NSW Waratahs Assistant (specialist attack and kicking) Coach, Chris Malone recently sat down to chat about the Tahs’ Round One victory over the Queensland Reds.
See what he thought about the match, what players he liked and what he thinks the team will need to work on ahead of this weekends’ big one against the Brumbies in Canberra below.
How did you think the game went?
CM: Parts of it were really good. I think we showed the potential we have but obviously there were a few flat patches in the game as well. It’s a good position to be in, with a bonus point win first game. Now we have plenty to work on, which is a positive going forward.
What were the key take outs from the game?
CM: We need to be able to turn the momentum of the game. There was periods where we couldn’t control possession. Holding on to possession will give us the opportunity to be able to play the way we want to play and, in effect, turn around those flat spots and ensure we’re putting the pressure on the opposition rather than the other way around.
Who were the standouts for you from game one?
CM: I thought the leadership of Michael Hooper was very good, he showed that in his involvements in the game. I thought between him and Nick Phipps and Kurtley Beale, some of the older heads in the team, they helped to guide us around and lift the team.
But I also liked the debut of Dave Horwitz, and Jed Holloway’s game. It’s one game of many but they’ll both probably play a lot more games for NSW. The challenge for them this weekend will be backing it up against the form team in the competition. It’ll be a great test to see if they can back it up, we think they will and we look forward to seeing them do that.
What are you mainly working on this week in preparation for the Brumbies?
CM: The Brumbies probably had the best win of any team in the first week and, rightly, probably lived up to their favourites tag. So we’ve got plenty to work on, they have plenty of attacking threats and a new brand of football this year so we’re going to have to be good across the park, both defensively and more clinical in our attack.