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Waratahs' solution for bettering bigger teams that hasn't paid off just yet

By Online Editors
Michael Hooper. (Photo by Tony Feder/Getty Images)

Attack coach Chris Whitaker won’t discourage his battling NSW Waratahs from offloading, admitting they don’t have the size to play a power game.

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The Tahs lost their first two Super Rugby games, by 18 points to the Crusaders and 20 to the Blues, each time paying the price for botching potential scoring opportunities with poor ball control.

In the two instances NSW held onto the ball for more than eight phases against the Blues, they scored tries.

“As coaches, the last thing we’re going to tell the boys is to stop the offloads,” Whitaker said.

“We’re not a team that can go out there and just play one pass, tuck it under their wing and carry into contact because we’re not big enough to do that.

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“It’s just that selection of when to throw that pass and when you hang on to it.”

He said rookie five-eighth Will Harrison was going really well, but thought moving veteran utility back Kurtley Beale to fly-half for the last 25 minutes of Saturday’s game also worked well.

Whitaker was non-committal about the backline configuration for Friday’s clash in Melbourne with the Rebels, who are also winless.

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But he said former Melbourne utility back Jack Maddocks wasn’t far away from landing a starting gig after making some impact at fullback off the bench against the Blues.

Alternative five-eighth Mack Mason has resumed kicking following a groin injury, forward Ned Hanigan is set to return from concussion either this week or next, and winger Mark Nawaqanitawase only suffered a fat lip from his awkward landing in Saturday’s loss.

The match in Melbourne is the Tahs’ first derby of the season, with Whitaker stressing the importance of winning Australian conference games.

“Neither of us have won a game; that’s irrelevant at this stage,” Whitaker said.

“I think both teams want to win it for the fact that it’s a derby.”

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He noted the Rebels employed a similar defensive style to the two Kiwi teams that NSW played.

“The way they defend, they are quite tight. They are getting off the line really hard,” Whitaker said.

The Tahs’ own defence will come under scrutiny after leaking 11 tries across the first two rounds, with the players still adjusting to the demands of defence coach Phil Bailey, who was only appointed two weeks before their first game this season.

“We’re learning as we go, obviously having (previous defence coach) Steve (Tandy) here for so long, and now Phil coming in and changing bits and pieces. It’s definitely not an excuse,” Whitaker said.

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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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