Burgess’ knee, Sharpe gets the arse, Foles rolls

Aug 17

Posted by Gagger
1 Comment

Thanks for stopping by Green and Gold Rugby. We welcome comments here from everyone (even Poms!) so if you've got a view, make sure you post it. We have new content almost every day so why not subscribe by RSS or Email on the right.

OK, I’m a little late on the 28 man squad for the South African tour, but hey, everything works a bit slower in rural France.

The big upsets are:
1 – Luke Burgess is out with a small tear in his miniscus (knee), sustained in training. While Burgo hasn’t yet fully aclimatised to international rugby, he still injects a level of speed and dynamism that we’ll need. He’s not back till at best the crazy Bledisloe in Honkers.

2 – Sharpe is dropped from the squad. A big move by Aussie Robbie to eject so much experience. Perhaps the injury to Elsom tips the balance in favour of Mumm and McMenimum as cover for both lock and 6.

Other news is that Michael Foley, the current Wallabies restart (forwards) coach is off at the end of this season to join the Tahs. His reasoning is “time at home with the 4 kids”, but if the face was still fitting in the Wallaby camp then I’d wager he wouldn’t be taking off just yet.

Wallbies squad in South Africa
Stirling Mortlock (c), Ben Alexander, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes, Al Baxter, Richard Brown, Sam Cordingley, Ryan Cross, Matt Dunning, Rocky Elsom, Adam Freier, Matt Giteau, James Horwill, Peter Hynes, Hugh McMeniman, Drew Mitchell, Dean Mumm, Stephen Moore, Wycliff Palu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson, Brett Sheehan, George Smith, Timana Tahu, Lote Tuqiri, Lachie Turner, Phil Waugh, Dan Vickerman..

Jul 14

Chooks own Mongrel-o-meter

Posted by Gagger
7 Comments

By Chook.
I think we need to rate the players that will face off for the Tri Nations and see how the Wallabies match-up. I feel that we would be quite low at the moment. I reckon the Saffas easily out-mongrel ABs and Wallabies, although the ABs wouldn’t be too far behind them. Bakkies Botha being present basically drags the whole team up to a whole new echelon of mongrelness. Not to mention freakin’ Burger. The ABs have Carter which drags them down a bit due to his underwear commitments and Donald makes me laugh, so he brings them down further.

Things like eye gouging, biting , spear tackles and dangerous throws score highly. Tackling without using the arms and niggle off the ball also was taken into account. Supporting your pals in the fight is admirable but does not score highly.

Some points to consider:

ABs
8. Ali Williams is as useless as Sharpe but with more mongrel so he has some good attributes. Keven Mealamu is useful and mongrel-y. He is handy but a bit passed his prime. Good in a scrap and willing to take a sneaky lineout throw as well.
They have plenty of players that look pìssed off but that is due to residual hatred to Henry and the stupid rotation system as well as the unbearable burden of actually being in a team that has won only a single RWC. Sivivatu can only fight chicks which is a poor effort by him. Nonu gets an unhonorable mention for hitting Huxley who had a brain tumour and is obviously retarded. Shame about the mascara though.

Saffas
The Saffas wrote the book on mongrel. France, Fiji, Manu Samoa and Tonga touch on the level of mongrel the Saffas have at times but not across the board like the Saffas can. They have depth that other nations can only dream of in this area. Think Bakkies Botha, Butch James, Burger and Victor Matfield just for starters. Its too bad the Saffas also include wet tea towels like Frannie Steyn and Monty in their team to take that edginess off. Otherwise they would be unbeatable and be deserved world champions.

As it is, it seems to me they must have a quota system on mongrel perhaps due to the need to finish a game with slightly more players than a Rugby League side.

As a note, Matfield looks a little too well fed and watered on great cuisine and wine sourced from the Toulon region to fully access his mongreloid powers.

Wallabies
We score low on mongrel. Horwill promised a lot of mongrel but failed to deliver ‘cept for half a cup of claret and a stupid looking eye. McMenimen is supposed to be hard but is more like a stick of celery lost at the back of the crisper.

As always its up to the Tahs to supply mongrel with Waugh, Palu and Lote to the rescue although Waugh just plays hard, Palu needs Cowan or a copper to pìss him off and Lote needs his dreads pulled to activate his anger protocol. He also needs to have Sam Norton Knight somewhere in the same postcode to engage the red mist.

Hynes has some promise but needs to take the head off Carter for me to be totally convinced of his credentials.

I can’t see the Wallabies winning the Tri Nations as we are far and away the worst performed Mongrel team in the comp and we will be spanked form pillar to post by harder, tougher teams.

Here’s Chooks Own Mongrel-o-meter… (10 being most mongrel-iest)

10. Eats Babies (Bakkies Botha level)
9. Eats Wallaby Wingers (Richard Loe level)
8. Quokka Hammer Throw Champion level
7. Pull Lotes hair/ Flanker level
6. Gingah/Ranga/ Annoyed Scrumhalf level
5. We Got Your Back Kid, Just Don’t Be Pointing One Of Them Guns, A’ight Man
4. I fight like Ben Tune level
3. My Underwear Advertising Commitments Prevent Me From Man-ing Up level
2. Gandhi non violent resistance/ I Play In The Backs level
1. My Favourite movie Is The Notebook level

You’ll see there are a few gaps, and no doubt disagree with a few so let me know what you think.

