The Waratahs have all but sewn up top spot in the Australian conference, conjuring up a hard-fought 31-26 win over the Rebels in a thrilling match at AAMI Stadium.
After dominating the first half and taking a 17-10 lead into halftime, the Tahs ceded control to a rampant Rebels outfit – Matt Philip and Amanaki Mafi leading the charges – and it was the Rebels who looked most likely to win, holding a nine point lead heading into the final stanza.
But two key plays from senior Wallabies held the key to the match, first Kurtley Beale, then Bernard Foley snaffling intercepts which led to tries by an impressive Ned Hanigan, and Foley himself.
The Rebels gave themselves another shot at the death, but failed to secure their lineout – a problem that also dogged them at the start of the match.
The Rebels will look back on tonight with frustration, Angus Cottrell coughing up the ball in a scoring position right on halftime, and then failing to apply the killer blow when having the Waratahs on the rack in the second half.
It was as if the Rebels lacked the confidence and self-belief to go on with the job, despite their dominance up front, and their play lacked a hard, direct edge right at the critical moment it was needed.
The Waratahs seemed rudderless for much of the second half, clealry missing their skipper Michael Hooper, but they will be delighted at the way they kept their composure, stayed in the contest, and put the points on the board when the opportunities eventually presented themselves.
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For the home side, Jack Maddocks again impressed on the wing, along with big shifts from most of the pack – although their scrum did conceded dominance to the Waratahs. Reece hodge was impressive with the boot, but the jury is still out on his playing at 10.
Will Miller was great value for the visitors early, although it was Hanigan who took responsibility for driving the forward effort when it counted.
Replacement winger Alex Newsome was dangerous all night, and even though Beale was untidy at times, it was his spark that eventually turned the game.
After a week of constant bleating about laws and their interpretation it was great to be able to focus on purely rugby matters – and a genuinely exciting match to boot!
It wasn’t always clinical but both sides showed a refreshing attitude to attack each other with the ball, and the (disappointing) crowd of 9,208 was kept highly entertained throughout.
Well done Waratahs, a very hard-earned win away from home; on the other hand commiserations to the Rebels, who really had the match won, and only let it slip with a couple of intercepts.
Final score
Waratahs 31
Rebels 26
Harry Jones
Expert
Jeez, M. Phillip is a workhorse; and Mafi, too. Mafi: 221 carries for the season (the most in SR). Phillip: 19 carries in this match. Ned was impressive. No joke.
double agent
Guest
You really are pleased with that comment aren't you TonyH? I've seen it about four times now!!
Paulo
Roar Rookie
I think the on field Refs need to stand up to the TMOs more. They do have the final say after all. The TMOs can only give their opinion and bring things to the on field Refs attention. Although when they do disagree and go wirth their own view, they get ripped to shreds by those that don't like their decisions regardless, so it is a no win situation sometimes. That Frizell one was interesting, I thought he asked the TMO the wrong question. He said he saw a grounding, and can you confirm it was grounded. The TMO couldn't confirm a grounding, so said as much. He should have asked, can you confirm it is held up. The TMO should be used to prove the Refs ruling or thoughts wrong, not to prove them.
Paulo
Roar Rookie
"...nothing more than normal, messy collisions that occur numerous times in a match, without any injury. Play on, no foul play, no need to get involved." The thing with this argument, and not that I completely disagree with it, is the laws are there to prevent injury, not just punish when one actually does. Speeding is a good example, I don't think any of us can say we haven't been a little careless and gone over the speed limit while driving, and if a cop pulls you over, you can try and argue no one got hurt, so no harm no foul. Apply this to Tupou's grass cutter, which similar hits happen every game, particularly out wide on wingers diving for corners. No one was hurt, but a 110kg athlete hitting your legs, in this case front on, with no arms, is a knee injury waiting to happen (potentially career ending). Without wanting to remove the contact from the game, there needs to be a balance, and I don't think no harm no foul should be applied, or left to the refs discretion.
Albo
Guest
I think in those instances it should just be a short arm. Worth a look but wasn't a penalty as it was no-ones fault. Tap or scrum from where it happened.
