2014 Super Rugby Semi-final: Waratahs v Brumbies

[Jaguares]

1. Benn Robinson
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau
3. Sekope Kepu
4. Jacques Potgieter
5. Kane Douglas
6. Stephen Hoiles
7. Michael Hooper
8. Wycliff Palu
9. Nick Phipps
10. Bernard Foley
11. Rob Horne
12. Kurtley Beale
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
14. Alofa Alofa
15. Israel Folau

Reserves:

16. Tolu Latu
17. Paddy Ryan
18. Jeremy Tilse
19. Will Skelton
20. Mitchell Chapman
21. Pat McCutcheon
22. Brendan McKibbin
23. Taqele Naiyaravoro

1. Scott Sio
2. Josh Mann-Rea
3. Ben Alexander
4. Leon Power
5. Sam Carter
6. Scott Fardy
7. Jarrad Butler
8. Ben Mowen (c)
9. Nic White
10. Matt Toomua
11. Robbie Coleman
12. Christian Lealiifano
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Henry Speight
15. Jesse Mogg

Reserves:

16. Ruaidhri Murphy
17. Ruan Smith
18. Allan Alaalatoa
19. Fotu Auelua
20. Tom McVerry
21. Michael Dowsett
22. Joe Tomane
23. Pat McCabe

Stadium: Allianz Stadium
Attendance: 45,500
City: Sydney
Country: Australia
Referee: Jaco Peyper

 

[Jaguares]

Amazing Tahs advert:

 

[Darwin]

Should be an interesting match. I suspect it will be much tighter than last time the two sides met (when the Waratahs smashed the Brumbies 39-8). The Tahs will obviously be firm favourites, but I will wait until I see both lineups before I make my prediction.

 

[Gena_ZA]

Got this feeling it is still going to be a high scoring game on both sides

 

[Big Ewis]

Amazing Tahs advert:

pretty good, but those impact edits with the blue lights are cheesy as fk. Those commercials just always have to be way, way, way over-the-top thou aye ? Never seen one where I felt "wow, that was ACTUALLY good...". The music in the background, you'd think you're watching a trailer for the new Warcraft PC game.

 

[nzlizard]

Got this feeling it is still going to be a high scoring game on both sides

Yeah both teams play an attacking style of rugby and I expect to see lots of tries here.

Hard to say who I want to win, as both teams will pose a challenge for the Crusaders if they get through.

 

[Jaguares]

Waratahs team named:

1. Benn Robinson
2. Tatafu Polota-Nau
3. Sekope Kepu
4. Jacques Potgieter
5. Kane Douglas
6. Stephen Hoiles
7. Michael Hooper
8. Wycliff Palu
9. Nick Phipps
10. Bernard Foley
11. Rob Horne
12. Kurtley Beale
13. Adam Ashley-Cooper
14. Alofa Alofa
15. Israel Folau

Reserves:

16. Paddy Ryan
17. Jeremy Tilse
18. Tolu Latu
19. Will Skelton
20. Mitchell Chapman
21. Pat McCutcheon
22. Brendan McKibbin
23. Taqele Naiyaravoro
24. Matt Carraro
25. Mitchell Chapman

Brumbies team named:

1. Scott Sio
2. Josh Mann-Rea
3. Ben Alexander
4. Leon Power
5. Sam Carter
6. Scott Fardy
7. Jarrad Butler
8. Ben Mowen (c)
9. Nic White
10. Matt Toomua
11. Robbie Coleman
12. Christian Lealiifano
13. Tevita Kuridrani
14. Henry Speight
15. Jesse Mogg

Replacements:

16. Ruaidhri Murphy
17. Ruan Smith
18. Allan Alaalatoa
19. Fotu Auelua
20. Tom McVerry
21. Michael Dowsett
22. Joe Tomane
23. Pat McCabe

 

[RoosTah]

Game looks close to a sell-out now. Going to be a crazy atmosphere - can't wait! Hope the 'Tahs can handle the extra pressure and an in form Brumbies team.

 

[Gena_ZA]

only close? - had this been in SA the people would camp the night before outside just to get tickets and would have been a sell out by mid week
Really hope rugby picks up in Aus.

P.S. Good luck to the Tahs, personally would like to see them in a final

 

[Amobokoboko]

I also hope to see the Tahs in the final.

 

[Jaguares]

Game looks close to a sell-out now. Going to be a crazy atmosphere - can't wait! Hope the 'Tahs can handle the extra pressure and an in form Brumbies team.

Do you have a ticket?

 

[Darwin]

Although it is an all Aussie affair I'm quite looking forward to this match. There are some interesting match-ups all over the park: Sio vs Kepu, Mowen vs Palu, Toomua vs Foley (the key match-up in my opinion), Ashley-Cooper vs Kuridrani....

I reckon the Waratahs have an edge up front and in the loose, mainly because the Brumbies are missing Stephen Moore and David Pocock. The halves battle will be fascinating. Phipps is in good form for the Waratahs, while White is on fire for the Brumbies. Likewise both 10s are in strong form, though they do have contrasting styles. The midfield battle will likewise be very interesting. Personally I feel the Brumbies are making a mistake by not starting McCabe at 12. Lealiifano has been in good form (goal-kicking aside), but I feel McCabe would have been the ideal man to help neutralize Beale and Foley.

