The Waratahs have looked far from convincing for a better part of the last two seasons under Micheal Chieka’s guidance. Good wins have been punctuated by a lack of consistency that comes with a team that undergoes major changes while searching for self belief.
The Waratahs have no need to continue to search after their 41-13 gutting of the Lions. They shifted to second on the Australian conference with a bonus point win courtesy of five tries.
With the Wallaby squad to be named this week, individuals in the outfit were looking to make a statement that puts those doubts to rest. Employing a well-structured game the Waratahs’ backs scored all the tries as forwards controlled the contact area.
Bernard Foley drew first blood from his scalp and the scoreboard after he wriggled through the Lions defence in the 10th minute after four waves of Waratah attacks. He then converted his try as the continuation of what was a blistering night for the fly half, racking up 21 points and a perfect night with the boot both in goal kicking reaping the rewards from training with All Black great Andrew Mehrtens.
The Lions immediately rallied to barrel roll a maul over in the other end. The Waratah big men have no need to grow any more in size with behemoths Will Skelton and Wycliff Palu in their ranks. But the forwards have continued to grow in stature and they combined well with the inside backs early on to tenderise the opposition’s defensive line. Skelton showed that being 15 kilograms heavier than Jonah Lomu makes a difference in the contact area and sapped the energy from the Lions defensive line with an ever present kinetic threat in the midfield and breakdown.
Foley and Beale have shown that they are developing into a world class 10-12 combination, and at the 20 minute mark as they combined beautifully from a planned grubber that left defenders clueless; Beale touching the ball under the posts taking the score to 17-10. Foley will surely be considered the form Australian number 10 in the competition with such a complete display and the injury sidelining Quade Cooper makes this combination a tasty option for selectors..
The Lions were penned in as they attempted to run the ball from an improved Waratahs defensive line. Some poor handling errors from the ‘Tahs turned the ball over before half time and the Lions pegged them back to 17 – 13 at the break.
Lions showed their inexperience and lack of an alternate game plan as the game wore on, they continued to try and run the ball, 450 running meters. Having only won one of the last 16 games on the road, it is clear that their management have to find a better way of tackling away games.
If you were unfortunate enough to get in the wrong beer queue at half time, you would have missed the window of play in the opening eight minutes which the Waratahs ruthlessly wrenched the game from the Lions’ fingers as they ran in two well-constructed tries for Rob Horne and Adam Ashley-Cooper. At 31-13 and a bonus point in the bag it would have been understandable if they took their foot off the gas.
The Waratahs played looser and faster in the last half hour and tested their opposition around the field.
Rob Horne had his best game of the season and best game on the wing. Always a solid defender, he showed a level of assertiveness in his attacking game scoring his first try in impressive fashion with thirty meters out and plenty of work to go. He went over again just before full time to remind selectors of this wasn’t a fluke.
The final score of 41 – 13 did justice to a very dominant and entertaining performance by the men in blue in front of their home crowd. There was a maturity do this performance which may even silence the cynics. Skelton, Palu, Robinson, Foley and Horne stood out when it mattered.
It will be interesting to see where they figures in McKenzie’s plans this week.
Firstxv
Guest
True, lets hope they don't leave him on the field when they all finish...'Hey...Wheres Will...?"
Firstxv
Guest
Lions are second last with 8 losses and out of the tournament some time ago. Tahs are at home and because of this win we have Wallabies sprouting from it, a title in the bag again...oh dear...
Morsie
Guest
But they did win in spite of all those problems (the score was 41-13 in their favor......
Rebels without a cause
Guest
Useful comment
Luke of Mosman
Guest
Completely agree with jamswm. After last night, Skelton and Palu would seem certainties in the Wallabies pack. Hooper as well, given Pocock's injury. That's three out of eight.. you'd probably add Slipper, Moore, Sio, Simmons and Fardy to that bunch, with Jones, Higginbotham, Kepu and Polota-Nau on the bench. Horwill looks a bit out of nick at present. Beale and Folau looked world class, Ashley-Cooper and Horne were very competitive, Foley was impressive too. All of these blokes should be somewhere in the Wallabies mix.
