Waugh: Backs need to front up
2008-03-17 12:09
Christchurch - Waratahs captain Phil Waugh will call on his young Super 14 charges to ignore the history books and throw away their inhibitions against six-time champions the Crusaders in Christchurch on Friday.
"It is obviously a little different to any other team because of their history," he said of the round-six match against the Super 12 winners in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, and 2005 and Super 14 champions in 2006.
"But like any team, they have strengths and weaknesses. It is just a matter of us getting our game right and the young guys not going into their shells. From a leadership point of view, we want to give the young guys as much freedom as we can give them to play the game."
Waugh knows a bit about playing the Crusaders.
He has played against the Kiwi superstars on seven of the nine occasions NSW have faced them since his debut in 2000 - missing NSW's 96-19 loss at Christchurch in 2002 and 34-33 defeat in Sydney last year. Waugh has had joy against them, too, with three wins, including the 43-19 away triumph in 2004.
Waugh will not draw on that win in preparation for Friday's clash. "We got them at a good time. That was round one. Generally speaking, they don't play their best football at round one.
Undefeated leaders
"We have them in round six this time and they have started to hit their straps. They are starting to peak. It will be a tough night. But I feel - and all the team feels - that we haven't played much football yet."
The Crusaders are undefeated leaders after beating the Cheetahs 55-7 at Christchurch on Saturday - scoring nine tries in the process.
"They are the form team. They have been for a long time," Waugh said. "They have shown time and time again that they can come back and win games from whatever position they are in.
"But it is important for us to go there, play our game and hopefully score early."
And to do that, Waugh believes Waratahs' "baby backs" are made of the right stuff, so long as they can get a dry paddock to show it.
He cites five-eighth Kurtley Beale, winger/fullback Lachie Turner and inside centre Tom Carter as three backs who could ignite the upset.
"Blokes like Kurtley, Lachie and Tommy, we love seeing them express themselves - all the young guys and rookie guys," he said. "It is obviously a big game in the context of the competition and context of peoples' careers. But the last thing we want to do is go there and watch the Crusaders play. You do that and you get hurt.
Commit
"The conditions haven't been ideal for the young back line to express themselves. We hope to get dry conditions, play attractive football. But it is more than throwing the ball around that will get us a win."
Waratahs coach Ewen McKenzie will order his side to dictate the match from the kick-off, then commit for the full 80-minutes.
A blessing may be the absence of in-form Crusaders No.12 Stephen Brett, sidelined for up to eight weeks with a shoulder injury while setting up Leon MacDonald's 26th-minute try against the Cheetahs. His loss may cause the Crusaders a few headaches in their No.10-No.12 combination, McKenzie hopes - or rather, prays.
"Their combination has been a good one for them, the passing game in particular," McKenzie said. "It is a short turnaround for them and they have some combinations to re-work for this game."
But as MacDonald's switch from fullback to inside centre showed when Brett went off, the Crusaders are not easily rattled.
"They have done that well over the years, so they may not be stressed about it," McKenzie said. "They don't seem to be a side that gets too stressed about anything."
But McKenzie still has a plan aimed at causing them tension.
"It is not a mitigation game where you try and run the clock [down] and hang in there," he said. "You have to try and play on your terms. And that's a challenge. You have to win the aggressions stakes, you have to win the contact points. You have to get into that psyche and change it - knock it around a bit, change the comfort zone and do it for 80 minutes."