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The NSW Waratahs now sit in the Super 14 top-four after a 17-12 win over the Western Force at Subiaco Oval on Saturday night in an enthralling battle.
The win sees the Waratahs leapfrog the Force into the top bracket after a terrific contest between the best two Australian teams.
The Force's chances took a dive when Matt Giteau was knocked out just 20 minutes into the game and the Waratahs also lost Tom Carter in the bruising encounter.
The Waratahs scored the only two tries of the game and their defence was brilliant all night as the Force tried to break through unsuccessfully. The Waratahs were more efficient when attacking and the tries to Rob Horne and Lachie Turner were well orchestrated and deserved.
Horne was making his first start for the Waratahs and was terrific. His try 27-minutes in is something he will treasure. Lote Tuqiri was brilliant all night and was unlucky not to score a try himself but was named man-of-the-match while Wycliff Palu was also a pivotal factor in his side's win.
Richard Brown and Scott Staniforth were terrific for the Force and Lachlan MacKay tried hard to cover for Giteau, but the Wallabies' play-making ability was sorely missed.
Cameron Shepherd, who has just committed to the Force until the end of 2010 with a new contract, kicked three penalties after Giteau went off, but it wasn't enough to get a victory or himself to 300 Super rugby points.
Kurtley Beale put the Waratahs on top after just four minutes when he converted a penalty, but his side hardly saw the ball again for the next 15 minutes.
The NSW defence was brilliant, however, in holding out against the sustained attack from the Force and only conceded a penalty that brought scores level.
That penalty kick was to be the last action Giteau saw in the game. In the next phase, he was knocked out cold when attempting to tackle Sam Norton-Knight.
Giteau ran at his Wallabies teammate to lay a tackle, but ran into his hip and went straight down.
In a tremendous show of sportsmanship, Tuqiri rolled Giteau onto his side while he was out and play was continuing.
Soon after Giteau was carried off, Carter made a good run and offloaded to Horne who crossed for the first try of the game. Beale converted and the Waratahs were up 10-3.
Shepherd took back the kicking duties from Giteau and after missing one penalty attempt, nailed another just minutes later to bring the margin back to four.
Just minutes before half-time, the Waratahs lost Carter after a big hit from Staniforth and Shepherd nailed a penalty to make the margin just one at the break. Matt Carraro came on to replace Carter to make his NSW debut.
It was a tough, tight and tense second half and it took almost 25 minutes for the first points to come. They came in the form of a converted penalty to the Force by Shepherd that put his side into the lead for the first time on the night at 12-10.
However, an incredible turn of events saw Turner cross for the Waratahs' second try, putting the New South Welshmen back on top. Tuqiri attempted to dribble a kick forward that rebounded off Shepherd's foot before landing on the chest of Turner, who had no trouble getting to the line.
When Beale made a superb conversion from out wide, the Waratahs were leading 17-12 with seven minutes to go.
The Force had the ball and the final crack before the siren and had their cause helped when Alfi Mafi was sin-binned. The Force inched their way toward the try line but Turner intercepted what turned out to be the last pass of the game to clinch a crucial win for the Waratahs.
The Waratahs now face the Lions in Sydney next week, with the Force playing the Reds in Brisbane before the bye.
Western Force 12
Penalties: Giteau 1, Shepherd 3
NSW Waratahs 17
Tries: Horne 1, Turner 1
Conversions: Beale 2
Penalties: Beale 1
@Subiaco Oval, Perth; 12/04/08. Crowd: 22,287
12/04/2008 11:27:03 PM
Chris Pike at Subiaco
Sportal
The tahs game was a crunch match. In the past over 40 points have been needed to get a semi final spot. This year seems no different with many teams lining up for the final 3 places - I am assuming the Crusaders are a shoe-in, we needed to beat the Tahs, but from here, will need at least 16-18 points to be sure. That means we have to win at least 3 of our last 4 games. You would hope we can do it against the Reds given their injuries. The Brumbies and the Chiefs will be harder prospects, the latter especially with the return of Mortlock et al. The Hurricanes in Wellington will be a tough ask but we will meet them after the bye. All in all a real test of where we are at. We need to learn to win at home....![]()
Not quite how I saw the game ... Pike makes it sound like the Tahs dominated with finesse, which they didn't.
I'm incredibly relieved that Gits seems OK... watching him on the ground was awful. Full marks to Lote for going over to Matt while the ball was still in play.
