Waratahs smash Chiefs in Sydney upset
The six tries to four victory – in the final round before Super Rugby goes into a month-long hiatus – cements the Tahs' place at the top of the Australian conference.
It also opens the door for the Crusaders to reclaim first place on the tournament standings when they play on Saturday.
Wallabies Israel Folau and Michael Hooper scored try doubles in a commanding performance.
The Waratahs kicked clear of the Chiefs after leading 17-13 at half-time – with three unanswered converted tries in 13 minutes early in the second half.
The home side kept a space on the Chiefs and clinched victory with a sixth try to replacement forward Jack Dempsey three minutes from full-time.
It was the Chiefs' first loss on the road this season and they remain win-less in Sydney since 2007.
It was also a tonic for Wallaby coach Michael Cheika ahead of the international season next month with only the third win by an Australian team over a New Zealand outfit in 20 trans-Tasman encounters this season.
Wallabies Folau and Hooper had big games along with flyhalf Foley and scrumhalf Nick Phipps as the Waratahs more than matched the attacking flair of the Chiefs.
"We needed that performance, the Chiefs are a really good team and it's really nice to come out and beat a really good Kiwi team," skipper Hooper said.
"The boys really stood up tonight and I'm proud of them."
Folau latched onto a wide pass from scrumhalf Brad Weber to race 80 metres in the opening minutes to score and hold off Damian McKenzie's despairing tackle.
The Waratahs raced to a 10-0 lead before centre Seta Tamanivalu scored after Phipps failed to force dead a kick over his try-line in the 13th minute.
A Damian McKenzie penalty gained the Chiefs the lead, but Wallaby flank Hooper scored just before half-time, backing up a Will Skelton break to score under the bar for Foley to convert for a 17-13 half-time lead.
The Chiefs hit the front again eight minutes after the interval with a try by hooker Nathan Harris before the Waratahs put on three converted tries to get the jump on the Kiwis.
Fullback Andrew Kellaway scored off a long Hooper pass, Hooper burst over for his second try and Phipps put Folau over for his second five-pointer.
The Chiefs pulled back a converted try through wing Toni Pulu off a Aaron Cruden kick before Dempsey sealed it with his try crashing through three tackles.
"We know it's a tough place to play over here and we knew the Waratahs would be desperate and they showed that," bloodied Chiefs skipper Sam Cane said.
"They outclassed us in pretty much all areas so it's pretty disappointing from our point of view, but you can't take anything away from the Tahs, they were on fire."
Man of the match: Aaron Cruden was a big influence, Sam Cane tried hard and Nathan Harris was also making an impact. Andrew Kellaway had his moments, Israel Folau asked all kinds of questions of the Chiefs' defence, Nick Phibbs was a huge influence and Dean Mumm was another big figure in producing the final outcome. However, our award goes to Waratahs flank and captain Michael Hooper, who not only scored two tries, but lead by example with a fearless performance.
The scorers:
For the Waratahs:
Tries: Folau 2, Hooper 2, Kellaway, Dempsey
Cons: Foley 6
Pen: Foley
For the Chiefs:
Tries: Tamanivalu, Cruden, Harris, Pulu
Con: McKenzie
Pen: McKenzie
Yellow card: Wycliff Palu (Waratahs, 25 – foul play, neck choke)
Teams:
Waratahs: 15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Matt Carraro, 13 Israel Folau, 12 Rob Horne, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (captain), 6 Dean Mumm, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Dave Dennis, 3 Tom Robertson, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Paddy Ryan.
Replacements: 16 Hugh Roach, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Angus Ta'avao, 19 Sam Lousi, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 David Horwitz, 23 Reece Robinson.
Chiefs: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Toni Pulu, 13 Seta Tamanivalu, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 James Lowe, 10 Aaron Cruden (co-captain), 9 Brad Weber, 8 Tom Sanders, 7 Sam Cane (co-captain), 6 Taleni Seu, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Dominic Bird, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Mitchell Graham.
Replacements: 6 Hika Elliot, 17 Kane Hames, 18 Siegfried Fisi'ihoi, 19 Michael Allardice, 20 Lachlan Boshier, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Andrew Horrell, 23 Sam Vaka.
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Jaco van Heerden (South Africa), Ed Martin (Australia)
TMO: Peter Marshall
