Fix discipline or Tahs are toast

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 04 April 2014 | 18.48

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DISCIPLINE is killing the Waratahs in big games this season, with statistics revealing they are the most penalised team in the Super Rugby competition.

If they are to live up to their ambition of being a top-two club this year, the Waratahs must become more street-smart about their tactics.

Conceding 20 penalties in last weekend's defeat to the Sharks was never going to bode well for the scoreline.

The penalties are either allowing teams to accumulate points or get out of trouble in their own end.

NSW is conceding an average of 14.2 penalties a match, and if they play to the status quo in Cape Town this weekend the Stormers (who average 10.3 conceded penalties a game) will punish them severely.

Missing captain Jean de Villiers and key attacking weapon Gio Aplon, the Stormers want a scrappy, messy affair that will upset the Tahs' attacking rhythm.

Under enormous pressure after having won just one of six games, and this week appointing Gert Smal as director of rugby to support struggling coach Alistair Coetzee, the Stormers will go back to basics and do what works best for them.

They have boasted the best defence in the tournament in the past three years and have been among the top placed sides by squeezing the life out of opposition attacks.

The Stormers have been the best team in Super Rugby at forcing turnovers, and the Tahs are being pinged and punished for their lax work in attacking breakdowns, so this is the most crucial area of their looming contest.

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If NSW can defend the ball with speed and strength, they can put the Stormers' defence on the back foot where they are most vulnerable.

But if the Stormers stifle the Tahs' continuity in attack, they will nullify the potency out wide of Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale and take control of proceedings.

Instead of trying to eradicate all of their fouls, the Tahs need to be more wily in how and when they test the laws.

It is always a gamble with the complex law interpretations in rugby, but the best teams are not the cleanest, they are simply better at getting away with what other teams don't.

At present, NSW is getting caught out.

Referees will pay extra attention to them, and the Stormers will no doubt use the statistics to pressure NSW at the breakdown and frequently mention their habits in conversation with match officials at Newlands.

There are still plenty of games to come but this is a vital game for NSW's season; they begin the round in fifth but could drop out of the top half of the table if they're defeated.

They're missing Israel Folau, who has scored more tries and run more metres than any other player in 2014, and must prove they can win without him.


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