Spiro Zavos, writing on rugbyheaven.com.au, believes that the Waratahs need a few lessons in common sense.
"On my way out of the Sydney Football Stadium after the Waratahs' lacklustre loss to the Bulls, I heard a couple talking about the game. "At least now," the husband said to his wife, "we won't have to worry about buying tickets for the semi-finals."
"The disappointing aspect of the Waratahs' play, which still rankled as I trudged home along with a stream of morose supporters, was the lack of nous and skill. Against a disciplined Bulls side that played a simple game of high balls, pressure and width on the turnover ball, the Waratahs made a number of careless, tactically clueless mistakes that indicated that they're not thinking clearly about their play.
"Players within their 22 were kicking downfield and giving the Bulls possession inside the Waratahs' half. The golden rule under the kicking sanction of the ELVs is that if you can kick out on the full, then do it. Yet time and time again, and this applies to some of the other teams (the disappointing Stormers are a case in point), players continue to kick the ball back to the opposition who then run it back at them with an intent to score tries."
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