One of the most heated rivalries in rugby’s Super 14 ‒ annual matches between Australian sides New South Wales and Queensland — will likely be a playoff for last place when it’s played Saturday in the 11th round.
Queensland’s Reds have only seven points from nine matches this season and are mired in an eight-match losing streak stretching back to round one.
The Waratahs, who have fared little better but will have home-field advantage against the Reds, have 10 points but only one win — in the competition’s first round more than two months ago.
There are just three rounds left in the regular season after this weekend.
No team willingly accepts the wooden spoon and the desire to avoid it will make the mood around Saturday’s match more intense.
There will also be the concern by players and coaches that reputations, and future international ambitions — including places on this year’s Australian World Cup squad — might be harmed by a last-place finish.
”This is a big game for us and a big game for them,” Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie said. ”It will be trench warfare at times but both teams will be having a crack.”
McKenzie has made three changes to his team for the match, most significantly naming number eight Wycliff Palu and flanker Beau Robinson in a rearranged loose-forward combination.
”For this one, we need to fight fire with fire,” he said.
”They’ve got a very good back row with [David] Croft and [John] Roe who are pretty hard on the ball, so we’ve got to make sure we match up with them in that area.”
McKenzie has also altered his midfield combination, moving Morgan Turinui to inside centre and recalling Ben Jacobs.
”We made a decision that we are going to keep searching for ways to win rather than sit around and hoping it’s going to happen, so in some ways we’ve been playing around with combinations,” McKenzie said.
McKenzie acknowledged the derby nature of the match but said it might still be high-scoring.
”I think there will be elements of the game where it is very tough and physical, but there’s no reason why the players aren’t going to try and score tries,” he said.
At the other end of the table, the first-place Auckland Blues and third-place Sharks clash in a match which could cement Auckland’s claim to a semifinal playoffs spot.
Blues coach David Nucifora has sent All Blacks Keven Mealamu, Ali Williams and Joe Rokocoko to the bench for the match, filling his starting line-up with the players who have served him reliably throughout the season.
”Match-hardened players are crucial for a game as important as this one and maintaining a strong bench for some firepower at the back end of the game continues to be a key element for us,” Nucifora said.
The second-place Canterbury Crusaders play the Otago Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday in another match with derby connotations.
Crusaders coach Robbie Deans has made four changes to his starting line-up from the one that crushed the Western Force 53-0 in round 10. Flanker Isaac Ross, son of former All Black Jock Ross, will make his run-on debut.
”He’s green but he’s got an awful lot to offer,” Deans said.
”Obviously the Highlanders will look to pressure him from a physical perspective, so he’s going to have to confront that first before he looks to anything beyond that.
”But he’s more than able to do that and has shown that in the instances where he has played this year.”
In other matches, the Wellington Hurricanes desperately need a win over South Africa’s Cheetahs on Friday to snap a four-match losing streak. Elsewhere, the Waikato Chiefs take on the Force and the Bulls play the Stormers. The ACT Brumbies and Lions have weekend byes. ‒ Sapa-AP