Waratahs expect ‘heat’ in Africa and Argentina after scrum woes in win over Stormers in Sydney

A BAPTISM of fire will be followed by a fortnight of flames but NSW hooker Damien Fitzpatrick has backed a pair of rookie props to answer the scrum-heavy challenge in South Africa and Argentina.

The Waratahs scrum is expected to be targeted as they hit the road

A BAPTISM of fire will be followed by a fortnight of more flames but Waratahs hooker Damien Fitzpatrick has backed a pair of rookie NSW props to answer the scrummaging “heat” awaiting them in South Africa and Argentina.

The Waratahs got their season off to a good start on Saturday when they downed the Stormers courtesy of an 81st minute try to Ned Hanigan, and they departed Sydney on Sunday for a westerly circle of the planet armed with “confidence”.

That buoyancy was mitigated by the loss of two key forwards, however, with Sekope Kepu and Rob Simmons both ruled out of the two-week tour, which sees the Tahs play the Sharks in Durban and then the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.

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The Waratahs scrum is expected to be targeted as they hit the road

Simmons picked up a quad strain in the win over the Stormers and was replaced by rookie lock Lachie Swinton.

And despite Kepu only needing to serve one more week of a suspension, the Wallabies tight-head was left at home by Daryl Gibson to work on fitness. It’s understood Kepu has a calf injury, and it must be serious given the temptation to rush the bookend back into a Waratahs scrum that was pumped by the Stormers.

The Tahs scrum was openly targeted by the Cape Towners as a weak link and was duly exposed as such. Of 15 scrums in the game, the Tahs gave away five penalties and were backpeddled on most others — and that vision will be a red rag to the bulls of the Sharks and the Mario Ledesma-coached Jaguares, who love to scrummage as well.

“There’s work to do, we understand that,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Tahs scrum struggled at times against the Stormers in Sydney

“Our lineout functioned well but our scrum obviously, there are no illusions (about) what’s going to come next week. There’ll be more heat. We know we have our work cut out for us.”

Gibson said he wasn’t tempted to take Kepu, and would back the cattle they’ve got. Paddy Ryan and Tom Robinson are the NSW starting props but they have two of the country’s most highly-regarded youngsters on the bench in Shambeckler Vui and Harry Johnson-Holmes.

The Australian under 20s props from last year are seen as future Test prospects but in solid second-half cameos off the pine against the Stormers, Fitzpatrick said the 20-year-olds showed they can already handle Super Rugby level and potentially more on-field minutes, as well.

“They will go from leaps and bounds with the opportunity to play more minutes at this level. Tonight they really showed when it came down to it they can play at this level and they’ll be better for it,” Fitzpatrick said.

The Waratahs now have away games in South Africa and Argentina

“You have to earn those stripes with the coaches when you are a young player. Everyone went through it. Particularly in the front row, when you are up against big men like the Stormers are. You have to come on and prove yourself, and each week you’ll get more minutes and the more minutes, the better you will go.”

The victory over the Stormers was — otherwise — a big psychological boost for NSW (and their fans), who badly needed a win first-up at home after the dire results of last season. A loss could have been very damaging.

Captain Michael Hooper praised an inexperienced bench for delivering in the second half, and Fitzpatrick said the Tahs should have sealed the win earlier than the 81st minute, having not converted “three or four” scoring opportunities earlier.

Hooper admitted post match he was “confused” by the rulings of referee Angus Gardiner to not sin bin several Stormers players who appeared to knockdown passes with NSW in clear scoring positions.

But the Waratahs also had themselves to blame for not ticking over the scoreboard, with a glut of turnovers. They coughed up the ball a whopping seven times while on attack in the Stormers’ redzone.

“We have still not yet cracked the ability to hold the ball for long periods of play, and put the opposition under pressure,” Gibson said. “That’s something we will be working on this week.”

Originally published as Waratahs expect ‘heat’ in Africa and Argentina after scrum woes in win over Stormers in Sydney