The circus around Folau was a major distraction for the Waratahs but no excuse for missing the playoffs
A season that started full of optimism ahead of a World Cup year soon turned into a nightmare and it wasn’t just the Israel Folau fiasco that was to blame.
What started out as a season full of hope quickly descended into a year that the Waratahs and their supporters will want to forget. It ended with a whimper in a 49-12 loss to the Highlanders on Friday night. Here’s how it all went wrong in 2019:
THE FOLAU CIRCUS
While the Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson refuses to blame the saga around Israel Folau for the team’s failure to reach the playoffs, there’s no doubt the circus it created was a major distraction. Folau was a popular member among his teammates and while some senior players publicly condemned his comments, plenty of others privately agreed, prompting the management to hold team meetings to ensure no rift developed. Tolu Latu’s ill-timed drink driving charge also didn’t help things.
MUST TRY HARDER
Nowhere was Folau’s absence felt more than on the field as the Waratahs struggled to score tries. The Waratahs scored 74 tries during the regular season last year to win the Australian conference with Taqele Naiyaravoro (15 tries) and Folau (11) contributing more than a third of the total. But with Naiyaravoro gone and Folau playing less than half a season, the Waratahs managed just 44 tries this year, with Curtis Rona topping the list with six.
HOME NOT SO SWEET
Because of the huge travel distances involved, teams can’t rely on winning on the road so have to take full advantage of their home games. With Allianz Stadium being rebuilt, the Waratahs split their eight home matches between four different venues, which was a good way of promoting the game in different areas, but the nomadic lifestyle didn’t help the team’s results. They finished 3-0 in the familiar surrounds of the Sydney Cricket Ground, but were 0-3 at Bankwest Stadium, 0-1 at Brookvale Oval and 0-1 Newcastle’s McDonald James Stadium.
FINISHING WITH A FLOP
Close enough just isn’t good enough in Super Rugby and that was the Waratahs’ biggest problem all season. They lost their first match of the year by a point to the Hurricanes when the normally reliable Bernard Foley missed a late penalty attempt and that seemed to set the tone for the season. They also lost by a solitary point to the Lions, by two to the Sunwolves and by three to the Blues as well as finishing with seven points of the Brumbies and the Bulls.
GIVE IT A REST
No-one likes the rest policy that is used in World Cup years but the Waratahs’ coaching staff made a complete hash of it this year, culminating in Friday night’s farcical loss to the Highlanders when they still had a mathematical chance of making the playoffs but had to rest five of their Test players because they’d left it too late. Whether the teams like it or not is a mute point because they all agreed to it, but you have to take your medicine early if you want to have your best players available at the end.
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