Waratahs 2015

[Lee Grant]

Will the great man be in attendance?

I couldn't see Willie O and I asked TPN if he was at the ground and he said he wasn't

Not a bad hit out from the Tahs and their ruck work as good - a lot of dropped ball though.

Not many of the Wallabies or ex-Wallbies played: AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Betham, Dennis, Folau, Kepu, Foley, Hoiles, Hooper, Phipps and TPN were non starters, though at the ground - as was Tala Gray.

Beale, Skelton, Horne, Palu, Ryan and Robinson all played as did nine guys from either the Wider Training Group or Under 20s.

The score was about 58-14 to the Tahs and about ten tries to two. Conversions were mostly drop-kicked towards the end.
.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Rugby has no chance of taking the west. Playing games in Homebush merely served to piss off the core supporters. It's a shitty gameday experience also.

Yeah, the SFS needs an update but at least you can see the action whilst you are there from most of the seats.

Rubbish. Rugby could carve out a presence here but it's going to take a lot of graft done through schools and clubs.

 

[I like to watch]

Beautiful day out here today, I'll be heading down to Merrylands RSL CLub Rugby Park (Granville Park) soon-ish.

Yeah,it was a great day out there.
Tell Belly2b to junk that fucking computerised cash register,it slowed down the line in the canteen by a fair margin.
Apart from that minor whinge,it was well run day with a good vibe.
The offerings from some of the stalls were interesting.
The Parra boys went well I thought.
Hit of the day was the Wicks dude,punishing Carrara for hogging it when he should have let it go(he was not on his own there!)
He got up quick though.

 

[2bluesfan]

Yeah,it was a great day out there.
Tell Belly2b to junk that fucking computerised cash register,it slowed down the line in the canteen by a fair margin.
Apart from that minor whinge,it was well run day with a good vibe.
The offerings from some of the stalls were interesting.
The Parra boys went well I thought.
Hit of the day was the Wicks dude,punishing Carrara for hogging it when he should have let it go(he was not on his own there!)
He got up quick though.

Agreed, it was a good day and I imagine the Tahs are grateful that everyone seemed to get through with no serious injuries.
Taqele Naiyaravoro seemed more comfortable than he did last year and he did well with the opportunities he had and I wouldn't be surprised if Cheika considers a starting spot for him. I thought the Shute Shield players enjoyed the opportunity and they all certainly seemed willing to get stuck in. As for the Tahs, well I know I have high expectations but I hoped they'd be sharper but I am willing to concede that it was their first trial and it was quite warm. Rugby in January.

I couldn't possibly comment on the cash register other than to say it seems to serve reasonably well on days with standard sized crowds. Not perfectly, but adequately.

 

[Quick Hands]

Pirtek is actually a great ground to watch football. I was at the Wanderers game on New Year's Day and while the game was uninspiring (the A-League is a joke in terms of quality) you do get quite close to the action.

The SCG Trust deal isn't necessarily a negative. As long as they actively engage with the western half of the city.

Not with a crowd of any size though. Good if there's only 15,000, but any more than that and it struggles. I've been to a few Manly v Parra league games there and it needs and upgrade.

Interestingly it's the Wanderers who have been the impetus behind the upgrade as they consider the current configuration inadequate for their needs. Parra league jumped on board enthusiastically.

Since Cheika took over, I think that Waratahs have shown a genuine committment to all of Greater Sydney. Today at Granville and next week at Cambelltown.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

Not with a crowd of any size though. Good if there's only 15,000, but any more than that and it struggles. I've been to a few Manly v Parra league games there and it needs and upgrade.

Interestingly it's the Wanderers who have been the impetus behind the upgrade as they consider the current configuration inadequate for their needs. Parra league jumped on board enthusiastically.

Since Cheika took over, I think that Waratahs have shown a genuine committment to all of Greater Sydney. Today at Granville and next week at Cambelltown.

I agree, there does appear to be more impetus toward greater Sydney. But it needs more. I'll be at the game next week and hopefully see a reasonable crowd. It's featured in the local newspapers a bit trying to draw in numbers.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

According to Foxsports next week should a full strength Tahs outfit. As said by the Great and Powerful Chieks.

 

[qwerty51]

It would have to be considering it's their last trial and the big guns didn't play today.. need at least one hit out.

 

[Lorenzo]

Rubbish. Rugby could carve out a presence here but it's going to take a lot of graft done through schools and clubs.

In other words, it ain't happening.

