'Tahs roar past Lions
New South Wales Waratahs overcame stiff Lions resistance and abysmal weather conditions to record an impressive 26-3 win.
Last Updated: 19/04/08 12:11pm
NSW Waratahs overcame stiff Lions resistance and abysmal weather conditions to record an impressive 26-3 win at the Aussie Stadium.
After a scoreless first half, ruined both by the conditions and some poor handling, the 'Tahs finally broke the deadlock in the second period, and scored a further two tries in three second half minutes to seal the bonus point win.
Captain Phil Waugh started the scoring after smart wing play from Lote Tuqiri. The experienced Wallaby did well to keep the ball in play, and as he fed the onrushing Benn Robinson the 'Tahs prop bundled within inches of the line.
Gained the initiative
Fly-half Kurtley Beale picked up the pieces to switch the play to his skipper who made no mistake as he crashed home in the corner.
Beale missed a difficult conversion as the home side gained the initiative.
Jaco van Schalkwyk closed the gap to two points with a well-struck penalty shortly after, but Beale opened up the game once more, breaking the line cleanly and then chipping ahead before being taken out to win a penalty.
From the resulting tap kick, Luke Burgess put Dean Mumm away, and he went through under the posts. Beale easily converted to take the score to 12-3.
Catastrophic error
With the Lions still very much in the game, the contest was soon put beyond doubt after a catastrophic error from Van Schalkwyk.
The Lions No.10 hesitated over a clearance kick as Tatafu Polota-Nau pounced to charge the ball down and score under the posts.
Beale's conversion took the score to 19-3 and the bonus point try seemed a matter of when, rather than if.
The decisive score came with nine minutes remaining. A break by Luke Burgess culminated in a grubber to touch, but the Waratahs neatly stole the ball from the resulting line-out.
Five minutes of heavy pressure yielded a driving maul, at the bottom of which was Adam Freier, who bulldozed his way over the line.
