Folau-less Waratahs continue to plummet down the Super Rugby ladder
NSW Waratahs are bracing themselves for a tense battle over the final six rounds of the Super Rugby regular season after losing ground in the race for the finals.
A loss to the Bulls in South Africa on Saturday leaves last season’s Australian conference champions with just four wins from 10 matches – a victory over the Melbourne Rebels their only success in the past five starts.
Sitting fourth in the Australian conference on 21 points, the Waratahs face the prospect of knocking off the Lions in Johannesburg next Saturday night to avoid slipping further behind their local rivals.
Amid the drama surrounding Israel Folau’s code of conduct hearing with Rugby Australia and the announcement of assistant coach Simon Cron’s impending departure to Japanese rugby in 2020, the depleted Waratahs performed admirably in defeat at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
“It was pleasing that we stayed in the fight,” coach Daryl Gibson said after going down 28-21 to the Bulls in Pretoria.
“I thought we showed some nice touches with the ball in hand but disappointed that we had some opportunities that we didn’t nail.”
The Waratahs overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half to draw level but a lapse in concentration with 10 minutes to play proved costly as Bulls replacement prop Simphiwe Matanzima drove over for the match-winning try.
“When we got back to 21-all, there was a big moment there where we had a restart, I felt we didn’t exit our area well and the Bulls were able to generate a score off a lineout, which we know they are very good at,” Gibson said.
While the Waratahs looked dangerous in open play, they were no match for the hosts at the set piece.
“In terms of the game, the Bulls had dominance at scrum time on the day and I think that proved the difference between the two sides,” Gibson said.
Despite Saturday’s 29-19 defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington, the Rebels still lead the Australian conference.
The Brumbies joined the Rebels on 24 points with a 26-21 victory over the Blues in Canberra, hooker Folau Fainga'a bagging a hat-trick of tries – they have played an extra game than each of their Australian counterparts.
The Reds remain in striking distance on 22 points courtesy of an ugly 32-26 home triumph over the Sunwolves in a match that had one red card and five yellows issued – with the Toyko-based franchise down to 12 players at one stage.
Nic White's Wallaby dream still alive:
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The New Zealand performance in the return fixture in 2016 was filthy. A lot of Irish supporters were pretty shocked by it, viewed it as de facto cheating just to avoid another defeat.
Also shocked by the abuse to Ireland, captain, vice-captain and spectators after the full time whistle in Paris defeat, last match.
Sledging is sledging, but that happens during the game and targetting spectators should be completely out of bounds.
The Irish public used to enjoy these matches, even in defeat. Now they are necessary but unpleasant, because NZ apparently cannot accept or respect successful challengers.
Go to commentsThanks for the analysis Nick, thought provoking as usual. Couple of queries though, in the pic where you've circled Williams bind , I'm pretty sure it shows Stuart's knee on the ground, surely that's a NZ penalty? Also having had the chance to watch it again the All Black scrum seeems to improve after halftime, but before either England or the All Blacks replace their props. Not sure if that was the result of Tuipolutu coming on or some halftime tips. Either way this is only Williams second international season, so he'll be better for the experience.
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