ALL BLACKS

Tony Woodcòck, 1
Andrew Hore, 1
John Afoa, 1
Anthony Boric, 1
Ali Willliams, 8
Adam Thomson, 1
Rodney So’oialo (c), 7
Jerome Kaino, 3
Andy Ellis, 2
Dan Carter, 3
Rudi Wulf, 2
Ma’a Nonu, 8
Conrad Smith, 2
Sitiveni Sivivatu, 4
Mils Muliaina. 2

RESERVES
16. Keven Mealamu, 8
17. Neemia Tialata, 6
18. Kevin O’Neill, 5
19. Sione Lauaki, 6
20. Jimmy Cowan, 7
21. Stephen Donald, 1
22. Leon MacDonald. 1

SOUTH AFRICA

Conrad Jantjes, 4
Odwa Ndungane, 4
Adrian Jacobs, 4
Jean de Villiers, 4
Bryan Habana, 4
Butch James, 8
Ricky Januarie, 4
Joe van Niekerk, 4
Juan Smith, 4
Schalk Burger, 9
Victor Matfield, 7
Bakkies Botha, 10
CJ van der Linde, 4
John Smit (captain), 5
Gurthro Steenkamp 5

Reserves:
Bismarck du Plessis, 6
Brian Mujati, 5
Andries Bekker, 6
Luke Watson, 5
Bolla Conradie, 5
Francois Steyn, 1
Percy Montgomery 1

WALLABIES squad:
Backs: Adam Ashley Cooper, 1
Berrick Barnes, 1
G&GRs own Luke Burgess, 2
Sam Cordingley, 1
Ryan Cross, 1
Matt Giteau, 1
Peter Hynes, 7
Drew Mitchell, 1
Stirling Mortlock (capt), 5
Brett Sheehan, 6
Timana Tahu, 3
Lote Tuqiri, 7
Lachlan Turner 1

Forwards:
Ben Alexander,
Al Baxter, 5
Richard Brown,
Matt Dunning, 6
Rocky Elsom, 7
Adam Freier,
James Horwill, 8
Hugh McMeniman, 1
Dean Mumm, 2
Stephen Moore, 1
Wycliff Palu, 7
Tatafu Polota-Nau, 6
Benn Robinson,
Nathan Sharpe, 1
George Smith,
Phil Waugh, 7
Dan Vickerman. 7.

Jul 6

Wallabies Tri-Nations Squad 2008 Announced

Posted by Gagger
10 Comments

Below is the Australia Tri-Nations squad for the 2008 Tri-Nations. A few comments on the changes from the last few weeks:

IN
Timana Tahu - Has been impossible not to notice for Australia and brings a real different option to Barnes at 12, where I hope they aim him and his ball skills
Drew Mitchell – Can always beat at least one man and has full-back experience, which is now on short supply
Hugh McMenimen – The hype continues but I still haven’t seen what the fuss is about this year, even with the new bad boy hair do and tatts. Useful height though

OUT
Digby Ioane – I thought he looked great for Aussie A against Fiji, but Hynes has taken his chances and Turner has a boot and potential
Mark Chisholm – Officially the TFC (Thanks For Coming) award. Didn’t even get to warm the bench
Stephen Hoiles – A fancy ball player and try poacher isn’t what the Wallabies pack needs right now. Obviously didn’t impress on Saturday.
Cameron Shepherd – busted ankle

BACK FROM INJURY
Vickerman – hooray! Who goes out of the locks and how long until Vicks gets injured again?
Tatafu Palota Nau – the future.
Dunning, Tuqiri and Palu all back after a rest from last week.

QANTAS WALLABIES SQUAD FOR THE 2008 TRI-NATIONS
Ben Alexander Brum
Alistair Baxter NSW
Richard Brown WF
Matt Dunning NSW
Rocky Elsom NSW
Adam Freier NSW
James Horwill QLD
Hugh McMeniman QLD
Dean Mumm NSW
Stephen Moore QLD
Wycliff Palu NSW
Tatafu Polota-Nau NSW
Benn Robinson NSW
Nathan Sharpe WF
George Smith Brum
Phil Waugh NSW
Dan Vickerman NSW

Adam Ashley-Cooper Brum
Berrick Barnes QLD
G&GRs own Luke Burgess NSW
Sam Cordingley QLD
Ryan Cross WF
Matt Giteau WF
Peter Hynes QLD
Drew Mitchell WF
Stirling Mortlock Brum
Brett Sheehan NSW
Timana Tahu NSW
Lote Tuqiri NSW
Lachie Turner NSW

Jul 5

Wallabies vs France -Second test player ratings

Posted by Gagger

Here’s what I saw, see if it tallies with what you reckon. Rating system at bottom.

15 Adam Ashley-Cooper – Solid at the back but not much more. 5

14 Peter Hynes – Took his try well and has a nose for finding space straight ahead 7

13 Stirling Mortlock (c) – A solid game, especially in defence 6

12 Berrick Barnes, – Some nice touches and kicks before headbutting AACs shoulder 7

11 Lachie Turner – quite simply had a shocker 3

10 Matt Giteau – if it had been in the Tri-Nations, this would have earned him a 1o. 9

9 Luke Burgess – while he forced one or two passes, his breaks through the traffic with their accompanying hand-offs are becoming trademarks. 8

8 Stephen Hoiles – seems to look best with cricket scores. Anonymous today. 5

7 Phil Waugh – at every breakdown doing the hard work. 7

6 Rocky Elsom – ball didn’t bounce for him today but worked his arse off in support and defence 6

5 Dean Mumm – glimmers, but that’s all. 5

4 James Horwill – cementing himself a spot as either Vicks or Sharpe’s replacement. How did Harinordoquy get away with the boxing workout? 7

3 Al Baxter – Still a mystery at scrum-time but did impress with some counter-rucking and runs 6

2 Stephen Moore – meh. 5

1 Benn Robinson – got mashed up front. 4

Replacements:
16 Adam Freier – trademark pick and run in the loose
17 Ben Alexander – was overawed but looking for work
18 Hugh McMeniman – still waiting to see what the fuss is over. Scrum a lot weaker after he wandered on
19 George Smith – again quiet for him
20 Sam Cordingley – crisp passing from Vanilla Gregan
21 Ryan Cross – took Gits’ gifts well
22 Cameron Shepherd – a nice pick up just before ending his season I suspect. Latho come back!

