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'I give up': Fans take to Twitter to unleash on 'woeful' Waratahs in wake of Chiefs thumping
Fans have taken to social media to voice their displeasure in the Waratahs’ 51-14 thumping at the hands of the Chiefs in Wollongong on Friday night.
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The New South Wales club looked in control of the fixture when they headed into half-time with a 14-13 lead over the visitors, but a second half capitulation saw then concede 38 unanswered points in ruthless fashion.
Waratahs head coach Rob Penney labelled the defeat as “embarrassing” in a post-match interview as his side now languish in 13th spot on the Super Rugby standings.
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“It was 51 points, crikey. There’s some pretty brutal terms being used to describe what that second half looked like,” Penney told media after the Waratahs suffered their first loss to the Chiefs in New South Wales since 2007.
“It’s very concerning. How does that happen?
“There were six clean drops in that second half where we just turned over ball inexplicably, and we’ve got good players doing it.
“Through the hands and off the chest. That happens through a bit of pressure I guess but it’s not acceptable and it’s just embarrassing.
“It’s really tough on our supporters and the people that believe in these boys.
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“It’s just not acceptable. We got bullied off the ball. We went in soft and high.
“You can train until the cows come home but if you don’t want to put your body in a tough position or your head in a hard position … it looks vulnerable.”
Penney wasn’t the only one incised by his side’s dismal showing at WIN Stadium, with numerous punters taking to Twitter to air their concerns over the Waratahs’ poor start to the 2020 campaign, where they have picked up just one win from five outings.
Some onlookers pointed fingers at various figures, such as last season’s head coach Daryl Gibson for leaving his former team in a shambolic state, and stand-in captain Kurtley Beale, who some believed played his worst-ever game in Waratahs colours.
Elsewhere, fans pleaded for the return of controversial star Israel Folau from French rugby league, while others have decided to give up on the Waratahs and Australian rugby entirely.
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I blame Gibson for this poor season, he did nothing with regards to future planning, and Penney has inherited a woeful setup. Going to be at least 2 more ordinary seasons (if super rugby is still around) #WARvCHI
— Hans Orph (@HansOrph) March 6, 2020
What a woeful effort Tahs #WARvCHI
— Danielle B (@DaniBee91) March 6, 2020
Not much to hope for up front for the Waraths this season. That was hard too watch. Harrison looks v good though #WARvCHI
— MW7 (@markwelch7) March 6, 2020
“A lot of young guys” he says, about the oldest overall combined age in the competition.
That is no excuse. #SuperRugby #WARvCHI #GoTahs!
— Sheepie (@bastardsheep) March 6, 2020
Come back #israelfolau all is forgiven ? #WARvCHI
— #1 Chairman (@Justinkrdible) March 6, 2020
#WARvCHI The Waratahs have entered a new low in my opinion, the first half was good but this first half has been sad to watch. I think The Waratahs need to have a long hard look in the mirror and change their attitude.
— Shane Moran (@scoolm8) March 6, 2020
37:0 against Tahs in the second half. Is it possible to do worse? #WARvCHI
— Aidan 'Bono' McCarthy (@AidanJMcCarthy) March 6, 2020
Chin down, @NSWWaratahs. Hold your head down low. That performance tonight. That was truly, something. ???? #GoTahs! #SuperRugby #WARvCHI
I’ll be amazed if hte post game interviewers have any questions for the Tahs other than “What … what the fuck? No, really?”
— Sheepie (@bastardsheep) March 6, 2020
Oh FFS I give up on Super in Australia now#WARvCHI
— Aidan 'Bono' McCarthy (@AidanJMcCarthy) March 6, 2020
Tahs legit just quit. #WARvCHI
— Rugby Report Card (@rugby_podcast) March 6, 2020
If the Waratahs have any aspirations of salvaging their already dire campaign, they will need to dust themselves off ahead of next week’s local derby with the Australian conference-leading Brumbies, who sit in second place on the overall table following their 47-14 thrashing of the Sunwolves earlier yesterday.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
Did the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
16 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
39 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to comments