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Rugby

Waratahs go back to back with the win for the first time since August 2020 after they held off the Rebels by five points (24-19) at the SCG

by Sports Benches

It’s been another close match-up to round off Round 5 of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season at the Sydney Cricket Ground. NSW Waratahs fired off with two tries on the board in the 1st 40 where they led comfortably at half-time (14-6), while the Melbourne Rebels made up some lost time late in the 2nd half. However, a few finishing mistakes, poor throw-ins, and lost penalty chances ruined Rebels’ late resurgence with a five-point loss (24-19).

Unlucky from the Rebels, who brings a brilliant defensive shape when it comes, to their impressive forward pack for a start. They racked up some winning penalties that made the most of successful three-point goals as a safe pair of hands. And the Rebels were able to build some momentum over time, where they bounced back late thanks to Cabous Eloff on the tighthead front row in the 2nd half. They were so close to pipping the Waratahs in the last minute, but the Rebels couldn’t justify their messy finishing, which led to several missed opportunities before it was too late.

And hats off to the Tahs with the win they deserve once again tonight as the home team. We love how the Tahs were patient with the ball on hand, where they took advantage of the Rebels’ slow start & got ahead early with two big scores in the 1st half by Lalakai Foketi & Will Harris. Alex Newsome extended the Tahs winning margin in the 55th minute from the backline, while the Rebels began to close into their radar late in the 2nd half. But the Tahs knew one or two things the Rebels aren’t good at, and that is the finishing where the away team blew their chances away even with the penalty in place, before they defended well & kicked the ball into touch after the full-time siren.

So the Tahs will head off to Brisbane where they will battle against the Queensland Reds in another State of Origin rivalry match-up next Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium. And the Rebels will return home at AAMI Park on Friday night v Fijian Drua.

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Rugby News, Waratahs fought back in the 2nd half but not enough to get past the Brumbies in RD3 of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific

by Sports Benches

What a way to close out Round 3 of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific, having witnessed such a close encounter with the Brumbies v Waratahs Saturday night match-up last night. Brumbies fired off with the early lead in the first half (17-6), although the Tahs have made up for some lost time after the break but fell so short by seven points (27-20).

The Brumbies were so organized when it comes to their forward pack, especially in the first 40 with two tries on the board. They handled the Tahs well thanks to the opposition team’s poor start, where they took great use in return while building persistence before the Brums were able to get the job done. Now the home side may have begun to falter with the Tahs rebound in this next run after half-time, despite the additional TRY from Irae Simone in the midfield. However, a few late changes and a huge defensive shift towards the end saw the Brumbies come out unscathed.

Meanwhile, unlucky from the Tahs with a much-improved team after half-time, where they almost extended this game through golden point & have an extended shot towards upsetting the Brums in the process. The change of attack spearheaded by fly-half Ben Donaldson saw him successfully find his path through the gate, having called out 1-2 support numbers, such as Angus Bell & Will Harris, to finish the playmaking work for him. They just wished they marry up their brilliant 2nd 40 into the first half, when a poor start saw the Tahs fall left behind before they left it too late with not much time to stay in contention.

The Tahs will be back playing on 2 pm next Sunday v Western Force at Leichardt Oval in Sydney, while the Brumbies travel to Melbourne on Friday night v Rebels at AAMI Park.

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Rugby News, NSW Waratahs v Queensland Reds RD2 match-up of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific at Leichardt Oval

by Sports Benches

Great to see the long-running New South Wales v Queensland rivalry return for another year last night, even with the wet conditions that went extra competitive while playing through the rain. Both teams were level at the break (10-10) after a close first 40 with one TRY and penalty goal apiece, but it’s the Reds who ran away in the end with another win by a narrow four-point buffer (16-20) at Leichardt Oval.

