Wily Waratahs stun Brumbies, lights out in Auckland

FRIDAY WRAP: The Waratahs have rebounded from a miserable run of form in thrilling fashion, picking up a much-needed 30-28 Super Rugby Pacific win against bitter rivals the Brumbies.

Having not beaten their opponents at GIO Stadium for eight consecutive games, the Waratahs snapped their losing streak on Friday.

But it wasn’t pretty, even after the Waratahs’ sparkling start resulted in a commanding 21-7 lead in the first half.

The Brumbies surged back to equalise in the second half, and the visitors looked on track to blow another apparent match-winning lead after being up 20-8 last Saturday against the Blues before going down 20-35.

But the Brumbies conceded three crucial penalties that led to goals for Sid Harvey in the final 15 minutes.

Sent in to replace Wallaby Harry Potter (quad) in just his second appearance of the season, winger Andrew Kellaway showed coach Dan McKellar he should retain the starting No.14 jersey, scoring a try and running for 39 metres.

Against his former side, Jack Debreczeni also dazzled with 32 passes and 44 metres to help the Tahs snap a three-game losing streak.

Unlike last Friday night, when the Canberrans overcame a 17-point deficit to beat last year’s grand finalists, the Chiefs 33-24, the Brumbies couldn’t get their offence to click late in the game.

Inspirational captain Ryan Lonergan was busy, posting 97 passes and 15 kicks in his side’s last fixture before their bye, while flanker Rob Valetini made a mammoth 71 metres and beat seven defenders.

After being floated for a potential Wallabies call-up, flyhalf Declan Meredith grabbed 21 passes and ran for 19 metres.

The visitors started lively and were rewarded when Clem Halaholo picked up the ball from the ruck and crashed over in the third minute.

Canberra looked to respond immediately, and after peppering the visitors’ line, scored their first when second-rower Lachie Shaw planted the ball in the 11th minute.

Despite being a player down after Pete Samu was handed a yellow card, the Waratahs found a five-pointer when Kellaway strolled over the line.

NSW turned defence into attack when winger Max Jorgensen stripped the ball and stormed downfield. The Waratahs moved right and found Joey Walton in the 28th minute.

The Brumbies closed the gap to 21-14 at half-time after Charlie Cale added another try to his competition-leading tally (nine) after the siren.

The home side equalised after Valetini burst through a gap before Lonergan speared a pass to Shaw, who scored his second.

Harvey slotted three penalty goals to create a 30-21 lead for the visitors with just over five minutes remaining, and interchange Luke Reimer set up a thrilling finish when he crossed in the 78th minute.

But after Kadin Pritchard lost the ball, the Waratahs hung on to secure victory.

Lights out in Auckland

*In Friday’s early game, the Highlanders recorded a 39-19 victory over Moana Pasifika in Auckland.

There was also a bizarre ending to the game, as a power outage paused play for 20 minutes.

The final quarter resumed without TV coverage, but no points were scored in that period of play.

It was embarrassing for the North Harbour Stadium management.

“While the broadcast truck can operate for a short period on failover battery power, the prolonged nature of the outage meant the truck ultimately lost power,” said a Sky spokesperson.

“Once it became clear that venue power could not be restored within a reasonable timeframe, the decision was made to complete the match under reduced lighting and without broadcast coverage.”

See below for Friday’s scores and scorers!

Moana Pasifika 19-39 Highlanders

The scorers:

For Moana Pasifika:
Tries: Jones, Sanerivi, Craig
Cons: Jackson Garden-Bachop 2

For Highlanders:
Tries: Tangitau 2, Nareki, Taylor, Shearer, Lasaqa
Cons: Pasitoa 3
Pen: Pasitoa

Teams:

Moana Pasifika: 15 William Havili, 14 Solomon Alaimalo, 13 Tevita Latu, 12 Lalomilo Lalomilo, 11 Glen Vaihu, 10 Jackson Garden-Bachop, 9 Joel Lam, 8 Dominic Ropeti, 7 Niko Jones, 6 Miracle Faiilagi (captain), 5 Allan Craig, 4 Veikoso Poloniati, 3 Feleti Sae Ta’ufo’ou, 2 Millennium Sanerivi, 1 Abraham Pole.
Replacements: 16 Samiuela Moli, 17 Malakai Hala-Ngatai, 18 Paula Latu, 19 Alefosio Aho, 20 Ola Tauelangi, 21 Siaosi Nginingini, 22 Patrick Pellegrini, 23 Tevita Ofa.

Highlanders: 15 Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, 14 Caleb Tangitau, 13 Jonah Lowe, 12 Tanielu Tele’a, 11 Jona Nareki, 10 Reesjan Pasitoa, 9 Nic Shearer, 8 Hugh Renton (co-captain), 7 Veveni Lasaqa, 6 Te Kamaka Howden, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Oliver Haig, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Jack Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot.
Replacements: 16 Henry Bell, 17 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18 Rohan Wingham, 19 Will Stodart, 20 Sean Withy, 21 Adam Lennox, 22 Andrew Knewstubb, 23 Timoci Tavatavanawai (co-captain).

Referee: Damon Murphy
Assistant referees: Jordan Way, Jeremy Markey
TMO: Brett Cronan

Brumbies 28-30 Waratahs

The scorers:

For Brumbies:
Tries: Shaw 2, Cale, Reimer
Cons: Lonergan 3, Edmed

For Waratahs:
Tries: Halaholo, Kellway, Walton
Cons: Harvey 3
Pens: Harvey 3

Teams:

Brumbies: 15 Andy Muirhead, 14 Ollie Sapsford, 13 Kadin Pritchard, 12 David Feliuai, 11 Corey Toole, 10 Declan Meredith, 9 Ryan Lonergan (captain), 8 Charlie Cale, 7 Rory Scott, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Cadeyrn Neville, 4 Lachie Shaw, 3 Darcy Breen, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Liam Bowron, 17 Blake Schoupp, 18 Tevita Alatini, 19 Toby Macpherson, 20 Luke Reimer, 21 Klayton Thorn, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Hudson Creighton.

Waratahs: 15 Sid Harvey, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Joey Walton, 12 Lawson Creighton, 11 Max Jorgensen, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Jamie Adamson, 6 Clem Halaholo, 5 Miles Amatosero, 4 Matt Philip (captain), 3 Daniel Botha, 2 Ethan Dobbins, 1 Tom Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 Jack Barrett, 18 Siosifa Amone, 19 Angus Blyth, 20 Charlie Gamble, 21 Angus Scott-Young, 22 Teddy Wilson, 23 Triston Reilly.

Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistant referees: George Myers, Matt Kellahan
TMO: Graham Cooper

Additional source: Stuff