Marking:
10 – A legendary performance to go down in the history books
9 – Man of the match worthy performance
8 – Outstanding
7 – Good game, great in parts
6 – Solid performance
5 – Average – ho hum
4 – Below par
3 – Had a bad game
2 – Tell your story walking pal
1 – A complete joke

Jul 5

Wallabies vs France -Second test score & review

Posted by Gagger
1 Comment

Australia 40 – France 10A stunning man of the match performance for the Wallabies by Matt Giteau against a French side who didn’t want to be there, put a deceitful gloss on this performance. Giteau made the final kick or pass for every one of Australia’s four tries:

A perfectly weighted cross kick to the ever bustling Hynes
A break through the pack on clean up ball capped off with a blind back flick to an everpresent Horwill
A flat 2 man miss pass to Ryan Cross
Another floated cut-out pass to his Western Force team mate

And all of this was washed down with kicking 8 from 8 attempts at goal. It was an impressive game from the Aussie 10, who is settling nicely into the slot between Burgess and Barnes, both of whom also played with promise.

There were other positive indications in the areas of improving Wallabies play which have the Deans hallmark – more accurate and thoughtful kicking from hand (amazing how practicing it seems to work!) and good support for the kick return, giving instant options for the counter-attack.

However, all of this eye-candy has to be balanced out against some tight forward play that is simply worrying. There is no doubt that the scrum is still a shambles. Sure, it won a couple of tight heads against this bedraggled Gallic outfit, but for the whole of the second half it was nothing short of a mess, unable to hold steady on it’s own feed. This was against what must be France’s 4th string front row, with a number 8 at lock and yielding 30kgs to the Aussies.

On top of this, the re-starts were a mess and Burgess continues to fight for his life at the ruck. Against the might of the ABs or the Boks, any strike power this improving Wallaby back-line can offer will be still-born and wasted. Deans must be worried and Foley brushing off the CV.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries: Hynes, Horwill, Cross 2
Con: Giteau 4
Pen: Giteau 4

For France:
Tries: Trinh-Duc
Con: Yachvili
Pen: Trinh-Duc

Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lachie Turner, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dean Mumm, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 George Smith, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Cameron Shepherd.

France: 15 Benjamin Thiery, 14 Alexis Palisson, 13 Maxim Mermoz, 12 Thibault Lacroix, 11 David Janin, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Sebastian Tillous-Borde, 8 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 7 Imanol Harinordoquy, 6 Matthieu Lièvremont, 5 Lionel Nallet (captain), 4 Sebastien Chabal, 3 Renaud Boyoud, 2 Sebastien Bruno, 1 Pierre Correia.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Benoit Lecouls, 18 Louis Picamoles, 19 Benjamin Boyet, 20 Yannick Caballero, 21 Dimitri Yachvili, 22 Jean-Baptiste Peyras.

Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Marius Jonker (South Africa), Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
Television match official: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
Assessor: Andrew Cole (Australia).

Jun 30

Wallabies team for second French test

Posted by Gagger
13 Comments

NEWSFLASH: Lock Nathan Sharpe is out with a groin strain, replaced by 24 year old Dean Mumm. Hugh McMinimum takes the spot on the bench.

There are four changes for this weekend’s test. Through injury Tuqiri and Palu are out, replaced by the Wallabies debutant Lachie Turner and Stephen Hoiles (look out Rocky). Antipodeans would have a clear picture of what Turner can do from the S14 final – interesting that Drew Mitchell was overlooked, and Hoiles has been hogging tries all over the place for Australia A.

Not cutting the mustard have been Cam Shepherd and George Smith, with AAC and Phil Waugh getting starts respectively. Shepherd hasn’t grasped this opportunity, and while AAC doesn’t have some of the finer 15 skills, he sure injects another attacking edge into the backline. Just as he has throughout the season, Waugh has bulldozed his way into the starting line up, while George Smith has forgotten he’s not the five-eighth. Some nice tuning from Dingo Deans.

Wallabies: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Stirling Mortlock (capt), Berrick Barnes, Lachlan Turner, Matt Giteau, Luke Burgess, Stephen Hoiles, Phil Waugh, Rocky Elsom, Dean Mumm, James Horwill, Al Baxter, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson. Res: Adam Freier, Ben Alexander, Hugh McMeniman, George Smith, Sam Cordingley, Ryan Cross, Cameron Shepherd.

Jun 28

Wallabies vs France score & review

Posted by Gagger
5 Comments

Wallabies 34 – France development XV 13

Aussie Robbie’s been telling us that progress to a Deans-afied Wallabies would be one step at a time, and in so many ways this first test win over France at Stadium Australia proved to be just that. As an example, last week there were a measly 20 minutes of flowing attack, this week there were 30. While this is obviously an improvement, for many Aussie fans it means the glass is less than half-full (3/8ths to be exact).

