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Tahs Vs Chiefs

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fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
:angryfire:

Sheehan in frame to take on Leonard

Greg Growden Chief Rugby Correspondent | February 17, 2009

WALLABIES Test halfback Luke Burgess is under threat of losing his Waratahs starting spot against the Chiefs at the Sydney Football Stadium on Friday night while Wycliff Palu is in line to regain his No.8 position.

While the Waratahs management yesterday suggested there might be a line-up unchanged from the one that defeated the Hurricanes 26-22 in Wellington on Saturday, it is known NSW selectors are seriously considering starting back-up No.9 Brett Sheehan against a similarly combative Chiefs halfback Brendon Leonard.

There are concerns the All Blacks representative could cause problems by sniping around the breakdown and scrumbase, requiring a more belligerent opponent such as Sheehan to keep him quiet. Also helping Sheehan's cause was that Burgess was somewhat off his game in Wellington, while Sheehan appeared more assured when he came on in the second half.

During a short, rain-interrupted training session at the SFS yesterday, Sheehan spent most of the time running with the Waratahs back line while Burgess watched. Demotion to the bench when the team is announced today would be a major disappointment for Burgess, who, under the Robbie Deans regime, has become the established Wallabies halfback. Sheehan was certainly looking the far more buoyant of the two squad halfbacks at yesterday's session.

NSW coach Chris Hickey yesterday emphasised the importance of the Waratahs nullifying the Chiefs' many strengths.

"They have four or five strike players who can really hurt you from any part of the field," Hickey said. "We certainly will have to be a lot tighter. If we are loose with our kicking game, or turn ball over at the breakdown, they are the type of side who are very good at playing off that unstructured possession. They will punish you with points."

Palu spent the whole session with the Waratahs pack, being involved in all lineout work, and it would be no surprise if he replaces Scott Fava at No.8. Palu is a high-impact player and, after avoiding a suspension for a stomping charge against the Hurricanes, must now be close to convincing Hickey he deserves a starting spot.

Hickey said at the start of training he wanted to make sure Palu was ready to start a match. "This is something we are assessing at the moment," he said. "We want to have a look at how he goes at training and finalise selections in the morning."

The Waratahs' lack of depth in back-rowers was a key reason former Queensland Red and Western Force utility forward Luke Doherty was yesterday named as NSW's last squad member.

Doherty, who can play blindside breakaway and second row, joined the squad yesterday after having played in Italy and Japan the past two seasons. Doherty's first appearance will be with the Junior Waratahs, who are playing in the Friday night curtain-raiser against the Australian Barbarians.

Hickey said winning the first round away was encouraging ahead of three straight home games, but standards had to improve. "We were reasonably happy with our first half against the Hurricanes, but we turned over too much possession during the second half," he said. "This meant that we ended up on the back end of a very high tackle count. While there was a lot of effort and commitment defensively, we wouldn't want to repeat that performance two weeks in a row.

"We probably didn't kick as well as we could have in the second half ? There were handling errors, a few free kicks, and that accumulated into a significant amount of possession we gave back to the Hurricanes."

Wallabies winger Clyde Rathbone has meanwhile been cleared of any structural facial damage after being hit in the left cheek during the Brumbies 33-31 win over the Highlanders in Dunedin on Friday night. Rathbone is expected to play in Saturday night's match against the Crusaders in Canberra.
 
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PhucNgo

Guest
FP: I don't know that the Angry Dwarf is the answer, but I do know that Leonard is likely to upset Burgess around the scrum base. Burgess just doesn't have a high enough Pest Index to be put opposing 9's under pressure and for mine the reason he provides crap service is that he's easily pressured becuase he's just too slow in getting the ball away.
 

RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
PhucNgo said:
FP: I don't know that the Angry Dwarf is the answer, but I do know that Leonard is likely to upset Burgess around the scrum base. Burgess just doesn't have a high enough Pest Index to be put opposing 9's under pressure and for mine the reason he provides crap service is that he's easily pressured becuase he's just too slow in getting the ball away.

he did a pretty good job on RoSo last week.
 

fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
I think you back your first team until they let you down or someone shows that they can't be left out.

Burgess to start for me, he was pretty good last week.
 
