Brendan Cannon: Hooker switch from Damien Fitzpatrick to Tolu Latu is key for the Waratahs in their Super Rugby semi-final
WARATAHS coach Daryl Gibson has made his boldest selection call for the biggest game of the season. Former Wallaby Brendan Cannon reacts.
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I APPLAUD Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson for taking the risk to change what has been working and pick Tolu Latu to start at hooker over Damien Fitzpatrick for Saturday night’s semi-final.
It is easy for a coach to stick with the formula that has got his side all the way to the final four, but I’ve always said that there is the regular season and if you make the playoffs, that is another season in itself.
Fitzpatrick would be very disappointed to be dropped to the bench for the biggest game of NSW’s season, having started every game up to now, but he also seems to be the ultimate team man and would accept that this is best for the team.
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This match will be won and lost at the set-piece.
If your scrum is getting shoved sideways, or your lineouts are going astray, it fills the team with anxiety and cripples confidence.
The Lions will apply enormous pressure on the Waratahs in these areas at Ellis Park.
Gibson has been brave enough to acknowledge that this Lions side presents a different threat to what they’ve encountered already in 2018, and has opted for the more physical Latu.
He’ll be starting against Malcolm Marx, who is the beating heart of the Johannesburg side.
In the absence of All Black Dane Coles through injury, Marx has established himself as the best hooker in the world.
Marx and his Lions forward pack will look to obliterate NSW early, and it’s up to Latu to be a human sponge and absorb that ferocity and energy, and return fire.
This will also help Fitzpatrick, who can come on later and benefit from the torrid opening exchanges Latu will have endured.
It will be up to Fitzpatrick, like all the reserves, to come on and make a difference.
He can’t just be entering the fray to maintain the status quo; he needs to make his own mark on the match.
The Waratahs are extremely lucky to have two top-class hookers in their squad. Not every Australian Super side boasts that.
The dynamic and performances of Latu and Fitzpatrick at either end of the game will be crucial to the Tahs’ hopes of making the grand final.
The other key factor will be their ability to shake off the pressure of a semi-final and play with freedom.
We saw last week that when the Tahs become relaxed, they have players such as Kurtley Beale and Israel Folau who can shred teams apart.
NSW has made it this far playing a style that is confident and expressive.
This is not the time to tone it down.
Now is the time to reward yourselves for all the pre-season training, the countless contact drills everyone hates, the endless review sessions.
I urge you lads, run into that Johannesburg cauldron with smiles on your faces and play your game with pride and energy.
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