The Blues produced a remarkable second-half turnaround to defeat the Waratahs 35–20 in Sydney, scoring 27 unanswered points to claim a record 12th consecutive victory over their Australian rivals.
Key moments
3′ – TRY BLUES: The visitors strike first! Bradley Slater burrowed low and was stopped agonisingly short before Finlay Christie made an eyes-up play, catching the defence napping to plant it down on the line. Beauden Barrett misses the conversion. (Waratahs 0–5 Blues)
7′ – YELLOW CARD BLUES: Malachi Wrampling is sent to the sin bin after the TMO alerted the referee to foul play. Wrampling tucked his arm and collected Lawson Creighton with his shoulder to the head.
22′ – PENALTY WARATAHS: Sid Harvey gets the Tahs on the board, slotting a long-range penalty from 43m out after the scrum collapsed with Sam Matenga at fault. (Waratahs 3–5 Blues)
32′ – TRY WARATAHS: Controversy! Miles Amatosero appeared to lose the ball forward, but Jack Debreczeni gathered it on the full and stepped through multiple defenders to dive over under the posts. The TMO somehow ruled the ball didn’t go forward, so the try stands. Harvey converts. (Waratahs 10–5 Blues)
39′ – PENALTY BLUES: Barrett slots the goal from 15m out and right in front after the Blues earned back-to-back penalties inside the Waratahs’ 22. (Waratahs 10–8 Blues)
40+1′ – TRY WARATAHS: Massive blow right on the break! The Waratahs fought their way over the line through Tom Lambert after sustained pressure. The referee sent it to the TMO, and upon closer inspection, the prop got the ball down on the line. Harvey converts. (Waratahs 17–8 Blues)
Half-time: Waratahs 17–8 Blues. A scrappy, stop-start first half that never really found rhythm. The Blues struck early through Christie but a yellow card to Wrampling hurt their cause. The Waratahs made the most of their moments with a controversial Debreczeni try and Lambert’s effort on the stroke of half-time stretching the lead.
43′ – PENALTY WARATAHS: Harvey extends the lead with a penalty from 45m out after the Blues collapsed at scrum time. (Waratahs 20–8 Blues)
50′ – TRY BLUES: The visitors hit back! The Blues set a strong maul from the lineout and began to march forward. It splintered inside the 22 and Taufa Funaki pulled it out. Barrett shifted it wide right for Zarn Sullivan, who got it on to Codemeru Vai, and he attacked down the flank to dive over in the corner. Barrett misses the conversion. (Waratahs 20–13 Blues)
57′ – TRY BLUES: Here come the Blues! Taufa Funaki found a gap and sent Barrett in behind with a brilliant offload. Barrett drew Harvey and found AJ Lam on the outside to stroll over and score down the left. Barrett converts to bring us level. (Waratahs 20–20 Blues)
63′ – PENALTY BLUES: Barrett makes no mistake from 25m out after Lawson Creighton was caught offside. The Blues take the lead for the first time since the opening minutes. (Waratahs 20–23 Blues)
74′ – TRY BLUES: Statement second half from the Blues! The visitors hammered away inside the 22 before Funaki kept it moving quickly, finding Barrett out the back. Lam charged onto it and bumped Joey Walton off emphatically, muscling his way over to score a stunner down the right flank. Barrett converts. (Waratahs 20–30 Blues)
80′ – TRY BLUES: The Blues cap this one off in style! Off a Waratahs knock-on, Caleb Clarke burst away on the left wing, tearing into the 22. His inside ball saw Vai stopped just short before Barrett stabbed a cross kick to the right wing that saw Lam pop a ball back inside, sending Torian Barnes crashing over in the corner. Barrett misses the conversion. (Waratahs 20–35 Blues)
Full-time: Waratahs 20–35 Blues
Match report
Leading 20–8 early in the second half, the Waratahs appeared poised to snap a decade-long drought against the Blues. Instead, Dan McKellar’s side wilted in the final quarter for the third successive week, their finishing woes proving fatal against opponents who ruthlessly punished every error.
The result extended the Blues’ winning streak against the Waratahs to 12 matches — the first time in 30 years an Australasian Super Rugby franchise has achieved such dominance over a single rival. For the Waratahs, a third straight defeat sent them tumbling out of the top six for the first time this season.
The Waratahs’ troubles began before kick-off when outside centre Triston Reilly was ruled out with a groin injury — the second time in three weeks they had lost their No.13 just before a match, following Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii’s hamstring tear. Lawson Creighton was thrust into the midfield alongside Joey Walton, who was marking his 50th appearance for the club.
The Blues struck early through halfback Finlay Christie, who burrowed over from close range in just the third minute after the Waratahs made a mess of the opening restart. Hooker Bradley Slater had been stopped agonisingly short from the driving maul, but Christie made an eyes-up play at the base, catching the defence napping to plant it down on the line. Beauden Barrett missed the conversion, but the visitors had drawn first blood.
Yet rather than build on that platform, the Blues found themselves under sustained pressure for the remainder of the half. When No.8 Malachi Wrampling was yellow-carded in the seventh minute for a high shot on hooker Ethan Dobbins — tucking his arm and collecting the Waratahs rake with his shoulder to the head — the home side appeared certain to capitalise.
Instead, they squandered chance after chance with remarkable profligacy. Fullback Sid Harvey was denied by desperate scramble defence after accepting a flick pass from Max Jorgensen, the Blues somehow recovering when Harvey looked certain to score. Dobbins burst through midfield and chipped ahead, only for the ball to elude Pete Samu. Jake Gordon was held up over the line by Barrett. Winger Harry Potter spilled a try-scoring pass with the chalk at his feet. Jack Debreczeni completed a brilliant chip and chase but threw a hopeful pass that went to ground when he should have backed his own speed.
