The Waratahs are sweating on the fitness of two back-line stars and the presence of a pop music megastar as they prepare for a barnstorming return to Allianz Stadium in their Super Rugby season opener against the Brumbies on Friday night.
Test centre Izaia Perese (quadriceps) and 2022 rookie of the year Dylan Pietsch (quadriceps) are considered “50-50s” to be named in the most anticipated Waratahs line-up in years, with teen winger Max Jorgensen set to feature in the matchday squad.
NSW coach Darren Coleman will give Perese and Pietsch 48 hours to prove their fitness before opting for plan B, a move that will likely affect who starts in the No.10 jersey and at fullback, with Tane Edmed and Ben Donaldson battling it out for the playmaking honours.
The news comes as NSW Rugby takes on musical juggernaut Ed Sheeran in its attempt to crack 30,000 spectators at Allianz Stadium for the first time in eight years.
Sheeran is playing the first of two shows on the other side of town, at Accor Stadium, on the same night. The English star, who won over New Zealand fans when he wore a Black Ferns jersey on stage at Eden Park last week, is sure to eat in to sections of the Waratahs’ audience.
But NSW Rugby remains bullish about the team’s prospects, confident they’ll surge past 20,000 people this week and now focused on nudging 30,000.
It would be the first time since 2016, two years after they won the Super Rugby title, that the team broke through the 20,000 mark. The Waratahs have not played in front of a crowd of 30,000 or more since 2015, declining performances and a tired competition format hitting crowds hard. By the time the team took its season on the road, while the new Allianz Stadium was built, attendances regularly dipped below the 10,000 mark.
Improved performance under Coleman’s stewardship started to turn the ship around, with 14,681 packing out Leichhardt Oval to watch the team’s final round game against the Blues.
Coleman said the squad were excited to Moore Park.
“If you want to be a high-performing team you have to wear that pressure. We’ve got a strong team now. We don’t have any excuses.”
NSW coach Darren Coleman
“We’ve had a countdown on our team wall from day one of preseason and for me, personally, the first thing I did when I got the job was have that vision of riding the team bus into the stadium, people walking down the hill from Paddington and the pubs around full of people in blue jerseys,” he said.
“The guys know we’ve got to take a step up if we want to fill a big stadium, compete against and beat the big teams.
Ned Hanigan carries the ball against the Chiefs in the 2022 finals.Credit:Getty
“NSW is the biggest rugby state and the biggest city in Australia and there’s things that come with that, and if you want to be a high-performing team you have to wear that pressure. We’ve got a strong team now. We don’t have any excuses.”
As well as doubt over the shape of the NSW back line, the Waratahs will be missing Ned Hanigan, who is out with a knee injury until round three or four.
The back- and second-row option will join Will Harrison, Joey Walton and Harry Johnson-Holmes – all of whom are nursing long-term injuries – on the sidelines again. Hugh Sinclair is likely to start with Jed Holloway in the second row, while Test stars Angus Bell, Dave Porecki and Michael Hooper will all be available after sitting out the trial games under World Cup year resting agreements.
Coleman said the Brumbies were a perfect opening round challenge for his side, saying they would evolve under new coach Stephen Larkham rather than make wholesale changes to the way they played.
“They have James Slipper and Allan Alaalatoa and three Wallabies locks, so their tight five is a strength,” he said. “Our goal will be to showcase our newfound physicality and get parity, at least, up front.”
Watch all the action from the Six Nations with every match streaming ad-free, live and exclusive on Stan Sport. Round 3 returns Sunday 26 February, with Italy v Ireland (1:05am AEDT), Wales v England (3:35am AEDT) and France v Scotland (1:50am AEDT).
