Tuqiri hungry for Lions
Waratahs winger Lote Tuqiri is confident his team-mates can recover in time to take on the bottom-of-the-table Lions for Saturday's Super 14 clash in Sydney.
Waratahs winger Lote Tuqiri is confident his team-mates can recover in time to take on the bottom-of-the-table Lions for Saturday's Super 14 clash in Sydney.
The Waratahs were made to work for their narrow triumph over the Western Force in Perth – their third straight victory – and the Wallaby winger conceded the mood on Monday was “a bit flat”.
The Sydney-based franchise made an astounding 250 tackles against the Force in what was a physical all-Aussie derby encounter last week.
The Force dominated both territory and possession but were unable to cross the try-line throughout the 80 minutes.
Tuqiri set up the winning try with a kick eight minutes from time which was deflected off the Force's Cameron Shepherd and straight into the hands of the Waratahs' Lachie Turner, who raced away for the winning score.
But with the chance to solidify a spot inside the top-four on offer, Tuqiri – who was named man-of-the-match in Perth – expects the side will be ready to fire against the South African tourists.
“We had a big travel day on Sunday and everything else but hopefully it'll pick up over tomorrow,” Tuqiri told Sportal.
“But it won't be hard to pick up. When you have a win, things generally pick up and the mood around town and the buzz at headquarters here is pretty good.”
Asked if their strong wins against the Blues and the Force could lead to a false sense of security against the lowly-ranked Lions, Tuqiri said his team won't be underestimating their opponants.
“Yeah that's always a danger,” he said.
“But I think we've got enough experience here to sort of deal with that.
“We've got to keep on top of everyone and keep ourselves up at a level where we have been for the last couple of weeks and not let that level slip.”
Tuqiri, now the elder statesman of the Waratahs backline at just 28-years old, has been among his side's best performers in recent weeks.
But the veteran flyer wants more.
“Not too bad,” Tuqiri said of his own form.
“You can always improve, obviously, you can't be content with what you put out there week-in, week-out.”
“I've just got to try and keep improving every week and try and lead these young bucks around.”
The Waratahs will be without coach Ewen McKenzie until Thursday as he looks to shore up his future following the recent decision not to extend his contract into a sixth season.
McKenzie jetted off to Paris on Sunday for a whirlwind meeting with officials from French club Stade Francaise about the possibility of coaching the side next season.
Tuqiri said the players were supportive of their coach's need to seek employment.
“He has to do what he had to do and the Waratahs have given him a directive and he's got to look after himself as well,” said the Wallaby winger.
“You can't sort of do all that (find a new head-coaching role) come the end of the Super 14 so it's good for him and it's a good fit for us – we're getting on with the job.”
The Waratahs' two major injury concerns from the weekend, skipper and flanker Phil Waugh and centre Tom Carter, both trained on Tuesday.