Mind over matter for Waratahs
NSW coach Ewen McKenzie has said Friday's Super 12 Rugby clash with Queensland is all about "the top two inches", with the banged-up Waratahs' emphasis on mental rather than physical preparation this week.
About half-a-dozen players either didn't train on Tuesday or did not participate fully, with that contingent including Test forwards Matt Dunning, Al Baxter and David Lyons.
While confident all of that group would be fit for Friday's game at Aussie Stadium, McKenzie opted to cancel Wednesday's training session.
"It's very hard to do anything new or tricky or difficult if you haven't got your players out there," McKenzie said.
He said he was confident the players who didn't fully participate in training would be fit for Friday and said they were suffering from "residual injuries".
"Nothing that will inhibit selection for the game, but obviously it inhibits preparation," McKenzie said.
With one less training session in an already short week, McKenzie accepted the Waratahs execution on Friday could be a little less polished than usual, but felt that was an acceptable trade-off if the players were physically fresh.
"I see this game as being very much a mental game. With a six day preparation there's only so much you can do," McKenzie said.
"You can have the guys out there doing things because it makes me feel better, but in the end it's more about what's going to make them play better.
"I think if they are physically fresh and mentally fresh, we are going to get a better result.
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