Elsom's Judgement: Our Defence Rests

Sydney Morning Herald

Friday April 20, 2007

Greg Growden

WALLABIES back-rower Rocky Elsom always talks straight. And in an interview in tomorrow night's NSW-Highlanders match program, he explains that a prime reason the Waratahs have slumped down the Super 14 ladder is that their defence strategy has gone astray. Elsom told interviewer Dirk Wolfgang: "We aren't going to make the final, and people aren't going to remember who finished around us, but the pride we can take out of it is that pride in our defensive line, which we'd really lost. I think we had the best defence in the comp over the last couple of years and we just absolutely threw that out the window this year. I mean, we've just bled points in most games ..." According to Elsom, what drives good defence is enthusiasm. "It doesn't work so well when not everyone is on the same page. Obviously when you have deficiencies there, they get exposed by good teams. And that's happened over the previous five weeks in particular, where some guys have been keen to get up and in their face in defence a bit more, whereas other guys have tended to hang back a bit more and vice versa - guys have been getting up when they should be hanging back."

Fading enforcer

Spotted playing tighthead prop for West Harbour fourth grade against Randwick at Coogee last Saturday was Waratahs assistant manager Geoff Threlfo. Threlfo's prowess as an enforcer was placed in doubt earlier this season in Durban when he was told to "F--- off" (and did so) at NSW training after he approached and then questioned a Sharks spy. Threlfo's appearance at Coogee surprised many, though, even if he has been known to spruik his ability as a prop at NSW training. According to our snout, Pierre Escargot, it was too bad that packing down against Threlfo was former Japan under-21 representative Yuta Inose, in Australia as part of a development program. After losing 32-10, Threlfo allegedly bragged at Tahs training on Monday that he "tore into" Inose. Threlfo's face went red - more than it did at Coogee Oval - when Inose revealed, without any prompting, at NSW Academy training that Threlfo had asked him "to stop pushing and take it easy" in the match.

Foxes savage Chooks

There were king-size hangovers all round following last weekend's celebrity Silver Foxes v Mudchooks match at Bungendore, which involved many former Wallabies. The Foxes won 72-32 in a match in which kicking was frowned upon. The Mudchooks' Luke Payten produced one sterling effort in which he beat James Grant for pace in a carbon copy of Grant's own 1988 Bledisloe Cup try at Ballymore, prompting a Silver Fox teammate to quip: "Now you know how Joe Stanley felt!" For the visitors, Tim Horan, Jason Little, Tim Wallace and Grant controlled proceedings, while John Langford and Warwick Waugh showed extraordinary stamina for old bodies with 80-minute performances. According to our snouts, host Richard Harry was clearly overwhelmed by the occasion and dropped several balls in space in the first half, which led his side to trade him to the opposition for the last quarter. The Mudchooks gained their revenge in the after-match drinking boat race. After a storming start, the Foxes led the eight-man race by a good two schooners, only to be let down by Tim "Sally Robbins" Horan, who sipped away the advantage and handed the race to the jubilant hosts. Another highlight was Andrew Blades winning an impromptu game of charades with a striking impression of a suckling pig.

Afternoon rap

Afternoon starts in recent Super 14 rounds have proved a refreshing return to the past. The crowds love them, as do the players. As Chiefs captain Jono Gibbes said after his side's win over the Force in Hamilton last Saturday afternoon: "It makes sense at this time of the year to start at 2.30pm. I would bloody hate to do it in the second week in February, but if you do it in April/May we might avoid the shambles which was the final last year [played in impenetrable fog at Jade Stadium]." And a hard but fair assessment of Super 14 referees' adjudication of the scrums this year by former Springbok prop Robbie Kempson: "The refs don't know. They're not the most intelligent guys when it comes to scrumming."

Rumour of the week

Pathetic antics involving ARU directors trying to blame one of their own for leaking information. Some of these directors are experts at leaking secrets themselves and are only trying to get the inquisitors off their murky trail.

Quote of the week 'I've certainly done well out of the game but you make adjustments. You don't have to have champagne and caviar every day. There is nothing wrong with a cheese sandwich.' JASON ROBINSON

© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald

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