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Karmichael Hunt suffers season ending injury

By Online Editors
Karmichael Hunt hobbles off

Dejected coach Daryl Gibson is demanding the NSW Waratahs fight until the bitter end after all but conceding his charges won’t feature in the Super Rugby finals.

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The Waratahs’ play-off hopes all but evaporated in a 23-15 loss to Argentina’s red-hot Jaguares at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday night.

As if having try-scoring whiz Israel Folau’s contract terminated last week wasn’t enough, the Waratahs will also be without fellow dual international Karmichael Hunt for the rest of their campaign.

The Wallabies World Cup hopeful last less than two minutes on Saturday night before succumbing to a knee injury.

“Karmichael looks like he’s got a grade three medial strain, so that’s definitely season-ending,” Gibson said.

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A try-scoring double from Pumas winger Ramiro Moyano did the damage as the Waratahs slumped to their eighth defeat of the season.

All eight losses have been by eight points or less and skipper Michael Hooper was unable to hide his exasperation.

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“It’s like every game this year, you look up, 70 minutes and the game’s in the balance again. We just haven’t been able to grab the game and run away with it,” Hooper said.

With just three rounds remaining, the Waratahs now trail the Brumbies by eight points and Melbourne Rebels by seven in the race for Australian conference honours and a guaranteed finals berth.

Even if they beat the Rebels on Friday night in Melbourne, then the Brumbies in Sydney in the penultimate round, the Tahs would need an improbable slip-up from the Brumbies against the bottom-placed Sunwolves next week to have any faint hope of making the play-offs.

“It’s going to be very difficult from here on in,” Gibson said.

“In terms off those three games, we’re very much still wanting to play the rugby that we’ve set out to play all year. That hasn’t changed for us.

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“I know guys will turn up and keep fighting, keep answering the bell, and that’s what I expect.

“We’ve got a lot of pride in or team and a lot of pride in our jersey, so there’s plenty to play for.”

On their latest lacklustre display, the Waratahs would only be making up the numbers in the finals anyway.

While once again gritty against the Jaguares, who have rocketed to second on the ladder with seven wins from their past eight starts, Gibson’s side lack the firepower and polish to seriously contend for silverware in 2019.

The Waratahs have now lost both their matches at Bankwest Stadium by an identical scoreline but in ironically contrasting fashion.

When they lost 23-15 to the Sharks three weeks ago, Bernard Foley’s unsuccessful conversion attempt from in front after the bell denied the Waratahs a precious bonus point.

This time, they conceded a penalty goal after fulltime to miss out on a consolation competition point.

AAP

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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