Thanks for all the questions. I am trying to answer some of the easier ones in the callout itself. I’d love to hear about some areas for the Waratahs to fix their defence. They’ve made great strides in attack but not on the other side of the ball. All the commentary from the coaches and […]
17:23, May 31 2021
SKY SPORT
The Queensland Reds hang on against Waikato s Chiefs to record the first Australian win in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman competition.
Vice-captain Alex Newsome has laid bare the feeling of despair and humiliation inside the walls of the New South Wales Waratahs as their Super Rugby season from hell continues. Winless in 11 games, the Waratahs leaked another 54 points on the weekend and have conceded an average of 56 points a game in three heavy trans-Tasman defeats to the Crusaders, Blues and Hurricanes. “Massively deflating,” Newsome said after squirming through another brutal review on Monday.
Mark Kolbe/Getty Images
Alex Newsome says the Waratahs need to be confrontational and back themselves against New Zealand Super Rugby clubs.
Despite dropping just three regular season games between them in a combined 16 starts, the Reds (A$13) and Brumbies (A$15) are given only a small chance of finishing the competition with a title. The Rebels (A$67), Force ($151) and Waratahs ($501) have been given close to no chance by bookmakers. It’s a slight that interim Waratahs coach Jason Gilmore believes is undeserved. “I’m not sure about the betting markets but the Australian teams are well-placed to give it a crack,” Gilmore said. “We saw a great final on the weekend between the Reds and the Brumbies. They have the firepower to win games of football against the Kiwis. And if you look across Super [Rugby] AU, at times all teams have had a chance to knock each other over.
Coach’s Corner Issue 11: Is it time to bring the Europeans back home? A Set the default text size A Set large text size
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Thanks once more to all who offered a question for this week’s edition of Coach’s COrner. It is always appreciated.
If Dave Rennie wanted to target two overseas players to bring into the Wallabies, who would be the most important?
– Tony Hodges
Rory Arnold would be one, and big Will Skelton the other. They stand out for me. Heineken Cup final… three of the four locks should be Australians!