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Coach Michael Cheika wasn’t too proud to have his Waratahs win ugly 23-5 over the Reds at Suncorp on Saturday night.
Cheika would far prefer to have his side play attacking entertaining rugby, and for about 10 per cent of the 80 minutes, they did just that.
In those eight or so minutes, no team in Super Rugby can go with the Waratahs as they seek to retain the trophy that took them 19 years to win.
Cheika-coached teams don’t make elementary errors. Snappy accurate passing, safe hands, constant support and heavy defence are hallmarks of a Cheika team.
But with 13 handling errors, and 19 missed tackles, the Waratahs were sloppy.
With the Reds playing even worse than the Waratahs, every one of the 27,199 spectators at Suncorp and all the Foxtel viewers around the world waited impatiently for a game of rugby to break out.
It did for about 30 seconds in the 24th minute when the vision of Kurtley Beale and Bernard Foley sent replacement outside centre Matt Carraro on his way, and as the defence closed in on Carraro, Foley loomed up inside in support to cross for a spectacular try.
It was a real Waratahs try.
But spectacular moments were as scarce as hen’s teeth. Penalty happy referee Glenn Jackson didn’t help the cause by constantly blowing the pea out of his whistle and resetting more scrums than I cared to count.
So who did play well?
Waratah prop Benn Robinson became the most capped NSW rep with 137, eclipsing Phil Waugh, although the latter still holds the most capped Waratah record with 132 to Robinson’s 130.
Robinson celebrated by turning in one of his best games, skipper Dave Dennis has made the transition from flanker to lock his domain, and Beale was always on the lookout to attack.
On the debit side, when will hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau become a Waratah asset, and not a liability?
If he’s not consistently missing his lineout target, he’s being penalised, and on Saturday night his persistency in the latter earned him the only yellow card of the game
In defence of the Waratahs, last weekend’s bye after just two rounds clearly took the edge off the side. They should have won by at least 35 points, with 60 per cent of possession.
For the Reds, half Will Genia was positive behind a well-beaten pack. He’s back to his swift service best, and once he starts running again in possession, there’s no doubt he’s the best Wallaby half.
But no-one else stood out for the Reds, who had James Horwill as a late no-show, while skipper James Slipper failed a concussion test during the game, and winger Lachie Turner was carted off in a neck brace, but gave the thumbs up salute on the way to the shed.
Next up for the Reds is a visit from the Brumbies, who are playing the best of the Australian Conference, while the Waratahs head for New Zealand and a clash with the Highlanders, shock winners over the Chiefs.
But expect a major improvement in the defending champions.