Reds-3 Waratahs-34

Welcome to part 3 of our off-season series of match writeups where we follow the remainder of the 2014 Super Rugby campaign focusing on the NSW Waratahs, paying particular attention to lock Kane Douglas before he heads to Dublin to join his new Leinster team-mates.

CHEIKS AND BALANCE

Even though it ended with a trophy, Leinster’s 2013/14 campaign was littered with what I call “ugly” victories, ie ones where you can say that if they reproduced that same form on another day, the result would probably have gone against them.

Off the top of my head I can think of five such wins, against Castres, Connacht,  Glasgow, Ulster and Edinburgh, and no doubt there were many more.  Thankfully we saved our best for last and there wasn’t anything ugly about our display in the final which led to us retaining our Pro12 crown.

But although the scoreline in this final Waratahs outing of the regular season was a lot closer to the Pro12 decider than it was to the other matches I link to above, believe it or not I still reckon it was something of an “ugly” win for Michael Cheika’s men which will give him plenty to think about over the next two weeks as he prepares for the semifinals.

As far as the final standings in Super Rugby were concerned, this match didn’t really matter.  The Tahs had first place on the overall ladder well wrapped up and as for the Reds, this has been a campaign to forget for their loyal fans.

But if you know anything about the history of contests with an oval ball between the states of Queensland and New South Wales, you’ll understand that this was an easy match to get pumped up for whatever the consequences.

Unfortunately for the Suncorp crowd, everything about this match highlighted how one team was very much on the up while the other was headed in the opposite direction.  Lady luck was only shining towards one team.

First, there was the injury count.  Already missing nailed on starters like Quade Cooper, Will Genia and Neil Shipperly, they were deprived two more backs in the first 16 minutes as both their starting 10 Ben Lucas and 12 Ben Tapuai were forced off.

Meanwhile on the Tahs side, although Isreal Folau was unable to start and his replacement Jono Lance went off before halftime, Cheika saw his gamble of a 6/2 forwards/backs bench split pay off over the 80 minutes.

And even Lance wasn’t to leave the field without adding his name to the scoresheet; his dot down after some patient phases and a good line break & offload by Kurtley Beale cancelled out an early Reds pen and put his side in the lead for good. 

Even the bounce of the ball was going against the home side.  Tahs scrum half Nick Phipps was a pest on the opponent’s feed and when he legally got his foot to a ball just popped out of a scrum, it sat up perfectly for the Tahs and before long it was Beale this time getting the score.  14-3 to the Tahs and the first quarter not even done.

But while Cheika’s men excelled in broken play and can only get better when the likes of Folau return, it has to be pointed out that in set pieces they were decidedly average on the day. 

From the scoring of that second try all the way to the 55th minute a stronger squad, or even a full strength Reds one for that matter, would have easily clawed their way back into this contest with all the possession they had, not to mention an extra man as Kepu saw yellow on 28 minutes.

On account of the scoreline Reds skipper Horwill kept spurning kickable penalties and opting for the corner when they had the extra man and partly due to a lack of talent and partly due to solid D by the visitors, they were unable to capitalise.

Then in the second half again it was Beale heavily involved as he both started and finished the move which led to try number 3.  His kick forward was retrieved by Adam Ashley-Cooper who looked well offside but the ref let the play run on and when the TMO had a look it, turns out he was behind the kicker and here was even more back luck for the Reds.

Truth was the home side couldn’t buy a score for the remainder of this one and the final insult to all their injuries was the bonus point try which deservedly went to Nick Phipps having been put through by sub winger Naiyaravoro.

As for Leinster-bound Kane Douglas, well he put in a solid 50-minute shift this week, and once more he convinced me that he is well capable of filling at least a decent chunk of the void left by Leo Cullen in the Leinster pack, though the Tahs’ struggles at the lineout will be a serious concern for everyone involved (not entirely his fault by a long stretch it has to be said).

So records tumbling all over the place in this Super Rugby regular season for the Tahs, but perhaps in some ways it’s a good thing for them to have areas to work on for the coming two weeks, it’s a good way for Cheika to keep them focused.

In some ways the Tahs seems to remind me of Germany at the soccer World Cup.  Though they have many quality players, there isn’t one on which they rely more than most and should one get injured, there would appear to be someone well able to step in and do a job in their place.    And we all know how that went for the Germans!

So they have a week off as their semifinal opponents are decided next weekend…if things go to home form, it could well be the Brumbies who visit in the semifinal, but the Chiefs could well have something to say about that!  Some interesting rugby ahead.

