Super Rugby LIVE: Waratahs take on Blues for last shot at finals
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1.58pm
How the Waratahs are lining up
Some big decisions here from coach Dan McKellar today in Auckland.
Taniela Tupou gets a second successive start despite his slide tackle last week against the Force that led to a yellow card. The tighthead prop needs a big performance today, not only for NSW, but also for Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt.
English breakaway Jamie Adamson gets a start, no doubt helped by his late line break against the Force that turned the game.
The biggest headline is the young halves pairing of Jack Bowen and Teddy Wilson, with rumours swirling that Tane Edmed could be down the Hume Highway to Canberra, this could be the future of the Waratahs.
Finally, Hugh Sinclair captains the side in what could be his final game for the Waratahs.
1.58pm
Who have you got?
1.58pm
Good afternoon Tahs fans
Good afternoon, it's Jonathan Drennan and it's my pleasure to bring you the final round of the regular season of Super Rugby today, with the Waratahs taking on the Blues at fortress Eden Park.
The bookmakers are not on side with NSW, with the odds as high as nine dollars against the men in sky blue and it's not difficult to see why.
The Blues have won the last ten matches against the Waratahs, with NSW only winning once in their whole history at Eden Park, which was back in 2009 with current Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh captaining the side.
Last Saturday, the Waratahs got their first win on the road this season against the Force in extra-time, with Darby Lancaster finishing spectacularly in the corner.
Today is a day for the true believers. If the Waratahs win at Eden Park today they also need the Hurricanes to beat Moana Pasifika in Wellington to steal that elusive 6th place.
The Waratahs have absolutely nothing to lose here and stranger things have happened than a NSW win against the odds this season.
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The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Origin stars breathe new life into Panthers' NRL season
Penrith's season has a pulse after their State of Origin stars inspired a gritty 18-10 defeat of Parramatta that hoists the Panthers from the bottom of the NRL ladder. After a wayward performance that left him replaced as NSW's goal-kicker in Origin I, Nathan Cleary nailed the sideline conversion that put the Panthers up by two points with 20 minutes to play on Sunday. Cleary managed the second half to perfection, before NSW teammate Dylan Edwards sent a looping pass to another Blue in Brian To'o, who crossed for the match-sealing try. The Panthers have jumped into 14th place on the ladder and are now only three competition points out of the top eight at the halfway point of the campaign They will need to win eight of their remaining 12 regular-season games to finish with a 50 per cent winning record. But coach Ivan Cleary was encouraged by Sunday's win, with aspects of Penrith's four-time premiership-winning best showing themselves for the first time in a disappointing year. "That was a pretty tough win," Cleary said. "The scramble defence in the first half is what set the game up for us. We haven't really had that this year. I think it's been a hallmark of what we've done in past years. "That can honestly be the difference between a win and a loss, so hopefully that's a sign of things to come." The Eels had the better of long stretches of the game, but their only two tries came down the left side early in each half, with Dylan Brown important in the lead-up of both. Cleary had his fingerprints on the Panthers' first two tries, rival captain Mitch Moses conceding the Eels could not keep up with his NSW teammate. "He was on fire, wasn't he? That's why he's the best half in our game. He just killed us," Moses said. Cleary swung left to help put Casey McLean over and did so again ahead of the Panthers' second try, which Thomas Jenkins scored from a McLean kick. A Cleary 40/20 kick helped the Panthers on to the front foot in the final 10 minutes, before Edwards and To'o combined to seal the Panthers' first win at CommBank Stadium since adopting it as their home ground this year. "All the Origin boys I thought were amazing. It's such a huge effort to back up after Origin," coach Cleary said. "We've seen a bit across the league, it's something that I don't know if it's the greatest thing for these guys to do. They'll all do it and it was crucial that they did it today." The Eels were denied a third consecutive win, but coach Jason Ryles was confident his improving side was still on the right track. "We didn't play just any ordinary team, we had the fully loaded, four-time premiers today and they're desperate," the first-year coach said. "They had to complete at 90 (per cent) and they had to play well, one to stay with us, and two to beat us in the end." Penrith's season has a pulse after their State of Origin stars inspired a gritty 18-10 defeat of Parramatta that hoists the Panthers from the bottom of the NRL ladder. After a wayward performance that left him replaced as NSW's goal-kicker in Origin I, Nathan Cleary nailed the sideline conversion that put the