Vickerman to target Paulo
May 29 2008
South African-born lock Dan Vickerman, whose Wallabies career may be over, looms as a major impediment to the Crusaders annexing a seventh Super Rugby crown in Christchurch on Saturday.
Vickerman will be a central figure when the Waratahs seek a rare win on AMI Stadium: the experienced lock is capable of creating havoc on the opposition's throw, as evidenced by the Sharks' semi-final capitulation in Sydney last weekend.
Vickerman also regularly rules the restart for his team, regardless of whether it is his call.
During the Waratahs' 28-13 win last Saturday, the Sharks only kicked the ball out twice so Vickerman had to settle on disrupting the throw instead.
Ultimately the Waratahs snaffled the Sharks' line-out ball five times - a strike rate that had struggling hooker Bismark Du Plessis baffled.
As a result, the Waratahs' dominance of the line-out negated the Sharks' plan to target Waratahs pivot Kurtley Beale in defence.
"They clearly had some set plays they wanted to run against us, just from the way they set up and the way they had their structure," coach Ewen McKenzie told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.
"They had a different back row. They had a ball carrying number seven (Epi Taione). Clearly, the job was to run at Kurtley and he didn't get the ball.
"We upset their line-out and upset the rhythm of their set piece so they couldn't get clean shots at us so we took some of the advantage away from them."
The Waratahs will be looking to do likewise against Ali Williams and Brad Thorn in the final - a match that could be Vickerman's last as he eyes a move to England.
The Waratahs, who arrived in Christchurch on Wednesday, believe the loss of Corey Flynn (broken arm) will prove beneficial in the quest to build enough possession to undermine the title favourites.
Flynn has been replaced by Ti'i Paulo - who impressed in the semi-final victory over the Hurricanes as the in-form hooker's replacement.
With Crusaders' rookie Steve Folau named on the bench, there is concern Paulo can't last the distance and McKenzie thought Flynn's replacement had huge boots to fill.
"He (Flynn) reads the game very well, he initiates a lot of key plays for them and adds a lot of momentum," said McKenzie.
"So he's a pretty big loss."
Waratahs flanker Rocky Elsom also sensed an added advantage with novice hooker Paulo taking the Crusaders' line-out throws.
"Paulo is a good player, but the pressure will be on him because of throwing into the line-out," said Elsom.
"We will look to put a lot of pressure on him. Vicks (Vickerman) will be trouble for them if he's not up to the throwing.
"It's not just a couple of throws, but getting it right for the whole game.
"Once you miss a few throws you start to second guess yourself. The pressure obviously built on Bismarck. He missed a couple of throws and then he couldn't hit the side of a barn."
History is against the Waratahs with their only win from eight matches in Christchurch coming five years ago when they thumped the Crusaders 43-19.
The losses include the 2002 drubbing 19-96, the 2005 Super 12 final 25-35 and this year's round-robin match 7-35.
"We haven't had a good track record here, but it means very little come Saturday night. So we're not intimidated by that record," said Waratahs captain Phil Waugh.
"Their track record speaks for itself and, obviously, they won the round-robin pretty convincingly and they deserved the home final.
"It's a big challenge for us, but the guys are all looking forward to it."