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Wonderful Waratahs win big

Fri, 14 May 2010 13:32

Waratahs wing Lachie Turner in full flight

The Waratahs played their way into the Super 14 semifinals - scoring an impressive 32-16 victory over the Hurricanes in Sydney on Friday.

The Waratahs played with the passion required of a quarter-final, which in effect it was, and were good value for their four tries to one win in front of an enthusiastic Sydney Football Stadium crowd.

The bonus-point win takes the New South Wales team to second place on the log, ahead of the Crusaders and Stormers, but they will have to wait until after the last game of the weekend to see whether they play their semifinal at home or away. If the Stormers regain second spot by winning against the Bulls at Newlands on Saturday they will secure a home semifinal ahead of the Waratahs.

The Hurricanes, so effective and convincing in performance in recent weeks, were way off their best, with their defensive discipline letting them down and making numerous handling errors. They were unable to build phases and sustain meaningful continuity and except in short bursts, could not get their attacking game going.

The Waratahs brought physical intensity to the game and were the more effective team at breakdown. Their forwards were tenacious and their dangerous backs succeeded in turning half-chances into tries.

Those who had doubted the New South Wales' forward pack's physicality and ball-winning ability were left in no doubt after this match, while their backs showed that when on song as individuals and as a unit, they can be marvellously clever and incisive.

The home team faded in the last quarter of the match as the Hurricanes threw everything into attack as they tried desperately to score tries to salvage what they could, but by then the game had already been won and lost.

The Hurricanes took a 3-0 lead when, in the second minute, Kurtley Beale failed to release the ball when tackled a few metres inside his half and Piri Weepu goaled the long-range penalty.

The Waratahs attacked strongly but after they were stopped just short of the goal-line, Rodney So'oialo went offside at a ruck and Berrick Barnes' 10th minute penalty goal drew the home team level (3-3).

The Hurricanes went 6-3 ahead in the 14th minute when replacement loosehead prop Jeremy Tilse played the ball on the ground at a ruck and Weepu goaled from close to the touchline.

A minute later, the home team scored the first try of the game and it was a gem.

Barnes spotted Hosea Gear receiving attention for injury on the touchline and out of the defence. The flyhalf spread the ball wide, Rob Horne broke skilfully and fed Carter who offloaded to Beale. Beale chipped, chased and collected on the bounce to score an excellently executed try. Barnes converted and the Waratahs led 10-6 after 16 minutes.

The Waratahs were dominating possession and territory and launched wave after wave of attack but the Hurricanes defence held, even when Luke Burgess opted to tap and run from a five-metre penalty next to the posts. But in the 28th minute the Waratahs were eventually rewarded for their dominance when Tamati Ellison was penalised at a ruck a metre from his tryline and Barnes stretched the lead to 13-6 with the close-range penalty goal.

Three minutes later the Waratahs took the lead to 18-6 from a brilliant exhibition of skill and awareness by Lachlan Turner. The right wing ran from inside his own half, chipped, chased, collected and carried the ball deep into the Hurricanes 22 before throwing a long pass to Drew Mitchell wide on his left. Mitchell finished and though Barnes missed the conversion from close to touch, the home team had taken a useful lead.

The Hurricanes were clawing thir way back into the game as the half drew to a close and when Phil Waugh was penalised at a ruck in front of his posts, Weepu goaled to reduce the deficit to 18-9 going into the break.

The Waratahs took their superb display of wing play into the second half when Mitchell broke past two defenders and grubbered. Horne picked up and when tackled a few metres from the Hurricanes tryline, offloaded to Mitchell who scored. Barnes converted and the Waratahs led 25-9 after 45 minutes.

The Hurricanes defence was looking vulnerable and when Beale chipped inside the visitors' 22, both defenders in position to gather the ball fluffed what should have been straight-forward defence. Beale fell on the ball inside the in-goal and scored all too easy a try. Barnes converted for the Waratahs to lead 32-9 with half an hour to play.

The Hurricanes reduced the lead to 32-16 with six minutes left when substitute wing David Smith - after being on the field for two minutes - rounded off a strong attacking movement in which Ma'a Nonu showed quick hands and neat timing, for a try far out. Weepu converted.

The Hurricanes kept attacking as the clock crept up to 80 minutes and Nonu at last showed the incisiveness on attack which the Waratahs had been wary of, but it was too little too late.

The home team had had their ups and downs during the season but had delivered a wonderful team performance when it counted in what was effectively a knock-out quarter-final, while the visitors were unable to sustain their fine form of the second half of the competition and give retiring coach Colin Cooper the sort of farewell they'd have liked.

Man of the Match: In what was in the end an emphatic victory for the Waratahs, there were a number of standout players, with Berrick Barnes, Rob Horne and Kurtley Beale excellent among the backs and Tatafu Polota-Nau, Dean Mumm and Phil Waugh superb up front. Left wing Drew Mitchell was wonderfully effective but the most impressive of all was right wing Lachlan Turner, who was at his brilliant best.

The scorers:

For the Waratahs:
Tries: Beale 2, Mitchell 2
Cons: Barnes 3
Pens: Barnes 2

For the Hurricanes:
Tries: D Smith
Con: Weepu
Pens: Weepu 3

Yellow card: Turner (Waratahs, 68th minute, repeated team infringements at breakdown)

The teams:

Waratahs: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Tom Carter, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Phil Waugh (captain), 6 Patrick McCutcheon, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Dan Palmer.
Replacements: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Chris Thomson, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Josh Holmes, 21 Daniel Halangahu, 22 Rory Sidey.

Hurricanes: 15 Cory Jane, 14 Tamati Ellison, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Michael Paterson, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Bryn Evans 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore (captain), 1 John Schwalger.
Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Jacob Ellison, 18 Nick Crosswell, 19 Scott Waldrom, 20 Tyson Keats, 21 Jason Kawau, 22 David Smith.

Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Angus Gardiner (Australia)
TMO: George Ayoub (Australia)

By Len Kaplan

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