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PhucNgo

Guest
Granted he has been like another loosey around the rucks, but compared to Furry DuPree, Jimmy Cowan, Danny Care etc.. he's a bit of a pussy cat (well maybe a sloth) when it comes to agility around the scrum.
 

RugbyReg

Rocky Elsom (76)
Staff member
Rampaging Wallaby No.8 Wycliff Palu has been promoted to start for the NSW Waratahs in the Super 14 match against the Chiefs on Friday.

The burly Palu relegated journeyman Scott Fava to the bench in the only change from the starting side that impressed in its season-opening 26-22 away win over the Hurricanes on Saturday.

He'll be playing only his second match since undergoing shoulder surgery for an injury suffered on the Wallabies tour to Europe, having come off the bench last week.

"Cliffy is a world class player so having him back at full fitness is a great advantage for the team," said Waratahs coach Chris Hickey.

"When he got his opportunity off the bench against the Hurricanes he showed enough to prove he's ready to start again."

The only other change to the side sees Dan Palmer move onto the bench in place of Jeremy Tilse as the backup prop.

Hickey is wary of the Chiefs who boast an impressive backline featuring All Blacks halves Brendon Leonard and Stephen Donald inside a bunch of flyers including All Blacks Mils Muliaina and Sitiveni Sivivatu and rising star Lelia Masaga.

The Chiefs were narrowly beaten 19-13 by the defending champion Crusaders in Christchurch at the weekend.

"We're expecting Friday night to be a real battle," said Hickey.

"The Chiefs were within one point of the Crusaders until after full-time last week and last year they beat the Waratahs in Hamilton.

"They have strike players all over the paddock, but in that respect we do as well, so it's a matter of getting the preparation right and putting it into practice when we hit the field."

NSW team: Sam Norton-Knight, Lachie Turner, Rob Horne, Timana Tahu, Lote Tuqiri, Kurtley Beale, Luke Burgess, Wycliff Palu, Phil Waugh (capt), Ben Mowen, Will Caldwell, Dean Mumm, Al Baxter, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson. Res: Adam Freier, Dan Palmer, Chris Thomson, Scott Fava, Brett Sheehan, Daniel Halangahu, Tom Carter.
 

fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
Happy with that, now if Doherty finds some form or Robinson gets fit Fava can get the arse.
 

Moses

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
I'm glad they dropped Jeremy Tilse, he did nothing last week.

Lets just hope Palmer makes an impact on the bench.
 

Moses

Simon Poidevin (60)
Staff member
Noddy said:
did Tilse come on?
To the field? Don't think so - Fox Fantasy rugby have Benn and BaxTAH both playing 80 minutes. I, and Hickey are more concerned by the lack of symmetry in the orange segments he cut, hopefully Palmer will improve in this department.
 

Scarfman

Knitter of the Scarf
fatprop said:
Happy with that, now if Doherty finds some form or Robinson gets fit Fava can get the arse.

Agreed. Last year Beau Robinson added real spark whenever he appeared. We desperately need him to hang around for 2010 and should get more game time.

Yes I know he's an openside but I reckon Waugh + Robinson beats Waugh + Fava or Waugh + Mowen any bloody day.
 

Cutter

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
That's never the issue though Scarfman. The question is does Waugh plus Mowen, for example, beat McCaw plus Reid.
 

naza

Alan Cameron (40)
Going to be a tough one - from memory the Chiefs are often a tough match up for us.

Burgess getting dropped is just bizarre. Hickey seems to be thinking his error rate is too high but Sheehan is infamous at Super rugby level for going himself and getting isolated.
 

Cutter

Nicholas Shehadie (39)
He hasnt been dropped (yet) naza. Just paper talk. Hickey and Burgess both know that Burgess needs to tidy up his game and Hickey was talking through the papers the way all coaches do.
 

Ash

Michael Lynagh (62)
The team sheet I read had Burgess at 9 and Sheehan on the bench. Just paper talk.
 

fatprop

George Gregan (70)
Staff member
naza said:
Going to be a tough one - from memory the Chiefs are often a tough match up for us.

Burgess getting dropped is just bizarre. Hickey seems to be thinking his error rate is too high but Sheehan is infamous at Super rugby level for going himself and getting isolated.

My guess is that Burgess must have sat out due to a minor injury.
 
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