In the first 30 minutes of the game the Wallabies had upwards of 60% possession and close to 70% territory, yet the score was still 3-3 until Cam Shepherd took a gamble allowing Giteau to isolate Captain Caveman in the line and scoot around him. The telling stat for that pre-try period was the turnovers, 12-6 against Australia – in the first half an hour! And this doesn’t count the free’s given against for early engagment at the scrum to go with the bungled re-starts.

But it wasn’t just the period of dominance or number of tries that marked an evolution today, but also the style in which it was done. I’ve heard it said already – that it was decidedly Crusader-ish – but dammit, that’s exactly what it looked like to me. How so?

The complete switch of gears from the kick off in the second half. Out was the touch rugby, and in was the pick, drive and offload. How many times (and how recently!) have you seen the evil men in red and black do that when the free-flowing mojo ain’t working? In a recording stuff up, I didn’t see the second half for several hours. During that time, I’d imagined just how the Wallabies of old could have continued on in a directionless fashion to blow this game. Thankfully, not last night.
Support play and offloading. Over recent years, how many times did someone make a break to be on his jack jones? Now there are supporting runners all over the show taking defence busting inside angles off passes out of the tackle. The Wallabies are scoring ties in seconds that would have taken 15 phases not long ago.
The first and second five-eighth malarky. I’d never really got the idea of a weedy 12 before, but it’s just starting to grow on me. Having another ball player in Barnes to make shit happen is starting to pay off, especially with runners like Horwill and Robinson looking for work.

So, while it was 5/8ths disappointing (although did I mention the D was again awesome?) against a lackluster French development squad there are the early inklings of the hand of Robbie. Big question is, with only one more run-out before the real games start, can the Wallabies shape up fast enough?

PS. How hard did Jonker and Kaplan try to fcuk up the reffing with pedantic calls?

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries: Giteau, Sharpe, Elsom, Mortlock
Cons: Giteau 4
Pens: Giteau 2

For France:
Try: Palisson
Con: Trinh-Duc
Pens: Yachvili 2

Australia: 15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Adam Ashley-Cooper.

France: 15 Pepito Elhorga, 14 Alexis Palisson, 13 Damien Traille, 12 François Trinh-Duc, 11 Benjamin Thiéry, 10 Benjamin Boyet, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Louis Picamoles, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Sébastien Chabal, 4 Lionel Nallet (c), 3 Benoît Lecouls, 2 Sébastien Bruno, 1 Lionel Faure.
Replacements: 16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Renaud Boyoud, 18 David Couzinet, 19 Mathieu Lièvremont, 20 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 21 Thibault Lacroix, 22 David Janin.

Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Touch judges: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Wayne Erickson (Australia).

Jun 14

Australia Wallabies vs Ireland Score & Review

Posted by Gagger
6 Comments

Wallabies 18 – Ireland 12

In so many ways this was a perfect opening hit-out for Aussie Robbie. Importantly the Wallabies won – a loss would have killed the Dingo Deans feelgood factor stone dead. But equally, in this game we saw all of the Wallabies collective traits, both positive and negative, in spades.

In the first 20 minutes we saw some irresistible attacking rugby that resulted in two tries for Australia. In the first Tuqiri reproduced what he’s done all year in super 14 to bulldoze through two tackles and then offload deftly to Barnes form him to scoot over.

The second was simply breathtaking. Through a combination of hard running, quick ball and stunning offloads, Horwill got on the end of a magic Giteau pill to score a well deserved try. The Wallabies having made 50m with ball in hand.

But then, having shown us what they can do with the ball in hand, the Wallabies attacking edge went AWOL. Instead we saw Berrick Barnes repeatedly kick the ball away while the forwards forgot about the breakdown and instead tried and get in on the game of touch footy that was breaking out among the back line. Having watched the English pack in the first half of the ABs game, had we been playing them, it may have been a much unhappier ending.

While the Aussie line-out was impressive, we’d been told that this Irish scrum wasn’t up to much, and yet neither of the usual suspects Dunning nor Baxter looked in any way comfortable, if not distinctly fold-able. Reassuringly though, the trademark defence was still rock solid, locking the Irish out for the last 10 minutes.

In short, we shouldn’t have expected much more after just two weeks – just how much can you change? But what Dingo Deans will now know, is just how much work he has left to do.

For Australia:
Tries: Barnes, Horwill
Cons: Giteau
Pens: Giteau 3

For Ireland:
Tries: Leamy, O’Driscoll
Con: O’Gara

Australia: 15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Stephen Moore,1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Adam Ashley-Cooper.

Ireland: 15 Robert Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O’Driscoll (c), 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Ronan O’Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O’Connell, 4 Donncha O’Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements: 16 Jerry Flannery, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O’Driscoll, 19 Stephen Ferris, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Geordan Murphy, 22 Girvan Dempsey.

Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)
Touch judges: Chris White (England), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor: Andrew Cole (Australia)

May 31

Crusaders vs Waratahs Super 14 2008 Final review & video highlights

Posted by Gagger
12 Comments

Princes of darkness 20 – Tahs 12

During the week Mark Hammett commented that, in terms of intensity, this was going to be a test match and he was spot on. These two teams went hammer and tongs, both refusing to be intimidated by what was on the line, and the sense of occasion. In the end it was the Crusaders ability to play rugby in the half of the field they chose to, through their vast collective experience of winning, that took their seventh super rugby title.

