HogansHeros
Syd Malcolm (24)
Maybe the Drua vs Tahs game should be played at Parra, but I wouldnt be taking any home games away from Fiji itself
Waratahs vs Drua - Saturday 20 May 2023
- Thread starter Braveheart81
- Start date
qwerty51
Stirling Mortlock (74)
I was going to say play anyone but the Tahs there, you’d still have a big home ground advantage with fans. I just think at Parra stadium it’s more fair for the thousands of Fijians living in Sydney.
HogansHeros
Syd Malcolm (24)
Yeah i meant to say play the Tahs home game vs drua out there
Marce
John Thornett (49)
With Perese out I think Tuipulotu is gonna get much more game time
Marce
John Thornett (49)
NSW Waratahs on Instagram: "The sound of 4 in a row "
2,475 likes, 25 comments - nswwaratahs on May 20, 2023: "The sound of 4 in a row "
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We are the mighty Waratahs
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We play the game as it should be played
Famous when we run the ball
We can scrum and ruck and maul
Playing the game as it should be played
Waratahs! Waratahs!
We play the game as it should be played
Famous when we run the ball
We can scrum and ruck and maul
Playing the game as it should be played!
A mutterer
Chilla Wilson (44)
Might be a good thing, thought some of pereses plays last night were a bit selfish.
LeCheese
Peter Johnson (47)
Is Perese out though? Comms were saying it looked like a back spasm, not a knee
They seemed immensely happy to head to the SFS, great group of humans around us, ended up drinking with a one game waratah (well in between him running outside for a smoke)
Immense defense, real focus on stopping the pop pass
In attack the Tahs were regularly getting though the gain line, not being stopped at that gain line
I was quite surprised the Tahs continued to use plays out the back looking for width, the standard approach vs the Drua is keep it tight and grind them into dust
But they defeated them on the edges
In attack the Tahs were regularly getting though the gain line, not being stopped at that gain line
I was quite surprised the Tahs continued to use plays out the back looking for width, the standard approach vs the Drua is keep it tight and grind them into dust
But they defeated them on the edges
If it wasn’t Coopers he’d be MVP.
qwerty51
Stirling Mortlock (74)
So the big question, what to do about next week? A win doesn't really help the ladder position at all and beating the Crusaders in Christchurch just means you're no chance of beating them again in Christchurch in a potential quarter/semi/final.
Foketi/Perese will likely still be out - we're not going to win. Best option is to rest. Gleeson can play who is still building fitness.
Start Gamble & Hanigan. Rest Jed, Hooper and Porecki. Play Latu. Maybe Lambert and Edmed are back.
Foketi/Perese will likely still be out - we're not going to win. Best option is to rest. Gleeson can play who is still building fitness.
Start Gamble & Hanigan. Rest Jed, Hooper and Porecki. Play Latu. Maybe Lambert and Edmed are back.
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Silverado
Dick Tooth (41)
Hooper still needs his "rest" game too. I agree that they'll probably rest a few, as they probably won't finish better than 6th either way
Hawko
Tony Shaw (54)
And the irony in our placing 6th is having to play our quarter final against the Brumbies in Canberra. Should we beat the Saders next week that is likely to mean we play them again in Christchurch in the quarters. Our record against both teams away is bloody awful.
Not likely to win either, but maybe a better chance against the Brumbies in Canberra. Just...
Hawko
Tony Shaw (54)
Watching live (haven't watched the replay yet), the Drua gameplan seemed to be to cut back to try to bust us on the inside, even when they went three or four wide. I don't remember them ever trying to skin us outside, except when the winger only had a metre or so left. Their go-forward was impressive though, they always seemed to make a metre or two after the tackle.
Thinking about why we were so heavily penalised for not rolling away, it occurred to me that BOK decided that since we were using two or three players to try to hold the runner up, as soon as BOK called "tackle" he could pick any one of three players for not rolling away. Interesting downside to our hold-em-up strategy, but I doubt other refs would have required such quick release. Given the Kiwi teams hold players on the ground so much to slow down the ruck, not many other refs would have given so many of those. Or maybe that was just top item on the referees must-do list this week.
Until the Drua got a bit fatigued, the hold-em-up strategy looked particularly ineffective as the midfield runners were often making metres and I was screaming from the stand to take their legs out and let the second man jackel. But the strategy seemed to cut down the Drua offloads, which I guess is what they were intending to do. And as the Drua tired, it became more and more effective. I hope we don't overuse the technique though; maybe a change of strategy will surprise the Crusaders next week.
Thinking about why we were so heavily penalised for not rolling away, it occurred to me that BOK decided that since we were using two or three players to try to hold the runner up, as soon as BOK called "tackle" he could pick any one of three players for not rolling away. Interesting downside to our hold-em-up strategy, but I doubt other refs would have required such quick release. Given the Kiwi teams hold players on the ground so much to slow down the ruck, not many other refs would have given so many of those. Or maybe that was just top item on the referees must-do list this week.
Until the Drua got a bit fatigued, the hold-em-up strategy looked particularly ineffective as the midfield runners were often making metres and I was screaming from the stand to take their legs out and let the second man jackel. But the strategy seemed to cut down the Drua offloads, which I guess is what they were intending to do. And as the Drua tired, it became more and more effective. I hope we don't overuse the technique though; maybe a change of strategy will surprise the Crusaders next week.
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BOK really quick on this, which I don't mind. If he'd been reffing the Leinster / La Rochelle game he'd have been unconscious with the number of times he would have needed to whistle it!
qwerty51
Stirling Mortlock (74)
The last two games in Canberra have been pretty competitive at least. The Tahs would much rather fancy their chances there than going over to Auckland or Christchurch.
Luckily Jaco is used to blowing hard
The Ghost of Raelene
Andrew Slack (58)
This would also be a great game for Rugby Australia to market the shit out of. All Aussie semi on Ch9 on a Saturday night.