The Waratahs outclassed the Brumbies 26-8 in a tense Super Rugby derby to set up a blockbuster final with the Crusaders. Almost 40,000 fans packed into Allianz Stadium to see the Waratahs grimly defend their fortress and convert their only three try-scoring opportunities to earn a first title decider in Sydney.
After losing their only two previous finals to the Crusaders, the seven-time champions once again stand in the Waratahs’ way of an elusive maiden championship after thumping Jake White’s Sharks 38-6 in Saturday’s first semi in Christchurch.
But unlike 2005 and 2008, the Waratahs will host the decider at ANZ Stadium next Saturday night after the minor premiers extended their club-record winning streak to eight matches with a spirited victory over the Brumbies.
With pedantic South African referee Jaco Peyper taking firm control, the Brumbies, with their superior set piece, relished the dour, Test match-style of game. Even after falling behind 16-8 early in the second half, the Brumbies dominated possession and territory and threatened throughout the final quarter to end the Waratahs’ season of hope.
But with inspirational captain Michael Hooper, powerhouse lock Jacques Potgieter and half-back Nick Phipps outstanding, the Waratahs hung on, with five-eighth Bernard Foley clinching the win with a late penalty goal and converted try.
Despite the end scoreline, the Waratahs had to pull out all stops in a tense second half, with Phipps’ desperate try-savers on Brumbies pair Tevita Kuridrani and Scott Fardy telling. The Brumbies’ defeat was their first play-off loss to Australian opposition and left the ACT outfit one win short of matching their run to last year’s final.
Contesting their first semi-final in four years, the Waratahs made a dream start with winger Alofa Alofa swooping on a wayward pass from Brumbies half-back Nic White and racing 60 metres to score in just the third minute. Foley missed the conversion attempt but the Waratahs continued to dominate the early exchanges, and he increased their lead to 8-0 with a 22nd-minute penalty.
On the back foot, the Brumbies used their powerful scrum to gain a foothold in the match, with Peyper pinging the NSW scrum three times and also awarding the visitors a couple of other bewildering penalties. After laying siege to the NSW tryline, they cashed in on the half-hour mark when five-eighth Matt Toomua put winger Henry Speight over in the corner.
It seemed the two sides would go to half-time locked up at 8-8 after Christian Lealiifano slotted a penalty goal a minute before the break, but Foley replied after the re-start to keep the Waratahs three points ahead. The Tahs pushed out to 16-8 in the 47th minute when Kurtley Beale dispossessed Jesse Mogg, prompting Brumbies coaches Stephen Larkham and Laurie Fisher to hook the full-back.
It was all over when Foley, to the roars of the rapturous crowd, dived over after accepting a beautiful one-arm short pass from cult hero Will Skelton five minutes from full-time.
“We talked before the game about how we had to take our opportunities,” Hooper said. “Defence wins you games and it was really good tonight.”
The Waratahs haven’t beaten the Crusaders since 2004 and have lost their past 11 encounters with the champion New Zealand team. “As a team, you want to beat the best,” Hooper said. “We haven’t played the Crusaders this year and, if we knock them off, we’ll deserve to lift the trophy.”
The Crusaders secured their place in the final by beating the Sharks 38-6 in their earlier semi-final in Christchurch. In perfect conditions at AMI Stadium, the Crusaders used stoic defence and precise attacking movements to see off the challenge of the 2012 finalists, who trailed 16-6 at half-time.
After dominating the Highlanders’ pack in last week’s qualifying final, the Sharks found themselves in an unfamiliar position as the Crusaders matched their physicality up front. The New Zealand franchise thrashed their South African opponents with tries to Kieran Read, Nemani Nadolo, Willi Heinz, Johnny McNicholl and Matt Todd.
In the Crusaders’ 11th final appearance, coach Todd Blackadder will have a second chance to secure his first title at the helm, and the Crusaders’ eighth since 1998.
Playing his first game in five weeks due to a fractured rib, All Blacks captain Richie McCaw worked well with fellow loose forwards Read and Todd to manage the pace of the game as frustration set in among the Sharks’ forwards. The subsequent penalties allowed Dan Carter to add 13 points with the boot and keep his side in front from just the second minute.
A lambasting from coach Jake White, captured by television cameras, failed to inspire the Sharks to gain the upper hand in a classic semi-final arm-wrestle in the second half. The Sharks are experts at using their kickers to smother opponents, but it was obvious from the outset that nerves, and perhaps the long trek from Durban, may have taken a toll.
Two consecutive restarts were pushed out on the full by the usually reliable Frans Steyn and, when half-back Cobus Reinach launched an aimless punt from inside his 22, the Crusaders pounced. Shifting the ball across to the left, Read breezed through the tackle of centre Paul Jordaan before swerving around one final defender in a 25-metre sprint to score the opener.
The visitors then fell on the wrong side of referee Glen Jackson and conceded a further six unanswered points as Carter slotted his second and third penalty goals for a 16-3 advantage. Patrick Lambie, brought in to replace Steyn at fly-half, reduced the deficit to 10 but missed a crucial penalty kick that would have brought his side to within a converted try at the break.
Things only became worse for the visitors in the second half. Crusaders half-back Andy Ellis caught Springbok prop Jannie du Plessis napping in defence with an inside pass that set winger Nemani Nadolo away for their second try.
Carter and Lambie missed from the kicking tee as the scoreline remained at 21-6 until the 65th minute. That’s when substitute half-back Willi Heinz capitalised on a Sharks error at the scrum, before McNicholl also came off the bench to extend the lead. Todd rubbed salt into the wounds three minutes from time as the Crusaders marched over the line once more with a rolling maul.
Waratahs beat Brumbies to set up Super Rugby final with Crusaders
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