The Waratahs finally crossed in the 32nd minute through Debreczeni, though the try was mired in controversy. Lock Miles Amatosero appeared to lose the ball forward in midfield, but Debreczeni gathered on the full and stepped through multiple defenders to dive over under the posts. The Blues players closest to him stopped playing, assuming a knock-on call would come, but the TMO ruled the ball had travelled backwards and the try stood. Harvey converted to give the hosts a 10–5 lead.
Prop Tom Lambert barged over from close range right on the stroke of half-time after another lengthy TMO review. The Waratahs had hammered away at the line for multiple phases, with Amatosero and captain Matt Philip leading the charge, before Lambert was awarded the try despite initially appearing to be held up. Harvey’s conversion sent the Waratahs into the sheds with a 17–8 advantage that scarcely reflected their dominance.
Harvey’s penalty from 45 metres early in the second half stretched the lead to 12 points after the Blues collapsed at scrum time, but the Waratahs had fired their last shot. The Blues pack began to take control, laying a platform that allowed their backs to come alive.
Right wing Codemeru Vai finished a sharp backline move from the maul in the 50th minute. The Blues set a strong driving lineout and began to march forward before replacement halfback Taufa Funaki pulled it out. Barrett shifted the ball from left to right, finding Zarn Sullivan who got it on to Vai, and the wing attacked down the flank to dive over in the corner. Barrett’s conversion drifted wide, but the visitors had closed the gap to seven points.
Seven minutes later, Funaki broke the line with a brilliant snipe from the ruck base, sending Barrett away with an offload. The veteran playmaker drew Harvey before putting AJ Lam over untouched down the left flank. Barrett’s conversion brought the scores level at 20–20, and suddenly the momentum had shifted decisively.
The Blues were now rampant. Barrett kicked a penalty from 25 metres after Creighton was caught offside, and the visitors led for the first time since the opening minutes. Lam’s second try in the 74th minute was a statement of intent — the Blues hammered away inside the 22 before Funaki kept it moving quickly, finding Barrett out the back. Lam charged onto it and bumped Walton off emphatically, muscling his way over to score a stunner down the right flank. Barrett’s conversion stretched the lead to 10 points.
There was still time for Torian Barnes to crash over in the corner after Caleb Clarke’s searing break down the left wing. Off a Waratahs knock-on, Clarke burst away from halfway and tore into the 22. His inside ball saw Vai stopped just short before Barrett stabbed a cross kick to the right that Lam gathered and popped back inside, sending Barnes crashing over to cap a stunning 27–0 second-half blitz.
For Walton, whose milestone night ended in disappointment, the pattern was all too familiar. “We left about six tries out there,” he said. “It shows you’ve got to play for 80 minutes of Super Rugby. Two weeks in a row now we’re ahead 60, 65 minutes and then let it go.”
McKellar was equally frustrated, using the word “disappointing” seven times in his post-match press conference. “We hurt ourselves,” he said. “I’m not taking anything away from the opposition — they’ve got world-class players out there in a quality side — but it hurts because I feel like we played a fair role in losing control of that game in the second half.
“The disappointing part for me is I’m really desperate, or we’re desperate, to give New South Wales, the rugby community, a team that they can really get behind. I just sit here a bit deflated tonight, thinking that we’ve missed an opportunity against a good opposition.”
What’s next
The Blues climb to 4–2 and consolidate second place on the ladder, with two of their losses coming in the final minutes against the Chiefs and Brumbies in the opening weeks. They have a bye in Round 7.
For the Waratahs, now 2–3, the road only gets harder. They travel to Canberra to face the Brumbies next Friday night in what shapes as an early do-or-die derby.
“Brumbies is a huge week for the Tahs, so there’ll be a lot of feeling and intensity in training this week,” captain Philip said. “But first we’ve got to look at that game, look to see where we can get better and where we can learn to close out in those last 20 minutes. And then we’ll look to the Brumbies.”
Teams
Waratahs: 15 Sid Harvey, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Joey Walton, 12 Lawson Creighton, 11 Max Jorgensen, 10 Jack Debreczeni, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Jamie Adamson, 6 Clem Halaholo, 5 Miles Amatosero, 4 Matt Philip (c), 3 Daniel Botha, 2 Ethan Dobbins, 1 Tom Lambert.
Replacements: 16 Ioane Moananu, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Siosifa Amone, 19 Angus Blyth, 20 Leafi Talataina, 21 Angus Scott-Young, 22 Teddy Wilson, 23 George Poolman.
Blues: 15 Zarn Sullivan, 14 Codemeru Vai, 13 AJ Lam, 12 Pita Ahki, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Finlay Christie, 8 Malachi Wrampling, 7 Dalton Papali’i (c), 6 Anton Segner, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Josh Beehre, 3 Sam Matenga, 2 Bradley Slater, 1 Ofa Tu’ungafasi.
Replacements: 16 James Mullan, 17 Mason Tupaea, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Che Clark, 20 Torian Barnes, 21 Taufa Funaki, 22 Xavi Taele, 23 Payton Spencer.
Match details
Waratahs 20 (Tries: Debreczeni 32′, Lambert 40+1′; Conversions: Harvey 2/2; Penalties: Harvey 2/2)
Blues 35 (Tries: Christie 3′, Vai 50′, Lam 57′ 74′, Barnes 80′; Conversions: Barrett 2/4; Penalties: Barrett 2/2)
Half-time: 17–8
Yellow card: Malachi Wrampling (BLU) 7′ – high tackle
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