Palu stays with Waratahs and Wallabies

Re-signed Waratahs powerhouse Wycliff Palu admits NSW face a big ask but says the
team is ready for the challenge of winning their potentially season-defining Super
14 rugby clash with the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday.
The powerful No.8 gave the Waratahs a big pre-match boost by committing to the
franchise for 2011, with the option of having one more year.
Entering the round as ladder leader, NSW could find themselves sliding down the
ladder if they lose to the third-placed Crusaders.
By Friday night they were second, overtaken by the Bulls who beat the Chiefs 33-19
in Hamilton.
With their bye to come next week followed by a meeting with the Brumbies, NSW could
suffer serious damage to their finals aspirations if they go without points for
successive weeks.
"You can't be worried about those things, you just have to deal with the game you've
got to play this weekend," NSW coach Chris Hickey told reporters at Sydney Airport
on Friday prior to the team's departure.
Both teams are riding five-game unbeaten streaks but the Waratahs have won one out
of nine clashes with the Crusaders at their formidable Christchurch fortress.
"It's a big ask, but I think the boys are pumped up," said Palu, who declared the
prospect of winning a Super 14 title as one of the reasons he opted to stay with
NSW.
"We've got to go out there and play our game. Probably in the past we've worried
about the opposition too much and it's all about us I think this week."
Hickey stressed his side couldn't afford to get into a negative mind set against a
Crusaders side that applies a lot of pressure.
"You've got to be able to operate under that pressure and you've still got to be
able to play the strategies that you want to play.
"The Crusaders are a difficult team to attack against because they are good at
playing strong field position and they really squeeze you when you are in your own
half.
"To beat a team like the Crusaders, you can't be too negative. You've got to be
positive."
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder confirmed his team would try to exert pressure
whenever possible against a Waratahs side he lavished with praise.
"They (NSW) have been playing very well this season and have some real threats in
their backline," Blackadder said on the Crusaders website.
He will give veteran lock Chris Jack his first Super start of the season in a near
full strength side, missing only hooker Corey Flynn and halfback Andy Ellis.
Hickey said he was really confident skipper and openside flanker Phil Waugh, who has
been bracketed together with Super rookie Chris Alcock, would start the game after
missing last week's win over the Cheetahs with a quadriceps injury.
He was 100 per cent confident about Palu, who declared himself ready to go after a
hamstring injury kept him out of the Cheetahs clash.



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