Gibson refuses to guarantee he will rest the Waratahs' Wallabies
Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson has given no firm guarantee he will rest five Wallabies representatives next week as part of a national agreement after naming a near full-strength side to face the ACT Brumbies on Saturday.
Last week Gibson revealed he still needed to give Sekope Kepu, Rob Simmons, Michael Hooper, Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale a week off as part of an agreement with the Wallabies that players would be rested in a World Cup year.
But a major headache looms for Gibson next week should the Waratahs win on Saturday against the Brumbies and keep their hopes of qualifying for the Super Rugby finals alive going into their clash with the Highlanders in Invercargill.
It is expected Gibson will bite the bullet and rest those five players next week even if the Waratahs’ season is still on the line.
However, Gibson gave no assurance that will happen, which won't impress a number of other Australian Super Rugby teams who have abided by the guidelines.
“That’s a hypothetical problem for next week. We want to look at it then,” Gibson said. “Am I going to make any guarantees? No. We’ll get through Saturday and if the result goes our way then we’ll have those conversations.”
Gibson might have to call Michael Cheika, who he coached with at the Waratahs, and ask him for an exemption if NSW are still a mathematical chance of slipping into the top eight.
Melbourne Rebels coach Dave Wessels, who has rested Will Genia and Quade Cooper for their match this round, said last week he expected the Waratahs to hold up their end of the bargain.
“All I know is we sat in a room and made an agreement about something, so I'd presume that they're going to stick to that," Wessels said. “We certainly will do our part.”
The only change to the Waratahs starting XV that beat the Rebels last Fridays is that of Ned Hanigan, who has been left out after failing his return to play protocols for a concussion.
Tom Staniforth comes into the second row for what will be his first start since the Lions match in round 13. Hanigan is expected to be right to face the Highlanders next week in the final round of the regular season.
Gibson said he wanted to give his Australian representatives every chance to impress and also keep the team’s finals hopes alive for another week.
“We’re in a situation where we need to get an outcome from this game to remain in the competition and giving our Australian players of national interest an opportunity to play against their peers,” Gibson said. “If we don’t win this week then all bets are off. We’ve got no opportunity to qualify for the finals. The focus has been on this week. Let’s get an outcome if we can and focus on our preparation.”
The Waratahs have lost five of their last six matches against the Brumbies, who are sitting nine points above NSW at the top of the Australian conference.
“They’ve been really solid all year and really consistent,” Gibson said. “[They are] really good at replicating what they do well and sticking to that. We know what’s coming. The game is going to be won and lost at the set-piece.”
The Brumbies will name their team on Thursday evening.
Waratahs team
(1-15): Tom Robertson, Damien Fitzpatrick, Sekope Kepu, Tom Staniforth, Rob Simmons, Lachlan Swinton, Michael Hooper, Michael Wells, Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley, Curtis Rona, Lalakai Foketi, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Alex Newsome, Kurtley Beale.
Reserve: Andrew Tuala/Tolu Latu, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Chris Talakai, Jed Holloway, Will Miller, Jake Gordon, Tautalatasi Tasi, Cam Clark.