Burgess shows Wallabies' No.9 depth - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Burgess shows Wallabies' No.9 depth

Josh Jerga 10/04/2011 01:52:51 PM Comments (0)

France-bound NSW halfback Luke Burgess continued to showcase the Wallabies depth in the No.9 jersey with another outstanding Super Rugby performance.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans would be thrilled to see the form of both Burgess and current Australian half Will Genia ahead of the World Cup which begins in September.

Queensland skipper Genia starred in the Reds' 19-6 win over the Stormers in South Africa in the early hours of Sunday morning (AEST).

While Burgess, who heads to Toulouse at the end of year, was instrumental in the Waratahs' 31-3 defeat of the Western Force in Perth on Saturday night, playing a hand in three of the Waratahs four tries.

Burgess's performance prompted Waratahs coach Chris Hickey to declare the halfback was is in career-best form.

Despite breaking into the Wallaby squad in 2008, the 27-year-old's career has been plagued by inconsistency and his service from the scrum has often come under criticism.

However, Hickey believes 2011 has been the turning point for Burgess with his added maturity translating into strong performances on the paddock.

"This year has been the best year, certainly since I have been involved with Luke," he said.

"I think he is probably a bit more relaxed now, his running game is outstanding and the go-forward we get off the back of him and the doubt that creates in the defensive line is a real strong point."

The Waratahs coach said Burgess's maturity has lead him to play what's in front of him rather than over think his performance.

enia has held onto the No.9 jersey since it was handed to him in 2009 with Burgess resigned to a permanent spot on the bench.

The rival halves will duke it out in two weeks when the Reds face the Waratahs at home.

Aside from being a contest between Burgess and Genia, it will be a battle between Australia's two best teams and could put the Waratahs on top of the Australian conference and consolidate their finals chances.

The Waratahs have turned their season around since they were booed off the Sydney Football Stadium after going down to the Cheetahs three weeks ago.

Hickey said he put that down to the honesty of the players to address their poor performance and not make any excuses.

He said it was unlikely any team could maintain consistently dominant form but it was a good sign the Waratahs have been able to move on from what has been their lowest point this season.

"In this sort of season I don't think any team is going to be at their peak of their powers for 18 weeks in a row," Hickey said.

"Your fortunes are going to fluctuate, you're going to have your losses and what's important is what you do after your losses and I think this teams has showed they've got the capability to respond."

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