Tahs desperate to win in South Africa after Sharks’ loss
NSW winger Cameron Clark has been given plenty of praise for his bone rattling tackle against the Sharks last weekend but he’s the first to admit it’s the Waratahs’ faltering attack that needs most attention.
With the Waratahs under pressure and at risk of giving up a length of the field try, Cameron Clark did what no-one expected of him — he pulled off one of the biggest hits of the Super Rugby season.
Weighing in at 88kg, the NSW winger is a reliable defender but isn’t exactly known for producing bone-rattling tackles, at least he wasn’t until now.
With the Sharks on the counter-attack in their own quarter but with an overlap that spelled disaster for the Waratahs, Clark chanced his arm and came rushing in to try and cut it off.
He timed it perfectly, reaching Makazole Mapimpi right at the same time he got the ball, then floored the Springbok winger and dislodged the ball from his arms.
“I am lucky that one came off otherwise our defensive coach wouldn’t be too happy with me. They might have gone the length,” Clark said. “I guess that was one positive to take out of the game.”
Fox Sports commentator Tim Horan called it the hit of the season while Phil Kearns said it was a game changer as Clark’s father Greg, calling the match for Fox, bit his tongue, showing the same calmness as his son by resisting any temptation to start bellowing into the microphone.
Of the three, only Kearns guessed wrong. It should have been a game changer but it wasn’t because the Waratahs threw the match away in the second half after Jed Holloway was sent off for a reckless forearm and Jack Dempsey was sin binned for a lifting tackle.
The loss has left the Waratahs teetering on the edge of disaster, dropping to 10th place on the ladder and desperately needing to win their two upcoming games in South Africa, against the Bulls and the Sharks.
They’ll need more than Clark’s defence to turn things around because the attack is the biggest area of concern.
Only three teams have scored less tries than the Tahs (26) this season and with Israel Folau facing his Code of Conduct hearing in Sydney on the same day NSW faces the Bulls in Pretoria, they need someone to step up and add the five pointers.
“We are confident in our attack systems and we know if we do it well, we can score points. That’s the biggest thing for us,” Clark said.
“It’s definitely something that’s pretty disappointing, so I guess we have to go to South Africa and we need two wins there.”
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