Waratahs steal it at the death

The Brumbies ran in two first half tries while conceding a solitary score to hold a slender 12-5 lead at the break. The Waratahs fought hard in the second half to outscore their opponents by two tries to one to claim the narrow win.

Josh Mann-Rea opened the scoring for the Brumbies in the fifth minute when he benefitted from a well-executed rolling maul. Flyhalf and captain Matt Toomua failed to add the extras as his side held a 5-0 lead.

It took another 15 minutes before the match saw the next change in score as David Horwitz went over the try line for the Waratahs to level matters on 25 minutes. Andrew Deegan's successful conversion handed the Waratahs a slender 7-5 lead.

It was not long before the Brumbies regained the lead when prop Allan Alaalatoa picked the ball up from the base of a ruck and barged his way over the line to hand the Brumbies the lead once again. Toomua was on target to hand his side a 12-5 lead going into the half-time break.

The Brumbies were the first to score in the second half when they applied sustained pressure on the Waratahs. Replacement Michael Wells benefitted from that pressure as he added his name to the try-scorers list. Once again, the conversion was missed the try to keep the score at 17-5 and proved to be the last time the Brumbies would add to the scoreboard.

The Waratahs were starting to build up some momentum in the match and it was replacement Bryce Hegarty who got the comeback going when he sold the Brumbies defence a dummy and got himself over the line. He picked himself up and slotted the conversion to reduce the deficit to just five points.

Toleafoa's late try sealed victory for the Waratahs. Hegarty added the extras to claim the four-point victory.

Scorers:

For Waratahs:

Tries: Horwitz, Hegarty, Toleafoa

Cons: Deegan, Hegarty 2

For Brumbies:

Tries: Mann-Rea, Alaalatoa, Wells

Cons: Toomua

Teams:

Waratahs: 15 Zac Guildford, 14 Reece Robinson, 13 Matt Carraro, 12 David Horwitz, 11 Andrew Kellaway, 10 Andrew Deegan, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Jed Holloway, 7 Jack Dempsey, 6 David Dennis (captain), 5 Will Skelton, 4 Ned Hanigan, 3 Paddy Ryan, 2 Hugh Roach, 1 Jeremy Tilse.      

Replacemets – from: Tolu Latu, Benn Robinson, Angus Ta'avao, Matt Sandell, Senio Toleafoa, Matt Lucas, Harry Jones, Bryce Hegarty, Brad Wilkin, Cameron Orr, Rowan Perry.

Brumbies: 15 Aidan Toua, 14 Lausii Taliauli, 13 Andrew Smith, 12 Jordan Jackson-Hope, 11 Nigel Ah Wong, 10 Matt Toomua (captain), 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Ita Vaea, 7 Jarrad Butler, 6 Jordan Smiler, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Tom Staniforth, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Josh Mann-Rea, 1 Allan Alaalatoa.

Replacements – from: Albert Anae, Robbie Abel, Leslie Leuluai'ali'i-Makin, Ruan Smith, Rory Arnold, Blake Enever, Ben Hyne, Michael Wells, Joe Powell, Michael Dowsett, Nick Jooste, Joe Tomane, Jake Rakic, Tevita Kuridrani, James Dargaville, Isaac Thompson.

Referee: Will Houston/Nic Berry

Assistant referees: Angus Gardner, Will Houston/Nic Berry