NSW Waratahs plan to blitz Southern Kings early in bid to reignite Super Rugby season

HISTORY suggests losing more than five games will kill your finals chances. The Waratahs have already lost five, and plan a winning run starting Friday.

AFTER a season so far defined by slow starts, the Waratahs hope to blitz the Southern Kings with helter-skelter rugby to reignite their Super Rugby finals hopes.

NSW captain Michael Hooper says it is now or never for the Tahs to build a run of wins that can see them top the Australian conference for a guaranteed finals spot, having won just two of seven games so far.

“We’ve got to make a run for it to be a real threat in this competition,” Hooper said.

“We finished the year second (on the ladder) in 2015 with five losses and we’re on that mark now, so it’s really time to start kicking into gear.”

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Two years ago NSW finished 11-5 in the regular season before they were beaten by eventual champions the Highlanders in the semi-finals.

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Last year, the lowest points-tallying finalists in the tournament, the Brumbies and Sharks, each lost five games.

So history suggests that NSW cannot afford to lose another game, particularly with the Brumbies nine points ahead with the same number of games played, and the New Zealand conference boasting four of their five teams in the top eight.

One element the Tahs must fix to put a run of wins together is their starts to games, so far woeful in 2017.

They gave up big halftime margins to the Lions, Sharks, Melbourne Rebels, Crusaders, and Hurricanes, making unsuccessful second half comebacks in all except the Rebels match when they scored on the bell to win.

Michael Hooper says a fast start against the Kings is key to sparking the waratahs season.

“It’s been tough going so far this season in our starts to the year,” Hooper said.

“We don’t want a tough start [on Friday night], we want to put the Kings under pressure and make them start playing that loose, more risky rugby.”

The Kings hardly bring defensive starch to this fixture; they’ve conceded an average 37 points a game this season, and have leaked 93 points in their past two games on tour in Australia.

But Hooper wants his troops to remain wary.

“Last week they put three tries on in 10 or 12 minutes [against Queensland],” Hooper said.

“Potentially, if they’d gotten (another) try last week, they had the chance to win the game.

“So we’re fully aware of the threats that they bring, and they bring them for 80 minutes. They’re a team that’s got nothing to lose.

“They’ve been told they’re out of the competition going forward so they’ve got everything to play for and what to show everyone (SANZAAR and SARU) have made a mistake.”