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Berrick Barnes had his best all-round game of the season, but he couldn’t stop the Waratahs from snatching a 27-24 defeat from the jaws of victory against the Bulls at Allianz Stadium last night.
Gut-wrenching.
In a must-win game to stay anywhere near contention, the Waratahs led 24-20 with just two minutes left on the clock. But the Bulls were not to be denied.
In a series of raids within sniffing distance of the Waratahs’ try-line, sheer persistency and patience paid off when Werner Kruger crashed over for sharp-shooter Morne Steyn to add the extras and take the points.
So close yet so far for the Waratahs. It was the first time since 2009 they have lost three Super games on the trot. That stat did nothing for their well-being either.
On the other side of the coin, Barnes was in the thick of it in both attack and defence. He set up two of the three tries, one in each half.
The first was a long double cut-out pass to Rob Horne, and with Adam Ashley-Cooper and Tom Kingston both running perfect decoy lines, Horne was in a gap as wide as Sydney Heads, and outpaced the defence to score. Brilliant.
The second was seeing winger Atieli Pakalani unmarked wide out to the right, and finding him with another long perfectly timed pass.
While his kicking game around the park is still work in progress, Barnes’ defence was heavy duty. Some of his tackles stopped far bigger opponents dead in their tracks. Their gasps on contact were enough evidence of Barnes’ intent.
And his combination with the new mid-field of Ashley-Cooper and Horne looks promising. It would have been even better last night had it not been for recalled half-back Sarel Pretorius turning in a pedestrian performance from both set and general play.
His fairy-floss and inaccurate passes stunted the attack. He was the main offender in a first half where the Waratahs owned the game, but could only lead 13-10.
With 59 percent possession, spending 63 percent in the Bulls half, and four minutes and 58 seconds in their quarter (as compared to two minutes 33 by the Bulls in reply), and dominating rucks and mauls 49-30, was enough to lead by at least 20 points and the game would have been all over.
Had axed Brendan McKibbin been on duty, there’s little doubt those points would have been on the scoreboard. The backline looked considerably livelier once McKibbin came on in the second half.
This was the game that got away from the home side. They gave the 17,368 crowd some magic moments of rugby, some heart-stoppers when they messed up and finally an uppercut in the throws of full time.
But that’s not taking anything away from the Bulls. They didn’t play well, but found a way to win.
The Waratahs have forgotten how to do that.