly hearing about how the team will change their ways, only to see the same old routine on the weekend.
This ground swell of dissatisfaction is engulfing everyone associated with the Waratahs. They are their own worst enemy and have been for some time.
The Waratahs lack the ability to be ruthless over a consistent period, which is what Super Rugby success is all about.
Sure, they could chase a Quade Cooper or Sonny Bill Williams to lift their marketing appeal, but I don't see that as the answer because the entire system needs to change.
Bob Dwyer would always say "have a go" during his time as Waratahs coach.
"Why work your backsides off to get the pill if some nuff-nuff thinks it is a great idea to kick it and give it back to the opposition?"
Play a combative style, by all means, but do it with flair.
When people talk about NSW - "Did you watch the Tahs play last night?" - it inevitably carries a negative tone.
The Waratahs need to address the thinking behind their game so that people want to talk about them, and ask the question with excitement and enthusiasm.
Otherwise, the answer to that question will simply become: "No.
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Originally Posted by GIGS20
