Late rally sees Waratahs home
The Waratahs produced a two-try burst in the final 10 minutes to secure a vital 33-17 win over the Chiefs in New Plymouth on Saturday.
The margin suggest an easy win, but with 10 minutes left on the clock the game was very much still in the balance.
The Chiefs' defence of their Super Rugby title may now have evaporated, but they out up a strong fight.
The win saw the Waratahs cement their place at the top of the Australian conference and also second place on the global standings.
In the first half the Waratahs laid the foundation through the physicality of their forwards, who took no step back – not just dishing out the big hits, but taking a few and coming back for more.
It also didn't help the Chiefs' cause that they wasted a few chances through some sloppy handling, their error count ending a number of promising attacking raids.
However, after the half-time break the game opened up a lot more, playing into the hands of a Chiefs team not always keen to engage the Tahs in those brutal exchanges.
It was with some sublime little grubbers that they opened up the Waratahs' defence, getting the ball in behind that solid blue line that held so first in the first half.
However, they probably paid the price for their slow start when, in the final 10 minutes, the Waratahs managed to produce an extra burst of energy that lacked in the Chiefs' game.
The Chiefs produced some early energy and was rewarded with a penalty by Aaron Cruden in the third minute.
However, the Waratah's monster pack of forwards soon took command and drew level with a Bernard Foley penalty in the ninth minute.
The first indication that the Waratahs were beginning to make their forward dominance count came in the 16th minute – Israel Folau adding to his try count, but the score set up by Adam Ashley-Cooper, who sprinted into a gap and then produced a great hand-off before putting Folau into the clear.
Foley added the conversion and a penalty just on the half-hour mark, as the Waratahs raced into a 10-point lead. And the men in blue held onto that advantage through to the half-time break.
Cruden had an early chance after the break to close the gap, but from 40-odd metres out he pushed it wide of the uprights.
However, with about 25 minutes left on the clock the Chiefs opted to set up a line-out instead of kicking at goal.
It eventually brought reward. The line-out throw was skew, but from the resulting scrum the Waratahs were free-kicked for the scrumhalf faking a pass. A Cruden grubber saw Bundee Aki flop on the ball, with the TMO awarding the try – despite replays suggesting the chasers were ahead of Cruden, while the grounding was also not that clear-cut.
Cruden slotted the conversion, but almost immediately from the restart Kurtley Beale added a penalty to stretch the Tahs' lead back to six points (16-10).
However, the Chiefs continued with their tactic of putting grubbers in behind the Tahs' defensive line and with the game going into the final quarter it again brought reward – Aki getting his second and Cruden's conversion giving the Chiefs the lead back for the first time since the 16th minute.
Again the Chiefs became their own worst enemies, gifting the Tahs a penalty shot at goal with a transgression soon after the restart and Foley obliged – 19-17 with just under 15 minutes left on the clock.
And the crucial blow was struck just inside the final 10 minutes, when – under pressure – Cruden failed to find touch and Folau ran it back hard. From a ruck just outside the Chiefs' 22-metre line, Dave Dennis picked up and went blind, sprinting the 25 metres for his team's second try. Foley added the touchline conversion – 26-17.
There was just enough time for Foley to blow out the lead with a try – coming after the Waratahs took the ball through multiple phases to run the clock down and having started with a maul that slowly marched forward almost 15 metres.
Foley added the conversion to seal the win, although the final margin (33-17) does not reflect the effort put in by the Chiefs – who made the Tahs work much harder than some pundits expected.
Man of the match: Ben Tameifuna threw his considerable bulk into the tackles and produced one memorable hit on Michael Hooper, who did well to get straight back up. Sam Cane had an enormous workrate, especially on defence, just a pity not all of his teammates showed the same enthusiasm. Michael Hooper took some big hits, but kept getting up to continue contributing to his team's cause. He had great support from fellow flank Dave Dennis, who also scored a crucial try. Israel Folau did test the Chiefs' defensive line, more so in the second half than in the first. However, our award goes to Waratahs centre Adam Ashley-Cooper, who has found a rich vein of form in recent weeks and in this game managed to break the line almost at will in the first half. It prompted the Chiefs to commit more defenders to him and leave gaps elsewhere after the break.
The scorers:
For the Chiefs:
Tries: Aki 2
Cons: Cruden 2
Pen: Cruden
For the Waratahs:
Tries: Folau, Dennis, Foley
Cons: Foley 3
Pens: Foley 3, Beale
Teams:
Chiefs: 15 Tom Marshall, 14 Dwayne Sweeney, 13 Tim Nanai-Williams, 12 Andrew Horrell, 11 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 10 Aaron Cruden (captain), 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Liam Squire, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Matt Symons, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Jamie Mackintosh.
Replacements: 16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 Pauliasi Manu, 18 Josh Hohneck, 19 Michael Fitzgerald, 20 Tanerau Latimer, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Bundee Aki.
Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Alofa Alofa, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis (captain), 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Jacques Potgieter, 3 Paddy Ryan, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Sekope Kepu , 19 Will Skelton, 20 Stephen Hoiles, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Jono Lance, 23 Matt Carraro.
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Richard Kelly (New Zealand), Grant Stuart (New Zealand)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
