Can the Waratahs walk away tonight with a victory?

The Tahs have made a somewhat convincing start to this Super 14 season, with wins such as their 73 - 12 victory against the Lions. However their unconvincing win last weekend against a struggling Western Force team, brings doubt into the mind's of any Waratahs fan.

This week, the Tahs are playing a Blues team that are full of confidence after their narrow victory last week over a strong Brumbies outfit. The Blues managed to make a magnificant comeback by blitzing the Brumbies with 3 quick tries after half time, to walk away with a 5 point victory and a bonus point to place them 9th on the table.

Last weekend the Tahs came away with an ugly victory that fans have become accustomed to under the coaching of Chris Hickey, that did not represent the running game they played the weekened before. Playing an expansive running game will provide the Tahs with the highest percentage of a victory against the Blues, with this style of play is suiting the new look backline of 2010.

Last week's win saw Berrick Barnes in very poor form, fumbling the ball, passing no look intercept passes to the opposition and missing easy penalty kicks. For the Tahs to come away with a win tonight, Berrkick needs to find the same form that he has had so far this season, which will in turn, fire up the rest of the Waratahs back line. Berrick is a key to the Tahs reigniting the spark they held against the Lions.

In the forwards, Phil Waugh needs to have a strong game and lead his troops by example, starting with less penalties. Last weekend the Waratahs gave away a number of penalties at the breakdown, and were just lucky that the Force were similarly not able to convert on their penalty kicks. The Force were unlucky not to take the match in the dying minutes with rookie South African referee, Jaco Peyper, allowing Phil Waugh to make two pivotal defensive turnovers whilst defending his own try line, where the tackled player had not been allowed time to release the ball.

Both Waugh and Chris Hickey hinted to the fact that they would be playing a more 'field position' style of rugby after last weeks match, quoted as saying that last weekend the team did not play enough for field position in the first 30 minutes. When in fact they gave away too much ball to the Force, which filled them with confidence after a number of attacking plays. One can only hope that this is not a tactic that the Tahs enforce tonight, as this will most definately hinder their attempts to dominate the Blues, who hold such counter attacking guru's as Joseteva Rokocoko in their back line.