What a game to look back from last night when I had the chance to watch the Waratahs v Blues on-site at Leichhardt Oval. It was a quiet first-half by both teams where the Tahs made plenty of chances going forward but without any score, while the Blues were held back by a series of lost penalties & ill-discipline before they took a late three-point penalty goal ahead of half-time.
The 2nd half though was wild where the Tahs led the way courtesy of Mark Nawaquanitawase’s sensational double tries that almost shocked the reigning Super Rugby Trans-Tasman champions. But in the end, the Blues were the better team; Not only responded really well, but they never gave up until the very end where that sensational drop-goal from Zarn Sullivan was enough to secure them the win, 17-20.
Unlucky from the Waratahs with the narrow loss here last night at Leichhardt Oval. The Tahs got the breakthrough they needed with the renewed momentum after half-time where Mark Nawaquanitawase scored a double TRY from his own end on the right-wing. However, they just couldn’t get the best of executions despite plenty of chances being created in the first-half off the back of a good defensive structure & winning penalties. That one huge weakness, as well a small lead just wasn’t enough for the Tahs to fend off the Blues towards the homestretch.
And congratulations to the Blues who snatched the win at the last minute that sent the Tahs supporters a huge blow on their home turf. They were lucky to get away from a dangerous Tahs attack when Ill-discipline stalled their progress in the first-half, as the Blues lost Adrian Choat & Akira Ioane to the naughty chair for a while at one point. It almost came back to bite them when Mark Nawaquanitawase’s double TRY gave the Blues some alarm bells to turn around in a race against time. But a change of tactics including some fresh faces off the bench helped the Blues respond to this fight, before Zarn Sullivan’s increased kicking responsibilities was enough to leave Leichhardt Oval with the win via a three-point drop goal.
So the Tahs will now face the Chiefs from Waikato on early Saturday afternoon instead of the 3rd placed Brumbies in the Quarter-Final if it’s not for that heartbreaking defeat. Meanwhile, the Blues will find out tonight on who they will face their 8th placed opponent for Quarter-Final No.1 on Friday; Is it the Western Force if the Melbourne Rebels can answer their favour v Highlanders as long as their opponents don’t take the bonus point, or the Highlanders beat the Rebels that will leave the Force outside the Top 8 Playoffs bubble.
The final game of the regular Super Rugby Pacific between the Rebels v Highlanders will take place on 2pm this afternoon at AAMI Park in Melbourne, while I will continue my big sporting weekend today at Sydney Motorsports Park in Eastern Creek, NSW, for the ARG SpeedSeries.