Panthers up by two points with 20 minutes to play on Sunday. Cleary managed the second half to perfection, before NSW teammate Dylan Edwards sent a looping pass to another Blue in Brian To'o, who crossed for the match-sealing try. The Panthers have jumped into 14th place on the ladder and are now only three competition points out of the top eight at the halfway point of the campaign They will need to win eight of their remaining 12 regular-season games to finish with a 50 per cent winning record. But coach Ivan Cleary was encouraged by Sunday's win, with aspects of Penrith's four-time premiership-winning best showing themselves for the first time in a disappointing year. "That was a pretty tough win," Cleary said. "The scramble defence in the first half is what set the game up for us. We haven't really had that this year. I think it's been a hallmark of what we've done in past years. "That can honestly be the difference between a win and a loss, so hopefully that's a sign of things to come." The Eels had the better of long stretches of the game, but their only two tries came down the left side early in each half, with Dylan Brown important in the lead-up of both. Cleary had his fingerprints on the Panthers' first two tries, rival captain Mitch Moses conceding the Eels could not keep up with his NSW teammate. "He was on fire, wasn't he? That's why he's the best half in our game. He just killed us," Moses said. Cleary swung left to help put Casey McLean over and did so again ahead of the Panthers' second try, which Thomas Jenkins scored from a McLean kick. A Cleary 40/20 kick helped the Panthers on to the front foot in the final 10 minutes, before Edwards and To'o combined to seal the Panthers' first win at CommBank Stadium since adopting it as their home ground this year. "All the Origin boys I thought were amazing. It's such a huge effort to back up after Origin," coach Cleary said. "We've seen a bit across the league, it's something that I don't know if it's the greatest thing for these guys to do. They'll all do it and it was crucial that they did it today." The Eels were denied a third consecutive win, but coach Jason Ryles was confident his improving side was still on the right track. "We didn't play just any ordinary team, we had the fully loaded, four-time premiers today and they're desperate," the first-year coach said. "They had to complete at 90 (per cent) and they had to play well, one to stay with us, and two to beat us in the end." Penrith's season has a pulse after their State of Origin stars inspired a gritty 18-10 defeat of Parramatta that hoists the Panthers from the bottom of the NRL ladder. After a wayward performance that left him replaced as NSW's goal-kicker in Origin I, Nathan Cleary nailed the sideline conversion that put the Panthers up by two points with 20 minutes to play on Sunday. Cleary managed the second half to perfection, before NSW teammate Dylan Edwards sent a looping pass to another Blue in Brian To'o, who crossed for the match-sealing try. The Panthers have jumped into 14th place on the ladder and are now only three competition points out of the top eight at the halfway point of the campaign They will need to win eight of their remaining 12 regular-season games to finish with a 50 per cent winning record. But coach Ivan Cleary was encouraged by Sunday's win, with aspects of Penrith's four-time premiership-winning best showing themselves for the first time in a disappointing year. "That was a pretty tough win," Cleary said. "The scramble defence in the first half is what set the game up for us. We haven't really had that this year. I think it's been a hallmark of what we've done in past years. "That can honestly be the difference between a win and a loss, so hopefully that's a sign of things to come." The Eels had the better of long stretches of the game, but their only two tries came down the left side early in each half, with Dylan Brown important in the lead-up of both. Cleary had his fingerprints on the Panthers' first two tries, rival captain Mitch Moses conceding the Eels could not keep up with his NSW teammate. "He was on fire, wasn't he? That's why he's the best half in our game. He just killed us," Moses said. Cleary swung left to help put Casey McLean over and did so again ahead of the Panthers' second try, which Thomas Jenkins scored from a McLean kick. A Cleary 40/20 kick helped the Panthers on to the front foot in the final 10 minutes, before Edwards and To'o combined to seal the Panthers' first win at CommBank Stadium since adopting it as their home ground this year. "All the Origin boys I thought were amazing. It's such a huge effort to back up after Origin," coach Cleary said. "We've seen a bit across the league, it's something that I don't know if it's the greatest thing for these guys to do. They'll all do it and it was crucial that they did it today." The Eels were denied a third consecutive win, but coach Jason Ryles was confident his improving side was still on the right track. "We didn't play just any ordinary team, we had the fully loaded, four-time premiers today and they're desperate," the first-year coach said. "They had to complete at 90 (per cent) and they had to play well, one to stay with us, and two to beat us in the end."
