Waratahs spring captaincy surprise

Updated February 23, 2012 19:27:37

Daniel Halangahu has been elevated from back-up five-eighth to Waratahs captain for Saturday night's Super Rugby opener against Queensland, and he'll most likely return to the bench for round two.

They're unusual circumstances but, for Halangahu, the last-minute reshuffling is nothing new and he says he won't be overawed against the defending premiers.

The 27-year-old is the 17th most experienced player in New South Wales rugby history yet, heading into his eighth season of Super Rugby, he's mostly lived a life of being in and out of the starting side.

Berrick Barnes was to wear the number 10 and skipper the side at the Olympic stadium but, after he failed to recover from a groin strain, Halangahu has an opportunity to show what he can do when he has total charge of the team.

Out of the blue, he's captain, chief playmaker and goalkicker and Halangahu is keen to make the most of it despite Barnes' expected return next week against the Rebels.

"I want to be playing 10 and I often joke that Berrick is the best number 12 in the country and he's a really good 15," said Halangahu.

"He's a great footballer and my role is to push him as much as I can and move him out of the 10 jersey to somewhere else.

"The last two years, I've dealt with some injury ... and it's difficult sometimes when you're not sure where your body's at and you're not sure if you are playing for your position, but that's something I'm quite used to.

"It's an honour ... as a 10, you need to run the team so having the 'c' next to your name ... it's just encouraging me to do my job better."

Halangahu said he won't be doing any ranting and raving in the sheds before the match or at halftime. He'll simply run through tactics and make sure his players are in the right mindset.

With first-choice captain Rocky Elsom sidelined with injury and Barnes out, many expected the job to fall to flanker Dean Mumm who filled in for Phil Waugh on occasion last season.

However, Waratahs coach Michael Foley said from his point of view, it was logical for Halangahu to climb the ladder all the way to captain and Wallabies prop Benn Robinson to be his deputy.

"We planned for that through pre-season. In both pre-season games, Berrick and Daniel captained the sides, so the 10s ran the teams and we had forward vice captains, and we've continued from that point on," Foley said.

"Rocky is our captain for our season and we've taken a bit of time to understand what we'll expect from our match-day captain and, with that in mind, there was obviously a chance Berrick could be replaced and, on that basis during the trials, we rehearsed both guys in that role.

"(Daniel's) job is just to call the game as he sees it and instruct the team on what he needs."

Like Barnes, Pat McCutcheon failed to recover from a niggling injury (calf) from the trials and he's been replaced by Chris Alcock.

Waratahs: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tom Kingston, Rob Horne, Tom Carter, Brackin Karauria-Henry, Daniel Halangahu (capt), Sarel Pretorius; Wycliff Palu, Chris Alcock, Dave Dennis, Dean Mumm, Kane Douglas, Sekope Kepu, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson. Res: Damien Fitzpatrick, Paddy Ryan, Lopeti Timani, Jono Jenkins, Brendan McKibbin, Bernard Foley, Nathan Trist.

AAP

Tags: sport, super-rugby, rugby-union, sydney-2000, australia, nsw

First posted February 23, 2012 10:53:30

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Elsom relishing Tahs captaincy

Updated February 01, 2012 07:14:05

Rocky Elsom claims he has no lingering resentment over his dumping as Australia captain and believes leading Wallabies has left him better equipped for his new role as skipper of New South Wales.

Elsom was officially appointed to the role on Tuesday and will spearhead a large leadership group as the Waratahs carry high hopes into the 2012 Super Rugby season.

Benn Robinson, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Dan Vickerman, Berrick Barnes, Tom Carter, Rob Horne and Drew Mitchell were appointed deputies with Elsom the unanimous choice to lead the club he last played for in 2008, prior to two seasons with the Brumbies.

The 71-Test veteran led the Wallabies for three years before he was sensationally replaced by James Horwill just three weeks out from the World Cup.

But the 28 year-old blindside flanker would not be drawn on suggestions his new appointment would help temper his disappointment from losing the Wallabies arm band.

"My disappointment with the Wallabies was because we wanted to win the World Cup and we didn't win it, that's where my disappointment is," Elsom said.

