'Brad Thorn was given time' - Waratahs assistant Whitaker calls for 'patience' after back-to-back losses
The NSW Waratahs are calling for patience following the Baby Tahs’ faltering steps at the start of the Super Rugby AU season.
Coach Rob Penney even put his own head on the chopping bloke after last week’s 61-10 loss to the Brumbies in Canberra.
It was his youthful side’s second-straight record defeat to start their 2021 campaign, after a 41-7 surrender to the Queensland Reds in round one, leaving Penney to claim he would be “happy to go gracefully” if no longer deemed the coach to take Waratahs forward.
But assistant coach Chris Whitaker and prop Tetera Faulkner both insist Penney retains “100 per cent” support from the playing ranks.
“It’s tough for everyone. Everyone’s right behind Rob, 100 per cent, so that’s not an issue,” Whitaker said on Monday.
The Tahs have lost more than 1800 Super caps in experience over the past two years, but Whitaker said fans needed to understand the mass exodus was largely a result of the global pandemic.
“It’s out of everyone’s control. If you look at what’s happened, you look at the players that left, it was all around the COVID issue,” he said.
“Unfortunately, everyone took a pay cut (last year). So unfortunately we couldn’t keep the guys. It’s not like we didn’t want to keep them. We couldn’t.
“We’re given the squad and there’s money restrictions so we’re doing what we can.
“And with the amount of turnover we’d had, it takes time to build on those combinations. That’s the situation we’re in, we can’t change it.”
Force lock Jeremy Thrush is expecting the Waratahs to “come out swinging” on Friday, which he said could work into his side’s favour.#superrugbyau #WARvFORhttps://t.co/rul8F9WnNi
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) March 1, 2021
A former long-time captain of NSW, Whitaker likened the Waratahs’ plight to that of Queensland four years ago when the Reds finished in the competition’s bottom five for six successive seasons as coach Brad Thorn rebuilt a similarly inexperienced squad.
Last year, the Reds qualified for the Super Rugby AU grand final.
“They’re three or four years into that program now and when you look at it, Brad Thorn was given time,” Whitaker said.
“It all comes through patience and willingness to give these young guys time to develop and gel as a team.”
Faulkner, one of the Waratahs’ few old heads at 32, said the team was left “embarrassed” by their nine-try drubbing at the hands of the Brumbies.
But he was confident the Waratahs could bounce back against the Western Force in Sydney on Friday night, and that the group still had full faith in Penney.
“What Rob does behind the scenes is second to none,” Faulkner said.
“He’s helped me personally. I may be an older guy in the team but he’s helped me with my scrummaging and what it takes to keep working hard with even as many games as I’ve had.
“Yeah, the players are 100 per cent right behind him.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Farcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to comments