Waratahs ease past rabble Reds

Outscoring a very ordinary Reds outfit by four tries to one, the Waratahs moved into second place on the Australian standings – behind the high-flying Brumbies.

As for the Reds, they have a lot of work to do if they want to avoid a repeat of last year – when they barely avoided finishing last.

The Waratahs looked superior for large tracts of a poor spectacle scoring four tries to one, but failed to build on their 20-0 half-time lead and were held 10-10 by the limited Reds in a dour second half.

The Waratahs, under new coach Daryl Gibson following the departure of Wallabies mentor Michael Cheika, looked lively particularly when flyhalf Kurtley Beale, fullback Israel Folau and new All Blacks winger Zac Guildford got involved.

But alarmingly the Waratahs failed to match the Reds in the set pieces, with the Queensland scrum dominating, even with seven forwards after a yellow card in the final stages of a frustrating contest for the fans.

Beale was eye-catching in the first half with a great pass in the lead up to winger Matt Carraro's 22nd minute try while pulling off a ball-and-all try-saving tackle on winger Chris Feauai-Sautia midway through the opening term.

Wallaby flank Michael Hooper scored a try off the back of a driving maul and promising newcomer David Horwitz scored off a Hooper break sparked by an inside ball from scrumhalf Nick Phipps.

Japanese World Cup star Ayumu Goromaru came on as a 28th-minute replacement for the Reds but saw little of the ball at outside centre, and kicked a long-range penalty and a conversion.

The Reds, on the back of their set piece, wore away in the second half and worked their way back to trail 20-10 after a try by fly-half Jake McIntyre, but Beale finished them off after 62 minutes.

Beale broke clear and kicked ahead for Phipps to win the chase and score under the crossbar to make the game safe for the Waratahs and continue their derby dominance over the Reds.

"The Reds threw a lot at us, particularly in the second half and credit to the guys for sticking in there through a lot of penalties and we managed to stay in the game," Waratahs skipper Hooper said.

"We were comfortably controlling them in the first half, but then some really good one-on-ones from them in the second half caught us off guard and we had to get back in the game and we did that well."

The Waratahs will have to improve for next week's game against the Brumbies, who put 50 points past the Hurricanes in their second opener on Friday.

Man of the Match: Not even the introduction of Japanese superstar Ayumu Goromaru could elevate the Reds above their rabble status. Kurtley Beale revelled in the play-making role, even showing off his impressive defensive skills. However, our award goes to Waratahs captain Michael Hooper, who left a clear impression on an otherwise dull game.

The scorers:

For the Waratahs:

Tries: Hooper, Carraro, Horwitz, Phibbs

Cons: Beale 2

Pens: Beale 2

For the Reds:

Tries: McIntyre

Cons: Goromaru

Pens: Goromaru

Yellow cards: Rob Simmons (Reds, 13 – repeated infringement, offside), Sam Talakai (Reds, 69 – professional foul, not retreating 10 metres), Jeremy Tilse (Waratahs, 77 – repeated infringements, collapsing scrum)

Teams.

Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Matt Carraro, 13 Rob Horne, 12 David Horwitz, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Jed Holloway, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 David Dennis, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Angus Ta'avao, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Paddy Ryan.

Replacements: 16 Tolu Latu, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Jeremy Tilse, 19 Sam Lousi, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 Bryce Hegarty, 23 Reece Robinson.

Reds: 15 Karmichael Hunt, 14 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 13 Samu Kerevi, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Jake McIntyre, 9 Nick Frisby, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Curtis Browning, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Rob Simmons (captain), 4 Cadeyrn Neville, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 Ben Daley.  

Replacements: 16 Andrew Ready, 17 Sef Fa'agase, 18 Sam Talakai, 19 Ben Matwijow, 20 Michael Gunn, 21 Scott Gale, 22 Sam Greene, 23 Ayumu Goromaru.

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

Assistant referees: Nicholas Berry (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)

TMO: George Ayoub (Australia