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NSW Waratahs captain Dave Dennis says his side must be smarter with their discipline without compromising their physicality and aggression, after having two men sin-binned in a 27-22 Super Rugby loss to the Lions in Johannesburg.
The bonus-point defeat lifted the defending champions level on points with the Brumbies at the top of the Australian conference with two rounds remaining.
The Waratahs, who fought back bravely from a 27-10 deficit to earn a vital point, are top by virtue of having won one more game.
NSW were twice reduced to 14 men after winger Rob Horne was sin-binned for a tip tackle in the first half and forward Jacques Potgieter suffered the same fate in the second for tackling late and without using his arms.
The sanctions came just a few days after hooker Tolu Latu and lock Will Skelton were suspended for their involvement in a lifting tackle against the Crusaders, when the Tahs also made some shoulder-charge type tackles.
“They are obviously cracking down a bit on foul play or whatever you want to call it, stuff off the ball,” lock Dennis told AAP over the phone from Johannesburg.
“We lost two guys tonight to the bin, so that’s 20 minutes with 14 men.
“We’ve got to be a lot smarter around that sort of stuff.
“Obviously maintain the aggression and physicality, but just be a bit smarter around what we do.”
Both the Waratahs and Lions scored three tries in an entertaining game in which both sides looked to run the ball.
Lions winger Ruan Combrinck scored two well-executed first-half tries with the Tahs missing twice as many tackles as the home team before the break.
“Our attitude was good, we were just making more mistakes,” Dennis said.
“We talked about getting off the line and defending tackles, but there was a couple of really bad errors that cost us tries.
“We identified that as a team after and I’m sure everyone is going to be willing to try and fix that this week.”
The Waratahs hit the lead for the only time midway through the first half after flanker Stephen Hoiles burrowed over from close range following several phases and five-eighth Bernard Foley converted for a 10-7 advantage.
It lasted only ten minutes as Lions’ five-eighth Elton Jantjes kicked the penalty awarded after Horne’s indiscretion and he converted Combrinck’s second try for a 17-10 halftime lead for the home team,
Dangerous Combrinck set up his team’s third try for centre Harold Vorster in the second half with a break and flick pass.
Beale dragged the Tahs back into the contest, sending Ashley-Cooper over with a sublime cut-out pass and throwing the final ball for Horne’s try.
Jantjes kept the visitors in the game with three missed penalties in the last quarter, but the Tahs lacked the composure and polish to score another try.
“I thought we showed good character in the second half to fight back and come away with a pretty crucial bonus point, but disappointed we gave them too much of a start,” Dennis said.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.