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Waratahs give in to Rugby Australia and will rest Wallabies for Highlanders match

The Waratahs will rest their Wallabies stars against the Highlanders this week, despite remaining a mathematical chance to make the Super Rugby finals.

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Rugby Australia avoided a nightmare scenario of having to decide whether to enforce its new Wallabies resting policy at the likely expense of NSW playing finals, after the Waratahs’ season was all but ended by the Brumbies last week.

It means Michael Hooper, Rob Simmons, Sekope Kepu, Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale will all likely miss the match in Invercargill on Friday.

NSW can still make finals but they need a bonus-point victory and several results to fall their way.

Waratahs assistant coach Steve Tandy confirmed players would be rested and backed the next wave to step up.

“It’s an opportunity for boys to come in and really represent what we stand for, and continue how we’ve gone through the season, making sure we fight for every minute we play,” Randy said.

“It’s massive for us (to finish with a win) and it will tell you a lot about what we are, we’re going to rest a few boys but it’s exciting.

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“It’s going to be wet and windy so it’s a good test of character because we’re going to go there with some young boys coming in. I’m pretty excited as a coach to see those boys bar up in Invercargill.”

Waratahs flanker Ned Hanigan is expected to return from injury, while this week marks the final game at the club for Nick Phipps and Curtis Rona.

“We’re losing some senior guys who have been unbelievable for the club, so there’s some big shoes to fill but I’ve got no doubt we’ve got some young guys ready to step and take their place,” Tandy said.

“Some boys have been waiting in the wings … and this weekend it will be a great opportunity to see these guys play, and that experience will lead them onto next year.”

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The Waratahs have endured a tumultuous season plagued by Israel Folau, who was sacked after condemning homosexuals on social media.

NSW prop Harry Johnson-Holmes said the Folau saga had been a distraction, but added it galvanised the group and backed the squad to finish on a high against the Highlanders.

“It’s not so much character building but character revealing. How we respond this week will go a long way to (revealing) the future of the club,” Johnson-Holmes said.

“We have a lot of people leaving and it’s an opportunity for younger guys to get their first shot in Super Rugby. To not treat it with the respect it deserves would be a big mistake.”

– 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?

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