The NSW Waratahs are eyeing off a mini-Wallaroos trial with the Queensland Reds as the perfect chance to wrap up the minor premiership in Super W.
A bonus win by the four-time champions will ensure they enter the semi-finals as the top-ranked team, likely avoiding another clash with the Reds or defending premiers Fijiana Drua.
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The Waratahs are full of confidence after a 31-5 win over the previously unbeaten Drua at Concord Oval last week.
“It’s definitely given us a lift. We went into that (Fijiana) game all guns blazing and knew what we had to work on so to get that win with all those girls out there gives us a big belief," scrumhalf Layne Morgan admits.
“Fiji are just a great team and it’s a different style of footy so it was more about learning how to adapt and building towards playing those professional teams globally. We now know we can compete not only in Australia but in the world
“I think the way the team is built this year and the stuff we’ve worked on has built us as individual players so that Rugby quality has gone up, especially with the additional funding coming into our program to help us lift our game.”
Morgan understands the importance of a strong performance against the Reds, with just over a month before the opening Wallaroos Test against Fijiana.
Simon Craig's side have seven Wallaroos in the squad, led by inspirational captain Shannon Parry.
Along with this, bolters such as Deni Ross and Briana Dascombe have emerged whilst Morgan pointed to the quality additions of Kiwi imports Carys Dallinger and Sam Curtis.
“Queensland is always a good grudge match,” Morgan said.
“I think their strengths will be in their new players that have come over from the series in New Zealand. They’ve got some nice experience and they are picking it up really well, especially in that ten position (with Carys Dallinger).
“I think our girls are up for the challenge…there’s definitely that (Wallaroos selections) in the back of the mind but I think if we can do our jobs and compete in Super W, we’ll definitely have that opportunity (with the Wallaroos).”
The Waratahs will be without captain Piper Duck, although they welcome back Wallaroos Player of the Year Georgina Friedrichs following her late withdrawal last week.
Duck backed the defence to once again shine, having held their Queensland counterparts scoreless in their last two games.
“The biggest thing is you’re only as strong as your defence. We pride ourselves on our attack but I feel like in the past, especially against Fiji, we gave them too many opportunities in the offload channel,” Duck said.
“Obviously, we’d love to keep any team scoreless so that focus on our line speed and defensive capabilities is a real focus. The biggest asset from (the Drua win) was our defence, we made a stupid amount of tackles on the weekend and it showed in the way the overall game flowed."