DMac
Guest
Judging an entire sport on the basis of the last few minutes of a blowout might not be wise. The game died after the Tahs 4th try, until then it was pretty entertaining.
mikeylives
Guest
Maul defence will be fixed after last night. The remainder I'm not so sure about.
Paul
Guest
They are still not going to win the title until they fix; 1. The lineout 2. Discipline 3. Dropped balls 4. The scrum 5. Maul defence
RAF
Guest
Fortunately I only saw the last 15 minutes of this game. If that 15 minutes is the best rugby on offer then leave me out, it was awful. I fervently hope the 65 minutes was far far better
JB
Guest
Fardy and jones to start, Skelton on the bench to play the last 25,
XL from Htown
Guest
How many minutes will he last at international footy though . Big risk picking that guy, be som big gaps once he's tired
XL from Htown
Guest
They'll choke hahahaha an wont make the playoffs
Ben
Guest
Will Skelton will have to start for the Wallabies. When he starts for the Tahs you can see him exhausting the opposition....tackling 135kg over and over will wear out most packs. Rob Horne could make a fist of an international winger. The aggression he shows with Cummins will be a handful for the French. Mckenzie has a real selection in the backs. 9,10,12 and 13 could be a number of different combinations. I'd like to see Phipps Foley and Beale get a chance. I'd like to see McCabe at 13 as well. Having CFL Tomua ACC and Godwin Kuridrani Is a nice problem
bennalong
Guest
What great afternoon it was! Loved the atmosphere with all the kids having a great time and flooding on to the field afterward like multi coloured tropical fish. To get a whinge out of the way, the Kiwi ref Briant did his best to make up for any home ground advantage. Otherwise, the Tahs took up where they left off against the Hurricanes. No more doubt about first receiver! Foley was masterful at 5/8 and Beale was great as a 12 and worked the other side of the field as playmaker. As you say Andrew, they're looking good together now and, since I believe the ARU want Beale in the Wallaby squad with Folau, their futures may be tied along with "Nard". His continued improvement with the boot makes him a real option as Wallaby 10. His punts are regularly 15-20 metres longer than at the start of the season and his perfect score of five conversions and two penalties showed his work with Mehrtens is paying off. Izzy is getting into the game more and the try to Beale came as the Sharks had to mark him outside, giving Foley the chance to dot a skilful grubber through metres from the line and almost in front of the sticks Big Will played the whole game then came out to sign autographs at the end with most of the team. Yes, a great day!
Fair go
Guest
I suppose its nice to have a few waratahs in the wallabies. But I doubt that one game will do it. And if it was one game it might involve another team. Maybe a big win over the bulls or crusaders? FFS! Can we pls get real about wallaby selection? These are tight, hard matches. Skill is a big part. But so is grit and desire.
Marty
Guest
Thank you Waratahs. You're the only team I managed to tip correctly this weekend. Best of luck in the weeks to come.
Blinky Bill of Bellingen NSW
Guest
Good points, especially about Horney. I'll watch that one again on repla, this time paying closer attention to Rob Horne. But I'm liking what I'm seeing from him. Good defence and pops up at the right times to add to the attack. Not too sure if I'd see him as a jet shoe type winger, but hey he's taking his chances and doing bloody well. ;)
jameswm
Guest
I thought Skelton and Palu had massive games. Foley was better. Ryan struggled in the scrums again. Robbo was pretty good though. Horne had a really good game. Oddly enough he looked a bit like a centre playing on the wing. Izzy looked dangerous every time he got the ball.
MikeN
Roar Pro
And importantly, the Tah's are master of their own destination at the moment. Win all remaining matches and they win the Aussie conference.
Boomeranga
Guest
Pretty good win. I was hoping for 5 points from this one but you never know in this comp or with our team. I thought the Lions were pretty impressive in the first half. Great scrum especially, but all their lineout, maul and defensive work was good, plus they had a crack in attack as well. Wheels fell off a bit in the second half but credit to them from me.