It was also a game of conundrums. In the first half the ‘Saders had upwards of 75% possession, and yet went in at the break 2 tries to 1 down at 11-12. They had camped in the Tahs half of the paddock, but ran into the heroic last man standing defence that the Tahs have made their calling card in 2008. In contrast, the men from New South Wales had only two attacking chances and Lachie Turner, choosing the exact right match to get back to his best, took them both beautifully.

The first try (highlight below) came after 9 phases of play. The ball started at a line-out on the other side of the field, which the Tahs took wide via Norton-Knight after a couple of phrases through the middle. From there a handful of pick and drives, inching nicely into the Cantabrians 22 and then this gem of a cross-field from Beale, that perfectly isolates Carter. Only 8 minutes down on the clock.

The clip of the next try in the 26th minute is a good vignette of the game, as it shows a) the pace at which the whole Crusader team moves up in both attack and defence, their trademark, and b) the pressure the Tahs put themselves under too many times through the lack of a tactical kicking game. (Just quietly I look forward to Aussie Robbie injecting both of these into the Wallabies).

The Tuiali’i try below a minute before half time was one of a few the ‘Saders might have had if it wasn’t for otherwise strong Tah defence and the odd poor decision from the home side.

So the second half was set for a humdinger, and although there were no tries and therefore no video highlights, it didn’t disappoint. The Tahs came out with a better attitude in terms of ball security, and despite a penalty to put it 14-12, they were starting to get into their stride when a crucial 10 minute period of play came along at the 54th minute.

First off, from some turn over ball the Crusaders yet again found acres of space at the back, hoofed the pill 50 yards down and then, with Rob Horne (who didn’t seem to get into top gear) and Tuqiri scrambling back, the ensuing bobbling ball found a swarm of red jerseys with the prop Wyatt Crockett dotting down.

That could have been game over except that the decision was more than reversed when Brad Thorne was sin-binned for a punch on Vickerman in backplay that the NZ camera crews miraculously couldn’t find. So, it looks like the Tahs have the upper hand, except when Beale goes down 2 minutes later with injury and leaves the field.

Opinions on KB are like arseholes, everyone’s got one. Is he the goods or not? Tonight I believe he took another big step forward with far more confident running and defensive play. But the ultimate indication of his importance to this back-line came after he left the field, when the Tahs immediately lost their shape, and with it, ability to attack or win this game. That’s a pretty big impact for a 19 year old.

The game slugged on, replacements being made and the Tahs again stoic in defence. While Turner got the tries in this game, it’s no doubt who got the G&GR Man of the Match – the captain Phil Waugh who has played out of his skin all season and pulled the Tahs arses out of the fire numerous times in this game with steals and big tackles.

In the end though the pressure of territory that the ‘Saders put on was too much, with Carter lobbing over a drop-goal in 70th and then another penalty in the ‘73rd to make it 20-12. The Tahs played a great game out of their own half, and probably would have beaten just about any other side tonight, international or not. But over 80 minutes against this side with no territory, you ain’t gonna make it.

Bye bye Link. Hellooo Robbie.

For Crusaders:
Tries: Tuiali’i
Pens: Carter 4
Drop: Carter

For Waratahs:
Tries: Turner 2
Cons: Beale

Yellow card: Thorn, punching (Crusaders, 55 min)

Crusaders: 15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Kade Poki, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Scott Hamilton, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andrew Ellis, 8 Mose Tuiali’i, 7 Richard McCaw (c), 6 Kieran Read, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Ti’i Paulo, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Steve Fualau, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Reuben Thorne, 19 Nasi Manu, 20 Kahn Fotuali’i, 21 Stephen Brett, 22 Sean Maitland.

Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachlan Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Will Caldwell, 19 Beau Robinson, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Matt Carraro, 22 Timana Tahu.

Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges: Craig Joubert (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

May 24

Waratahs vs Sharks Super 14 Semi Final Score

Posted by Gagger
4 Comments

Waratahs 28 – Sharks 13

The NSW Waratahs put in a mighty performance this evening to defeat last years finalists the Sharks by 4 tries to 1.

For review go here

For Waratahs:
Tries: Tuqiri, Horne, Beale, Burgess
Con: Beale
Pen: Beale
Drop-goal: Beale

For Sharks:
Try: Burden
Con: Kockott
Pen: Pienaar
Drop-goal: Pienaar

Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Adam Freier,
1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Al Manning, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Will Caldwell, 19 Beau Robinson, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Matt Carraro, 22 Timana Tahu.

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Ruan Pienaar, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 AJ Venter, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Johann Muller (c), 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Jean Deysel, 20 Epi Taione, 21 Bradley Barritt, 22 Waylon Murray.

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand), Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
Television match official: Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

May 17

Reds vs Waratahs Super 14: score & review, video highlights

Posted by Gagger
6 Comments

Queensland Reds 11 – NSW Waratahs 18
It wasn’t pretty, they got the better of the reffing and thankfully the Hurricanes slipped up in Auckland, but today’s professional win by the Waratahs has ensured some respectability for Australia’s 2008 Super 14 showing with a home semi booked in Sydney.

Yet again the back row proved the Tahs most effective attacking weapon, Waugh setting up Mums try with a great around the corner dart and offload, Elsom making runs all over the show and Palu sealing the victory with a well taken break off the back of a maul (below). In greasy conditions the backrow battle was always going to be key and despite the retiree Croft having a great game on the ground, the inexperience of Houston and Luafutu was telling.

