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The Waratahs refused to say they had waved the white flag throughout the week.
Publicly they hadn’t, the reality is they had. You might have been confused given their alternate white jerseys.
Very few sides head across the ditch to beat a New Zealand side at Eden Park. Not least a Blues side with 10 All Blacks and Beauden Barrett in it.
Injuries, suspension and three rested Wallabies, including the nation’s most-capped captain Michael Hooper, because of Rugby Australia’s national of interest stand down policy meant the Waratahs never stood a chance.
Beauden Barrett celebrates during the Blues’ big win over the Waratahs at Eden Park. Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Waratahs management hoped players fighting for a contract and a future in professional rugby would be enough to help keep them in the fight. That was optimistic.
The Waratahs knew their hopes of going across the ditch to win were slim to none and therefore turned their attention to finishing the season with a wet sail. It was a smart decision but in essence the white flag was waved before they left Sydney.
While the Blues conceded three tries, they never really looked troubled.
Zarn Sullivan scored a double to help lead the Blues to a massive win over the Waratahs at Eden Park on April 22, 2023. Photo: Hannah Peters/Getty Images
Contrastingly, the Waratahs looked like a team that had been thrown together and played like one too.
Unable to control the tempo of the match and play in the opposition’s half, All Blacks stars Rieko Ioane and Caleb Clark found and exploited soft shoulders while Barrett did his usual thing.
“They were pretty clinical tonight,” Waratahs captain Jake Gordon said.
“We just struggled to gain possession and play at the right end of the field. We spoke clearly about not giving them turnover and transition attack and we gave them a heap of that, and they were pretty clinical.”
Despite missing a dozen players, Gordon wasn’t looking to make any excuses.
“It’s all good,” he said.
“We had a really good training week. We prepared well, the coaches did a great job of putting us in a position to perform tonight.
“We had a lot of quality players in that team, it was just disappointing that we didn’t perform tonight.”
Despite securing an important bonus point win, Patrick Tuipulotu immediately played down the comprehensive victory.
“There’s some bits we can be happy with but I don’t think we’ll be happy with the 21 points they scored in the game,” he said.
Few of Darren Coleman’s men came away with their stocks raised. Wingers Dylan Pietsch and Max Jorgensen were among the Waratahs’ best while Manly Marlins flanker Hunter Ward had his moments on the ball, too.
Perhaps the only thing to take away from the game was the opportunities afforded to replacements halves Teddy Wilson and Jack Bowen.
You just hope their first matches at New Zealand’s fortress doesn’t haunt them.
The Blues got off to a flying 13-0 start after hooker Ricky Riccitelli scored in tight and Stephen Perofeta banged over a couple of penalties.
But the visitors got themselves back in the match when hooker Mahe Vailanu scored from a rolling maul and Ben Donaldson added the extras to cut the score to 13-7 after 18 months.
After conceding space all evening, Vailanu’s yellow card soon after was a blow for the Waratahs.
Zarn Sullivan made it look all too easy shortly after as the home side took a 20-7 lead into half time.
Three straight tries after half time, including Sullivan and Riccitelli’s second, saw the Blues blow open the score.
Pietsch stemmed the bleeding when he ran a lovely line inside Donaldson to hit back in the 60th minute.
But within minutes the Blues had another.
Wilson scored shortly after entering the fray but the Blues had the last laugh as Cameron Suafoa slid over and from long range to seal an emphatic victory.
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.