Max Jorgensen delivered another match-turning masterclass as the NSW Waratahs made it back-to-back bonus-point victories to open their Super Rugby Pacific campaign, overpowering the Fijian Drua 36–13 on a hot and humid Friday night at Allianz Stadium.
Key moments
9 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Charlie Gamble opens the scoring. Jake Gordon’s darting snipe from the base puts the Waratahs on the front foot, and sustained pressure close to the line sees the breakdown become a hunting ground. Clem Halaholo makes tough yards with his carries before Gamble spots the vacant ruck fringe, dummies and dives over under the posts. Lawson Creighton converts. (Waratahs 7–0 Drua)
14 mins – TRY DRUA: Taniela Rakuro strikes back immediately. The Drua win a lineout 15 metres out and spin it wide at first opportunity. Fullback Ilaisa Droasese fires a crisp, looping pass to expose the overlap, and Rakuro shows a clean pair of heels to dive over in the corner. Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula converts from the sideline. (Waratahs 7–7 Drua)
19 mins – CLOSE CALL WARATAHS: The Waratahs steal the lineout and shift it wide right away. James Hendren bursts into the 22 and looks certain to score, but a miraculous covering tackle from Isikeli Rabitu bundles the fullback into touch just inches short of the line. (Waratahs 7–7 Drua)
25 mins – DRUA DENIED: The visitors dominate territory and batter the Waratahs’ line after Zuriel Togiatama breaks clear and combines with his fellow front-rower. The Drua build phases five metres out with a penalty advantage, but flanker Motikiai Murray spills the ball inches from the line. The Waratahs survive by the skin of their teeth. (Waratahs 7–7 Drua)
33 mins – PENALTY DRUA: Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula slots a penalty from right in front after a Waratahs high tackle. The Drua had threatened a try moments earlier—Frank Lomani’s grubber in behind sparked a foot race between Rakuro and Jorgensen, with the Wallaby wing doing just enough to deny the winger a second. (Waratahs 7–10 Drua)
37 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Max Jorgensen produces a moment of pure magic. Lawson Creighton fires a triple cut-out pass that finds the Wallabies winger with barely five metres of space on the left touchline. Jorgensen beats opposite number Rakuro with a bamboozling sidestep and then outpaces the cover defence of Droasese to touch down in the corner. Creighton nails the conversion from the left touchline. (Waratahs 14–10 Drua)
40 mins – TMO REVIEW WARATAHS: Jorgensen is denied a double on the stroke of half-time. Slick hands down the left edge put the winger racing 30 metres to seemingly score under the posts, but the TMO rules a forward pass from James Hendren in the build-up. (Waratahs 14–10 Drua)
Half-time: Waratahs 14–10 Drua. A proper arm wrestle in the Sydney humidity. The Drua have matched the Waratahs physically and led for a spell through their wide-channel attack and Armstrong-Ravula’s boot, but Jorgensen’s brilliance has given the hosts the edge heading into the sheds.
44 mins – PENALTY DRUA: Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula closes the gap to a single point from in front after the Waratahs are penalised for being offside at the ruck. The Drua capitalise on a Jorgensen handling error from the restart. (Waratahs 14–13 Drua)
50 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Ioane Moananu scores on debut with his first touch. Jake Gordon taps a penalty quickly to catch the Drua back-pedalling, and the Waratahs power forward through the tight forwards. Moananu scoops the ball from the back of the ruck and barges over from close range. Creighton converts. (Waratahs 21–13 Drua)
54 mins – CLOSE CALL WARATAHS: Pete Samu crashes towards the line from the back of a rolling maul but knocks on just before grounding. The Waratahs are pressing hard, denied by desperate Drua defence. (Waratahs 21–13 Drua)
59 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Angus Blyth muscles over for his first Waratahs try. Gordon’s clever box kick is collected by fellow replacement Leafi Talataina, who makes good ground down the touchline. The ball finds Blyth, and the towering lock uses every inch of his frame to force his way over. Creighton misses the conversion from the right. (Waratahs 26–13 Drua)
72 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Ioane Moananu seals a dream debut double. The Waratahs back their rolling maul from 15 metres, and it delivers—Moananu peeling off the back to drive over with the pack providing irresistible momentum behind him. Creighton misses the conversion from the left. (Waratahs 31–13 Drua)
80 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Max Jorgensen seals the bonus point with the last play. Pete Samu bursts into the 22 before Jack Debreczeni chips a perfectly weighted cross-field kick into the left corner. Jorgensen swoops on the ball with acres of space and strolls over unopposed. Creighton misses the conversion from the sideline. (Waratahs 36–13 Drua)
Full-time: Waratahs 36–13 Drua
In humid conditions at Allianz Stadium that suited the visitors far more than the hosts, the Waratahs needed nearly 40 minutes to wrestle control from a Fijian Drua side that arrived in desperate need of a result and very nearly produced one. In the end, it was individual brilliance from Jorgensen and a devastating bench impact from Dan McKellar’s replacements that blew the contest apart.
Both sides struggled with the greasy ball in a scrappy opening, but the Waratahs struck first in the ninth minute when Gamble—outstanding all evening with a try, a turnover, and relentless work at the breakdown—exploited space around the ruck fringes after Halaholo’s hard carrying drew in the Drua defenders. The flanker dummied and dived over under the posts for a clinical finish.
The Drua’s response was swift and characteristically explosive. From a lineout 15 metres out, they spun the ball wide at first opportunity, and Droasese’s long pass exposed a gaping overlap on the left. Rakuro needed no second invitation, showing electric pace to dive over in the corner. Armstrong-Ravula’s conversion from the touchline levelled scores at 7–7 and signalled the visitors’ intent to play with width and tempo.