At no stage did the Reds roll over. They showed real nouse through the midfield; Barnes still has composure belying his years (witness the classy dropgoal in the 45th minute) and Turinui has come into his own in the second half of the season. His nose for a gap and ability to pop pass from the floor has been consistently sensational.If they could transplant his brain into Rob Horne you would instantly have the perfect footballer. Morgs’ perfectly weighted chip kick for Hynes at the death (below) made the score line closer than the reality.

At the breakdown contest the Queenslanders also did well. I’ve mentioned Croft but Horwill had a good game here as well as stealing line-outs, and Rodzilla played a good cameo in the loose. Despite looking like an oversized schoolboy whose mum still feeds him, Houston can make yards. Unfortunately he also stuck his head in a maul the precise moment he should have been defending the fringes from Palu (see above).

The most press-hyped battle of the night – Portly Beale vs Quooade Kawooper – fizzled out as could have been predicted. Apart from his incredibly fugly mullet, and a propensity to bound into the air before attempting a step, there was nothing remarkable about Cooper. Beale’s won this ‘contest’, simply through his marshalling of the Tah backline and distance punting – duties not entrusted to pogo boy. Obvious room for improvement lies in Portly’s place kicking – he’d missed 3 vital shots from in front when the lead was still only 6 points.

Neither of the two are convincing defensively. Cooper puts a hit on with the shoulder but doesn’t actually want to hit the deck so avoids holding on for what can be called a tackle. Beale seems to see himself as a defensive coat check boy – he holds the the attacking runner for a beat and taps them on the back as if to say “someone needs to tackle this guy” before getting out of the way.

For the Tahs most of the usual names did great work. Tuqiri, Burgess, Vickerman et al. Although I need to mention the scrum, it’s not my imagination, it is doing well and I even have to admit that ‘Big’ Al Baxtah monstered his opposite Coutts in the first half. Not a story for the Reds #1 to tell his grandkids.

Yet again though, by far the biggest hero in this Tah outfit is Les Kiss and the team’s defense. Tonight, as per many others, the Tahs simply shut down the game when they’d got far enough ahead. While Kissy might never be head coach material, they should consider paying him about the same as Link’s replacement. It’s why they’ve got the home semi this year. No doubt.

For Reds:
Tries: Hynes
Pen: Schifcofske 2

For Waratahs:
Tries: Mumm, Palu
Con: Beale
Pen: Beale

Reds: 15 Clinton Schifcofske, 14 Caleb Brown, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Peter Hynes, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Ben Lucas, 8 Leroy Houston, 7 David Croft, 6 Poutasi Luafutu, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Van Humphries, 3 Dayna Edwards, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Ben Coutts.
Replacements: 16 Sean Hardman, 17 Rodney Blake, 18 Ed O’Donoghue, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Andrew Walker, 22 Charlie Fetoai.

Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Matt Carraro, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 David Lyons, 19 Will Caldwell, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Rob Horne, 22 Timana Tahu.

Referee: Matt Goddard (Australia)
Touch judges: James Leckie (Australia), Damian Mitchelmore (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor: Wayne Erickson (Australia).

May 10

Stormers vs Waratahs: Score and Review

Posted by Gagger
8 Comments

Stormers 13 – Waratahs 13

When the Super 14 semi-finals loom, you can always count on the Waratahs to find new ways to bewilder. So on a night with comedy rain coming down (now that’s a power shower) Link McKenzie decides to stick with his masterstroke of benching the one guy in the Tahs who can kind of kick (Sam Norton-Knight) and instead stick the out and out winger Tuqiri at the back.

While this move alone didn’t rob the Waratahs of a badly needed win, it was a symptom of the lack of clarity in thinking that did. In conditions like these, accuracy in the small things count. Sure you can point the finger at Beale for not dropping back far enough to get away the last second drop goal, but if truth be told, one young player more than others will be having a good look at himself.

As Phil Waugh said:

“We had our chances to win this game, every point they scored came from our mistakes, that’s disappointing.”

While there were a multitude of handling errors, it was two howlers from Lachie Turner that blew this game. The mis-fielded kick on the floor (by my count his 3rd this year?) that led to Naqelevuki try, and then the charged down kick he gifted to Human. This game needed a flash of brilliance to win it, the kind that Lachie ‘07 could produce. How have we wound up with Lachie ‘08?

The last mistake I’ll point out is not paying attention to Kafe’s chalkboard on Inside Rugby. The Tugboat pointed how the Stormers committed no-one to the breakdown and strung them across the park. Take them through the middle of the ruck Kafe urged. For parts of the second half the Tahs did to great effect. For the rest they ran into the dark blue wave strung across the park.

On the positive side the back-row worked their arses off and the front row of Robinson, and wait for it – Baxter – smashed the Stormer scrum forcing two wins against the head. While we still don’t know if the guy can run, Timtam Tahu can sure as shit pass, just like 8 rounds ago when he last played. Carraro and Norton-Knight both showed a good pair of heals on the hoof.

Sure, it was 2 points on the road against a solid side in piss poor conditions. But a home semi now rests on the Blues beating the Canes in Auckland. Even a 5 pointer against the Reds wouldn’t put NSW past a 4-point Hurricanes win on points difference. And this all assumes a win against a dogged Queensland outfit. Oh for a drop goal.

For the Stormers:
Tries: Naqelevuki, Human
Pen: Brown

For the Waratahs:
Try: Tuqiri
Con: Beale
Pens: Beale 2

Stormers: 15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Wylie Human, 13 Gcobani Bobo, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Sireli Naqelevuki, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Robbie Diack, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Adriaan Fondse, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Brian Mujati.
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie, 17 Schalk Ferreira, 18 Ross Skeate, 19 Pieter Myburgh, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Tony Brown, 22 Dylan des Fountain.