AlBo
Guest
I remember the half a decade-plus between Larkham and Foley. All we wanted was a solid international 10 who did the fundamentals right that we could build a team around - and I think we are starting to see that team come together. Foley arrived after shifting the deckchairs around for years and became reliable. Yes he's got limitations, but name another who doesn't in Australia. If there is a more consistent 10 in Australian rugby I would genuinely like to hear that argument. Unfortunately we just don't have others banging down the door and until that day comes, I'm more than happy with him steering the ship. When Foley has a good halfback with a long pass he is very good. We always say how much better we are with Genia and that's because Genia and Foley are actually a very good international combination.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
Nah it was always a bad pass because Foley didn’t need to leave the D line and create a hole.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
No because when he hit contact he slowed/stopped. He needed to pass before contact. Or not pass.
Reverse Wheel
Guest
They probably would have been better to play a couple of phases then take the knock on advantage they had and kill a min or so with a scrum. They had the edge in the scrums all night. Pick and go a metre out from the line is riskier imo.
Johnny Boy
Guest
Is anyone going to blame Beale for that final play? He was the one who should have passed earlier, instead he crabbed sideways and allowed the defence to drift. Had he passed a second earlier, that would have been a certain Wallaby try as they had a one man overlap.
tsuru
Roar Rookie
Here's something I took from the game. The Waratahs pack, with the "finishers" on, had so much confidence in themselves that they decided to run down the clock in the last 3(?) minutes with pick-and-goes from their own line. I feared it was a stupid decision while they were doing it - one mistake (knock on, holding on, side entry etc.) and the Rebels had a penalty or scrum 5 metres out. But they did it more or less. And all contributed. And this from one of the smaller packs going around I believe.
taylorman
Roar Guru
It only became a bad pass when Foley took it, it was finding its man as intended, Foley knew his side were down with less than ten to go and took the risk he needed to take and it paid off. Might not have been the mark of great flyhalf play but it was the mark of someone committed to finding ways to win a match for his side. And in this case, he made the difference in the end, as hes done before, and hasnt in others.
Morsie
Guest
Yes to that, I've been saying this for a while. I think he has all of the attributes of a really good 10 but would like to see him given the opportunity under game time pressure. We know what Beale can do at 10, he's an OK stop-gap measure but not a solution to our depth issues. He seems to have a hand in so many good plays at the tahs, when you go back and look at a hinge moment that turned another attacking raid into an actual try Hegarty was there.
Fionn
Guest
Would you be okay with lending him to the Brumbies for a season? I think Hegarty is quality too.
Cynical Play
Guest
Sliding Doors eh TWAS. Luckily seem to know the outcome from the endless possibilities.
Cynical Play
Guest
Hegarty at 10 I would love to see. He's solid and verstaile.
Dennis Hopper Jr
Guest
And the tighty rightys would be very pleased with your bit of regurgitation, AG. You are thinking and saying their mantra to a tee.
tsuru
Roar Rookie
Danny, I guess you're saying the Rebels missed Genia. No argument there.
tsuru
Roar Rookie
I think KB may need some rest too rather than the extra responsibility at 10.. And so maybe put Hegarty into fly half as Folau will be back at 15. Come to that, we all harp on about the lack of back-up 10s and seem to ignore Hegarty. He's been around for some time, he's respected within the Waratahs, and he's had more experience at 10 than Maddocks, Hodge, Mack Mason, Hamish Stewart, and Jack Debreczeni. So, in the interest of the finding of a back-up 10 for the world cup, it would be nice to see him given a go. Similarly it would be good to see Maddocks given a go at 10 in super rugby. I don't believe either of the coaches of the Tahs or the Rebels will take a chance on this while their qualification for the play-offs is still up for grabs, so if it's going to happen we'll presumably have to wait for the NRC. Even then I agree with Peter K when he says anybody replacing Foley needs to replace him as goal kicker too.
Baz
Guest
What I took from the game: Matt Philip has plenty of potential. Rates as one of the best Australian lock performances this year. Outstanding game. Carry, Carry, Carry and then some more. The Wallabies halves combination of 9, 10 and 12 are just not that good. They should have dominated against the lesser experienced and talented Rebels counterparts but they looked disorganized and unstructured. Hodge has a great boot but he is not a 10. Expected more but was disappointed by his game. I think he is just too slow off the mark. Naivalu needs a HIA before taking the field. What was he thinking. Maddox needs more involvement. Give him a run at 10 and see if he has what it takes.