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Waratahs head to Johannesburg with 'belief'

The Waratahs have plenty of things to fix ahead of their Super Rugby semifinal against the Lions in Johannesburg next weekend.

The Waratahs have plenty of things to fix ahead of their Super Rugby semifinal against the Lions in Johannesburg next weekend.

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In an astonishing match, the Waratahs came from 6-23 down at half-time against the Highlanders in their quarterfinal in Sydney to eventually win 30-23.

It was a stunning turnaround, but the Waratahs were also helped by the fact that the Highlanders had one of their key players (Waisake Naholo) sent to the sin bin around the 50-minute mark.

In the 10 minutes that Naholo was absent, the Waratahs scored three converted tries to lead 27-23.

“I thought we were really poor in the first half,” said Gibson. “We lost four line-outs and we couldn’t get any possession, we couldn’t hang onto anything, we couldn’t string any phases together, we were getting behind in the penalty count, so on the balance, we played very poorly and still won the game.

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“It shows we are a good side. We got plenty of growth in us.

“We got to fix those things up for next week, but those are things that are easily fixable.”

Waratahs flyhalf Bernard Foley said it was belief in their own abilities that got them through in the end.

“I think we always had the belief, we just got to keep nailing the big moments.

“I thought we missed some line-out delivery tonight, especially at crucial times.

“We allowed them to get a roll on in that first half with some silly errors and some ill-discipline at the rucks. We just got to be more clinical in those positions. I think the belief and the confidence was always there amongst this squad,” said Foley.

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Nickers 32 minutes ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

I thought we made a lot of progress against that type of defence by the WC last year. Lots of direct running and punching holes rather than using width. Against that type of defence I think you have to be looking to kick on first phase when you have front foot ball which we did relatively successfully. We are playing a lot of rugby behind the gain line at the moment. They are looking for those little interchanges for soft shoulders and fast ball or off loads but it regularly turns into them battering away with slow ball and going backwards, then putting in a very rushed kick under huge pressure.


JB brought that dimension when he first moved into 12 a couple of years ago but he's definitely not been at his best this year. I don't know if it is because he is being asked to play a narrow role, or carrying a niggle or two, but he does not look confident to me. He had that clean break on the weekend and stood there like he was a prop who found himself in open space and didn't know what to do with the ball. He is still a good first phase ball carrier though, they use him a lot off the line out to set up fast clean ball, but I don't think anyone is particularly clear on what they are supposed to do at that point. He was used really successfully as a second playmaker last year but I don't think he's been at that role once this year. He is a triple threat player but playing a very 1 dimensional role at the moment. He and Reiko have been absolutely rock solid on defence which is why I don't think there will be too much experimentation or changes there.

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