Waratahs: 15 Lote Tuqiri, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Matt Carraro, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Will Caldwell, 19 David Lyons, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Sam Norton-Knight, 22 Timana Tahu.

Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Brent Murray (New Zealand), Christie du Preez (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Assessor: Arrie Schoonwinkel (South Africa)
Timekeeper: Kat Swanepoel (South Africa).

May 4

Bulls vs Waratahs review & score

Posted by Gagger
2 Comments

Bulls 16 – Waratahs 13

The summary of this game is pretty easy. It pissed down rain, the Waratahs got kicked around the park by the Bulls 10 Hougaard, and on top of that the Tahs lineout went to shit. Not a recipe for an entertaining match, and not a good sign for the Tahs ultimate ambitions.

It could have all been so different, had the Bulls “front-ranker” Werner Kruger not heroically knocked the ball out of Burgess’ hands as he dived over the line for what would have been the Tah’s second unanswered try in the first 20. Again Burgess was a dynamo through the game and rescued some very sloppy ball.

Considering the pressure it was under – repeatedly kicked into their corners and losing their own throw – the NSW defence held strong. Far more surprising was the NSW scrum, which you’d have to say pretty much dicked the big Bulls pack in that set piece. A pity about the rest.

The one piece of good news is that the bonus point for staying within 7 keeps the Tahs second by a point in front of the Hurricanes. Whichever way you look at it the final derby against the Reds is going to be one hell of a crunch game.

For the Bulls:
Tries: Kuun
Cons: Steyn
Pens: Steyn
Drops: D. Hougaard, Steyn

For the Waratahs:
Tries: Horne
Cons: Beale
Pens: Beale
Drops: Beale

The teams:

Bulls: 15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 JP Nel, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Wikus van Heerden (c), 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Wilhelm Steenkamp, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Werner Kruger, 2 Derick Kuun, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements: 16 Bandisa Maku, 17 Jaco Engels, 18 Rayno Gerber, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Derick Hougaard, 22 Pedrie Wannenburg.

Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 WYcliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Will Caldwell, 19 David Lyons, 20 Sekope Kepu, 21 Matt Carraro, 22 Brett Sheehan.

Referee: Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Brent Murray (New Zealand), Pro Legoete (South Africa)
Television match official: Michael Cupido (South Africa)
Assessor: Banks Yantolo (South Africa)

Apr 26

Waratahs vs Sharks Super 14: review & video highlights

Posted by Gagger
1 Comment

FOR THE SEMI-FINAL REVIEW AND SCORE GO HERE

FOR SEMI FINAL HIGHLIGHTS GO HERE

Waratahs 25 – Sharks 10

This was the Waratahs 5th straight win in the 2008 Super 14, and their second half four try dicking of the Sharks has rightfully slung them to second in the table. The blueprint for the win was the same as last week – muscle up in the first half, tackling anything that moves, and frustrate the oppo (and the crowd) into submission for the second.

It’s been the mantra of the coaching staff all year – we trust our D and our fitness; put these into action and the attack can folllow. In the first third of a rainy season this seemed pretty hollow, but of late it’s rung true. Is it a pity Link had to go before it bore fruit?

Another line that the tahs have trotted out has been the idea that it’s a steady build through the season that they’ve been looking for – individually and as a team. This has also been coming through. A few players stand out from this perspective:

Beale – He’s by no means perfect, but yet again today he seemed another step towards a great player. The maturity lies in not trying too much, but what he does is working. Shame about the place kicking
Palu – from strength to strength. Last year he’d go missing, today he was awesome. His first try actually made me laugh out loud as he bulldozed over 3 Sharks, and this was after he’d bitch-slapped Venter. He’s talked about as the next Kefu, he could even be better
Tom Carter – I haven’t been easy on the guy, but game by game he looks a real option at inside, even for the Wallabies. The crash ball is a given, and he does it well, but his support play is coming on gangbusters
Luke Burgess - At times today he took it a step too far, but I’m a fully signed up member of the the Burgo fan club. He makes rugby exciting again while doing the simple things brilliantly – his clearing from the ruck being a prime example. He single handedly doubles the creativity in the Tahs backline.

And this leaves out the likes of Waugh and Tuqiri who are in the best form of their careers. Not just as players but leaders.

Can the Tahs do it though? We’ve been burned before, but by god it looks good right now.

EDIT: To be fair to the Sharks I should mention that they lost their skipper Johan Muller in the warm up, and Freddy Michalak after about 10 minutes. Two pretty big last minute losses to cop. Michalak’s is an ACL tear which means the end of his S14 season.

The scorers:

For Waratahs:
Tries: Norton-Knight, Palu 2, Carter
Con: Beale
Pens: Tuqiri

For Sharks:
Try: Ndungane
Pen: Steyn
Con: Kockett

Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Dean Mumm, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Will Caldwell; 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Al Baxter, 18 David Lyons, 19 Beau Robinson, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Matt Carraro, 22 Alfi Mafi.

Sharks: 15 Stefan Terblanche, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Rory Kockott, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Jacques Botes, 6 Keegan Daniel, 5 AJ Venter (c), 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Deon Carstens, 18 BJ Botha, 19 Johann Muller , 20 Jean Deysel, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Adrian Jacobs.

Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Grant MacNeill (Australia)
Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor: Scott Young (Australia), Lusanda Menze (Performance Auditor) (South Africa).

