After a dour opening half, the Waratahs ran away with things in the final two quarters of last night’s trial match against the Rebels to claim a 47-5 victory at Lottoland in Manly.

While the final score probably wasn’t reflective of either side’s overall performance, there was plenty to take out of the trial, played just over a week out from the start of both side’s 2018 Super Rugby campaign.

Waratahs are fit

Tahs players and coaches have been telling anyone that will listen that they’ve just finished the toughest preseason that they’ve ever been involved it and it showed in the backend of the match last night. A number of the forwards have added bulk and the majority of the squad look fit and fast, which should go a long way in the opening rounds. The fitness was particularly evident in defence, with the Rebels only try coming from a well constructed driving maul.

Rebels still a work in progress

After picking up a plethora of talent from Perth, the new look Rebels were always going to take a little bit of time to click. The Melbourne side defended brilliantly in the opening quarter when they were starved of possession and territory but their attack failed to fire. Although the majority of the Waratahs points came late in the match after changes had been made, Dave Wessels must be concerned with the ease of some of the Tahs late tries.

Physicality key to Waratahs attack

The Waratahs are obviously eager to play flat and direct with two lines of attack and while that gives Bernard Foley plenty of options with ball in hand, the Tahs forwards must get over the advantage line to allow the Wallabies No.10 to play on the front foot. When he did, he and the Tahs backline looked great, but when the forwards were held up at the advantage line and the ball was slowed down, Foley fell into bad habits and the Waratahs looked more like the side that struggled last season.

Tahs lineout needs work

Despite bringing veteran Wallaby Rob Simmons down from Brisbane, the Waratahs lineout struggled, particularly early in the match when they turned over possession on their first three opportunities. While Tom Staniforth was strong around the park, Matt Philp certainly had his number at set piece time and with Michael Wells and Jed Holloway partnering Michael Hooper in the back row, the Tahs don’t have a lot of other genuine jumping options.

Jack Maddocks is the real deal

He didn’t get a whole lot of opportunity, but when he did, boy he looked good. Still just 21, Maddocks didn’t look out of place on the Rebels wing and although he played a quarter at flyhalf, he didn’t really get a chance to show what he could do as a playmaker. Either way, the former Eastern Suburbs back is only going to continue to get better as he grows into his body and spends more time in a professional environment. 18-year old 2017 Australian Schoolboy lock Trevor Hosea also played from the bench and didn’t put a foot wrong in his first senior match.