WARATAHS IN SIGHT OF SEMI FINAL SPOT

Waratahs edged ever closer to a Super 14 semi-final spot with a dominant 46-19 victory over the Chiefs at the Waikato stadium in Hamilton. 

Seven tries secured a much needed bonus point for Chris Hickey’s men, who are now in third place in the league standings, one point ahead of rivals Hurricanes. 

Winger Drew Mitchell, no.8 Ben Mowen, and full back Kurtley Beale were amongst the scorers, helping to get the away-side back to winning ways after last week’s disappointing display against the Highlanders. 

The injury-stricken Chiefs - who have lost six in a row at home – showed their attacking potential in the latter stages of the match, with tries from full back Tim Nanai Williams and centre Jackson Willison, yet it was too little too late for the New Zealand side.

CLINICAL FIRST HALF DISPLAY

The Waratahs set the tone for the match early on with a brilliant individual score from Australian International Drew Mitchell, running in a try from inside his own half just two minutes into the game. 

Despite continued pressure from the Tah’s - including a 22 phase piece of play- it wasn’t until midway through the first half that they extended their lead, when Ben Mowen cut through a gaping hole in the stretched Chiefs defence to score under the posts, making it 12-0.

Unforced errors and a lack of fluidity in the Chiefs’ backline was soon capitalised on by the Waratahs’s pack, who mauled the ball over the line for a try from hooker Tatafu Polota Nau, his fourth of the season.

Berrick Barnes added a further three points to make it 20-0 at half time. 

BRILLIANT BEALE

If the 70% Waratah possession in the first half wasn’t enough to show their dominance, an interception try by Barnes in the first few seconds of the second half certainly put the nail in the Chiefs’ coffin, the fly half speeding to the line to make it 27-0.

It took over an hour for the home side to put points on the board thanks to full back Tim Nanai Williams, who took advantage of the wafer thin Waratah defence out wide, but it didn’t take long for his opposite number, 21-year old Kurtley Beale, to latch onto a Barnes grubber kick on 65 minutes to increase the lead to 39-5.

The young try-scorer turned provider just minutes later, as Beale’s scything run and delicately weighted kick set up winger Lachlan Turner in the corner for the fifth try of the night. 

Two late tries from Chiefs inside centre Jackson Willison were a minor consolation to what had been a lacklustre 80-minute performance by last year’s finalists, which was ended by a try from Tah’s replacement hooker Damien Fitzpatrick.

Waratah’s Captain Phil Waugh told Sky Sports:

“It was pleasing to come out and perform like we did tonight after last week’s disappointing performance in Invercargill.  I am very proud of the guys, the discipline was good and we stuck to our strategy.”