The Reds fired off very well with the early head start thanks to Jordan Petaia with the TRY & James O’Connor for the kicking and assist to Petaia, having shown patience when they had the ball in hand. Although they were tested with the scrum at times that led to lost points over to the Tahs’, the away team though managed to come out unscathed. We love how they took care of the ball with excellent planning and communication thanks to the Tahs’ mistakes in the 2nd half, which eventually gave sub-back rower Ryan Smith a way to get past the Tahs’ through the gate down low. Excellent teamwork by the Reds’ players and their use of substitutions that got the best out of ways to win games by their head coach, Brad Thorn.

Meanwhile, the Tahs’ responded well to the Reds’ early start when exposing the opposition’s weaknesses in defense, which has helped them level at half-time, 10-10. The scrum looks spot on with or without the ball feed, where Will Harris successfully converted into a TRY during the first-half at No.8 alongside some winning penalties. However, they were just unlucky not to hold them off until the end, not to blame Ben Donaldson’s brilliant kicking into the goal posts at fly-half. A few mistakes made in the 2nd half with a poor line-out, isolated executions, and defense eventually cost them by a narrow four-point margin.

The Reds will now travel to HBF Park in Perth next Friday at 7 pm local time/10 pm AEDT where they will face the Western Force, while the Waratahs will have their first away game of 2022 next Saturday night v ACT Brumbies at GIO Stadium in Canberra.

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Rugby News Australia, Top 3 players from the Waratahs v Reds game in RD2 of 2022 Super Rugby Pacific

by Sports Benches

In another week running of the new Super Rugby season, the Queensland Reds were blessed to have co-skipper James O’Connor by their side at first five-eighth. He always used the best of these penalties, especially with the successful kicks into the goal. And that cross-kick assist towards Jordan Petaia for the five-point score during the first-half is unbelievable, thanks to the communication built by the Reds’ forward line so JOC can unleash his magic.

Next up, Ryan Smith has to be the game-changer here off the bench for Angus Scott-Young on the blindside, which gave the Reds some fresh legs to help themselves get past the Waratahs in the end. He has a very clear vision to unpack even with a bit of space thanks to his tall build at almost two meters. With Ryan on board, the Reds needed his help in a bid to dismantle a pack of Tahs’ defenders past the TRY line when they felt so 1-2 meters short, before he dived in down low and grounded the ball first that turned out to be the game-winning score.

All in all, JOC started and finished the game for the Reds in style under the rain, while Smith made a huge difference later in the 2nd half that helped the Reds pull off what they desperately needed in 1st place (16-20).

And the Tahs may be gutted with the narrow loss last night, but one player who stood out is Will Harris at Number 8. He had an outstanding first-half run that puts the Tahs on level with the Reds at half-time (10-10), when not only did he collect a TRY himself via the scrum feed, but he also kept a close eye on the Reds and held them down defensively when the opposition lacked numbers. We love how he outsmarted Reds’ half-back, Tate McDermott, when he pulled the trigger once the Tahs’ stayed square & finished off against Angus Scott-Young past the touch line. Unfortunately, the Tahs made a couple of messy mistakes towards the end. Not only did it isolate their finishing opportunities with the ball, but it also exposed their defense before James O’Connor kicked the ball into touch after the 80th minute and it’s too late.

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NSW Waratahs v Fijian Drua Game Review in R1 of the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific

by Sports Benches

After a winless 2021 campaign of 13 games, the Waratahs have finally ended their long-running drought last night with a comfortable 40-10 win v Fijian Drua at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, NSW.

It’s great to see the Tahs forward pack make up most of the work earlier on in the 1st half at 21-3, where Will Harris and Dave Porecki added a couple of big scores through the TRY line with credit to the Drua’s dirty work via the advantage. They’re able to build on that comfortable start after the break when another forward at tighthead in Angus Bell produced two brilliant finishes, one for an assist to Inside midfielder, Lalakai Foketi, and another for himself thanks to the offload from the returning Jed Holloway on the second row. And their skipper at half-back, Jake Gordon stole a messy Drua attacking shape, when he intercepted the ball on the 10-metre line & ran over halfway on the run home that summed up the Tahs flying start to 2022.

