Waratahs make changes for Rebels clash and hope to avoid unwanted record
WARATAHS TEAM: NSW coach Daryl Gibson is wary of meeting a fired-up and galvanised Rebels on Sunday afternoon at Allianz Stadium.
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WARATAHS players have “a lot of love” for their Melbourne mates suffering through the Super Rugby saga but coach Daryl Gibson is wary of meeting a fired-up and galvanised Rebels team on Sunday afternoon at Allianz Stadium.
The Waratahs are looking to avoid a record fifth straight home defeat when they take on Melbourne, and Gibson made several changes to his starting team to get the job done. Returning to the side are halfback Nick Phipps, lock Will Skelton, winger Taqele Naiyaravoro and no. 8 Michael Wells.
It is hoped the energy of Phipps, the workrate of Wells and the power of Skelton and Naiyaravoro will be able to counter the fire of the Rebels, which Gibson believes has been stoked by the Melbourne club recently discovering it is firmly back in contention to be axed for next year.
”I think the Rebels will be extremely galvanised by the troubles they are facing and the uncertainty swirling around their team,” Gibson said.
“I certainly expect them to fully come out and express that. For us we have to match that intensity and energy with our own. We have seen that the Australian derbies this year have been extremely competitive. They are full of a lot of meaning and this will be no different.”
LISTEN: Iain Payten and Fox Sports’ Nick McCardle dissect the mess surrounding the culling one of Australia’s Super Rugby teams and can the Waratahs avoid a fifth straight home defeat?
The Waratahs learned their lesson about under-appreciating the motivation of Super Rugby extinction when they lost to the Kings at home last month.
But the Waratahs players are in an interesting spot this week. As members of RUPA, Tahs players have shown solidarity and sympathy for the Rebels players as they deal with their uncertainty.
“They have been put in a tough situation there and I don’t have experience in that regard but my thoughts are with them and I hope they can bounce back from that,” Skelton said.
“Here at the Waratahs we are supporting the boys down there, we have friends and family down there. We have come through the squads together and there is a lot of love being shown around the club scene.”
On Sunday the love will have to be parked at the front gate of Allianz Stadium, and be replaced with fire and brimstone. For the Waratahs it is even more important they out-enthuse the Rebels from opening kickoff, because that’s where they believe the success of their entire season rests.
The Tahs have put together a handful of scintillating second half performances but given they’ve also given up huge leads in the first halves, it has added up to a poor season.
Gibson believes his team can be “unbeatable” if they play to their potential for 80 minutes.
“We are really searching for that performance. We have talked a lot about we are an excellent team for 40 minutes. Our focus is to be an 80-minute team and when we do that, I believe we can be unbeatable,” Gibson said.
“We have shown that against some excellent sides. That’s what I am searching for and that’s the challenge for our players, to play the full 80.
“That’s what we are aiming for. We need to be unbeatable for the next five games. It’s as simple as that.”
Waratahs team: Tom Robertson, Tolu Latu, Sekope Kepu, Dean Mumm, Will Skelton, Ned Hanigan, Michael Hooper, Michael Wells, Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Cam Clark, David Horwitz, Rob Horne, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Israel Folau.
Reserves: Damien Fitzpatrick, Paddy Ryan, Angus Ta’avao, Dave McDuling, Jed Holloway, Jake Gordon, Bryce Hegarty, Irae Simone.
Originally published as Waratahs make changes for Rebels clash and hope to avoid unwanted record
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