"Everything in between is a lesser detail and I think these are two very separate issues."

Elsom, though, hoped he could take the lessons learned from the Wallabies job into his new gig.

"I think you always learn, having that kind of experience changes your perspective on some things and hopefully for the better," he said.

Elsom's participation in the opening rounds of the Super Rugby season, starting February 24, remains in heavy doubt due to a troublesome hamstring injury but Waratahs coach Michael Foley is hopeful he will be back on the park by week five.

Elsom would not be drawn on the progress of his recovery but is optimistic about the Waratahs' prospects in 2012.

The Waratahs are favourites to take out the Australian conference, ahead of reigning champion Queensland, and Elsom sees plenty of potential from a distance last season as the Waratahs fell to the Blues in the finals.

"There's high expectations and that's fine," he said.

"I do think last year they did especially well.

"If you look at the way they finished the season and the team they took over to Auckland, they gave that game a reasonable shake. I wouldn't be too down on how they went."

Elsom says his priority as captain will be "getting everyone aligned."

"The main thing is to get everyone on the same page because it doesn't matter how bad the plan is, as long as everybody's doing it, we'll be OK," he said.

AAP

Tags: super-14, rugby-union, sport, sydney-2000

First posted January 31, 2012 13:29:36

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Pocock blazes back row captaincy trail

Updated January 31, 2012 09:44:06

Back-row skippers are the flavour of the month in Super Rugby with David Pocock's Western Force ascension kicking off three captaincy appointments.

While world-class ball scavenger Pocock succeeded veteran Force lock Nathan Sharpe on Monday, the NSW Waratahs are set to name fellow Wallabies flanker Rocky Elsom as their captain on Tuesday.

And Brumbies coach Jake White is expected to follow suit in a fortnight with No.8 recruit Ben Mowen to be made a leader of the new-look ACT squad.

White has opted against naming a captain for the Brumbies' opening two trials against the Force (February 4) and Queensland (February 11).

He is set to reveal an extended leadership group for the trials this week with Mowen among a list that includes Wallabies frontrowers Stephen Moore and Ben Alexander.

World Cup hooker Moore, 29, was seen as the likely replacement for Matt Giteau last year but former Springboks coach White is looking to start afresh with Mowen.

The surprise move would complete a bizarre swap between the Brumbies and Waratahs as Mowen, 27, left NSW last season when new coach Michael Foley swooped to sign Elsom from the Brumbies.

Dumped as Wallabies skipper just three weeks before last year's World Cup, Elsom's impending appointment has also raised eye brows as he will be sidelined for the first month of the competition.

But there were no surprises with Pocock's ascension in Perth on Monday with coach Richard Graham admitting it was 12 months in the making.

Foundation captain and 101-Test stalwart Sharpe is yet to decide upon his future beyond this season but the 40-Test Pocock has long been seen as the Force's long-term leader.

The appointment will also help keep the off-contract open-side flanker and 2010 John Eales Medallist in the west following the Force's disappointing 2011 which featured just five wins.

"I'm very excited about it," Pocock said. "It's a huge challenge.

"Following on from someone like Nathan Sharpe who's served the team so well and has a distinct brand of leadership - I've learnt a lot from him.

"And the great thing for me is he'll still be there and I'll be able to bounce ideas off him. He'll definitely play a big part in the team."

Force coach Richard Graham opted against naming a vice-captain and will not risk Pocock and Sharpe against the Brumbies in Darwin on Saturday night.

But he was certain his players would be inspired to follow the lead of Pocock, the Young Australian of 2012 for his for his work in establishing the charity organisation Eighty-Twenty Vision, which helps disadvantaged communities in his native Zimbabwe.

"If you're ever going to demand things from people around you in sport, you actually need to be able to set a really high standard and keep them accountable, and he does that," Graham said.

"I think the work he does off the field shows how selfless he is as a character, and in serving the team that will be very important."

AAP

Tags: super-14, rugby-union, sport, perth-6000, wa, australia, nsw, canberra-2600, act

First posted January 31, 2012 09:31:23

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