Five debutants named in fresh Waratahs side for opening Super Rugby AU game
NSW Waratahs coach Rob Penney will blood up to five debutants and go into an opening round Super Rugby AU battle with Queensland, with almost half of his squad classified as rookies.
Two Junior Wallabies in No.8 Will Harris and inside centre Joey Walton will make their Waratahs debut in Brisbane, and uncapped forwards Tom Horton and Tiaan Tauakipulu and five-eighth Ben Donaldson have been named on the bench.
Youth and inexperience sometimes leads to inconsistency and mistakes, but Penney won't be using that as an excuse for his youngsters.
"Standards are set, we can't accept mediocrity," Penney said.
"They're picked because they are good enough and the expectation is that they will deliver on that, so we won't be reducing our expectations because of the age."
Penney said the Waratahs energy levels after they returned to training were led by the youngsters.
"They created a bit of a wave and everybody got in behind them and rode the crest of that wave. It's a credit to them," Penney said.
"The time is right to give them an opportunity and let them unleash themselves."
Injuries have ruled out Lalakai Foketi and Wallabies Karmichael Hunt, Jake Gordon and Tom Robertson, but the run-on side includes four Test forwards and Jack Maddocks at fullback.
Wallabies forwards Jack Dempsey and Tetera Faulkner have been named on the bench, with Harris getting a starting nod ahead of Dempsey.
"He (Harris) has got a great work rate and is a very good decision-maker and is someone we think will establish himself into this level of rugby quite quickly," Penney said.
"He's got good intelligence, good emotional intelligence so he connects well with the group and he has got leadership potential, so there's a lot of qualities to like about Will."
With Foketi and Hunt out and Kurtley Beale having left, Walton gets a chance to shine in the centres.
"Joe is an Energizer Bunny, he's got a lot of really good traits that midfielders need," Penney said.
"An unrelenting work ethic, great passion and desire to win and he's got a skillset that provides us with a run-kick-pass option."
Penney praised forward veterans Rob Simmons and Michael Hooper and foreshadowed a terrific battle up front with a rugged Reds pack.
"It's going to be a really good challenge, a true State of Origin," he said.
Waratahs: Jack Maddocks, James Ramm, Alex Newsome, Joey Walton, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Will Harrison, Mitch Short, Will Harris, Michael Hooper, Lachlan Swinton, Rob Simmons (capt), Ned Hanigan, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Robbie Abel, Angus Bell. Replacements: Tom Horton Tetera Faulkner, Tiaan Tauakipulu Tom Staniforth, Jack Dempsey, Michael McDonald, Ben Donaldson, Tepai Moeroa.
- Adrian Warren
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Think we have to accept we have been on the slide for a while now.Still interesting to see the repeated media pieces about the myth of the ABs slipping-I would say slipped past tense.In part don’t we have to give credit for the improvement of other nations particularly Ireland?Isnt that good for the game?Are we beginning to feel the impact of losing the Boks from Super rugby and maybe soon TRC?I would agree we are also ran right now so will be interesting to see how we progress-assuming we do!Isnt that part of sport though to be in improvement mode?Back to the stats though I think the Boks were under 60% leading into 2019?Now with the focus on the RWC does it matter so much what you are doing between tournaments?You just get through your group(remembering the ABs qualified 2nd in 2023)and then you have 3 matches to win the thing.
Go to commentsThe ABs have more than enough back line guys so don’t see issue there. Just the balance at center and feel time for Rieko to sit out.Forwards- balance still not right. Front row ok but miss Codie. But still ok. Locks- you now need to start s a tall timber at middle of lineout- Darry is the right guy. Then move Sititi to 8, move Ardie to 7 and then move Vaai to blindside. He can become the closest to PSdT . Then have proper bench as this is not a demotion but key to dominating last 30 minutes- Patrick, Ofa etc are golden here. Get the balance right between starters and finishers
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