Waratahs go down to Stormers

Jack Norton May 20, 2012 35

The Waratahs’ slim hopes of making the finals have been blown away by the Stormers in Cape Town.

In a less-than-clinical performance from both teams, the Stormers came away with a 19 points to 13 victory.

Kolisi had a great game for the Stormers

The Stormers completely dominated the first half, with two tries and 71 per cent possession in the opening 40 minutes.

Joe Pietersen scored their first try with a simple overlap coming from a lineout just outside the 22 and break from Gio Aplon.

The Tahs had almost no possession, and whenever they got their hands on the ball Berrick Barnes automatically kicked it away.

Some of the kicks were accurate and had a strong chase, particularly from Pakalani, but others were more of the same aimless, no-pressure up-and-unders that we’ve seen far too many of this season.

The Stormers kicked away their fair share of possession too, but looked much more dangerous when they ran the ball.

Tiaan Liebenberg dived over in the corner for the Stormers’ second try just moments after a second ball spilled out on the Tahs side of the breakdown.

It was definitely an unwelcome distraction as Brendan McKibbin and a few other Tahs defenders were under the pump from the relentless Stormers attack.

The Tahs defended well but by half time they had made almost three times more tackles than the Stormers, 67 to 24.

Despite going into the sheds down 13-6 the Tahs fired the first shots in the second half with Rob Horne scoring a try untouched.

His five-pointer came off a great break up the middle from Kane Douglas, and a phase or two later Gio Aplon rushed out of the line on Dave Dennis, creating enough space for Dennis to get around him and offload to Horne.

The Stormers immediately put the pressure back on, camping in the Waratahs 22 for 14 phases before Chris Alcock secured a very timely turnover.

McKibbin slotted a penalty not long after, which took the score to 13-16.

This was as close as the Tahs would get on the scoreboard, with Peter Grant kicking a penalty of his own three minutes later to give the Stormers a six-point buffer.

The Tahs came close to scoring a second try just minutes later but Sekope Kepu put down a pass from Pakalani five metres from the line.

Neither team put on much pressure or kept the ball in hand for long during the final quarter, with kicks raining down on both sides and not much in between.

As clichéd as it is, it was a game of two halves.

In the opening stanza, the Tahs looked completely rudderless and like they were waiting for the Stormers plays so they had something to react to.

The lack of possession didn’t help, but the kicking was obviously part of the game plan so once again it was the execution that was lacking.

In the second 40, there were periods of composure and patience, some good running lines and a couple of excellent kicks from Barnes.

The Tahs also made life at the breakdown much harder for the Stormers, stifling their attacking runs around the fringes.

While they won the second half 10-3, the Waratahs never really looked like winning either.

Unfortunately the positives were too few and far between, especially when they were already down on the scoreboard.

The game ended with Dean Mumm knocking himself out in a tackle and eventually wandering off dazed and confused.

Kind of sums up the season really.

POSTED IN » Rugby

About the author: Jack Norton View all posts by Jack Norton

Tell 'em nothing, take 'em nowhere and get 'em home early.

Discussion »

Ooaahh

Tahs stink. So boring to watch. School sides play with more direction. I’m tempted to switch to the rebels or brumbies far more exciting to watch.
- Bones
  
  you can join me. I switched a few years back.
- aussie werewolf in london
  
  Its great to see fans like you that stick by your team through thick and thin. Seriously bugger off then you won’t be missed.
  
  Although the tactics were boring in the first 20min if a couple of those up and unders had come off we’d be saying it was the right thing. I thought they changed tactic and kept the ball in hand a lot more as the opposition tired which was obviously the game plan.
  
  Kepu catches that ball and we’d have won the match! a loss by 6 points to the stormers in cape town, its not exactly a debacle. its not great either but chins up we’ve got to look for positives and hopefully build towards a better end to the season.
  - theduke
    
    I agree you should stick by your team.
    
    But don’t pretend they look the a championship winning side. IF a couple of up and unders came off? IF they had better coaching that lead to better execution. IF they had a strategy appropriate to the situation. IF etc etc
  - Westo
    
    You can’t dump your team gentlemen. Please don’t have a short memory, as we all should remeber the Reds had 8 exasperating sessions and often I would drink through those tough and long evenings. I can empathise why players change loyalties (even tho I personally don’t enorse it) due to the big cash offers, but fans should not. You either are or you aren’t.
Who Needs Melon

Was that really a game of rugby? Because I wanted to gouge my own eyes out after watching that. Unless they’re playing either the Reds or the Brumbies, I am not going to bother watching any more Tah games. At least not until I read news reports that they’ve had a total clean out.
Dally M

Absolutely no clue with these blokes.

You can’t score without the ball & all they do is kick it away.
Shtina

Haha, I am glad I wasn’t the only one making Game of Thrones references with Kolisi!
Josh123

Am I the only one who thinks the plan was spot on? They kicked an awful lot, an it was quite boring, but they finished up 19-13 (6 points behind) despite dropping every ball that went wide, even throwing away what I thought was a certain try (Sekope Kepu). I think it was a lack of precision and handling errors that really let them down.
- Fin
  
  You’re probably right in thinking that any other game plan would have resulted in a bigger loss. And you’re definitely right in suggesting it was the execution of the other basic skills that let us down. In fact I think there was better execution in our kicking in this game than all season. But when you go into a match trying to find a way not to get flogged probably suggests you deserve to be.
  