The Age
3 hours ago
- The Age
‘Not going to happen quickly': McKellar says Tahs re-build will be long haul
'When I stepped foot in the door, it wasn't where it needed to be. And the players have certainly bought into that and the change and progress there has been significant. 'Unfortunately, when you're going through what we're going through at the moment, if you want to put in place something that's going to allow for sustainable success, it takes time to change. And you don't always see that progress on the field through results and outcomes.' Asked when he believed the side would make that change, turn the corner and be consistently successful, McKellar said: 'I can't put a timeline on it but it's not going to happen quickly.' 'We're going back multiple years here and it's got nothing to do with any other previous programs, or previous coaches, but the reality is that it's not something that's new. 'I think how we're going to get real change is by making sure that we identify the best young players in NSW that are desperate to want to play for NSW, and we keep them and we bring them through and develop them into good NSW players. That's how we're going to get the real change, and that's going to take some time. 'I knew we were going to have some good times, and I knew that we were going to have some tough days and that hasn't changed. So there hasn't been any real surprises. 'I knew it was going to be a big job - but that excites me. We all want a strong and successful NSW Waratahs. 'There's been significant changes to the group, but you can already see the progress that's been made there around how we do things. I know people don't see that, and they might regard it as rubbish. But we are in this for the long haul. And that's how you get sustainable change.' McKellar said he would now begin to focus on finalising the Tahs' roster for next year, and confirmed the front row would be an area of priority, with Angus Bell playing in Ulster, and Tupou is also yet to make a call on his future. Mahe Vailanu, Julian Heaven, Rob Leota and Langi Gleeson are leaving, and Tane Edmed is a possible departure, too. He will look at recruitment in all positions, but McKellar said the key to success is getting the NSW production line right. Loading 'There's never going to be an issue with talent in NSW - it's making sure we maintain and hold and develop the good young ones we've got,' McKellar said. 'We've got a number of good ones coming through that 20s program. Guys like Eamon Doyle, Sid Harvey, Austin Durbidge, Marshall Le Maitre, Toby Brial, these boys. They're in our system now, and they're the future. So when they become Super Rugby players, they'll know what's expected of them, day in and day out.' The Waratahs will have a week off before coming back together to begin preparations for the tour match against the British and Irish Lions on July 5. McKellar said he expects new recruit Matt Phillip will be in the mix for the clash, but Pete Samu is unlikely given Clermont are a strong chance to play in the Top 14 final. 'There's a bit of a sour taste in people's mouths after Auckland, so we've got a great opportunity in front of a full house at Allianz in what's a once in a career opportunity for players and coaches,' McKellar said.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘Not going to happen quickly': McKellar says Tahs re-build will be long haul
'When I stepped foot in the door, it wasn't where it needed to be. And the players have certainly bought into that and the change and progress there has been significant. 'Unfortunately, when you're going through what we're going through at the moment, if you want to put in place something that's going to allow for sustainable success, it takes time to change. And you don't always see that progress on the field through results and outcomes.' Asked when he believed the side would make that change, turn the corner and be consistently successful, McKellar said: 'I can't put a timeline on it but it's not going to happen quickly.' 'We're going back multiple years here and it's got nothing to do with any other previous programs, or previous coaches, but the reality is that it's not something that's new. 'I think how we're going to get real change is by making sure that we identify the best young players in NSW that are desperate to want to play for NSW, and we keep them and we bring them through and develop them into good NSW players. That's how we're going to get the real change, and that's going to take some time. 'I knew we were going to have some good times, and I knew that we were going to have some tough days and that hasn't changed. So there hasn't been any real surprises. 'I knew it was going to be a big job - but that excites me. We all want a strong and successful NSW Waratahs. 'There's been significant changes to the group, but you can already see the progress that's been made there around how we do things. I know people don't see that, and they might regard it as rubbish. But we are in this for the long haul. And that's how you get sustainable change.' McKellar said he would now begin to focus on finalising the Tahs' roster for next year, and confirmed the front row would be an area of priority, with Angus Bell playing in Ulster, and Tupou is also yet to make a call on his future. Mahe Vailanu, Julian Heaven, Rob Leota and Langi Gleeson are leaving, and Tane Edmed is a possible departure, too. He will look at recruitment in all positions, but McKellar said the key to success is getting the NSW production line right. Loading 'There's never going to be an issue with talent in NSW - it's making sure we maintain and hold and develop the good young ones we've got,' McKellar said. 'We've got a number of good ones coming through that 20s program. Guys like Eamon Doyle, Sid Harvey, Austin Durbidge, Marshall Le Maitre, Toby Brial, these boys. They're in our system now, and they're the future. So when they become Super Rugby players, they'll know what's expected of them, day in and day out.' The Waratahs will have a week off before coming back together to begin preparations for the tour match against the British and Irish Lions on July 5. McKellar said he expects new recruit Matt Phillip will be in the mix for the clash, but Pete Samu is unlikely given Clermont are a strong chance to play in the Top 14 final. 'There's a bit of a sour taste in people's mouths after Auckland, so we've got a great opportunity in front of a full house at Allianz in what's a once in a career opportunity for players and coaches,' McKellar said.