The Brumbies biggest weapon will undoubtedly be Henry Speight, and it will be interesting to see what the Waratahs do to combat him. Rob Horne could potentially contain Speight if he defended on the wing (as he is an outstanding defender) however the Brumbies have used him to defend in the midfield all season, with Beale defending on the wing. If they continue to use this tactic against this week they will be in big trouble in my opinion, as Beale is not going to be able to stop Speight. If they do keep Beale defending at 12 the Brumbies are sure to run Kuridrani at him all night. Beale may bring him down, but he wont enjoy it, and it may drain Beale's energy.

The Waratahs biggest weapon is Israel Folau. The best (only?) way for the Brumbies to stop him is to prevent him getting the ball in space.

Though the Waratahs will obviously start at clear favourites I'm going to pick the Brumbies to pull off the upset. I feel the halves combination of White and Toomua are better suited to knock-out rugby, I think the Waratahs will struggle to contain Henry Speight, and the Brumbies backs reserves (McCabe and Tomane) are sure to make an impact. I'm picking the Brumbies by 5 (but will probably be completely wrong!).

 

[RoosTah]

Do you have a ticket?

Yep

 

[RoosTah]

Although it is an all Aussie affair I'm quite looking forward to this match. There are some interesting match-ups all over the park: Sio vs Kepu, Mowen vs Palu, Toomua vs Foley (the key match-up in my opinion), Ashley-Cooper vs Kuridrani....

I reckon the Waratahs have an edge up front and in the loose, mainly because the Brumbies are missing Stephen Moore and David Pocock. The halves battle will be fascinating. Phipps is in good form for the Waratahs, while White is on fire for the Brumbies. Likewise both 10s are in strong form, though they do have contrasting styles. The midfield battle will likewise be very interesting. Personally I feel the Brumbies are making a mistake by not starting McCabe at 12. Lealiifano has been in good form (goal-kicking aside), but I feel McCabe would have been the ideal man to help neutralize Beale and Foley.

The Brumbies biggest weapon will undoubtedly be Henry Speight, and it will be interesting to see what the Waratahs do to combat him. Rob Horne could potentially contain Speight if he defended on the wing (as he is an outstanding defender) however the Brumbies have used him to defend in the midfield all season, with Beale defending on the wing. If they continue to use this tactic against this week they will be in big trouble in my opinion, as Beale is not going to be able to stop Speight. If they do keep Beale defending at 12 the Brumbies are sure to run Kuridrani at him all night. Beale may bring him down, but he wont enjoy it, and it may drain Beale's energy.

The Waratahs biggest weapon is Israel Folau. The best (only?) way for the Brumbies to stop him is to prevent him getting the ball in space.

Though the Waratahs will obviously start at clear favourites I'm going to pick the Brumbies to pull off the upset. I feel the halves combination of White and Toomua are better suited to knock-out rugby, I think the Waratahs will struggle to contain Henry Speight, and the Brumbies backs reserves (McCabe and Tomane) are sure to make an impact. I'm picking the Brumbies by 5 (but will probably be completely wrong!).

The game is going to be very close. The teams are evenly split in terms of Wallaby representation and play contrasting styles, but at the end of the day the Brumbies do have more finals experience and are probably the more pragmatic of the two.

Seriously hoping we can win - you can't imagine how big it will be for Sydney Rugby if they win the whole comp.

 

[Jaguares]

This game will be very tough, Tahs is very confident and have more rest than Brumbies but they have the pressure of being the team of the moment, and that can be an enemy if the team doesn't score points quickly. Brumbies had a magnificent performance in the first half against Chiefs, with that level can beat any team but declined greatly in the second half. If they can sustain that performance will be a looooooong game for Tahs.

I want to win Tahs, they deserve it and it would be a boost for rugby in Sydney but Brumbies is Brumbies, they have more experience in these instances, I feel that Waratahs has too much pressure on his shoulders, I hope they can control the situation of being the favorites.

Yep

I hope to see at least 40,000 in the Allianz stadium. If Tahs qualifies for the final match, could be the final match at the ANZ stadium?

 

[RoosTah]

I want to win Tahs, they deserve it and it would be a boost for rugby in Sydney but Brumbies is Brumbies, they have more experience in these instances, I feel that Waratahs has too much pressure on his shoulders, I hope they can control the situation of being the favorites.

One of the inspiring things about the team this year has been the fact that neither the players nor Michael Cheika have talked themselves up at any point, no matter how well they have been going. The teams has reached two massive milestones this year; winning the minor premiership by finishing on top for the first time ever, and breaking their longest winning streak (which they have the opportunity to extend to 9 if they can go all the way). But for the most part they've talked themselves down the whole time. This is quite different from prior years, when players like Phil Waugh were made to look silly by saying "this is our time" etc half way through the year.

All in all, the whole side just comes across as very humble and level headed. The other thing I like is that Cheika is determined to stick to his positive philosophy on how to play rugby. When he said he worries about the team's attitude and positive attacking structures first, and the results second I pretty well decided I'd stay a member as long as he was around.

I hope to see at least 40,000 in the Allianz stadium. If Tahs qualifies for the final match, could be the final match at the ANZ stadium?

Yeah, it will be at ANZ. Which is a shame in a way, because unfortunately I doubt we can fill it. The everage TV ratings on foxtel for the tahs sits at around the 100k mark, so you pretty well need every casual viewer to be committing to attend the match.

 

[hjklhjkl]

Go brumbies! :d

 

[austingtir]

Yep hoping for another soft Aussie darby so when the Saders turn up next week they wont know what hit them.....

 

[Jaguares]

Try! C'mon Tahs!

 

[Big Ewis]

Waratahs are looking fantastic already, and the Brumbies are no joke. No joke at all. Waratahs have really been very, very impressive this year...