We’ll be keeping an eye on that first round of the playoffs but with the Tahs off we’re hoping to be able to provide a match report of Ireland’s warm-up game for the Women’s World Cup against Wales at Malahide RFC next Sunday.

In the meantime, with not even any soccer to fill the hole of missing Leinster rugby, I may have to trawl through some championship-winning DVDs to get my fix.  I could do a lot worse. JLP

Waratahs-44 Highlanders-16

Welcome to Part 2 in our off-season series of match writeups where we have “adopted” the NSW Waratahs to both keep an eye on Leinster signing Kane Douglas and support Michael Cheika in his bid to become the first coach to win provincial titles in both hemispheres.

[Note - we here at HoR are fully aware that every pun on the word “Tah” has probably been done in the Australian press at this stage but as far as we are concerned all of them are “fair dinkum” on this side of the planet!]

TAH VERY MUCH

We’re all meant to be very excited about the new & improved Rugby Champions Cup here in Europe, but apart from the reduction in qualifiers, the reality is that the tournament is pretty much exactly the same as it was before.

So the fact remains that even if you win all of your pool matches by a considerable margin playing amazing free-flowing rugby to secure a number one seed in knockout stages, not only does that only guarantee you just one further home fixture, you have to wait over two months for it to come around, hoping against hope your best players don’t fall to Six Nations injury in the meantime.

Now I’m not suggesting that Super Rugby is perfect by any stretch, but let’s just say its format makes things a lot easier for Michael Cheika and his Waratahs now than they were for him when he coached Leinster to our first Heineken Cup triumph in 2009.

Nor am I suggesting that their playoff matches themselves will be easy…you can never say that when the seven-time champion Crusaders are still in the mix…but what I am saying is that this has been a record-breaking campaign for the Tahs and they have clinched first place on the overall “ladder” with a game to spare, so they are rightly rewarded by at least knowing all their playoff action will be in Sydney.

And what a show they put on in their final regular-season for that same Sydney crowd.  These Highlanders may not have had as many recognisable international names in their lineup as their hosts but don’t let the scoreline fool you - they were no slouches on the day and even with this loss are still in strong contention for the finals themselves.

Michael Cheika’s task from here on in may not be simple to do but it is definitely simple to define…he needs to keep them focused on the prize between now and their home semifinal in three weeks’ time because if they can replicate this kind of form I doubt anyone can stop them.

The best way I can writeup this match is to go through the starting lineup man for man just in case I leave anyone out…

15 ISRAEL FOLAU - I tend to be sceptical about rugby league converts but this guy has to be an exception.  As he showed in the Lions series last season he has taken to this code like a duck to water and is almost always at the heart of anything good offensively the Tahs do.  Ran a perfect support line for their second try at the start of the second half which in many ways killed the contest.

14 ALOFA ALOFA - Quality winger who can not only finish but also supplied a sublime offload for Kepu on the way to try number 3.  He’s on his way to La Rochelle in the Top 14 next season and that can only be good for the newly-promoted outfit.

13 - ADAM ASHLEY-COOPER - Amazingly AAC has never played in the Super Rugby playoffs before; it is long overdue.  Of course you can’t mention this guy without including a link to his famous Superman double-tackle against the Boks.

12 - KURTLEY BEALE - His career has had its drawbacks, and he may still have some defensive issues but he has definitely found himself where he belongs in the Tahs 12 jersey going by what I have seen over the past couple of weeks.

11 - ROB HORNE - Supplied the finish to what was an amazing team try that went the length of the field.  Much like Leinster wingers, the Tahs’ 11 & 14s are expected to do a lot more than just sit out wide and wait for a chance to come to them.

10 - BERNARD FOLEY - Who says it has to be November to rock a porn stache?  This guy has gone from impressing against the Lions in a midweek match last year to being the top Wallaby 10 making even Ewen McKenzie go “Quade who”?  Lost count of the times he broke the line in this match and for a 10 to lead the side in metres gained with 145 says it all really.

9 - NICK PHIPPS - Foley would probably be the first to tell you that his own success owes a lot to the contributions of Phipps and the 9 earned himself a try of his own when despite a neat set move off the scrum with Kepu he still had work to do to get it over the line and he managed it with ease to earn the Tahs a try bonus.

1 - BENN ROBINSON - Cult loosehead and a deadly finisher from 5 yards out, in other words, very much in the Cian Healy mould.

2 - TATAFU POLOTA-NAU - Kept his front row focused as they demolished the ‘Landers scrum when it mattered in the second half.

3 - SEKOPE KEPU - Forced 3 turnovers, scored try number 3 and provided the final offload for try number 5.  Oh, and the whole “dominant scrum” thing I mentioned above.  Not a bad return for a tighthead!