Meanwhile, the Fijian Drua may not get what they wanted with the loss during their first game at Super Rugby level. Their series of disciplinary mistakes not only worsened their defense but also limited their time in the attack against the Tahs territory, especially at one point in the 2nd half. They just rushed through it with numbers all over the place, before Jake Gordon exploited their weakness & ran off over half the pitch towards the touch zone that cost more huge points on the board. There are some moments made, however, when fly-half Baden Kerr scored their first-ever points on the board, while we covered skipper & No.8 Nemani Nagusa on the Top 3 players list, who scored the Drua’s first-ever TRY later in the 2nd half. It’s still early days though as it will take time to become competitive, especially when facing the Australian and New Zealand teams regularly.

The Tahs will remain at home next week, but this time they will be at Leichardt Oval where they will welcome another State of Origin rivalry v the Queensland Reds, who will be facing the Melbourne Rebels at (Suncorp Stadium) home in Brisbane tonight.

Meanwhile, the Drua will head off to Canberra for another tough encounter v Brumbies at GIO Stadium next Saturday at 2.35 pm.

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Rugby News Australia, 2021 Super Rugby AU Week 6: Top 3 players from the Waratahs v Reds Game

by Sports Benches

Alex Mafi is outstanding for the Reds tonight off the bench. When he came on for Brandon Paenga-Amosa after the break. And made an impact immediately.

He looked after the line-out and driving maul. Especially when the Waratahs were disjointed via the lost penalties. Took advantage after Alex was given the ball in hand. Where he credits the communication and patience. So he can get around the Waratahs touch line.

A hat-trick touchdown from the 24 year old. This is great competition to battle against Brandon Paenga-Amosa. In fact he could even be a great in the Wallabies squad. When Head Coach Dave Rennie will announce the best 40 players tomorrow. Perfect timing to have Alex considered alongside Folau Faingaa. The more you have quality hookers. The better it will be to help dominate the throw-in/maul for your country. For now he comes in No.1 tonight out of all players combined.

Tate McDermott

Another Reds start who is excellent at half-back is Tate McDermott. He was the one who gave the Reds some hope. At least to get the ball rolling. Having seen his side fire off slow in the first 40.

He remained calm and collective as always. When beginning to build some set pieces. How Tate executed is looking what the Waratahs are trying to do? That is to find their weaknesses. Before he tricked them. Thanks to these decoy runners who communicated with Tate very closely.

It allowed to help him destruct the Waratahs wall. Especially during the first touchdown after winning the scrum. He looked after it well going square. Just like fellow Top 3 recipient Alex Mafi. Got his own players in line with him through the channels. And ran off to the touchline by unpacking that blistering pace. Then repeated the same trick again. Where Tate assisted that short pass offload to Lukhan Salakaia-Loto. Credit to him on making up lost time by building a competitive total. Which is why Tate is an very important player in the Reds squad.

Will Harris

It is still hard for any Waratahs fan out there who have yet to win. They always know how to fire off a game. Which is seen from most of their performances so far in 2021. But so little ideas to hold on that momentum for the majority tonight.

One player did well for the Waratahs alone is Will Harris. He plays at loose forward in the No.8 role. Will first oversaw as mentioned earlier a great start to have two three-point goals. Having documented the Reds slow start. As well as their ill-discipline on occasions. Where he scored one touchdown in the 2nd 40.

Although he took his chance well by dispatching Jack Dempsey. But the players around him were not really cooperating. So many penalties given away. Not enough time to try and give the Reds a hard look in return. And it limited their chances with the ball on hand. They instead rushed through it by leaving one/players isolated. Which is not good enough. Got to give Will Harris some support next time. The more talk up he needs. The better it will be to help him out and give more chances to grab points.

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