Tahs gear up for three-match South African hurdle
SUPER RUGBY SPOTLIGHT: The Waratahs are intent on backing up their win over the conference-leading Melbourne Rebels with victory over South Africa’s Sharks.
The Sharks match marks the start of a gruelling three-game block against South African outfits, with the Waratahs facing the Bulls and Lions in the Republic.
“It’s a tough place to go. The travel is hard on a lot of players,” said veteran scrumhalf Nick Phipps.
“So it’s important for us to put in a good performance and get used to playing South African teams and hopefully try and pinch some points early before we get on the road.”
After a succession of false dawns already this season, the Waratahs know there can be no room for complacency when they host the Sharks in a potentially pivotal clash on Saturday.
The Waratahs revived their campaign with a gritty comeback victory over Melbourne last start and now have the chance to relieve the Rebels of the conference lead with a bonus-point win against the touring South Africans.
But having suffered a momentum-stopping loss to the Brumbies after back-to-back derby wins, and then followed up a hoodoo-busting triumph over the mighty Crusaders with a shock defeat to the Sunwolves, the Tahs are very much on guard against another sapping let-down.
“That’s going to be the huge challenge. We’ve touched on that during the week,” fullback Kurtley Beale said at Friday’s captain’s run at Parramatta’s Bankwest Stadium.
“Obviously we had a similar situation after beating the Crusaders going into the Sunwolves game.
“So no doubt everyone’s got that in the back of our heads and it’s important now that we keep building on what we did last week.
“We did some great things.”
Beale was man of the match against the Rebels after taking over from suspended star Israel Folau and is happy to continue pushing his claims for the Wallabies’ No.15 role in this all-important World Cup year.
The versatile playmaker was shortlisted for world player of the year honours when he last filled the fullback role for Australia in 2010.
Beale has mostly played in the centres and five-eighth for the Wallabies since.
“Obviously it’s a position that we need to fill in at the moment and I thought last week the whole backline adapted really well to that,” he said.
“There’s a little bit more space there for myself to be out there roaming around and popping up inside and outside the playmakers and I’m just relishing it at the moment.”
Karmichael Hunt’s arrival at the Waratahs this year as a ready-made inside centre also gives coach Daryl Gibson the option of using Beale at fullback.
“Karmichael’s got some great ball-carrying attributes and his ball playing at times can be very handy, especially getting the ball to space out wide to your channels,” Beale said.
“So he’s a great asset for the team and a great guy to have because he brings that experience, he’s level-headed and he brings a lot of physicality up front as well.”
Source: AAP
