Super 15: Waratahs vs Reds. ANZ Stadium (25/2/2012, 08:40 GMT)

[Darwin]

Super 15: Waratahs vs Reds. ANZ Stadium, Sydney (25/2/2012, 08:40 GMT)

Referee: Jaco Peyper
AR1 : Ian Smith
AR2 : Angus Gardner
TMO :George Ayoub

 

[Gena_ZA]

Think Reds to take it but Waraths will be no push over.

 

[Darwin]

Think Reds to take it but Waraths will be no push over.

It will be interesting to see how the Reds go without Quade Cooper, as their entire game-plan last season revolved around him. Though Harris is a good young player, he has a very different style of play, so the Reds will have to their game-plan with him at 10. I'm probably slightly favoring the Waratahs this game (due to their home-ground advantage), but I will have to see what the teams look like before I make my prediction...

 

[Dizzy]

Mike Harris at 10? Should be interesting, I see him as being one of the great up and comers of the game, a pity he didn't stay in NZ to be honest!, could have used him at the Hurricanes this season.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

vBookie Waratahs - Reds

The 2 best teams from Australia play each other. This is going to be a cracker! Get your bets in guys... I added the vBookie

 

[TNT88]

It will be interesting to see how the Reds go without Quade Cooper, as their entire game-plan last season revolved around him. Though Harris is a good young player, he has a very different style of play, so the Reds will have to their game-plan with him at 10. I'm probably slightly favoring the Waratahs this game (due to their home-ground advantage), but I will have to see what the teams look like before I make my prediction...

I saw Harris last week at #10. While Genia might make any flyhalf look good, so far he looks like a great fit for the role. His passing and kicking is brilliant.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Can't wait for this game,
Always liked the Reds, and after watching The Code last season I've grown fond of the Tahs too.

Sent from my HTC Incredible S using Tapatalk

 

[cyRil]

Always liked the Reds

Even before 2 years ago when they'd been crap for 15 years??!!

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Even before 2 years ago when they'd been crap for 15 years??!!

Yep, I've even got a jersey from 4 or so years ago to prove it.
I didn't really follower Super Rugby properly until about 2 years ago, it was mainly because I liked Queensland in State of Origin

 

[cyRil]

Yep, I've even got a jersey from 4 or so years ago to prove it.
I didn't really follower Super Rugby properly until about 2 years ago, it was mainly because I liked Queensland in State of Origin

I'll let you off then My mate started following Super Rugby 2 years ago too; when he told me he was going to follow the Reds I was like, PAH! They are ****! Good luck!!
He's been crowing ever since...

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

I respect people who pick a side as their favorites regardless of success... That's why I can't stand people supporting the Crusaders 'because they are good'. Blegh

 

[Gena_ZA]

I see a lot of people say without Cooper they have no game plan and everything was build around him blah blah
I hope they remember that this side came out of nowhere and have a belief in themselves and their coach like few other.
With fanatical support and very good marketing they have created a true following. They thrive on the energy they created and keep building on it.

Think they will be even better than last year, without Cooper

 

[Darwin]

I see a lot of people say without Cooper they have no game plan and everything was build around him blah blah
I hope they remember that this side came out of nowhere and have a belief in themselves and their coach like few other.
With fanatical support and very good marketing they have created a true following. They thrive on the energy they created and keep building on it.

Think they will be even better than last year, without Cooper

Huge call there! Cooper was phenomenal in Super rugby last season. Will they still be a good team without Cooper? Yes. Will they be the best team in the competition without Cooper? Not in my opinion. It is not that Harris (his likely replacement) is a poor player, just that he is a very different player. They will have to make big changes to their game-plan with Harris at 10 - even if these changes are successful (and I see no reason why they couldn't be) it is going to take them quite a while to adjust to this new game-plan. I still expect the Reds to be in the upper half of the table without Cooper, but would be surprised if they manage to stay in the top 4.

 

[SomeOke]

Huge call there! Cooper was phenomenal in Super rugby last season. Will they still be a good team without Cooper? Yes. Will they be the best team in the competition without Cooper? Not in my opinion. It is not that Harris (his likely replacement) is a poor player, just that he is a very different player. They will have to make big changes to their game-plan with Harris at 10 - even if these changes are successful (and I see no reason why they couldn't be) it is going to take them quite a while to adjust to this new game-plan. I still expect the Reds to be in the upper half of the table without Cooper, but would be surprised if they manage to stay in the top 4.

