New South Wales Waratahs
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| New South Wales Waratahs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1882 (first NSW match) 1996 (Super 12 begins) |
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| Union | Australian Rugby Union | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Sydney, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Region | New South Wales | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground(s) | Sydney Football Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Capacity | 45,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Ewen McKenzie | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Captain | Rocky Elsom & Phil Waugh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Super 14 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Official website | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| www.nswrugby.com.au | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The New South Wales Waratahs (referred to as HSBC Waratahs for sponsorship reasons, the Waratahs or simply the 'Tahs) are an Australian rugby union football team, representing most of New South Wales in the Super 14 (formerly Super 12) competition—though not the Riverina or other southern parts of the state, which are represented by the Brumbies, who are based in Canberra and owned by the ACT and Southern NSW Rugby Union.
The Waratahs has historically been the name for the New South Wales Rugby Union (NSWRU) representative team, and became the name for the New South Wales team when it entered the Super Six, Super 10 and Super 12 competitions. The name and emblem comes from the Waratah, the state flower for New South Wales. Their home ground is Sydney Football Stadium at Moore Park in Sydney.
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[edit] Amateur era
The SNWRU (or then, The Southern RU - SRU) was established in 1874, and the very first club competition took place that year. By 1880 the SRU had over 100 clubs in its governance in the metropolitan area. In 1882 the first New South Wales team was selected to play Queensland in a two-match series. NSW would go onto win both the games.
That same year the first NSW touring squad was selected to go and play in New Zealand. During World War I, the NSW (and QLD) Rugby Unions ceased senior competition. The Queensland body however would not reform until 1929, which saw NSW have more responsibilities for Australian rugby. In 1921 the Waratahs toured New Zealand again, and out of their 10 fixtures, won nine games, including the Test.
The most famous Waratah team was the 1927/28 Waratahs who toured the United Kingdom, France and North America, introducing a style of open, running rugby never seen before, but which has been the stamp of the Australian game ever since. They won 24 and drew two of their 31 official matches. When the selectors sat down to choose the immortal 1927/8 Waratahs, they picked no less than seven from the Drummoyne Rugby Club. Upon returning home, were greeted with a parade through Sydney and a reception at Town Hall. Matches against Queensland would soon resume also.
The 1930s were a particularly successful time for NSW. The height of the success of NSW is best represented by the defeat of the South African Springboks in 1937 at the SCG. NSW Rugby Union would also perform strongly throughout the following decades as well, which included the emergence of footballers such as Trevor Allan, David Brockhoff, Tony Miller, Nick Shehadie, Eddie Stapleton, Ken Catchpole, John Thornett, Peter Crittle and Ron Graham.
In 1963 the Sydney Rugby Union was established for the growth of the game in the city area. The NSW Rugby Union would celebrate its 100th anniversary in 1974. As part of the anniversary celebrations, a match was played at the SCG on May 18 against the All Blacks, though the Waratahs lost nil to 20.
[edit] Professional era
In their inaugural Super 12 season of 1996, the Waratahs won just under half of their games, finishing mid table, with the two other Australian teams finishing above them. The following season of 1997 saw the Waratahs end in a 9th place, winning four fixtures.
In the 1998 season the Waratahs won a best six out of 11 games, ending up in 6th position on the ladder at the end of the season, despite obvious improvements the team had still yet to make a finals appearance. The Waratahs won four fixtures the next season. They won five games in the 2000 season and the 'Tahs finished their season in 9th place.
In 2001 the Waratahs won the same amount of games as the 2000 season but finished, still out of reach of finals contention, in 8th position. 2002 was a record breaking season for the Waratahs, as the team won eight out of their 11 season games and finished in second place behind the Crusaders - making the semis. They were defeated by their Australian rivals the Brumbies, 51-10, in the Waratahs first ever semi-final.
In the 2003 season the Waratahs missed a place in the finals, finishing in 6th position on the ladder at the end of the regular season. In 2004 the Waratahs made a promising start to their season with three straight wins. The team finished 8th on the Super 12 table, six points out of the finals. That year coach Ewen McKenzie re-introduced the end of season tour, taking place in Argentina that year. In 2005, they had their best regular season, finishing second in the table, before losing to the Crusaders in the 2005 Super 12 Final.
