Waratahs to learn from loss

Editor

Waratahs captain Michael Hooper believes his team did not play the conditions correctly during their 29-10 defeat to the Crusaders on Friday.

However, he pointed out that the lessons taken from the defeat will serve his charges well for the remainder of the Super Rugby season.

Speaking after the game, Hooper told the Sydney Morning Herald that his team struggled to adapt to the wet conditions and this impacted on their game, especially in the opening few minutes when Crusaders wing Johnny McNicholl went in for the opening try with only three minutes on the clock.

Hooper said: “With the wet conditions we thought they would work in our favour but they [Crusaders] were clinical.

"It's a great learning curve for us and a tough one at that.

“We can take a lot out of [the game], take a lot out of good attack against a solid team."

The Waratahs will take confidence from Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder's post-match comments as he said that they looked dangerous with ball in hand and put his team's defence under pressure every time they got the opportunity to attack.

“When they got good quality ball out of the back they ripped us apart a couple of times," he said.

"They're a very good side, very dangerous."