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'Our vision is to win a Super Rugby title': Waratahs unfazed by exodus of high-profile stars

Adam Ashley-Cooper and Bernard Foley are two players who won't be in action for the Waratahs in 2020. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

NSW Waratahs stalwart Jed Holloway says their new-look squad must build on the legacy left by a host of departing stars and drive new standards.

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Among the players who left after last season includes Wallabies Bernard Foley, Sekope Kepu, Nick Phipps, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tolu Latu and Curtis Rona.

The Tahs have retained a nucleus of proven players including Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, utility back Kurtley Beale and lock Rob Simmons.

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They boast several other Wallabies in props Tom Robertson, Harry Johnson-Holmes and Tetera Faulkner.

Fellow forwards Jack Dempsey and Ned Hanigan, and backs Jake Gordon, Jack Maddocks and Karmichael Hunt, are also in the squad.

Holloway said other players are now becoming more vocal.

“I think all the senior, more capped guys have really found themselves stepping up like Ned, Jake, Lalakai (Foketi) Tom (Staniforth),” Holloway said on Monday.

“If we don’t continue the legacy of Keps, and all those guys that have left, then we won’t be much of a team.

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“We need to continue to do that and continue to drive those standards and drive new standards as well and create our own path.”

While external expectations of the Tahs’ prospects under new coach Rob Penney may be lower than last year,.Holloway stressed they remained high within the group.

“Internally our vision is to win a Super Rugby title every year, so we feel like we’re doing the right thing at training,” Holloway said.

“Hopefully we get to show that to the crowd and the public come round one.”

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The Tahs start their Super Rugby campaign on February 1 away to three-time defending champions, the Crusaders.

Before that, they have a trial on Friday at Leichhardt Oval against the Highlanders and one against Queensland next week.

Holloway has returned from a short stint at famous Irish team Munster, where he played five games and worked under a coaching group including former Wallabies five-eighth and ex-Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham.

“I feel like I got a lot out of it and refreshed me mentally,”‘ Holloway said.

“I’m just really grateful that I got that opportunity and they allowed me to do that and I think it made me a better footy player as well,

“Hopefully that translates into Super Rugby and hopefully it can take me further.”

AAP

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Flankly 1 hour ago
'Absolute madness': Clive Woodward rips into Borthwick in wake of NZ loss

Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".


But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.


The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.


Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?

4 Go to comments
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Nickers 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Very poor understanding of what's going on and 0 ability to read. When I say playing behind the gain line you take this to mean all off-loads and site times we are playing in front of the gain line???


Every time we play a lot of rugby behind the gain line (for clarity, meaning trying to build an attack and use width without front foot ball 5m+ behind the most recent breakdown) we go backwards and turn the ball over in some way. Every time a player is tackled behind the most recent breakdown you need more and more people to clear out because your forwards have to go back around the corner, whereas opposition players can keep moving forward. Eventually you run out of either players to clear out or players to pass to and the result in a big net loss of territory and often a turnover. You may have witnessed that 20+ times in the game against England. This is a particularly dumb idea inside your own 40m which is where, for some reason, we are most likely to employ it.


The very best ABs teams never built an identity around attacking from poor positions. The DC era team was known for being the team that kicked the most. To engineer field position and apply pressure, and create broken play to counter attack. This current team is not differentiating between when a defence has lost it's structure and there are opportunities, and when they are completely set and there is nothing on. The reason they are going for 30 minute + periods in every game without scoring a single point, even against Japan and a poor Australian team, is because they are playing most of their rugby on the back foot in the wrong half.

43 Go to comments
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LONG READ England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit England need to face a few home truths if they are to relearn that winning habit
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