New South Wales Waratahs
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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 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 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 Aussie Stadium at Moore Park in Sydney.
Strip
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. SANZAR were loud about their feelings on this new venture, and the Waratahs reluctantly gave up on the new idea.
History
In their inaugural 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 only four of their 11 games. By the end of the 1997 season, the New South Wales side was the only Australian team not to have tasted finals action in the Super 12 series.
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. After a promising 1998 season, 1999 turned out to be disappointing for the Waratahs as they were unable to replicate or improve on their achievements in the previous season, like the 1997 season the team won only four games. Despite winning five games in the 2000 season, the 'Tahs ended 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. The team made their first finals appearance, beaten 51-10 by their Australian rivals, the Brumbies.
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. Injuries and losses away from home started to take their toll on the side and after what was an optimistic start to the season, 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, which gave fringe players more opportunities. In 2005, they had their best regular season, finishing second in the table, before losing to the Crusaders in the playoffs.
Current team lineup
Props: Al Baxter, Aaron Broughton-Rouse, Matt Dunning, Benn RobinsonHookers: Adam Freier, Tatafu Polota-Nau
Locks: Will Caldwell, Al Kanaar, Dean Mumm, Dan Vickerman, Marty Wilson
Back Row: Rocky Elsom, Stephen Hoiles, Leroy Houston, David Lyons, Wycliff Palu, Phil Waugh (v-c)
Halfbacks: Josh Holmes, Brett Sheehan, Chris Whitaker (c)
Flyhalf: Tim Donnelly, Mat Rogers, Daniel Halangahu
Centres: Shaun Berne, Tom Carter, Ben Jacobs, Chris Siale, Morgan Turinui, Sam Norton-Knight
Wingers: Winston Mafi, Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri, Peter Hewat
Fullbacks: Peter Hewat, Sam Norton-Knight
Team records
Biggest win
Biggest loss
Individual records
Most caps
- *107 - Chris Whitaker
Most points
- *957 - Matt Burke
Most trys
- *24 - Matt Burke
Super Rugby positions
| 1996 .. | 6th | |
| 1997 .. | 9th | |
| 1998 .. | 6th | |
| 1999 .. | 8th | |
| 2000 .. | 9th | |
| 2001 .. | 8th | |
| 2002 .. | 3rd | .. (lost semi-final to Brumbies) |
| 2003 .. | 5th | |
| 2004 .. | 8th | |
| 2005 .. | 2nd | .. (lost final to Crusaders) |
| 2006 .. | 3rd | .. (lost semi-final to Hurricanes) |
References
External links
- [Official site]
- [Data and statistics] itsrugby.com
- [wearbluefriday.com]
- [gothetahs.com]
| SANZAR rugby union links | [http://encycl.opentopia.com/ edit ] | |
| Rugby union in Australia | Rugby union in New Zealand | Rugby union in South Africa | ||
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Federation Links Australian Rugby Union | New Zealand Rugby Football Union | South African Rugby Union | SANZAR | ||
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Competitions Super 14 | Tri Nations | ||
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National teams Australia | New Zealand | South Africa | ||
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Super 14 teams Blues | Brumbies | Bulls | Cats | Cheetahs | Chiefs | Crusaders | Force | Highlanders | Hurricanes | Reds | Sharks | Stormers | Waratahs | Spears (originally to play in 2007, future now uncertain) | ||
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| Super 12 champions |
| 1996 Blues | 1997 Blues | 1998 Crusaders | 1999 Crusaders | 2000 Crusaders | 2001 Brumbies | 2002 Crusaders | 2003 Blues | 2004 Brumbies | 2005 Crusaders |
| Super 14 champions |
| 2006 Crusaders |
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