Talking Rugby - Reds Revival Stalks Waratahs

The lowly Queensland Reds can throw a spoke in the NSW Waratahs' Super 14 finals hopes on Saturday night in Brisbane.

The Waratahs need to win their last match in the 14-round home-and-away competition to secure a home game in the finals series. The amazing thing is that the 11th-placed Reds could beat the 3rd-placed Waratahs, who are in superb form.

How could this be? Last weekend, the cellar-dweller Reds dominated the competition leader, the faultless Canterbury Crusaders, in Brisbane. The unfavoured Reds led for most of the match – only falling behind 27–21 with four minutes to play, and then only after two Reds players had been sin-binned.

The week before, they went toe-to-toe with the brilliant Auckland Blues, who are finals contenders.

Last year, the Reds were hopeless, coming last in the competition. However, new coach Phil Mooney has slowly transformed the team. After the loss to the Crusaders, he praised the courage of his young team saying they were devastated by the loss.

The young Reds "defended manfully" throughout the second half, giving the New Zealanders their toughest match of the season. The credible loss will transform into passion and self-belief this week as the no-name Reds prepare for the home derby against the Waratahs. It's the great grudge match on the Australian calendar – QLD vs NSW.

Incidentally, the Crusaders' coach, Robbie Deans, will begin coaching Australia at the end of the Super 14 season. On the back of last weekend's match, many of the young Reds have put their names on his Wallaby-prospects list. On top of that list will be 20-year-old flyhalf Berrick Barnes, a former Brisbane Bronco Rugby League player who is making his mark in union. He made his debut for the Wallabies during the Rugby World Cup last year.

Unfortunately, veteran Wallaby fullback Chris Latham left the field with a shoulder injury in the 12th minute of his 99th game for the Reds. However, despite his vast experience, his style of play may be somewhat sluggish for the new-look Queenslanders.

Another veteran and former Waratah and Wallaby, centre Morgan Turinui, played with the vitality of a 20-year-old in the remarkable Reds performance.

And so, to this Saturday night. The rivalry between the Reds and the Waratahs is intense, going back through more than 100 years of Queensland–NSW rugby rivalry. In the past, this rivalry has boiled over into all-in brawling. Fortunately, such excesses have been ruled out of the game by the officials. But the passion remains, particularly in

Queensland, where the underdog tag brings the best out in the players – as it does in the Rugby League State of Origin series.

WARATAHS

So what of the Waratahs? They are third in the competition, a position gained through immaculate defence, through surprisingly effective forward play and through increasingly effective back play – orchestrated by 19-year-old flyhalf Kurtley Beale, who is another Wallaby prospect gaining confidence.

Their coach, Ewen McKenzie, was sacked mid-season and will finish with the Waratahs at the end of the Super season. Since getting his marching orders, McKenzie has secured a three-year coaching job with the French club Staide Francais. Consequently, both he and his loyal players will have a big point to prove to Waratah officials, who received stinging criticism from former Waratah and Wallaby legend Simon Poidevin.

As well, a win against the Reds will secure a home semi-final for the Waratahs, which would be a major stepping stone on the journey to a Super 14 title.

Last Sunday, the Waratahs drew 13-all with the Stormers in Cape Town in a heart-stopping match they dominated and were expected to win. The week before, they lost to the Bulls in Pretoria. They were expected to win that match as well.

The South African stumbles will undermine the confidence of the Waratah players, despite protests to the contrary, particularly leading into the finals.

JET LAG

But the real problem for the Waratahs will be the energy-sapping effects of jet lag; they must fly from South Africa to Sydney and then on to Brisbane. The debilitating effects of jet lag are well-documented in the Super 14 – and also in the Tri Nations, the Test series between Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

The Waratahs have everything to lose, while the Reds have nothing to lose and everything to gain, including self-respect.

On paper, the Waratahs will beat the Reds by 20 points. In reality, I predict an historic Reds victory, even though the Waratahs have lost only two of 14 games played against Australian sides under coach McKenzie.

Finally, nothing would please the Reds – and all Queenslanders – more than ruining the Waratahs' final hopes. It will be as if the whole world rests on the result of this match – for both sides. Expect excitement.

Super 14 Ladder P W D L PF PA PD BP Pts