The New South Wales Waratahs are looking for a more expansive game to go one better in this year’s new-look Super 14 rugby series.
The Waratahs lost to the all-conquering Canterbury Crusaders 35-25 in their first Super 12 final last season and under coach Ewen McKenzie, who spurned the Wallabies’ job to stay with them, they are bullish about winning this year’s provincial tournament.
NSW have recruited high-profile Wallaby winger Wendell Sailor from Queensland and promising Brumbies’ back Sam Norton-Knight, and on paper look Australia’s best prospect of ending the New Zealand domination of the series.
The Waratahs’ big test will be in the forwards, where Kiwi teams are traditionally technically stronger, and they will be looking to abrasive lock Will Caldwell to toughen the pack.
The Sydney franchise have the best backline among the Australian teams, with Wallabies Lote Tuqiri, Mat Rogers, Morgan Turinui, Chris Whitaker and Sailor along with exciting winger Peter Hewat, who scored 173 points last season, among them 10 tries.
Rogers is expected to miss the first three rounds of the tournament following the sudden death of his father, former Australian rugby league international Steve Rogers, early last month.
”We will be playing the game differently this year because we have different skills,” McKenzie said.
”I think this year we have different capabilities, we won’t throw everything out the window, but I don’t expect us to play entirely the same way as we did last year.”
The ACT Brumbies, Australia’s best-performing team with two Super 12 victories, were hit by injuries last year and much will depend on whether their ageing Wallabies, such as George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and Stirling Mortlock, stay on the field.
Gregan is under the microscope with John Connolly taking over from sacked Wallaby coach Eddie Jones, but Brumbies’ coach Laurie Fisher is backing the veteran scrumhalf to remain Wallabies’ skipper in the countdown the 2007 World Cup.
”Certainly at this stage, all he has to do is just play the appropriate football during the Super 14 and I’ll certainly back him to have a very good [competition],” Fisher said.
The Brumbies are away to new team Western Force in Perth on Friday before two matches against the Bulls and Stormers in South Africa ahead of their first home game in the fourth week.
”It is important we get away to a good start and put in some strong performances on the road before we get back to Canberra Stadium,” Fisher said.
”Ideally we would like to return from South Africa with three wins from three.
”Our record on the road, particularly in South Africa, is a strong focus for us this season and we would like to get over there with a first-up win over the Force under our belt.”
The Brumbies have some outstanding attacking backs in Matt Giteau, Clyde Rathbone, Larkham, Mortlock, Mark Gerrard, while George Smith is expected to play at number eight to fit in former Queensland flanker Daniel Heenan and Australian under-21’s star Julian Salvi.
The Queensland Reds took the unusual step of naming new coach Eddie Jones a year ahead after deciding not to extend Jeff Miller’s contract beyond this season, and the temporary nature of the coaching set-up may impact on a team which struggled last year.
The Reds lost Wallaby Nathan Sharpe to the Force, Sailor to the Waratahs and Heenan to the Brumbies, leaving them to rely on fullback Chris Latham, winger Drew Mitchell, centre Ben Tune and lock Hugh McMeniman to fire the team.
Western Force, under former All Blacks coach John Mitchell, have recruited well with Sharpe, Lachlan Mackay, Matt Henjak, Brendan Cannon and Cameron Shepherd, but will find it a season of adaption against the more settled combinations.
”We’ve got every opportunity, just like everyone else come February 10,” Mitchell said. ”Everyone starts off on a clean sheet of paper.”
The Force already boasts 21 000 paid-up supporters in Perth. – AFP