The Waratahs finished 3rd on the regular season table for the 2006 Super 14 season, in which two new teams entered the expanded tournament, the Force and Central Cheetahs. In the last home match of the regular season, the Waratahs hosted the Hurricanes, which they lost 14 to 29. The news that star league recruit Wendell Sailor had tested positive to an illegal substance and thus faced a career ending ban from the game was an unwelcome intrusion on the Waratahs semifinal build up. The following week, the semi-finals, they again faced the Hurricanes, though away in Wellington. The Waratahs made their exit, losing 16 to 14. Wendell Sailor later received a two year ban from the game, marring a season that had promised so much.[1]
The 2007 super 14 season was the most disappointing for the team and its supporters with the Waratahs winning only two games against the lions and the wooden spoon winning reds gaining a final placing of 13th out of 14. however such a disappointing season was as much a result of bad luck as it was the poor on field performances with the waratahs losing almost half their games by seven or less with home games against the chiefs and the highlanders being lost in the final stages of the game. Despite the poor performance the 2007 season saw the emergence of teenage rugby prodigy Kurtley Beale and proved to be a rebuilding stage in the waratahs super 14 championship run.
The 2008 season for the NSW Waratahs has begun well with solid pre-season wins and a solid opening game victory against the Hurricanes 20-3 and a close come from behind loss to the Chiefs proving the 'tahs have the squad to challenge for the title this year. The round 4 victory over the Brumbies marked NSW's 500th victory since their first match in 1882. After starting the season in a slow but solid manner the tahs began to play their best rugby in their mid season match with the blues scoring their first four try bonus point of the season, the waratahs then continued on a roll finishing their home season with an impressive 4 try bonus point win against title front runners the sharks improving to second place on the ladder. An average south african trip saw the team slip to third on the ladder after notching only 3 competition points after losing to the bull (7 or less BP) and a stisfactory draw against other title contenders the stormers. the waratahs faced the reds in the final round with a win securing second place and a home semi-final win over the Sharks moved them up to a Super 14 final against the Crusaders which is going to be played on the 31 May.
[edit] Logo and colours
The New South Wales Waratahs play in a sky blue jersey and navy blue shorts, blue having a long sporting association with the state and a famous rivalry with the red/maroon colour of Queensland. Long time sponsors HSBC feature on the front of the jersey. An alternative white strip is also used. In pre-season of 2006, the Waratahs donned a new jersey scheme in a trial game against the Crusaders. This system saw traditional rugby playing numbers on the back of jerseys replaced with the initials of the player. Previously made by Canterbury, the current jersey is made by ISC and is Cambridge blue, with the alternate strip being white with navy piping.
Up until 1885, New South Wales wore 'heather green' strips. From 1891 to 1897, New South Wales played in scarlet jerseys. The following season they team adopted Cambridge blue jerseys. The light blue jersey and navy blue pants were established in 1897 and have been in effect ever since. The New South Wales rugby union team have historically been known as the Waratahs, the flower, the Waratah, being the state flower of New South Wales.
[edit] Stadium
The Waratahs play at Sydney Football Stadium, which is in Sydney's Moore Park, adjacent to the Sydney Cricket Ground. The capacity for the stadium is 45,500. The Waratahs share the ground with Sydney F.C. and the Sydney Roosters.
As well as Sydney Football Stadium, the Waratahs have in the past played fixtures at other stadiums throughout the state. During the Australian Provincial Championship, in which the Waratahs had two fixtures, the games were taken to the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, and the other to Bathurst. The Waratahs will also be playing a trial match at Campbelltown Stadium in early 2008.