4 - JACQUES POTGEITER - Just 3 test caps for this Springbok, and given the return of Victor to the arena I’d be surprised if he got much more given he’s 28, but make no mistake he can put himself about and was a powerful presence in this match, including being the grateful recipient of the Kepu offload I mentioned above.

5 - KANE DOUGLAS - Came off at half time with a knock that obviously I’m hoping isn’t too serious.  Kind of fluffed a good attacking position at one point but his overall contribution in the one and a half matches I’ve focused on in the past couple of weeks has been more than good enough for me to know he’ll fit right in at the RDS.

6 - STEPHEN HOILES - Had big boots to fill after club captain Dave Dennis was ruled out for the season but was part of a hungry Tahs back row, though to be fair both sides were strong in this area and at some stages the counter-rucking was as intense as I’ve ever seen it.

7 - MICHAEL HOOPER - Given the intensity I mention above you won’t be surprised that this guy was involved.  Lets his emotions get the better of him sometimes but that’s the kind of passion you want in a 7.  Reckon he could be key to the Wallabies’ hopes in this year’s Bledisloe & Rugby Championship.

8 - WYCLIFF PALU - Involved in moves off the base of the scrum for two tries and made all his tackles.

REPLACEMENTS - Will Skelton is possibly one of the reasons Kane Douglas feels he can seek his fortune in the northern hemisphere, big future ahead for the lad.  Also as if the starting back three wasn’t quality enough for the Tahs, they also have a massive Fijian called Taqele Naiyaravoro who provided a very 7s-like finish at the hooter to provide the icing on the cake for what was a good old-fashioned thrashing of a decent provincial side.

I may have picked the Tahs to focus on because I wanted to run the rule over a particular player coming to Leinster, but after seeing these last two matches they really do look like a team you can get behind…full of quality players, getting solid contributions from 1 to 23, and now they have their playoffs guaranteed at home, they really seem to have a shot at their first title.

Put it this way…securing top spot in the regular season (or as the Aussies call it, the “Minor Premiership”) won’t be near enough to satisfy Michael Cheika at this stage.  He has one more match before the finals next week against the 2011 Champions the Reds in Brisbane - it’s quite likely he’ll take a leaf out of the IRFU’s player protection handbook to make sure his squad is ready.

As for who his side will face, well that’s definitely up for debate.  Don’t rule out them facing these Highlanders again, but their final match is away to the Crusaders who are themselves chasing the bye into the semifinals.  As for Hurricanes although now sit in 5th place, they have played their full set of matches so they need to rely on results elsewhere.

Tie of the round next weekend has to be the Brumbies against the Force - winners probably get a home playoff, losers get to call it a season.  Meanwhile in South Africa it has been a disappointing campaign for everyone except the Sharks who could do with an easy final match in Cape Town, though I doubt the Stormers will be very obliging somehow.

But like I said, they’ll all have their work cut out to catch these Tahs.  It will certainly be fun to watch them try. JLP

Position	Team	Points
1	Waratahs	53
2	Crusaders	46
3	Sharks	46
4	Highlanders	42
5	Hurricanes	41
6	Brumbies	40
7	Force	40
8	Chiefs	40
9	Blues	36
10	Bulls	33
11	Stormers	32
12	Reds	28
13	Lions	26
14	Cheetahs	24
15	Rebels	21

 

Final series of matches

 

Fri Jul 11

Blues v Chiefs

Brumbies v Force

Bulls v Rebels

 

Sat Jul 12

Crusaders v Highlanders

Reds v Waratahs

Lions v Cheetahs

Stormers v Sharks

NSW Waratahs-17 Lions-47

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GATLAND’S GOGGLES

We have all offered our opinions about the lineup for next week’s first test over the past year or so…there may be one match left but it was this one in Sydney that was to provide the final clues.

And in the end, we may all be convinced that we know best but there’s a reason why Warren Gatland has been charged with the task…he has proven himself at the Welsh helm with Grand Slam titles in 2008, 2012, a championship in 2013 (yes I credit him for that even though he “wasn’t involved”) and a World Cup semifinal that could have been more.

So a writeup of this contest can’t be a traditional one.  Sure, it kicked-off, had some action then finished much as any other, but the composition of the matchday 23 from next week was always going to be the context.

What you see below is part what I would do, part what I believe Gatland will do regardless of what I think makes sense.  Still, even where I disagree with him, I retain a measure of respect for what he has achieved at the highest level and still I remain quietly confident going into the series.

