How do Waratahs compare to Australia’s great Super Rugby champions?
WHICH of the 2001 or 2004 Brumbies, the 2011 Reds or Michael Hooper’s Waratahs is the very best of Australia’s champion sides? Vote in our poll!
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WHICH of the 2001 or 2004 Brumbies, the 2011 Reds or Michael Hooper’s hot NSW Waratahs is the very best of Australia’s champion Super Rugby sides?
The Waratahs must first bank a triumph on Saturday night over the tricky Crusaders to enter this fascinating debate.
The 2001 Brumbies were master innovators, their 2004 successors scored more tries (67) in a season than any Aussie side and the 2011 Reds purred with Will Genia and Quade Cooper in untouchable form.
Those who have tried to brand the 2014 Waratahs as overly reliant on Folau were silenced in the semi-final last weekend.
Folau was kept as quiet as he has been all season by the Brumbies yet Nick Phipps, Will Skelton, Hooper and Co still delivered a knockout display.
“The Waratahs have proved they are far more than the Izzy Folau show,” said former Wallabies skipper Nathan Sharpe.
“They have the potential to continue this run for two or three more years but deserving to win and actually winning a title are two different things.
“The Waratahs aren’t there yet. The Brumbies were good, before and after 2001, so longevity is key to any dynasty.”
Sharpe said the fact the Waratahs beat the Brumbies 26-8 last weekend with a muted Folau was a good sign.
“There’s a lot of the right attitude in the Waratahs side. They still found a way to win even though the Brumbies squeezed them at their ball source very well.”
Stirling Mortlock was a key figure in the Brumbies era where they made the finals five seasons running (2000-04), finished minor premiers three times and won two titles.
“The innovation, the really clear understanding of how we were going to play and the positive style with the ball made that period special,” Mortlock said.
“Those Brumbies sides had the X-factor of guys like Joe Roff or George Smith or what Georgie Gregan and Steve Larkham could scheme together.
“The Waratahs have a guy in Folau who is close to 20 per cent better than anyone else in the comp.
“Beyond that I really like how well balanced they are, the massive pack and so much heart and soul in Phipps and Bernard Foley as the halves.”
Momentum and home ground advantage in the finals are huge factors and the Genia-Cooper alliance gave the Reds wings in 2011.
“In my view, to have a champion team you have to have champion players right at the peak of their powers,” said John Connolly, who coached Queensland between 1989-2000.
“I’ve not seen two players dominate the tournament as Genia and Cooper did that year.
“These Waratahs are wired differently. They have a real power orientation and I’ve never seen as big a pack in Australia.
“Phipps and Foley are very good at 9-10 but not at the class of Gregan-Larkham and Genia-Cooper at their peak.
“The Waratahs have Kurtley Beale to do something special and when Folau hits the line it’s frightening.
“There is a terrific final in store against the Crusaders. There is very little between the sides. Both sides have finishers, there is a split hair between the forwards and the Crusaders have experience of finals in their major players like Richie McCaw and Dan Carter.”
Finals can be decided by the sheer impact of a single player. In 2004, it was the cyclonic impact of a Brumbies lock named Radike Samo, who ignited a 33-0 lead.
Rattling tackles and a memorable rampage with the ball in one mit set up three early tries. It was a seven-try blitz of the Crusaders and a 47-38 scoreline by full-time in Canberra that night.
In 2011, it was Genia’s solo try stunner over 60m that defined the Reds win over the Crusaders in the final in Brisbane.
“The Brumbies of 2001 played a really exciting brand of rugby with a recycling game that was a leap ahead of other teams,” two-time World Cup-winner Tim Horan said.
“The Reds of 2011 were pretty special.
“They had excellent defence to go with the attack led by Cooper and Genia.
“The Waratahs defended brilliantly to beat the Brumbies last week in the semi-final but how they defend the Crusaders sideline-to-sideline play is the big thing now.”
Mortlock had the final wise word: “You can’t be too premature on calls. The path to an era to remember is there for the Waratahs but ‘form’ is no certainty of a trophy. You have to win it.
“Champion teams are all about consistency long term. If the Waratahs win this one we are on the way to having a discussion.”
Compare Australia’s champion Super Rugby sides for yourself:
2001 ACT BRUMBIES (Win-loss record: 10-3): Andrew Walker; Graeme Bond, James Holbeck, Rod Kafer, Joe Roff; Stephen Larkham, George Gregan (c); Jim Williams, George Smith, Peter Ryan, David Giffin, Justin Harrison, Ben Darwin, Jeremy Paul, Bill Young. Res: Tom Murphy, Matt Weaver, David Pusey, Radike Samo, Travis Hall, Craig McMullen, Mark Bartholomeusz
2004 ACT BRUMBIES (Win-loss record: 10-3): Joe Roff, Clyde Rathbone, Joel Wilson, Matt Giteau, Mark Gerrard, Stephen Larkham, George Gregan, Scott Fava, George Smith, Owen Finegan (c), Radike Samo, Mark Chisholm, Nic Henderson, Jeremy Paul, Bill Young
Res: David Palavi, Guy Shepherdson, David Giffin, Jone Tawake, Matt Henjak, Mark Bartholomeusz, Lenny Beckett
2011 QUEENSLAND REDS (Win-loss record: 15-3): Jono Lance, Rod Davies, Anthony Faingaa, Ben Tapuai, Digby Ioane, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Radike Samo, Beau Robinson, Scott Higginbotham, James Horwill (c), Rob Simmons, Greg Holmes, Saia Faingaa, Ben Daley. Res: James Hanson, Guy Shepherdson, Adam Wallace-Harrison, Jake Schatz, Liam Gill, Ian Prior, Will Chambers
ON THE STEP TO HISTORY …
2014 NSW WARATAHS (Win-loss record: 13-4 so far): Israel Folau, Alofa Alofa, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Kurtley Beale, Rob Horne, Bernard Foley, Nick Phipps, Wycliff Palu, Michael Hooper (c), Stephen Hoiles, Jacques Potgieter, Kane Douglas, Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson. Res: Tola Latu, Paddy Ryan, Jeremy Tilse, Will Skelton, Mitch Chapman, Pat McCutcheon, Brendan McKibbon, Matt Carraro, Taqele Naiyaravoro, Peter Betham (two to be omitted)
Originally published as How do Waratahs compare to Australia’s great Super Rugby champions?
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