The NSW Waratahs beat the Highlanders 19-16 at Hunter Stadium tonight in the final trial for both teams prior to their first games in the 2014 Super Rugby competition.
A bit of light drizzle in the second half made the ball slippery for both teams and neither side took all their chances.
In the first half the Waratahs didn’t need the ball wet to drop it because they were doing it all the time—either the pass was not on or the player was not expecting it, or whatever—it was bad rugby.
The Waratahs started what appeared to be a full-strength team except that Wallabies Kurtley Beale and Nick Phipps were on the bench together with Springbok Jacques Potgieter, who had arrived recently from Japan. Cam Crawford, one of the finds from last year, had his first game for six months from the reserves.
The 2014 Highlanders lost All Blacks Ma’a Nonu, Tamati Ellison, Colin Slade, Hosea Gear, Tony Woodcock and Andrew Hore from their 2013 team but were still able to start two current internationals: Ben Smith and Aaron Smith.
First Half
The Highlanders took a successful penalty shot at goal after four minutes which didn’t endear them to the crowd.
After the Tahs threatened a few times, winger Peter Betham scored at 19 minutes, near the corner post. The Tahs had put on a good move from a lineout near the Clan 22 and the Highlanders couldn’t cover the last pass from Adam Ashley-Cooper, and Betham was over. The difficult conversion from Bernard Foley missed, but the Tahs were ahead 5-3.
The Tahs were in the box seat after that and had more promising moves than Bobby Fischer, but dropped passes, losing the ball in contact and the odd pass to players from the other team, turned them around several times.
Their best move was when the Tahs were pressed near their own line. Kurtley Beale was in trouble and passed riskily to winger Alofa Alofa who went on a long weaving run to the other end of the park before passing back to to Beale who was, typically, backing up.
But this was another move that was spoiled and, later on, it enabled the Clan to take the lead 6-5 with another penalty goal.
But on the half-hour mark the Tahs put on some good straight runs and Beale kicked through for Brendan McKibbin to regain the ball. He attracted defenders before dishing out to Michael Hooper to score in the tackle. When McKibbin converted from near touch, the Tahs were leading again, 12-6.
The home team looked in control but Aaron Smith picked up a Waratahs’ ball five minutes before oranges. He was on the Waratahs’ side of the breakdown and looked offside, but it was only a tackle and referee Andrew Lees allowed play to continue. Smith passed to Sam Christie and with no defenders to tackle him (they were lined up on attack) he ran 30 metres and scored under the posts.
The Waratahs had nearly all the chances in the first half, but at the break the score was: Highlanders 13—Waratahs 12
Second Half
There were several errors in the half from both sides which made for poor rugby, but the Tahs raided ten minutes after the break and Cam Crawford was over the line—but he dropped the wet ball.
At the three-quarter mark Hooper reached over well to save a lineout throw, and delivered to Patrick McCutcheon acting as a running halfback. He drew defenders before passing to Alofa who transferred the pill to Foley, and he burst through tackles and dunked the ball over the line with a long arm. The conversion was easy for Foley and the Tahs led 19-13.
With six minutes to go the Highlanders took an easy penalty goal, an although they were applying pressure in the Tahs’ half at the end of the game, the final score was Waratahs 19—Highlanders 16.
Highlanders
The Clan was poor in the first half and the Waratahs’ mistakes kept them in the game. They were better after the break.
They took every penalty kick at goal they could whereas the Tahs gave up several reasonable opportunities and kicked for the line, or took a scrum.
Their All Blacks, Ben Smith and Aaron Smith had some fine moments but they lacked other players with consistent attacking flair. However winger Patrick Osborne, who the Reds found hard to handle when he came on from the bench for the Chiefs last year, was full of menace.
Centre Malakai Fekitoa also had some promising moments—on both attack and defence—including a 50 metre run that was one of the few Highlander threats on the night. This fellow was hard to handle in the 2013 ITM Cup and will be worth watching in 2014 if he can keep his place.
The Highlanders played traditional southern New Zealand rugby and at their best they were counter-rucking cannily—holding back, then attacking as a group when the Tahs could be pushed of the ball. Several times they “got the hit” in the rucks.
The Clan came off the line fast and not just the backs.
The starting backrow of Gareth Evans, John Hardie and new guy Shane Christie, playing no.8 whilst Nasi Manu was out injured, was a constant threat to the Tahs’ ruck ball.
Waratahs
As coach Michael Cheika said after the game:
We broke the line at least ten times but failed to turn those opportunities into points.
The main reason for this was poor handling but throwing miracle passes did not help
But he was reasonably happy with the work in the tight:
It was exactly what we needed: hard at the breakdown; there was some good and bad but, all in all, I’m happy with the physicality and attention to detail at the ruck.
And he was enthused about Alofa:
For the second week in a row, he’s delivered.
Michael Hooper was my man of the match: sometimes he looked like a swan amongst the ducks on both sides.
Israel Folau was superb again and it is remarkable how he attracts that unneeded, extra tackler.
Kurtley Beale had some moments of rugby brilliance, but sometimes tried too hard and the Tahs lost the ball.
Tatafu Polota-Nau and Will Skelton broke the line, or half-broke it, a lot, but the follow-up work, though enthusiastic enough, was often clumsy.
Scoring
[one_half last=”no”]
Waratahs 19
Tries—Peter Betham, Michael Hooper, Bernard Foley
Conversions—Brendan McKibbin, Bernard Foley
[/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]
Highlanders 16
Try—Shane Christie
Conversion—Lima Sopoaga
Penalty goals—Lima Sopoaga (2), Hayden Parker.
[/one_half]
Teams
[one_half last=”no”]Waratahs: 1. B. Robinson, 2. T. Polota-Nau, 3. S. Kepu, 4. W.Skelton, 5. K. Douglas, 6. D. Dennis (c), 7. M. Hooper, 8. W. Palu, 9. M. Lucas, 10. B. Foley, 11. P. Betham, 12. R. Horne, 13. A. Ashley-Cooper, 14. A. Alofa, 15. I. Folau.
Replacements: 16. S. Latu, 17. P. Ryan, 18. J. Potgieter, 19. S. Hoiles, 20. P. McCutcheon, 21. B. McKibbin, 22. N. Phipps, 23. K. Beale, 24. J. Lance, 25. B. Volavola, 26. C. Crawford. [Additional replacements from: D. Horwitz, H. Roach, J. Holloway, J. Tilse, T. Metcher and G. Peterson.][/one_half]
[one_half last=”yes”]Highlanders: 1. K. Hames, 2. G. Robinson, 3. C. King, 4. J. Hoeta, 5. J. Bekhuis, 6. G. Evans, 7. J, Hardie, 8. S. Christie, 9. A. Smith, 10. L. Sopoaga, 11. K. Baker, 12. S. Treeby, 13. M. Fekitoa, 14. P. Osborne, 15. Ben Smith (c).
Replacements from : B. Mitchell, M. Diaz, C. Millar, J. Wheeler, T. Franklin, TJ Ioane, L Allan, F. Wilson, H. Parker, P. Burleigh, W. Stanley and R.Buckman.[/one_half]
You Tube Waratahs highlights package provided by NSW Waratahs (refresh to watch again)
[youtube id=”FXqMcXuu2u4″ width=”600″ height=”350″]
Photos by Lee Grant
A report of the Reds v Rebels trial can be seen here
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