Izaia Perese says the Waratahs have “unmatchable belief” when things go their way and insists the men in sky blue can still have an impact come finals time despite a wobbly season so far.
After being touted as the Australian team to beat before a ball was kicked in the 2023 season, NSW registered only their third win from nine matches on Friday evening with a hard-fought 21-20 victory over the Highlanders.
A 79th-minute try from reserve hooker Mahe Vailanu saved the day in a last-gasp win that will see the Waratahs remain in the top eight by the end of this weekend’s matches.
The Waratahs have five games remaining before a potential quarter-final. Of their upcoming opponents – the Reds, Rebels, Fijian Drua, Crusaders and Moana Pasifika – only the Crusaders sit above them on the ladder.
Coach Darren Coleman admitted after the match his side were yet to produce their best rugby this season. The second-year Super Rugby coach has spoken all year about building into the season and being at their best come finals time.
The Waratahs declared at the start of the year they were targeting the top four but are extremely unlikely to make up that much ground in the last month of the regular season.
Izaia Perese tries to bump off a tackle against the Highlanders. Credit: Getty
Perese, who beat five defenders to score a memorable try on Friday night, was asked if NSW could challenge in finals despite their up and down performances.
“Definitely. When we’re on … it’s unmatchable, our belief,” Perese said. “But again we need to get the little things right, like execution.
“We allow other teams to come back into the game. That really hurts us. Once we can get on top of that sort of stuff, we’ll be able to take it all the way.”
Coming off a winless season in 2021, NSW squeezed into last year’s quarter-finals before suffering a 39-15 defeat to the Chiefs. To say they are completely satisfied with their efforts this term would be a stretch.
“We got the win at the end of the day, but we’re far from happy,” Perese said. “To be honest, [there is] frustration. There were so many times we did things to plan and so many times we let them back into the game from our own errors.”
Last month, Perese gave a blunt assessment of his own performances, saying he wasn’t where he wanted to be.
The three-Test Wallaby was subsequently left out of Eddie Jones’ first squad for a camp on the Gold Coast but earned a late call-up due to injuries to other players.
Friday evening’s solid showing did his selection chances no harm but Perese has high standards and isn’t singing his own praises just yet.
“I’m not happy with where I am and I want to be playing a lot better,” Perese said. “But sometimes you’ve got to be playing the way the game’s going and sometimes it’s just a forwards game.
“Eddie is friggin’ outstanding. Eddie focuses on everyone’s abilities and their point of differences. He’s all about building you up and what we need to work on. He knows it will come and he trusts that we’re doing all that work at our Super Rugby clubs. So hats off to Eddie, he’s doing so good with the group at the moment.”
The Waratahs face the Queensland Reds in Townsville next Saturday. The Reds have bragging rights after a 32-20 win in round six last season.
“There’s plenty to work on and review and go into next week refreshed,” Perese said.
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