What followed was a period of sustained Drua pressure that had the Waratahs clinging on. Hendren was bundled into touch inches short by a superb covering Rabitu tackle just as the hosts thought they had struck back. The Drua then laid siege to the Waratahs’ line, with Togiatama and the front-rowers making strong ground, but Murray’s knock-on five metres out let the hosts off the hook. Armstrong-Ravula’s boot was the consolation, a penalty from in front nudging the Drua into a 10–7 lead.
Jorgensen had been quiet. That changed in the 37th minute. Creighton’s triple cut-out pass found the 21-year-old with barely five metres of space and two Drua defenders closing. What happened next left McKellar and attack coach Mike Catt shaking their heads in the coaching box. Jorgensen beat Rakuro with a sidestep that defied physics—”he’s beaten him in a phone booth,” McKellar said afterwards—before accelerating past Droasese’s despairing cover to score in the corner. Creighton’s conversion from the touchline gave the Waratahs a lead they would never relinquish.
The winger thought he had a second moments later when slick hands put him away down the left, but the TMO spotted a forward pass from Hendren in the build-up. It was a contentious call that denied what would have been a spectacular brace before the break, sending the sides to the sheds with the Waratahs clinging to a four-point advantage.
The Drua came out firing in the second half. A Jorgensen handling error from the restart gifted the visitors field position, and Armstrong-Ravula’s second penalty trimmed the margin to a single point at 14–13. For a spell it felt as though the momentum was swinging back towards the Fijians, with their breakdown work and physicality keeping the Waratahs honest.
McKellar’s masterstroke was to almost empty his bench in the 48th minute, sending on six replacements in one hit. The injection of fresh legs was immediate and decisive. Moananu, the former Crusaders hooker making his Waratahs debut, scored with his first touch after Gordon’s instinctive quick tap caught the Drua flat-footed. The forwards powered through the phases before the hooker scooped the ball from the base and barged over from close range.
The Waratahs’ dominant scrum—which won penalties throughout the evening—was now providing a strangling platform, and the replacements kept the pressure ratcheting upwards. Blyth’s try in the 59th minute was a product of intelligent kicking from Gordon, whose box kick was reclaimed by Talataina, another replacement making an impact. The towering lock used his considerable frame to muscle over from close range.
Moananu completed a dream debut double in the 72nd minute, peeling off the back of an unstoppable rolling maul that had become the Waratahs’ primary weapon. The former nursing student, who had been recommended to McKellar by ex-teammate James O’Connor after failing to stay at the Crusaders, could scarcely have hoped for a better start to life in sky blue.
Co-captain Frank Lomani acknowledged the Drua’s inability to sustain their early intensity. “We were in the game with eight points separating us until the last 20 minutes when we could not hold on,” the halfback told Sky Sport. “We talked about having a good start and we did that but we could not continue that.”
The final act had to belong to Jorgensen. With the clock in the red, Samu burst into the 22 before Debreczeni—another replacement who added class from the bench—chipped a perfectly weighted cross-field kick to the left corner. Jorgensen had the simple task of gathering and strolling over for his second, and his fourth try in two Super Rugby Pacific matches this season.
“It’s pretty hard to beat the home crowd. Such a great, great support crew,” Jorgensen told Stan Sport afterwards. “The home crowd getting around you really does stuff for you and really pushes you through the full 80.”
McKellar, still searching for adequate words to describe Jorgensen’s first try, was typically understated. “Catty turned around to me in the box and you just shake your head. There aren’t many players that can score that try on the planet.”
The result sends the Waratahs to the top of the table with two bonus-point victories from two matches, and with Rugby Australia’s five-year investment in their 21-year-old winger looking better by the week. For the Drua, it is now 24 consecutive losses outside Fiji, a wretched streak stretching back to round one of 2023, and the task does not ease with the Hurricanes and Brumbies both to visit Churchill Park in the coming fortnight.
What’s next
The Waratahs enjoy a bye before hosting the Hurricanes in a fortnight, while the Drua return home to face those same Hurricanes at their Churchill Park fortress in Lautoka next Saturday.
Teams
Waratahs: 15 James Hendren, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Joey Walton, 11 Max Jorgensen, 10 Lawson Creighton, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Charlie Gamble, 6 Clem Halaholo, 5 Miles Amatosero, 4 Matt Philip (c), 3 Dan Botha, 2 Ethan Dobbins, 1 Tom Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Ioane Moananu, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Siosifa Amone, 19 Angus Blyth, 20 Leafi Talataina, 21 Teddy Wilson, 22 Jack Debreczeni, 23 Triston Reilly.
Fijian Drua: 15 Ilaisa Droasese, 14 Ponipate Loganimasi, 13 Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, 12 Isikeli Rabitu, 11 Taniela Rakuro, 10 Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 9 Frank Lomani (co-c), 8 Elia Canakaivata, 7 Motikiai Murray, 6 Joseva Tamani, 5 Temo Mayanavanua (co-c), 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Mesake Doge, 2 Zuriel Togiatama, 1 Haereiti Hetet. Replacements: 16 Kavaia Tagivetaua, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Samuela Tawake, 19 Mesake Vocevoce, 20 Kitione Salawa, 21 Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, 22 Inia Tabuavou, 23 Manasa Mataele.
Match details
NSW Waratahs 36 (Tries: Charlie Gamble, Max Jorgensen 2, Ioane Moananu 2, Angus Blyth; Conversions: Lawson Creighton 3/6)
Fijian Drua 13 (Tries: Taniela Rakuro; Conversions: Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula 1/1; Penalties: Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula 2/2)
Half-time: 14–10
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 13,578
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Reuben Keane, Louis Trisley
TMO: Brett Cronan
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