THE Waratahs say they will not be mentally crippled by the winless record of Australian teams against Kiwi rivals when they host the Blues on Saturday.
In an unprecedently bad season, Australian sides are 0-15 against Kiwis in 2017.
But Tahs attack coach Chris Malone dismissed suggestions that the startling statistics would weigh on his players’ minds.
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“I don’t think so, I think it’s more what you guys (media) write about and talk about more than we do,” Malone said.
“We only control what we can control, we’ve got great belief in our whole squad, in the guys who will go out and represent NSW on Saturday night.
“It’s about us playing the way we want to play, regardless of who it is we’re playing against.
“I don’t buy into all that (hoodoo) stuff, I know we’ve got the capability to win those games, that’s what we’ll be going out to do.”
While most fans who attended the Tahs’ last home game — an embarrassing loss to the Kings — won’t be interested in returning, Malone is hoping for a big turnout at Allianz Stadium as they attempt to make a push for a finals place after beating the Reds 29-26 last weekend.
“I’d love to see a nice big crowd turn up because it’s a real opportunity for us to play again in front of our own fans and hopefully they’ve seen it’s a team that fights and has a lot of pride,” he said.
“We want to go out there and show them that on the weekend.”
And this match shapes to be an attacking thriller as both sides chase bonus-point wins.
Blues coach Tana Umaga said his side has no choice given they’re fifth in the New Zealand conference.
“We’ve put ourselves into this position and it’s only ourselves that can get us out, if it means we have to keep chasing those bonus points then that’s something we have to do,” Umaga said.
Malone said his side also plans to score plenty of tries.
“It’s the NSW way, we want to play rugby, we want to play with the ball in hand,” Malone said.
“The big thing from us (against Queensland) was to instil the belief in the boys to go and play the way we want to play the game.
“People listen to external things and can shy away a little. The pleasing thing was the boys stuck solid and did what they wanted to do.
“We believe in what we’re doing, we believe in the players we have to be able to execute the way we want to play.”
Originally published as Winless record won’t cripple Tahs
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