  Unfortunately the ‘gutsy’ close seconds are the worst thing for the Tahs as it seems to give them the false hope that they nearly have it right. Which they obviuosly don’t. I hate to say it but a couple of good old fashion pantsings is what we need.
  
  On a different note, has anyone else noticed how much softer our scrum is when Kane Douglas is not there. The front row gets a lot of raps when the scrum is dominant but to me it appears that you can remove any other member of the scrum with little effect, but you talke Douglas out and there is no grunt.
- OOAAHH
  
  If the gameplan was spot on we would have won.
  - Josh123
    
    All I am saying is, the tahs had created the opportunities to score the game winning points (despite knocking on plenty of ball). I don’t believe the problem is with the game plan, or with the quality of players. I think a different (better) mentality would do the trick.
Alan

We need an epic, brumby style cleanout at the Tahs

Stayed up late to watch it but at half time i was thinking sleep would be more entertaining. Thankfully the Heineken Cup final was on and there was some stunning rugby in that one.

Still depressed though, so much potential, so little delivered. again.
the realist

Leinster have proved that running rugby is alive and well in the northern hemisphere. brian odrsicoll and his flick passing in the final puts to bed that nonsense that finals have to be dour boring affairs.

the tahs should ask elsom about his days at leinster and keep the ball in hand!
murph

Too many big heads. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the poor performance of the Brumbies infected the Tahs around the same time that Rocky & 2Dads showed up
- Bay35Pablo
  
  Um, murph, we’ve been in the doldrums for a while before they turned up.
Knackers

The commentators mentioned at about 30mins into the game the Tah’s had nearly kicked every minute…. Rebels are now higher than the Horrotah’s and congrats to them for their hard earned work.

Tah’s would have won that game in Capetown had Kepu held onto that ball 5m out from the tryline…Stormers weren’t playing well, they were ripe for the picking but the Tah’s still found a way to screw up.

One final point – I have noticed touring Aus teams do not get a kiwi ref – we seem to always get ref’s from the republic. Joubert is consistantly fair, but Lawrence and a few others are biased in their home country in my opinion.
theduke

As reds fan, I, surprisingly, do not take great pleasure in seeing the Waratahs fail.

The Tahs had Ewen a few years ago and he got them to the finals. But they still sacked him. They have had numerous quality players, like Beale, and lose them. Instead they attract players that have more hype than talent, or, don’t get the best out of them.

Reds had a similar problem a few years ago, and it was only an upper management clear-out that sorted it out.

Sack the board and start again.

Australian rugby needs strength form its biggest province.

Sort your shit out NSW.
- Fin
  
  if it was up to the fans it’d be already done
- mjw
  
  So you might remember that Ewen was coach in 2007 when Tahs had a worse season.
- Patrick
  
  There is certainly no doubt whatsoever left in my mind that NSW Rugby needs a root-and-branch rooting of the board and management.
  
  Happily, there’s at least one obvious candidate with a bit of time on his hands to head up a new board out there: John Howard. He might also come in handy for the ARU Board, once he’s sorted the rot in NSW.
  
  How come so many absolute rookies from the Brumbies and Rebels and Reds look more the potential Wallaby than nearly any of the current Wallabies at the Tahs? I’m pretty confident that you could pick a team of U23s from those three teams and have a hard time finding a single Tah to swap in, outside Benn Robinson.
  
  You might say TPN would be in, but has he really performed better than James Hanson? Has Dennis outperformed any Brumby backrow? What about AAC, would you pick him over Tupou (that kid playing outside centre for the Force yesterday)? Palu over Ita Vaea? Barnes over any [insert Brumbies' current pimple-faced five-eighth here] or Beale?
Blinky Bill of Bellingen

Most of us believe that the constant kicking was THE problem. To be successful It needs accuracy and quality chasers. Failure will result in endless energy sapping defence that is guaranteed to wear you out. Then fatigue sees a breakdown of technique and handling errors, such as dropped pill, and so we revert to kicking again. It’s like we’re hooked on drugs and even more drugs appears the solution :(

The other bad news is that backs coach Scott Bowen defended the tactics and had this to say “We didn’t come up with the ball but we were still able to pressure them,” “Overall I think we won that mini-battle. We had control of the field for most of the game and we were firing most of the shots.”

And there’s a pretty clear indication of the mindset of the coaches and that things ain’t going to change anytime soon. :(
- johnny-boy
  
  Yeah BBob the Tahs are a complete mystery. They look so damn good when they are attacking with the ball in hand and yet so terrible when kicking. It’s like they are deliberately trying not to succeed. Is this player power trying to get Foley dumped or an Australian player rejection of the obviously Deans influenced negative kiwi game plan of kick back, try and strangulate and then counter attack under panic ?.
Knackers

At one stage I saw Sookface (Barnes) launch a highball bomb from within his 22!! I couldn’t believe it….. At that point in the game the Tah’s success rate of recouping the ball from this tactic was abysmally low but continue they did. It was like asking the tournament leaders to continue testing their defence (which they did) and hey presto the Stormers had more opportunity to get points on the board…. Scott Bowen give yourself a farkin’ uppercut will you!!