Lacrosse could become a national sport with an FTA broadcast deal if every school started playing it and clubs formed in the appropriate places, but it ain't gonna happen because the interest is pretty limited.

Rugby will always be a niche sport in this country.

 

[WorkingClassRugger]

In other words, it ain't happening.

Lacrosse could become a national sport with an FTA broadcast deal if every school started playing it and clubs formed in the appropriate places, but it ain't gonna happen because the interest is pretty limited.

Rugby will always be a niche sport in this country.

And that's the exact kind of thinking that will keep it niche. "Too hard, why try?"

 

[Slim 293]

I wouldn't describe it as a niche sport.......... not yet anyways.............

It was however further from it 10 years ago................

But it's not the thread for that discussion.

 

[Lee Grant]

There is a blog on the trial yesterday here:

http://www.greenandgoldrugby.com/waratahs-take-three-teams-trial/
.

 

[Pfitzy]

What annoyed me at Pirtek for the night game the Rams played were the lights in the Western Stand - right in your fucking face when any kicks went up or lineouts were nearby. Definitely a league ground in need of an update.

That's true, but hopefully crowds are back on the rise and we'll see a return of 30-35,000 to most matches involving Aus or NZ teams and 25-30,000 for the SAF matches.

I hope you're right, but keep in mind that after the first two home games on Sunday afternoons, every fixture is on a Saturday night. So you're still going to have rugby people either at their sponsor digs, or away skiing or whatever else rugby people were doing last year DESPITE us kicking arse late in the season.

Fuck, I've planned to be at every game, but you watch family events come and do that right up the shitter! Wife's birthday will probably clash with the Stormers game for starters...

I don't think we can pin our hopes on Saffer crowds cresting the 22k mark very often, and that makes it the perfect size for Pirtek, to make sure the Western Sydney Tahs fan is still looked after.

But the first order of business is that the fucking SCGT need to make sure they have adequate staff on to serve customers. And a coat of white paint on the walls of the concourse would help the lighting situation enormously.

 

[Quick Hands]

^^^^^^I hope the SCGT will respond to the bigger crowds of 2014 and increase the number of bars and food outlets that they open. Last year was pretty much staffed with the 13,000 crowds of a couple of years back in mind.

As someone who's never been invited to a sponsor function or skiing with the boss, I'll have to make to with the rugby.

Sunday afternoons and Saturday evenings are perfect for us.

 

[Hawko]

It appears Hodgo is out with hamstring problems for up to 12 weeks. I think their will be a collective sigh of relief down at Tah HQ. Round 1 is looking like a real banana-skin game to me and that news made it just a little bit easier.

 

[qwerty51]

It appears Hodgo is out with hamstring problems for up to 12 weeks. I think their will be a collective sigh of relief down at Tah HQ. Round 1 is looking like a real banana-skin game to me and that news made it just a little bit easier.

I think so too with the respective trials, Tahs might be a bit underdone. Force won't be happy with how they started last year too.

 

[Scrubber2050]

Tahs to win by 50

 

[Braveheart81]

It appears Hodgo is out with hamstring problems for up to 12 weeks. I think their will be a collective sigh of relief down at Tah HQ. Round 1 is looking like a real banana-skin game to me and that news made it just a little bit easier.

I think this is a bit too much of a glass half empty approach. Maybe if this game was away it would be a bit of a banana skin game, but they should be fine at home, Hodgson or not.

I think so too with the respective trials, Tahs might be a bit underdone. Force won't be happy with how they started last year too.

I think they'll be a little underdone against the Chiefs this Friday but things should fall into place for round 1.

Kepu, TPN, Hooper, Phipps, Foley, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Folau and Dennis (assuming he plays) are a lot to add. That's more than half the starting XV.

 

[I like to watch]

Kepu, TPN, Hooper, Phipps, Foley, AAC (Adam Ashley-Cooper), Folau and Dennis (assuming he plays) are a lot to add. That's more than half the starting XV.

I would have thought this is the very definition of underdone.
Of the 8 starters that you mention,how many will play a full game?
40 odd minutes is not much to get your timing back,for the start of the season.

 

[Braveheart81]

I would have thought this is the very definition of underdone.
Of the 8 starters that you mention,how many will play a full game?
40 odd minutes is not much to get your timing back,for the start of the season.

I guess we'll see.

I think if there was any great worry that they needed a lot more football before the season starts we'd have seen more of them playing out at Parramatta.

Most of these players also played together on the EOYT so they have played a lot of rugby together over the last year.