No One Has Any Answers As The Waratah Wobbles Kick In
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday May 3, 2004
As Anton Oliver left the media conference following his team's extraordinary win over NSW, the Highlanders captain shook his head and said: ``It's pretty amazing. I'm stuffed if I know how we did it."
Oliver was just one of thousands with the same thought.
How in the hell did the Highlanders do it?
How did NSW lose a match 29-28 , after being ahead 28-7 , and with the opposition down to 14 men after their second-rower Filipo Levi had been sent off shortly after half-time.
How did Matthew Burke, the most reliable of kickers, who has won countless matches for NSW and Australia with his boot, miss a shot from straight in front on the full-time bell, which would have won the Waratahs the game?
How did NSW waste the best opportunity to consolidate a top-four spot in the Super 12?
Many hours on, it is still hard to produce convincing answers. Even the NSW players were struggling to come up with the right words as they attended a recovery session at Aussie Stadium yesterday. They remained stunned, contrite and deeply embarrassed.
The old Waratah wobbles have hit again and turned a season which was suddenly glowing with sunshine into an ifs-and-buts scenario.
They can still make the semi-finals but it won't be easy.
It will depend on other results going NSW's way in next week's final round, while the Waratahs have to win with a bonus point against Queensland in Brisbane on Saturday night. NSW cannot afford to leave Suncorp Stadium with fewer than five points.
NSW have collapsed plenty of times before during the nine seasons of Super 12 but nothing like this diabolical one against the Highlanders.
The Waratahs began slowly but picked their game up in the middle 40 minutes of the match, when they were able to move well away from an industrious, but hardly frightening, opposition.
Yet, everything went awry after the South African referee Shaun Veldsman sent Levi to the showers in the 43rd minute. You could almost hear the huge sigh of relief from within the huddle of NSW players. As they were ahead 21-7, and were now only facing 14 men, NSW obviously thought the match was over even more so two minutes later when Scott Staniforth scored their third try, giving them a 21-point lead.
Then came the dilemma. Do they keep the scoreboard ticking over by taking every penalty goal shot on offer, or instead go for the bonus point by trying to get the fourth try?
They went for the bonus-point option and that was where they fell down. Several chances for NSW to go further ahead through penalties were overlooked and the Highlanders, through extra possession, picked up and for the final quarter totally outplayed the home team, scoring 22 points to take the lead. NSW had no counter for Oliver and his teammates in particular second-rower Simon Maling , five-eighth Tony Brown and centre Ryan Nicholas , who were everywhere.
But NSW were given one last chance. The Highlanders' forwards were penalised for diving over the top at the breakdown, 35 seconds from full-time, just 25 metres out and straight in front of the posts.
Burke has successfully kicked thousands of these in his career, but this one he sliced, crashing the ball into the upright.
NSW did get the bonus point in the end, but it was the only point they got, for finishing within seven points of their opponents.
Both teams were in disbelief. Oliver said he would have ``bet his house on Matt getting that kick".
And yesterday, NSW captain Chris Whitaker attempted to explain where the Waratahs again fell down.
``Maybe it's a mind-set . . . and at the wrong time we take it easy," he said. ``It's not the first time this has happened and it is hard to work out why we take the foot off the pedal. It's something we really need to sort out."
NSW coach Ewen McKenzie explained it succinctly with: ``We probably dared to dream."
That dream has now become a nightmare.
THE EQUATION
To make the finals, NSW must beat Queensland with a bonus point.
Then the Stormers must lose or draw to the Sharks in Durban, or the Chiefs lose against the Brumbies and finish with no bonus points.
If the Waratahs lose, they will miss the finals. The Brumbies and Crusaders are in the finals.
© 2004 Sydney Morning Herald
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