You make it sound as if he died .

As far as I know he's out for the first five or six games? Which if I'm not mistaken are against:
Tahs
Force
Rebels
Sharks
Bulls
Force

I'd still expect them to win probably 4/6 of those games at least before they get their super star back, and considering the conference they are in I still expect them to finish top of their conference which is at least third overall.
Don't get me wrong I'm not underestimating the impact Cooper makes for the team but do you really think the Tahs have what it takes to top their conference? I'm not saying they are better than last year, not by any means but I certainly think they are still the Aussie team to beat.

 

[Darwin]

You make it sound as if he died .

As far as I know he's out for the first five or six games? Which if I'm not mistaken are against:
Tahs
Force
Rebels
Sharks
Bulls
Force

I'd still expect them to win probably 4/6 of those games at least before they get their super star back, and considering the conference they are in I still expect them to finish top of their conference which is at least third overall.
Don't get me wrong I'm not underestimating the impact Cooper makes for the team but do you really think the Tahs have what it takes to top their conference? I'm not saying they are better than last year, not by any means but I certainly think they are still the Aussie team to beat.

I'm still picking the Reds to win their conference... assuming Cooper gets back within the next couple of months. If he doesn't get back for a bit longer (which is entirely possible given the nature of his injury) they may struggle to win their conference. Without Cooper I think the Waratahs are a slightly better team than the Reds. With Cooper I think the Reds are a slightly better team than the Waratahs. Even if the Reds have Cooper I think the Waratahs have the potential to be a better team than the Reds, as they have a lot of quality players, however over recent years they have really been hit hard by injury, and it looks like they are struggling with injures already this season.

 

[Darwin]

Waratahs have suffered a blow, with Berrick Barnes ruled out of the opener. The Waratahs 22 is:

Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tom Kingston, Rob Horne, Tom Carter, Brackin Karauria-Henry, Daniel Halangahu (capt), Sarel Pretorius; Wycliff Palu, Chris Alcock, Dave Dennis, Dean Mumm, Kane Douglas, Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson.
Reserves: Damien Fitzpatrick, Paddy Ryan, Lopeti Timani, Jono Jenkins, Brendan McKibbin, Bernard Foley, Nathan Trist.

A pretty strong starting lineup (even without Barnes, Elsom, Mitchell, Turner etc), with the only possible weakness being the in-experienced wing combo. Not much experience on the bench though, so they certainly can't afford any more injuries!


The Reds have also been named:

Luke Morahan, Dom Shipperley, Anthony Faingaa, Ben Tapuai, Digby Ioane, Mike Harris, Will Genia; Jake Schatz, Beau Robinson, Scott Higginbotham, James Horwill (capt), Rob Simmons, James Slipper, James Hanson, Ben Daley.
Reserves: Albert Anae, Greg Holmes, Van Humphries, Radike Samo, Liam Gill, Ben Lucas, Jono Lance

Interesting to see Radike Samo left on the bench with Jake Schatz starting. I do think Samo and Liam Gill could make a big impact if the come on with 20-30 mins remaining though. The only surprise in the backline for me is to see Morahan at fullback and Shipperley on the wing - I expected to see Lucas starting at fullback (with Morahan on the wing) as Lucas was impressive for the Reds last season.

 

[Dizzy]

Well, this game is going to be interesting. I'd say Reds by 7

 

[Aedaphon]

I respect people who pick a side as their favorites regardless of success... That's why I can't stand people supporting the Crusaders 'because they are good'. Blegh

Well guess who's a Rebels fan for the next couple of years :lol:

I'm missing out all the pre-opener chat so decided to drop in on Tahs-Reds. With a full strength squad I would have backed the Tahs but I just can't see them outplaying that Reds squad for the full 80 minutes... Radike coming off the bench is likely to crack a couple of heads and without Elsom/Mitchell/Barnes/Turner they're going to be fighting an uphill battle in the first place.

 

[Kiwidiver]

Dunno about that mate. QC is definitely a loss, but there's still plenty of wylie cunning from scrum half. I think the talents of Beale and O'Connor will be missed more.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Wow.....that's got to hurt.
Waratahs should have kept hold of the ball after the turnover, they only had 40 seconds on the clock. Kick through was stupid as their players were all over the place, perfect for the counter and.....yeah.