Waratahs coach Chris Hickey says that this year’s Super Rugby tournament will be won by defence and not by an attacking team.
This week is the eighth round of the new Super Rugby tournament and the two leading teams are in their positions because of different styles of game.
The Stormers lead the tournament and have kept their place at the top due to their defence while the Crusaders are in second place due to their attacking game plan.
This year’s tournament has already proved to be a more defensively orientated tournament for the majority of teams rather than last year’s try-fest.
“We had a new set of law interpretations last year and teams have come to terms with that now,” Hickey told Reuters at the Waratahs training ground.
“So they’ve worked hard on their defence as well as their attack. ”
“Ultimately when you look at the table at the end of the year, the teams in the top six will be the teams who’ve got the best defensive records.”
The Waratahs priority in defensive terms this weekend against the Force will be shutting down Wallabies back James O’Connor, who even though the Force have lost four out six games is the second-highest scorer in the competition.
“He’s playing really well at the moment and whether he plays at 10 or 12 he’ll be a threat,” Hickey added.
“Some of it’s about how we defend and we’ll have some strategies in place for that.
“The other factor is the quality of possession he gets so we’ve got to try and make sure he’s not playing on the front foot. ”
“That’s where a player of his quality really comes into the game.”
Hickey’s Waratahs have played six and won four. Their two losses came against the Crusaders and the Cheetahs but Hickey says that the new conference system which was introduced this year is making life harder for the Waratahs.
“The local derbies are going to be really important in this competition,” he said.
“You play those teams twice rather than once and they are quite often the hardest games.
“In these games, form doesn’t really count for much and it’s the same in New Zealand and South Africa.”
“They’ve added another edge to the game and another challenge.
“Certainly in the Australian conference teams rise to the occasion when they’re playing the Waratahs. It just makes it a stronger challenge for us.”
The Waratahs will be looking for a clean sweep of victories over their Australian rivals this year and their next step will be beating the Force in Perth this weekend without captain Phil Waugh and regular flyhalf Berrick Barnes.
Wallabies fullback Kurtley Beale is expected to wear the number 10 shirt in Perth as he did in the 23-16 victory over the Waikato Chiefs last weekend.
“His good performance against the Chiefs will help him,” said Hickey.
“This time he’ll be used to playing in traffic a little bit more and hopefully he’ll build on that performance.”
The Waratahs are also expecting to be able to call on experienced prop Al Baxter who missed the Chiefs match after he came through training on Tuesday.