Apr 19

Waratahs vs Lions Super 14 score, review, player ratings

Posted by Gagger
5 Comments

Waratahs 26 – Lions 3
Ok, let’s forget the first half because it really isn’t worth remembering. The sides went in at nil all, the Tahs having committed 15 handling errors, often killing off promising attacking movements. But in a torrential downpour, it was many of the younger players – some surely pushing for Wallaby selection – who stepped up to the plate and delivered this important 4 try bonus point victory in the second half.

Just as last week against the Force, the Tahs defense was outstanding. They look completely at home on the back foot and seem to relish the chance to force the opposition into a turnover. To date they lead the Aussie teams defensively by a country mile, having conceded only 16 tries, the closest rival being the Reds at 23 tries against. This also puts them in the top 4 teams overall for points conceded (only halfway through this weekend).

Take a bow Les Kiss, and not just for your name. The best Wallaby teams have been built on solid defense, so this is a great sign.

For the rest of the review, here are a few player ratings, let me know if they agree with yours. Note how well many of the younger or newer players like Burgess, TPN, Beale and Horne have done. This is a great sign for the Tahs, although in many cases not for the older players they’re pushing out.

15. Knorton-Knight Another thoughtfull performance at the back with some good counter-attacking runs. 7/10

14. Lachie Turner. You have to keep reminding yourself of the guy’s age as he looks like he’s been there for ever now. Always dangerous and nearly away a few times, but is suspect on the ground with loose ball. 7/10

13. Rob Horne. Considering he’s not had his 12th birthday yet, this guy is amazing. While he’s greased lightning on attack and hits tackles hard, it’s his defense that has been surprisingly impressive. Just needs some tweaking on the final pass. A future answer for the Wallaby 12 conundrum? 8/10

12. Tom Carter. With some gas outside him now, he suddenly fits into the backline and is working well off Beale’s shoulder. 7/10

11. Lote Tuqiri. That nose-job has done him a power of good. While not quite as outstanding as last week, his work rate in both attack and defense is immense and his pace is right up again. Showing good attitude 8/10

10. Kurtley Beale. Week by week he looks better and better and is growing into the role of director with confidence. This week his distribution was outstanding, the magic pill to Waugh for the first try a great example. His running, defense and place-kicking (3/4) are also greatly improved, just the kicking from hand still missing. 8/10

9. Luke Burgess. An even better game than last week, which was shit hot. Considering who’s around at half-back for Australia, he must surely be playing himself into Gregan’s shoes. His clearing at the ruck is top notch and he seems to be everywhere. On top of that he has the ability to make things happen, including the quick tap to Mumm’s try and the boot downfield, chase, charge-down and what would have been a score if TPN hadn’t got in the way.
From the coach:

McKenzie said it was no coincidence the Waratahs had scored their only two bonus-point triumphs since Burgess gained his promotion to the starting side three weeks ago.

“We brought him into the team because we thought he’d actually improve the performances and he’s done that, so there’s no surprises there from our point of view,” McKenzie said.

As a reminder, you heard about him on G&GR first, last year from Coatsie
Get used to the bench Brett. 9/10 and man of the match

8. Palu. Considering his inability to offload last year, he now leads the comp in this area. Creates go forward with almost every run. 7.5/10

7. Phil Waugh. Still leading from the front and has perfected out of tackle steal. 8/10

6. Dean Mumm. Thought he’d blown a gasket in the first half, but came back strong in the second half and beat 4 men to score the second try. Still playing as a second row though. 6.5/10

5. Aussie Dan. The usual genius at the line-out, but also on his top form in the loose, especially defensively. Would love to see his tackle count. 8/10

4. Will Caldwell. Did blow a gasket and was subbed. Is his skull actually fractured? 5/10

3. Matt Dunning. Did a lot of the hard stuff in the scrum, which is probably why he looked so shattered in the loose. 7/10

2. Polota-Nau. While Link is spoiled in this position, TPN is shading it. His throwing wasn’t half bad considering the conditions and he plays as another back-rower in the loose, busting holes with his flatmate Palu. Just didn’t need to throw that flick pass. 8/10

1. Bennn Robinson. Also solid in the scrum and oh so close to another try. 7.5/10

Replacements: Lyons is a great guy to bring on and Mafi was sharp, chasing down Burgess’ kick. Frier isn’t far off TPN and scored a try. The rest were pretty anonymous, Sheehan demonstrating why he’s on the bench.

The scorers:

For the Waratahs:
Tries: Waugh, Mumm, Polota-Nau, Freier
Cons: Beale 3

For the Lions:
Pen: Van Schalkwyk

Waratahs: 15 Sam Norton-Knight, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh (c), 6 Dean Mumm, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Will Caldwell, 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Al Baxter, 18 David Lyons, 19 Beau Robinson, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Matt Carraro, 22 Alfi Mafi.

Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Dusty Noble, 13 Jaco Pretorius, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Rayno Benjamin, 10 Jaco van Schalkwyk, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Joe van Niekerk, 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Gerhard Mostert, 4 Dewald Senekal, 3 JC Janse van Rensburg, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe.
Replacements: 16 Ethienne Reynecke, 17 Ross Geldenhuys, 18 Franco van der Merwe,19 Wilhelm Koch, 20 Chris Jonck, 21 Rudi Vogt, 22 Jannie Boshoff.

Referee: Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
Touch judges: Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Nathan Pearce (Australia)
Television match official: Steve Leszczynski (Australia)
Assessor: Scott Young (Australia).

« Previous Entries Next Entries »