Waratahs huge underdogs as Farrell asks for more Lions progress

The 42

11 hours ago

ENGLISHMAN JAMIE ADAMSON will play for the Waratahs against the Lions in tomorrow's match in Sydney and then head off to Canberra to wear a Lions jersey for the tourists' clash with the Brumbies on Wednesday.
Adamson will be in the stands with his family supporting the Lions next week.
The 25-year-old, who is on the bench for the Waratahs tomorrow [KO 11am Irish time, Sky Sports], was released by the Great Britain 7s back in 2023 and decided to go on an adventure to Australia to play club rugby.
Adamson won the Shute Shield with Sydney's Easts but then moved back home to England in the hope of returning to the 7s fold. Just a couple of weeks later, Waratahs boss Dan McKellar asked him to join the Sydney franchise on a trial basis.
It went well. Adamson has racked up 11 appearances in Super Rugby this year and now he gets a chance to take on the Lions, a team he has supported all his life and probably once hoped to play for.
Many others in the Waratahs' matchday 23 have intriguing stories of their own, even the famous players. 29-year-old Taniela Tupou was seen as one of the best tightheads in rugby only a few years ago but his form fell away drastically. In May, he told the Sydney Morning Herald about the mental struggles he's been dealing with.
Tupou is still in the Wallabies set-up, but he has been released to the Waratahs for tomorrow's game in a bid to show that he has what it takes to face the Lions in a couple of weeks.
Waratahs flanker Charlie Gamble. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
At the other end of the scale in terms of experience, 21-year-old Waratahs loosehead prop Jack Barrett should get the chance to scrummage against Tadhg Furlong at Allianz Stadium tomorrow.
Openside flanker Charlie Gamble is a New Zealand native who moved to Sydney in 2018. Initially, he was playing so-called 'Subbies' amateur rugby and working as a delivery driver for an alcohol supplier.
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He swiftly rose through the grades in Sydney rugby to secure a contract with the Waratahs in 2020 and five years later, he gets the opportunity to plays against the Lions.
21-year-old out-half Jack Bowen has only started two games in Super Rugby and he's preferred to Wallabies-capped Tane Edmed as the number 10 for tomorrow's game.
Every single one of these Waratahs will be proud and pumped up to play against the Lions but with seven of their key players remaining in Wallabies camp, there are fears that they will struggle to compete, especially if Andy Farrell's side can deliver something closer to an 80-minute performance.
There are some good pros in the Waratahs 23. Lock Fergus Lee-Warner spent time in the Premiership, skipper Hugh Sinclair has a hard edge, blindside Rob Leota has 21 Wallabies caps, wing Andrew Kellaway has been released by Joe Schmidt along with Tupou, and clever centre Lalakai Foketi has reportedly signed for the Chiefs in New Zealand.
It should help that Mike Catt is the Waratahs' attack coach and will have helped to prepare them well for facing an Andy Farrell team.
But the reality is that there is a major gulf in quality between the two teamsheets for tomorrow. The Tahs are massive underdogs for this one.
Lions head coach Farrell has rung the changes again after Wednesday's win over the Reds, but he saw more to like in that performance in Brisbane. Now he wants things to go up another level against the Waratahs.
Mack Hansen at the Lions' captain's run in Sydney. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
'A bit more continuity, a bit more putting things together,' is what he hopes to see in Sydney.
'There's a bit of a stop-start nature with our outcomes… just lacking a bit of staying in the moment as much as we possibly can.
'But having said that, I think it's getting better. There's always things to fix in every single game but we've been pleased with some of our progression.
'Our breakdown work was great the other night, our transition work – whether it be defence to attack, attack to defence – was pretty good as well.
'So, yeah, we want to keep improving our defence because that's the main thing you'd want to stand for. I know defence has been pretty good, but there's still room for improvement.'
The Brumbies game in Canberra was always going to be the Lions' toughest challenge against the Aussie Super Rugby sides because they've been consistently the best for years now.
The hope is that the Waratahs' obvious emotion and delight at getting a shot at the Lions helps them to deliver a credible, competitive performance tomorrow. If not, we could be in for a rout that does nobody any good.
WARATAHS: Lawson Creighton; Andrew Kellaway, Lalakai Foketi, Joey Walton, Darby Lancaster; Jack Bowen, Teddy Wilson; Tom Lambert, Ethan Dobbins, Taniela Tupou; Fergus Lee-Warner, Miles Amatosero; Rob Leota, Charlie Gamble, Hugh Sinclair (captain).
Replacements: Mahe Vailanu, Jack Barrett, Daniel Botha, Matt Philip, Jamie Adamson, Jack Grant, Tane Edmed, Henry O'Donnell.
LIONS: Hugo Keenan; Mack Hansen, Huw Jones, Sione Tuipulotu, Blair Kinghorn; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Pierre Schoeman, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham; Tadhg Beirne (captain), James Ryan; Henry Pollock, Josh van der Flier, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Dan Sheehan, Ellis Genge, Tadhg Furlong, Joe McCarthy, Scott Cummings, Jac Morgan, Ben White, Marcus Smith.
Referee: Paul Williams [New Zealand].