Waratahs determined to keep their edge ahead of interstate stoush against Reds

THE Waratahs say they will not suffer the same fate as their NSW State of Origin counterparts as they head into “The Cauldron” to face Queensland.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 08: Waratahs coach Michael Cheika speaks to players during a Waratahs Super Rugby training session at Kippax Lake on July 8, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

THE parallels are uncanny.

NSW, the rugby team, play Queensland at Suncorp Stadium just three days after NSW, the league team, lost the third State of Origin match to Queensland at the same venue.

Neither did, or will, suffer greatly from a loss.

The Waratahs have already won Super Rugby’s minor premiership, just as the Blues had already won the State of Origin series.

But the Tahs say they will not suffer the same fate as their Origin counterparts as they seek their first premiership.

NSW coach Michael Cheika said his side had not earned the right to become complacent despite having sewn up the minor premiership with one round remaining.

“Maybe you can lose the edge when the result is not capital, but we’re still very young in the cycle of our team,” Cheika said.

“We’re just a year into the cycle of what we’ve been trying to do here.

“I don’t think we’ve earned anything to say we can take it easy, or we can shuffle the deck a little bit.

“We just want to keep trying to be more consistent in delivering physical performance, work really hard, have good skills, and see where that leaves us after the results.

“You’re never going to win every game, it’s about our approach to games and our approach to rugby, what our job is as the players and coaches who are lucky enough to be representing the team.”

Twice before, NSW had already secured a semi-final spot before the last round, and proceeded to lose that game and then the semi to be bundled straight out of the tournament. But Cheika is adamant that his players, with a different mentality in how they approach each game, will not succumb in a similar manner.

“I’m not big on momentum, each game you prepare accordingly to peak for that week within a cycle of peaking over the season,” Cheika said.

“What we’ve tried to do is just; every week is a new week. So if we’re carrying momentum, we lost to the Blues that week, we would have just dug a hole for ourselves and not come out and won the next week.”

In fact, NSW has not lost a game since, winning six in a row for the first time.

“You’ve got to take each week on its merits, look at the opposition, try to challenge them where they’re strong, and try to do well where we’re strong,” Cheika said.

“Obviously Queensland have been really strong at set-piece, and we’re expecting a really tough, physical game. And we’re wanting that.”

Injured star Israel Folau flew up with his teammates on Friday despite being ruled out of the clash with a corked thigh.

“He asked can he come, he’d like to be part of the team,” Cheika said.

Originally published as Waratahs determined to keep their edge ahead of interstate stoush against Reds