Waratahs announce unchanged side to battle Force
Waratahs Rugby
Head coach Chris Hickey has named an unchanged line-up for this weekend’s clash with the Western Force in Perth, sticking with the squad which scored a record victory against the Lions last Friday.
Despite some injury concerns coming out of the Lions match, it is the third week in a row that Hickey has retained the same 22-man squad with the HSBC Waratahs aiming for a third straight victory when they take on the Force.
“You analyse everyone’s performance after every game but after an effort like that against the Lions it was always fairly likely we’d stick with the same squad,” said Hickey. “We’re monitoring the load of players like Cliffy Palu (hamstring) and Al Baxter (calf) to make sure they’re in the best shape possible for Saturday night.”
Hickey said that while the Tahs’ attacking effort was the first thing most people would take from the Lions match, he was just as impressed with the defence throughout the 80 minutes.
“It’s only natural that when you score 11 tries that people will tend to focus on that aspect of the game, and while it is definitely something we’re proud of, we were also quite happy with our defensive effort,” said Hickey. “Going into the match our defensive record was not as strong as it has been in recent seasons, however we believe we’re starting to make progress there, and we’ll need to make more progress this weekend.
“The Force can score quickly if your defence isn’t up to the mark and we’re making sure we prepare appropriately for that.”
According to Hickey, the Tahs are expecting the clash with the Force to be fought as fiercely as any Australian derby, and believe the Perth-based franchise will be determined to score their first competition points of the season.
“You can’t assume anything going into these all-Australian matches,” said Hickey. “Last year we were six places ahead of the Force on the ladder and they beat us by a point, so we’re definitely not going to be starting the match with any level of complacency.
“There are a lot of internationals throughout the Force squad, and there’s also a few players who have played for NSW in the past. They’re all going to be leading from the front so we’re going to have to be up for it.”
Team vs Western Force
20 Mar 10
13:10
Members Equity Stadium
Perth, Australia
1 Benn Robinson
2 Tatafu Polota-Nau
3 Al Baxter
4 Dean Mumm
5 Kane Douglas
6 David Dennis
7 Phil Waugh
8 Wycliff Palu
9 Luke Burgess
10 Daniel Halangahu
11 Drew Mitchell
12 Berrick Barnes
13 Tom Carter
14 Lachlan Turner
15 Sosene Anesi
16 Damien Fitzpatrick
17 Sekope Kepu
18 Will Caldwell
19 Ben Mowen
20 Josh Holmes
21 Kurtley Beale
22 Rob Horne
•Captain – Phil Waugh
•Unchanged from the team which beat the Lions last Friday
[Info from SARugby.com]
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