Waratahs leave Reds for dead
The Waratahs scored four tries on their way to a convincing 32-5 victory over the Reds in a one-sided Australian derby in Sydney on Saturday.
It was the second consecutive bonus-point win for the Waratahs who now top both the Australian conference and the overall standings.
It didn't take long for the prolific Israel Folau to pick up where he left off last week, as the fullback opened the Waratahs’ account after only two and a half minutes.
A crisp, flat ball from flyhalf Bernard Foley hit a flying Kurtley Beale, who burst through a gap and offloaded to give Folau his fourth try of the season.
The relentless Waratahs continued to pepper the Reds’ defensive line, as a Peter Betham offload and quick hands from Foley put Adam Ashley-Cooper into a hole. Just two minutes later, scrumhalf Nick Phipps broke free down the blindside, only to be brought down in desperate cover defence by Eddie Quirk.
In the 26th minute their persistence was rewarded with a breathtaking try. Foley broke through two front rowers in broken play and, in a breathtaking display of continuity, the ball travelled through six pairs of hands before finding Jacques Potgieter, who sped down the line to set up Folau for his second try of the game.
The Tahs' potent backline continued to deliver on the half hour mark, when Beale produced a brilliant inside ball to bring Peter Betham off his wing and into a gaping hole for the home team’s third try of the evening.
Foley's incisive running continued to trouble the visitors, and when he found another midfield gap in the 37th minute, it was only a forward pass that denied rookie Alofa Alofa a try.
Minutes later, Reds fullback Aidan Toua showed serious pace to beat his man on the outside, before planting a deft grubber kick deep into the Waratahs' 22. Folau showed fierce determination to sweep away the loose ball but was deemed to have illegally batted the ball into touch and was yellow carded.
The numerical advantage found the Tahs short on the outside and the ball was sent through the hands for Waratah-turned-Red Lachie Turner to cross in the corner. Flyhalf Quade Cooper missed the conversion, leaving the home side to take a commanding 14-point advantage into the break.
Changes in the front row for the Reds disrupted their set piece and after two early scrum penalties to the Tahs, the opportunistic Beale took a quick tap and burrowed under two Reds defenders to score the bonus point try after only 47 minutes.
Midway through the half, Alofa looked to have created something from nothing, going from a standing start to swerve through two defenders and lunge over the line, before referee Glen Jackson ruled that James Horwill and been impeded in the play and forced the Tahs to settle for a penalty goal from an accrued advantage.
Foley's second penalty goal put the result beyond doubt and ensured the Templeton Cup returned south for the first time since 2011.
Man of the match: Kurtley Beale played a blinder, he was a constant thorn in the Reds' side with some penetrating runs and great offloads.
The scorers:
For the Waratahs:
Tries: Folau 2, Betham, Beale
Cons: Foley 3
Pens: Foley 2
For the Reds:
Try: Turner
Yellow card: Israel Folau (Waratahs, 38 – deliberate infringement)
Teams:
Waratahs: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Alofa Alofa, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Peter Betham, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Stephen Hoiles, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Jacques Potgieter, 3 Paddy Ryan, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements – from: 16 Tola Latu, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Pat McCutcheon, 21 Brendan McKibbin, 22 Rob Horne, 23 Matt Carraro, 24 Pat McCutcheon, 25 Jonno Lance.
Reds: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Anthony Fainga'a, 11 Dom Shipperley, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Jake Schatz, 7 Liam Gill, 6 Eddie Quirk, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 James Hanson, 17 Ben Daley, 18 Jono Owen, 19 Ed O'Donoghue, 20 Beau Robinson, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Ben Lucas, 23 Chris Feauai-Sautia.
Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: James Leckie (Australia), Will Houston (Australia)
TMO: Peter Marshall (Australia)
