Waratahs to reprise high-octane attacking game when they face Brumbies in Sydney

THE Waratahs will rely on their high-pace attacking style and an experienced bench to finish over the top of an injury-hit Brumbies at ANZ Stadium.

Jacques Potgieter, Dave Dennis and Stephen Hoiles during the Waratahs Super Rugby Captain's Run ahead of their match against the Brumbies at Allianz Stadium, Sydney. Pic Brett Costello

THE Waratahs will rely on their high-pace attacking style and a bench boasting triple the experience of their rivals to finish over the top of an injury-hit Brumbies at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.

Despite NSW coach Michael Cheika remaining sceptical about the Brumbies’ injury crisis — “I am still not 100 per cent sure what team will run out …. they’re crafty down there” — the ACT side will be without six Wallabies, and 11 first-teamers in total, for the probable conference deciding showdown.

A favourable finals run beckons but the Waratahs have been at pains to not look past this match all week and those same blinkers have also been used to ignore the disarray in Canberra.

Predicting the Brumbies will stick with their kick-and-pressure game, Dennis said the Waratahs would, in turn, reboot the “aggressive” running game that saw them beat the Chiefs before the June break.

“We talk about our own identity, we are trying to create that as a club and every time people watch us play, they see a similar style. I think that’s the challenge again this week,” Dennis said.

“We have won the last couple of games on the back of playing our style, and playing aggressive, attacking rugby. The boys are really motivated to try and improve on the Chiefs game.”

New faces across the field for the Brumbies present potential defensive combinations which the Waratahs will no doubt seek to stress with attacking variety.

“Whether the changes they’ve made affects their defensive set-up I am not sure, but we’ll still have that focus to hold onto the ball and pressure them as much as possible,” Dennis said.

“You look at the Brumbies, what they do well is starve the opposition of ball, they play territory and play set-piece orientated game. If we get into battle it’s going to be a tough night. But if we hold the ball, we should hopefully score some points.”

Asked if they’d consider putting the ball into touch more in the Brumbies half to pressure novice hooker Ruaidhri Murphy, Dennis joked: “We don’t kick it mate, we get our heads ripped off for that.”

The Brumbies have strong players stepping up to cover for injuries, and a backline still boasting five Wallabies, and soon to be six with Henry Speight.

Where NSW’s advantage appears to lie is the consequence of forced changes to a run-on side: a weakened bench.

The Waratahs have the luxury of three capped Wallabies on the bench — including man of the moment Will Skelton — and boast 297 Super Rugby caps. The Brumbies bench has a combined tally of just 101 caps, which is less than Stephen Hoiles’ tally of 114 on his own.

If the Brumbies can’t take the pace out of the game, they will have to decide whether to stick with tiring starters in the last quarter against the NSW bench, or trust their reserves.

“(The bench) is starting to be a big part of the game, as a team. The way we play and the speed and the attacking focus, and Cheik always wants us to be physical, that forces us to use our bench,” Dennis said.

“Days are gone where it is a bit of a slogfest and you can push through 80 minutes. You need that impact off the bench, and you look at our last couple of games in New Plymouth, against the Hurricanes and down in Melbourne, our bench has had a really good impact.”

Cheika said running out a full 80 minutes performance was an attribute the Waratahs not only wanted to exhibit, but would need to win the title as well.

“We like to think we are a fit team, and we can play the games right out to the end, whether we keep the 15 on the field or change them around,” Cheika said.

“We’ve got to play the 80 minutes out if we want to be contenders with the best teams.”

While understanding it was a natural reaction in NSW, Dennis said Cheika had made abundantly clear hype and expectation on the Waratahs was not to be heeded.

“We have played some good games of rugby, but overall we haven’t achieved a lot. I’ll stress to the boys there is still a lot ahead of us to achieve,” Dennis said.

“When you break it down, they have a couple of changes but overall they’re still a strong outfit. They’ll play the Brumbies-style of rugby, which has been successful for them over the last couple of years. It’s a pressure-orientated game.

“We are not going to be going out there assuming things are going to happen for us.”

Originally published as Waratahs to reprise high-octane attacking game when they face Brumbies in Sydney