'Dan didn't sugarcoat it' - Waratahs read riot act after drubbing

In the wake of a humbling 57-12 defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington, NSW Waratahs lock Ben Grant offered a frank assessment of the internal response to the drubbing.

Head Coach Dan McKellar demanded a response, delivering a direct appraisal in the dressing room. The heavy loss, following their Round 6 win over the Brumbies, will now put an emphasisis on the Waratahs refinding their bite in the contact as they prepare for Moana Pasifika at North Harbour Stadium.

Adding to their woes, rising star Max Jorgensen faces surgery on Friday for a syndesmosis injury and will be sidelined for six to eight weeks.

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“Body’s sore, but I think the heart’s a little bit sorer,” Grant conceded. “We strung together a performance we were proud of last week against the Brumbies, and then to have a short turnaround and put in a display like that – it’s disappointing for everyone, not just the players but the coaching staff and our supporters as well.”

“Dan didn’t sugarcoat it,” Grant revealed. “We highlighted a lot around the physical contest, our system breakdowns, and some poor decision-making.

“The good thing is that the players took it on board, and the coaches have introduced fixes we need to act on immediately.”

“That’s our bread and butter [collisions]. We know we’ve got the players to do it, but against a big, strong New Zealand pack, we just didn’t front up.”

Grant refused to blame the travel element for the Waratahs thumping – with the Australians having a 100 per cent record at home.

“I don’t think it’s about travel. We prepare well, we have time to acclimatise,” he said. “It’s a mindset thing, maybe a systems thing, but definitely not travel,” he said.

Things went downhill for the Waratahs despite a strong start from the Aussie Super side.

“For 35 minutes, we were 10-7 up,” said Grant, who has watched the game three times since.

“Then we conceded a soft penalty, they kicked to the corner, went through some phases, and scored.

“Right after, we had an HIA, and they scored again. Suddenly, we’re down 24-7 at halftime.

“That’s the difference against these Kiwi teams – you switch off for a few moments, and they punish you.”