The Waratahs are sweating over the availability of several of their top stars ahead of the clash with the Cheetahs on Saturday.
Skipper Phil Waugh (bicep) and hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau (knee) are facing a race against the clock to be fit, while Wallaby duo Wycliff Palu and Berrick Barnes are expected to be back in the starting line-up after recovering from injury.
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The ‘Tahs are particularly excited to have big No.8 Palu in action for the first time this season following his hamstring injury.
“It’s pretty exciting isn’t it. Cliffy Palu is a great guy to have back in the team he’s been training really hard,” Waratahs centre Tom Carter told AAP.
“He’s an incredible ball carrier and a great defender so whenever he’s been fit he does a lot of damage for us.
“It’s just such a big boost for us, he’s worked so hard to get back. Eleven months in rehab he’s shown the way, no one has seen him work so hard so we’re pretty excited to have him back.”
There is also promising news for flyhalf Barnes – who has been out with a concussion, but is expected to slot back into the No.10 jersey.
Polota-Nau and Waugh will be assessed later in the week, after picking up injuries during the 33-18 defeat to the Crusaders.
“We want to have another look at them after Monday and the medical staff will look at them on Tuesday and then we’ll have a good idea of exactly where we’re sitting with those two players,” coach Chris Hickey told Sportal.
Hickey plans to take a cautious approach to a comeback for injury-prone centre Rob Horne , who is out with a reoccurring elbow injury having had surgery on it in August last year.
“We’re probably looking at six weeks to make sure that we’re 100 percent on it,” he said.
“And I guess from our point of view the longer season actually works for us doesn’t it, if you had six weeks in round four last year it was just about your season gone whereas we’ll still have quite a few games to play when Rob comes back.”
The difficult task for the Waratahs is to decide who will wear the No.13 jersey in Horne’s absence.
“We’ve got a few contenders there, obviously Ryan Cross, Lachie Turner and Drew Mitchell’s also played 13 at times, so we’ve got a few options and we’ll have a look at them at training and see what we think is going to be best for this game,” Hickey confirmed.
Cheetahs need a win bad, but not a train smash yet, It’s still a long way to go, and unlike the Stormpies, they have actually played some good rugby, except for the yawnfest in Slaapstad. They were over the line 4 times against the Lions, and it was suberb defence that kept them out!! Against the Bulls, they also palayed very well, but they ran out “steam” and players as injuries cut them down!!Not bad for a team that is missing Juan, Viljoen, and Strauss, three of their most physically imposing players.
Just like the Lions, there win is imminent!!
Playing Sias is a step in the right direction, and hopefully Naka will persist with him for a few games, to give him the time to settle. This is a good Cheetah team, and despite some notoriusly negative people, there are no bad teams in the SA conference!!
Go Proteas!!! Go Cheetahs
cheetah 4 ever.waneer laas het jy na die log gekyk?n span kry punte vir n wen,geen punte vir hoe hulle speel nie.jou span se kans om die warathas te klop is swakker as wat ek die lotto gaan wen en ek speel nie eers lotto nie.
Hallo daar Piet, soos jy sien, het ek niks gesê van die Cheetahs wat die log oorneem nie, ek het gesê, dat hulle nes die Lions goeie rugby speel, en dat die wen sal kom.
Geen Stormers supporter kan tevrede wees met die Stormers se spel nie, en ongellukig, as dit so voortgaan, gaan hulle gouer as nou verloor.
Ek dink in teen deel, dat die sprokiesverhaal, al Saterdag gaan eindig. So beter jy speel maar lotto, dan sal jy dalk iets we die naweek!!
Go Cheetahs
ja dalk eindig ons stormers se fairy tale saterdag,dalk nie.nie die stormers of die bulls speel goeie rugby op die oomlik nie.maar as n wen na jou span se kant kom al is dit met naas botha rugby why not?jy is n cheetah man.ek wil graag weet hoekom kom naka abseluut niks oor as die cheetahs sleg speel nie?
Piet, maar jy verstaan nie, die Cheetahs het nie sleg gespeel nie ou maat, wat was nou sleg in hulle spel gewees? Ja teen die Sharks het hulle gesukkel in die scrums, maar daar was niks fout met hulle spel teen doie Bulle of teen die Leeus nie!!
Het nie die Stormers game gesien nie..
Partykeer doen ‘n span alles reg, maar dit wys net nie op die scoreboard nie, of hulle ontspoor as gevolg van beserings.
Sê my in alle eerlikheid, wat was fout met hulle spel teen die Bulls? In my opinie, het hulle verloor omdat hulle as gevolg van beide Juan, en Frans Viljoen se beserings, plus die geel kaart wat Wilhelm Steenkamp gekry het verloor. Die geelkaart self, was bietjie rof, want jy kan sien die bal het van ‘n Bulls spelere se been af gekom. Maar dit wys nie op die scoreboard nie.
Teen die Lions was daar drie geleenthede, waar hulle oor die lyn was, maar goeie verdediging het ‘n drie gekeer. So waar kan ek as Cheetah ondersteuner nou swartgallig raak? Die manne speel nie bad nie.
Vergelyk dan die Stormers se pogings teen die Lions en Cheetahs, en ek kan vir jou nou sê vergelykbaar het die Stormers glad nie goed gespeel nie. Kom wees eerlik Piet, ek weet jy kan!!!
die stormers speel swak,dit erken ek en al maak habana dit moeilik wen hulle.die sharks game is deur craig joubert beheer,daardie man is swak.jou span het amper die bulls en die stormers geklop maar iets kort by die cheetahs.dalk moet hulle iemand kry om te help want jou span speel glad nie soos hulle kan nie.
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