Michael Cheika was celebrating his first win as the Waratahs boss after success over the Rebels
The Waratahs recorded their first win under new coach Michael Cheika as they came from behind to beat the Rebels 31-26.
Last Updated: 01/03/13 10:16am
Cheika, who had previous coaching spells at Leinster and Stade Francais, took over the reins from Michael Foley at the Sydney franchise in the off-season.
However he had been left frustrated as he saw his side edged out in their opening game against the Reds.
The Waratahs responded in fine fashion, though, as they finished strongly against the Rebels.
The hosts had been trailing 16-6 at the break - with Ged Robinson scoring the only try and James O'Connor converting and adding three penalties.
Bonus
However it was a different story after the break, with Bernard Foley, Michael Hooper and Paddy Ryan going over for tries.
Brendan McKibbin added 16 points in total from the boot, although a calf injury ended his night early.
The Rebels did snatch a bonus point at the death when Kurtley Beale crashed over, with O'Connor adding the conversion to an early penalty to bring his personal haul to 16 points.
Both sides had played sin-binned during the encounter with Tatafu Polota-Nau yellow-carded in the first half and Rebels prop Laurie Weeks spending 10 minutes on the sidelines after the break.