15 LEIGH HALFPENNY – Has anyone checked Neil Jenkins for magical powers?  Is he reciting some kind of spell plucked from the library at Hogwarts as Halfpenny lines up his kicks?  The former Welsh legend even takes a couple of steps with the Cardiff Blue as he starts his run-up.  A bit spooky if you ask me, but who cares, it works.  The way these Lions are moving the ball quickly through the hands it doesn’t seem to matter where the tries are touched down, it should result in seven points. 

And just in case anyone has question marks about his general play, he helped himself to two tries here as well.  For someone that is hardly the most imposing back three player from a physical standpoint, he certainly knows how to make his presence known and has earned his place ahead of Kearney by a country mile, something I previously thought only Isa was capable of.

14 ALEX CUTHBERT – Simon Zebo gave a good account of himself overall, especially in the first half.  Unfortunately for him he needed to be absolutely perfect to claim a fairytale ticket into the test side, and with a toe scraping into touch in the first minute denying him a try and a bad error from a restart leading to the Tahs’s second on 45 minutes, I reckon he falls short.  Tommy Bowe is the right man for this jumper, but with him unavailable I reckon Cuthbert’s finishing power negates any defensive issues he may have.

13 BRIAN O’DRISCOLL – The true leader on this tour.  You think Warburton is going to have more influence than Heaslip did as captain with BOD on the park? It’s simply not possible.  And perhaps Andy Farrell will take the credit for any successes the Lions have on the defensive side in the test series, but you can be sure he’s counting on the Leinster man’s experience to keep the red wall solid.

12 JONATHAN DAVIES – Stephen Jones tweeted yesterday that the loss of Jamie Roberts is a series-changing savage blow.  I would agree if the good doctor was showing his 2009 Lions form, but he isn’t.  Just how many goes did it take in Sydney for him to find the right line that crashed through the Tahs defence?  Sure, once he managed it early in the second half, it led to a fine Halfpenny try but he has been poor by his own standards on this tour overall and in such an elite gathering, that should cost you no matter who you are.  Meanwhile Davies has put his hand up at every opportunity and would work well at 12 with BOD outside him.  With Cuthbert & North coming in off the wings the crash ball option is still there so I reckon “savage” was a tad over-dramatic.  Then again, the only thing about Jones that ever has me agreeing with him is the fact he’s a Spurs man, so I may be biased.

11 GEORGE NORTH – Mixed reports on his fitness.  I only choose to believe the ones that say he can play.  His loss WOULD be a savage blow in my book.  With all the troubles the Welsh had overcoming the Wallabies in recent times, having an even better group of players around would be enough for him to leave a big mark on this series.  Top of the wing pecking order before the squad got on the plane.  I will remain in denial that he is unavailable until the team is announced.

10 JONATHAN SEXTON – I wonder if O’Gara will stand behind him Jenkins-style when he kicks for Racing Métro?  Joking aside….having the kicking duties done by someone else can only help Sexton crack on with his true value to these Lions – quarterbacking the offence and keeping his channel firmly shut when the Wallabies have the ball.   All of the above were on display in abundance in Sydney.  And although the Tahs front row tried to rough him up I reckon he’s well able for it.  There are 240 minutes in the test series.  Sexton needs to be on the pitch for at very least 220 of them.

9 MIKE PHILLIPS – This wasn’t his best outing but players of his temperament are needed to front up to the expected southern-hemisphere intimidation.  Besides, our quick hands and crash ball options are bound to tempt the Wallaby defence away from the breakdown and he is just the man to exploit gaps around the fringes.

1 MAKO VUNIPOLA – Gets to the top of the loose head pecking order simply because he is “Church Lite”.  With Healy pencilled in from the start it makes sense to have a similar style of player in his stead, but Mako didn’t exactly set Sydney alight though then again none of the alternatives have.

2 RICHARD HIBBARD – With so many excellent lineout options available this should be an area the Lions can excel in…once they get the ball.  Rory Best getting the Tuesday captaincy was a much-deserved honour for him, but it also makes it pretty clear he won’t get near the test lineup once Hibbard and Youngs are fit, and it all comes back to the darts.  Anything a hooker offers in the loose should be considered a bonus to the coaching staff.  Aussie commentators for this match noted his locks wouldn’t be out of place on Bondi.

3 ADAM JONES – Offers everything you need from a test tighthead and so much more.  Maybe Jenkins could work his magic and have him kick a goal or two if needs be?  But I’ll settle for the scrum thing.

4 ALUN-WYN JONES – As much as I want to call myself a writer I find it hard to explain just why the AWJ/POC lock pairing works for the Lions.  It just does. 