[edit] Season standings
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Season Pos Pld W D L F A +/- BP Pts Notes 1996 6th 11 5 0 6 312 290 +22 8 28 1997 9th 11 4 0 7 255 296 -41 4 20 1998 6th 11 6 1 4 306 276 +30 4 30 1999 8th 11 4 1 6 246 248 -2 6 24 2000 9th 11 5 0 6 273 258 +15 5 25 2001 8th 11 5 0 6 306 302 +4 5 25 2002 3rd 11 8 0 3 337 284 +53 7 39 (lost semi-final to Brumbies) 2003 5th 11 6 0 5 313 344 -31 7 31 2004 8th 11 5 0 6 342 274 +68 7 27 2005 2nd 11 9 0 2 322 174 148 5 41 (lost final to Crusaders) 2006 3rd 13 9 0 4 362 192 170 9 45 (lost semi-final to Hurricanes) 2007 13th 13 3 1 9 266 317 -51 7 21 2008 2nd 13 9 1 3 255 186 +69 5 43 (lost final to Crusaders)
[edit] Current squad
| Player | Position | ARC | Club | Super 14 caps | Wallaby caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ben Batger  |
Wing/Fullback | N/A | Eastwood | 9 | 0 |
| Alastair Baxter |
Prop | Central Coast Rays | Northern Suburbs | 71 | 51 |
| Kurtley Beale |
Flyhalf | Western Sydney Rams | Northern Suburbs | 10 | 0 |
| Luke Burgess |
Scrumhalf | Melbourne Rebels | Eastern Suburbs | 2 | 0 |
| Will Caldwell |
Lock | Sydney Fleet | Sydney University | 24 | 0 |
| Matthew Carraro |
Utility Back | Canberra Vikings | Gosford | 4 | 0 |
| Tom Carter |
Centre | N/A | Sydney University | 0 | 0 |
| David Dennis |
Back Row | Melbourne Rebels | Sydney University | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Dunning |
Prop | Wallabies squad | Eastwood | 76 | 36 |
Rocky Elsom .svg/22px-Flag_of_Victoria_(Australia).svg.png){kind=small} |
Flanker | Wallabies squad | Randwick | 55 | 32 |
| Andrew Dixson |
Hooker | Wallabies squad | Randwick | 67 | 20 |
| Daniel Halangahu |
Flyhalf/Fullback | Sydney Fleet | Sydney University | 23 | 0 |
| Sam Harris |
Centre | Central Coast Rays | Manly | 23 | 0 |
| Rob Horne |
Centre/Wing | N/A | Southern Districts | 3 | 0 |
| Ben Jacobs |
Centre | Central Coast Rays | Warringah | 28 | 0 |
| David Lyons |
Back Row | Wallabies squad | Sydney University | 100 | 44 |
| Alfi Mafi |
Fullback/Wing | Sydney Fleet | Sydney University | 0 | 0 |
| Al Manning | Hooker | Northern Suburbs | |||
Ben Mowen  |
Back Row | East Coast Aces | Easts (QLD) | 1 | 0 |
| Dean Mumm |
Lock/Back Row | Sydney Fleet | Sydney University | 12 | 0 |
Sam Norton-Knight  |
Utility Back | Central Coast Rays | Northern Suburbs | 36 | 2 |
| Dan Palmer |
Prop | N/A | Southern Districts | 1 | 0 |
| Wycliff Palu |
Back Row | Central Coast Rays | Warringah | 27 | 17 |
| Tatafu Polota-Nau |
Hooker | Western Sydney Rams | Parramatta | 26 | 3 |
Beau Robinson  |
Flanker | Central Coast Rays | Northern Suburbs | 9 | 0 |
| Benn Robinson |
Prop | Western Sydney Rams | Eastwood | 27 | 6 |
Brett Sheehan  |
Scrumhalf | Central Coast Rays | Warringah | 26 | 1 |
| Timana Tahu |
Centre | N/A | West Harbour | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremy Tilse |
Prop | Sydney Fleet | Sydney University | 1 | 0 |
| Lote Tuqiri |
Wing | Wallabies squad | West Harbour | 60 | 58 |
| Lachlan Turner |
Wing | Western Sydney Rams | Eastwood | 8 | 0 |
| Josh Valentine |
Scrumhalf | Sydney Fleet | Randwick | 49 | 4 |
Dan Vickerman   |
Lock | Wallabies squad | Sydney University | 70 | 52 |
| Phil Waugh (C) |
Flanker | Wallabies squad | Sydney University | 82 | 66 |
[edit] Former players
- Matt Burke
- Chris Whitaker
- Morgan Turinui
- David Campese
- Brendan Cannon
- Ken Catchpole
- Mat Rogers
- Ray Price
- Simon Poidevan
- Nick Farr-Jones
- Phil Kearns
- Wendell Sailor
[edit] Coaches
- Chris Hawkins - 1996
- Matt Williams - 1996 to 1999
- Ian Kennedy - 2000
- Bob Dwyer - 2001 to 2003
- Ewen McKenzie - 2004 to 2008
- Chris Hickey - Present
[edit] Statistics
[edit] Team
[edit] Individual
- Most Caps - 107 - Chris Whitaker
- Most Points - 957 - Matt Burke
- Most Tries - 25 - Lote Tuqiri
- Most Points in a Season - 184 - Peter Hewat (2006)
- Most Tries in a Season - 10 - Peter Hewat (2005)
- Most Points in a Match - 34 - Peter Hewat (v Bulls, 2005)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- waratahs.com.au - Official website
- nswrugby.com.au - Official website of NSW Rugby
- gothetahs.com - Unofficial Fan website
- wearbluefriday.com - Fan website
- theRoar.com.au 2007 season
review
[edit] References
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