It doesn’t look like Foley has come into the squad and changed anything!! Rocky looks like he’s been lobotomised since leaving Europe, Halangahu looks like he would rather be signing autographs, Timani is a giant that needs to start lining opposition up and ending them….. Shute shield rugby is better than the performances the Tah’s bring every weekend.

Where’s the desperation, urgency and hunger in their game? It might not sound like I’m a Tah’s supporter but I am – I think this is their worst season in a long time. Time for a spring clean!
Mart

Can someone explain to me Why Adam Ashley Cooper the incumbent wallaby outside centre. Plays everywhere but that position at super rugby level?
it baffles me.
GayBoyzinRugby

“As clichéd as it is, it was a game of two halves.

In the opening stanza, the Tahs looked completely rudderless and like they were waiting for the Stormers plays so they had something to react to.”

Alert! Alert!

Fcking retard.
godfrey

yeah good one pooftah

go tahs!
hannibal

I’ve started a petition to rebuild the Waratahs. This is being sent to the office of the CEO every time someone signs it. Go to..

http://www.change.org/petitions/rebuild-the-waratahs-from-the-ground-up-coach-players-culture-and-all

And lets show the Tahs the fans feel its time to rebuild the organisaiton…Also please spread the lin karound to all who care about the future of the Tahs
- levelheaded
  
  This is disgusting, halfwits!
  - Dally M
    
    What’s disgusting about it?
    
    Should they have another ridiculous fan forum instead?
    
    What has really changed in the last couple of years? Nothing.
    
    It’s more of the same every year. Meanwhile the crowds drop as does interest in watching them play. Something needs to be done.
    
    Rather than criticise, you should be getting behind someone who feels passionate enough to stand up and say, as a paying spectator & long term fan, something needs to change.
levelheaded

I’ll tell you Dally M – their crowds are up, their finances are getting stronger. The more we support them the more goes back to community rugby. That’s why it is sick, because simple minds make statements and don’t ask questions. Have you called them, sat down and listened, or from afar are you totally in control of the situation. I am sick and tired of “fans” berating Clubs, without wishing to source information – another great example of a MINORITY. Hear me, this is a minority!!!! As a supporter, I am also frustrated, and I am not a halfwit! I get where they are going, why because I have asked!!!!
- Dally M
  
  You must have been a crowd counter with the NRL previously because their crowds are most definitely not going up & their finances are not getting stronger.
  
  Crowds are down & have been trending downward every year. The only thing that bumped up the overall crowd numbers this season would have been the afternoon games.
  
  As the average crowds go down, so do the finances.
  
  You can talk & listen all you like, but nothing can justify decisions like signing Rocky Elsom & letting Ben Mowen go, the Timani visa debacle etc. & that’s not the coach, that is management. We’ve had 2 coaches since Ewan & the results being dished up are pretty much the same.
  
  We are behind the Rebels on the table for fucks sake. How much worse does it have to get? We aren’t Robinson Crusoe when it comes to injuries & some other Aussie teams above us could be argued, have had injuries at more critical positions than we have.
  
  There are problems with the Waratah’s that go deeper than the players & the coaching staff. As the guys on the podcast said, we have never hit rock bottom & been forced to make changes, we have always floated there or thereabouts.
  
  We can continue down this path, but fans are voting with their feet & in a market like Sydney you cannot afford to sit on your hands. I’ll never follow league, but right now i’m much rather watch the Reds, Brumbies & Rebels play than the Waratahs & i’m a Tah’s Life Member. Now that’s sick & disgusting!
levelheaded

Calm down, cool shoes! Their revenues are up over 10% last year, check their annual report. Of course, not factually based again and no correct source of fact, just another person from the stands having a cheap shot! surely they would wish for bigger crowds and voting with your feet will impact the whole of Rugby, so if you feel fine about that, good luck!
Surely you have been to other games/codes and unless you are naive our crowd are the most cynical and negative – we are all frustrated by thgis year, but I have mates that follow other teams that would dream of the success this team has had, albeit winning the thing!
- Dally M
  
  I think you’ll find that’s the 2011 annual report & includes the fact that the Tah’s made the semi’s last season with the additional revenue associated with that.
  
  I doubt you will see the same result from this year.
  
  Sure they have had some success, there is no denying that. However, compared to how that much talent should have performed it’s a poor return on investment.
  
  You only have to look at what the Reds & Brumbies have done with far less talent & it’s easy to see they have massively underachieved.
  - Dally M
    
    Oh, and 2011 was the first year of 15 teams in Super Rugby meaning the Tah’s would have had at least 1 if not more home match including 2 out at ANZ Stadium which they receive a tidy sum from regardless of how small the crowds are.