Waratahs 'to change Super 14 style'
Coach Ewen McKenzie says his Waratahs will be wiser and worldlier with a new playing style next Super 14 season.
And recently-appointed NSWRU chief executive Jim L'Estrange has made it clear he was looking for the squad to win a title after some significant off-field boosts.
Samsung Electronics Australia has been announced as an official partner of the Waratahs and the naming rights sponsor of the NSWRU Development Rugby Program.
The deal will be for at least one year and provided another lift for the franchise, with their new headquarters and training facility at Moore Park now operational.
McKenzie said the fact all the existing sponsors had re-signed and another had been added showed people recognised the Waratahs had a good brand and good potential.
NSW recorded their worst ever Super position of 13th last season and, results apart, were also were widely criticised for their style of play.
McKenzie said his team would definitely employ a different style in 2008, while trying to improve some existing aspects of their play.
"We've got some different personnel, assuming everyone runs on the field, you will definitely see a different style from what we did this year," McKenzie said.
"There are parts of what we did this year which we want to develop further.
"There are other bits and pieces which we didn't feel we did enough of and we weren't good enough at, so we're working on that."
L'Estrange cited a number of reasons why he thought NSW would perform better this year.
Among them were the arrival of attack coach Todd Louden, who was part of the Bulls' 2007 Super winning backroom team, and the new training facility.
"We get a much higher level of contact with the players and we think, all things being equal, that's going to be the formula for success, L'Estrange said.
"We've actually signed every one of our Wallabies and we've made some other great new signings, so the depth of experience in our team is there again."
Asked if those factors left any room for excuses in 2008, L'Estrange said "none, we won't be looking for any whatsoever."
McKenzie, stressed the Waratahs hadn't offered up excuses for their poor 2007 season.
"The main thing is what you do about it," McKenzie said.
"We've spent the last five months working pretty hard on how were going to fix that, and I'm pretty happy with the progress at the moment.
"I definitely could have done things a bit differently, so I think with that in our kit bag we're a bit more worldly about how we go about things."
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Waratahs 'to change Super 14 style'
