Waratahs aim to overcome bogey

SYDNEY - Injury has again wrecked Marc Stcherbina's hopes of impressing Wallaby selectors.

The Waratah winger is out of tonight's sellout against the Hurricanes at Aussie Stadium because of the quadriceps injury which forced him to miss last week's gutsy win over the Brumbies.

Francis Cullimore will again replace him.

The injury means Stcherbina will miss the chance to line up against one of the world's best backlines, which will include Jonah Lomu, who ran freely at training yesterday.

The All Black juggernaut had been nursing a swollen knee, an occasional after-effect of his kidney illness.

But he stretched out in a light workout at the stadium, in a boost for the seventh-placed Hurricanes who must win their final three games - tonight, home to the table-topping Crusaders and away to the Chiefs - to have any chance of a semifinal spot.

The Waratahs, meanwhile, need only to win one to seal their first final-four position.

Lomu will be marked by Scott Staniforth, who conceded he would have his hands full containing the 119kg flyer.

He said the entire Hurricanes backline - which included All Blacks Tana Umaga, Christian Cullen and Pita Alatini - was a danger. "If you focus too much on Lomu, the blokes like Cullen and Umaga start running rampant. We've got to look after them all."

Umaga and Matthew Burke will be another intriguing match-up at centre, and fullbacks Mat Rogers and Christian Cullen could also meet later this year in the test arena.

Burke is poised to break 1000 career points for New South Wales, needing only 11 for the milestone.

Waratahs coach Bob Dwyer, who has extended his contract with the Waratahs until 2004, said his side would have no problem refocusing after the test match-like intensity of the Brumbies game.

"We've been conscious this week of addressing the problems we had last week, not the success that we had, and we've been conscious that our overall performance can lift tremendously just by fixing a couple of things up," Dwyer said.

"One thing we know for sure is that we need to play better if we're going to be a threat, but we think we can be a lot better than last weekend."

The Waratahs struggled with their set-pieces against the Brumbies, particularly at the lineout, but lock Jono West, who regained a starting position ahead of Van Humphries said the side had worked hard to address the problem.

nte The Hurricanes have been something of a bogey side for the Waratahs, winning their past three meetings. Hurricanes skipper Gordon Slater said he expected the Waratahs would be an improved outfit from the side who lost 42-17 last year.

"They have got a very good structure to their game and their forwards have been playing really well.

"They've got some good finishers and they've been able to make some space for the backs."

- REUTERS