Welcome home back at Allianz Stadium in Moore Park, NSW, following a five-year absence with a whole new vibe, as the Waratahs take on the ACT Brumbies in RD1 of the 2023 Super Rugby season. It was a tight opening 40 where the Brumbies got away with an early lead, while the Tahs got themselves up & running thanks to debutant Max Jorgensen as they were only five points behind at half-time (10-15).
The Tahs continued to catch up where they won the 2nd half alone with a mix of three-point goals & another two tries off the back of Jorgensen again followed by Jake Gordon. Sadly, the Tahs just couldn’t nail down the Brumbies on time, as the away team extended their lead along the way before it was enough to secure them the win (25-31).
Gutted for the Tahs who fell a few points short behind the Brumbies. They responded really well on a couple of occasions with credit mainly coming from debutant Max Jorgensen, who has a really big future ahead at 18 & also just finished high school recently as well. While dominating late in the 2nd half does help courtesy of Jake Gordon’s TRY; but slow starts & some inconsistency such as the lost penalties sadly cost them the match despite holding a brief lead at one point in the first half (10-7).
And hats off to the Brumbies with a fantastic start of their 2023 campaign away from home. Speaking of good starts, their attack has been phenomenal as always with Ryan Lonergan taking charge for the majority at No.9 while Tom Wright (wide right at No.14) backs up with two assisted tries including to Corey Toole in the 2nd-half on debut (also on the other wide left position). While the Brumbies may need to look out at times defensively as this season goes, but they responded really well with more points on the board before it was enough for them to secure the win.