5 PAUL O’CONNELL – The most amusing part of Sky’s presentation of the Waratahs match was their half-time montage of Sam Warburton’s “contribution” to the breakdown.  More on that later…but what they should have done is show what Paulie did.  A steal here, a jackle there – he had it stripped off him in contact at one stage but more than made up for it the rest of the match.  And what’s more, it turns out all that work with Rob Penney has made him a more than decent quick passer as well.  Much like O’Driscoll, it can’t be easy for Warburton to impose himself as leader with Paulie on the park.  But be there he must.

6 TOM CROFT – His lineout prowess and open-field running put him ahead of Lydiate for me.  Being English doesn’t hurt either…they surely have to have a starter or two, right?  I would love to see Sean O’Brien running at these Wallabies from the word go but I very much doubt that will happen.

7 SAM WARBURTON – Wasn’t awful in Sydney.  A better option than Tipuric though?  I couldn’t see it.  But watching Sky big him up at half-time told me resistance must be futile.  We see one thing on the pitch yet get told another.  I have absolutely nothing against Sam, he’s a fine player.  But he’ll be 28 in 2017 and that’s a much better age for a Lions skipper; he’d have been better served carrying out the stuffed toy for the midweek games this time around.

8 JAMIE HEASLIP – I do my level best to hold back when I see what I consider ridiculous opinion on the net, but I have to say I am getting increasingly sick of the Jamie-haters.  I get it…if you don’t like his personality, fine.  But people actually said he was “rubbish” against the Waratahs.  Really? I fully admit he let one ball get by him on an attacking scrum (and Stu Barnes went to great lengths to make sure we didn’t miss it).  But does that negate all the times he HAS controlled it?  All the breakdown work?  All the tackles?  All the marauding runs?  All the lineouts caught?  Accuse me of Leinster goggle-wearing and I’ll remind you what the province achieved in May.  It’s now only June.  Jamie’s overall form means he deserves the 8 jumper more than Faletau.

REPLACEMENTS

16 TOM YOUNGS – Already explained why he makes my mostly-English bench ahead of Rory.

17 ALEX CORBISIERO – Would have Ryan Grant here if he had been summonsed before Alex as he should have been. 

18 DAN COLE – Better option than Stevens.  By a lot.  Are either of them better than Ross?  Well that only leads me back to my blue goggles argument and I’m saving that for a different sub.

19 GEOFF PARLING – Pinched a lineout in Sydney.  Good enough for me.  Evans and Gray haven’t showed enough on tour for my liking.

20 SEAN O’BRIEN – Tipuric, Lydiate and Faletau are all strong contenders for this role, but again I play the “Leinster trophy-winning form” card.  Seanie can play 6, 7 and 8 with ease and needs a mare in Canberra to knock himself off my bench.

21 BEN YOUNGS – I previously had Murray here for “Phillips Lite” reasons but I have been won over by Youngs on the tour.  More mischievous around the breakdown, just what could be needed in the closing stages.

22 OWEN FARRELL – I feel about this guy what many seem to feel about Heaslip.  I don’t like his personality so that feeling can cloud my assessment of his talent.  But his temperament is a major problem.  The earlier he comes on, the more chance the Wallabies will have to rattle him, and we all know they will try.

23 STUART HOGG – The term “token Scot” is highly insulting I know, but in this lineup seeing Hogg’s name at 23 certainly makes it look like that doesn’t it?  But for me he has shown enough on the tour to show he can do a job despite being the baby of the group (age-wise, I mean, number 22 has the honour when it comes to actions).   Maitland has improved since the Barbarians match and Kearney and Zebo have shouts here too, but I’m going with Hogg.

Of course it would be unfair to the Tahs to ignore them in a match writeup.  They took their two tries well and there were some impressive displays from the likes of Drew Mitchell, aplus Michael Cheika seems to have some prospects for the future like lock Will Skelton.  And I can’t really blame them for the rough-stuff from their front row…this was another below-Super-Rugby-level strength selection so they had do something to make it a contest.

But however you try to hype the warm-up matches, they are just that, and the real stuff starts next Saturday morning Irish time. 

My superstitious nature prevents me from predicting a whitewash.  I think all three tests will be close, but I also think the Lions have enough weapons at their disposal, even with all the injuries, to stay ahead of their hosts – though a bounce of the ball or a dodgy call could make a difference.  The bookies give the Lions a 3-point edge in the first test; I reckon that could be about right, though we’ll see who is left standing after the Brumbies!

All we can do now is count down the days.  Whatever colour goggles we tend to wear though, only Warren’s will matter. JLP

Note – Canada v Ireland writeup will publish Tuesday morning.