NSW Waratahs skipper Dave Dennis expects Queensland to play attacking rugby at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night and has warned his side they must improve defensively against the Reds.
The Waratahs scored nine tries in their win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein last week, but they are more concerned about the five they conceded against the hapless South African side.
“I think you saw what we can do with ball in hand, but we obviously talked about leaking tries,” said Dennis on Friday.
“We have to keep trying to improve our defence but keep playing with ball in hand.”
The coveted top spot in the Australian conference is up for grabs this weekend, with the Waratahs both on 47 points with the Brumbies, who face the Crusaders on Saturday afternoon.
Michael Cheika’s Waratahs lead the conference by virtue of having more wins this season but can’t afford to slip up if they are to have a home advantage in the finals.
Dennis doesn’t think the Reds will play spoiling rugby against the Waratahs, who could need a bonus-point win, depending on what happens in Canberra with the Brumbies.
“I can’t imagine they’ll play a dour game … they haven’t got much to lose, they can just go out there and play,” Dennis said.
Cheika agrees.
“I don’t think they’ll spoil at all … their footy is front-foot first. They’ll take us in the middle if they can with some pick and drive. They like a bit of that in the middle to go forward,” Cheika said.
“Then they’ll spin it wide when Will (Genia) and Quade (Cooper) think there’s a chance.
“That’s the way they play and they’ve got a lot of danger out there too with (Samu) Kerevi, Karmichael Hunt, O’Connor (James), they’ve fine players.”
