Waratahs make promising start with bursts of brilliance against Fijian Drua
It’s another for Gamble to produce frequent turnovers, stunning tackles, and still have the wherewithal to do a dummy from the base of a maul, suck in the defence, and go over between the posts.
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Those two things alone allowed the Waratahs to go to a 14-10 lead against a Fijian Drua side that never stopped trying.
The problem is such brilliant pieces as those, still don’t yet quite fit with the rest of the puzzle!
Time and again we had bursts of brilliance that – if they could just have linked together without interruption – could have run up a cricket score.
Time and again, alas, those bursts of brilliance fell apart, or were isolated from each other, because of knock-ons, awry passes, kicks out on the full and spilled high-balls.
The frustration of this was compounded by the fact that despite having a player of Suaalii’s calibre, the ball just about never got to him in space, and the game plan never once included doing a short-kick off with the centre charging through and leaping high to tap it back, as we know he can do so effortlessly!
Seriously, coach Dan McKellar, in Suaalii, you’ve got a great weapon in world rugby, right there in sky blue ranks – can we not even try and fire it in anger?
And yes, in the second half the Waratahs put together another three tries – two to the reserve hooker, Ioane Moananu, and another one from Jorgensen for good measure, to give the flying winger four tries in the opening two matches of the season – but don’t be fooled. It all could have been so much more!
McKellar acknowledged as much afterwards, saying: “To be honest, I thought they left another thirty or forty points out on the field.”
I’d have put it at 50. They need composure. They need the ability to make a break and consolidate, not push the passes, not try and score off every play. Grind them down. Get the space. And then unleash the maestros.
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Look, all up, it is a promising start for the Waratahs in 2026, with two bonus point wins putting them at the top of the table, and a bye next week to get some precious rest. But no one who looks at it with clear eyes can think all the brilliant pieces yet fit together to make the masterpiece in sky blue and gleaming trophy we are looking for.
At the moment it’s a good drawing, with the signature of Max Jorgensen in the bottom right-hand corner, and that’s not enough.
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