I also think that the boys showed that while Gits is the best in the world at what he does, the team can still do us proud when he can't be on the field.
Anyhoo, I'm going off to continue sulking for a while.
To the victors go the spoils, but I get to sit quietly and pout for a while
And does this mean we'll be bombarded by baby powder girlie blue posts all week?
Success is not final, failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to continue that counts.
- Winston Churchill
Yes....kudos to Lote for putting Gits in the coma position. And the NSW doc for running to his aid as well.
Oh, right, thanks. Just so I know
(Good thing you know your colours)
Success is not final, failure is not fatal:
it is the courage to continue that counts.
- Winston Churchill
i gained a lot of respect for lote when he did that aye.
and good on the NSW docs for offering their help as well.
shows that no matter the rivalries, the saftey of the players always comes first.
but it was a few tense minutes. had a rather frantic txt conversation with GIGS over it.
was extremley good to see him walking back down to the change rooms at half time.
on another note. we played well when he was off. a catalyst he may be, but not a completley essential one.
we've got the depth comming through at the moment, which is beginning to show when its needed.
Lol jono i think there were a few frantic text conversations...
"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to Giteau."
lets sum them all up now
"oh shit"
"thats not good"
"i hope hes ok"
anyone get anything majorly different?
"F********K!"
"We're screwed"
"How are you feeling about your hair now?"
"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to Giteau."
i didnt really say "were screwed"
"i have worst case scenarios going thru my head. hope its not another canno"
thats what i said.
and i tried to ring gigs after the game but his battery conveniently died
Last edited by jono; 13-04-08 at 13:20. Reason: i cant spell
Haha yeah i was talking to him about his hair at that point and he was like "oh what a shame...hehe"
"Remember lads, rugby is a team game; all 14 of you make sure you pass the ball to Giteau."
was a pretty big moment. so i'll forgive you for your lapse of faith gigs.
Well they said it was going to be the match of the round and it certainly didn't disappoint.
Well... apart from the result that is.
Last night was the first time I've ever been drunk while attending a rugby game and I have decided not to do it again. My heart was going crazy, thumping in my chest and I get very emotional sometimes and so I've found that I got my hopes too high up in the dying moments and then my poor heart got crushed. I've felt down ever since. *sigh* I'll have a pint of concrete please.
I was a right old mess.
But I think that while the result was disappointing, there is so much good to take out of how we played and there were some moments of pure brilliance on our behalf. Times when I was certain the Tahs would score and we somehow managed to turn it over and break away. In the end that last try was a bit of luck and top top reflexes on Turner's behalf but in rugby that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Right place, right time, 7 points.
And I'm no fan of Lote but he earned back a little bit of my respect last night. A fair bit of respect. Jono is right. The health of the player is always bigger than the game. Always.
Knowing Gits could have been in serious trouble but has pulled up ok definitely puts it all into perspective. A win would have been nice (especially for GIGS) but knowing that all our boys are healthy is even better.
ps. The shave suits you GIGS!
I made Happy sad...
Here was my take on the game. To give credit to the Tahs, they played well. But then again, the force didnt have too bad a game either. I though the forwards did well to hold their own, Pocock had a beautiful game once again, hopefully he'll re-sign. O'young had a pretty good game with a couple of darting runs. Lachlan MacKay really stepped up when he came on and i was quite impressed. He's showing some form from his 1 cap with the wallabies. Staniforth was once again a standout in my books. He straightened the line when needed and made the tackles that count. (I really want to see that hit on Phil waugh again!) Cross had a quiet game by his standards but still impressive. Mitchell took whatever was thrown, or more like kicked, to him while Cummins showed some potential when given the ball but defensively wasn't really strong. Shepherd had a great game and seemed to make catching high bombs and kicks with so much ease.
I really thought we were going to see a replay of the Bulls game with a last minute after the siren win. If only we kept on pick and driving for a bit longer. I know we were a man up, but that doesnt mean we should spin the ball wide just yet. And speaking of spinning the ball wide, i know i'm gonna cop some flak for this from some of you, but i continue to push my point that i don't rate Stannard at all. Surprise surprise, who threw the slow, wobbly pass that was intercepted by Lachlan Turner? He's just a bit slow to distribute the ball out, mainly cos he takes a two step before he passes. I say bring henjak back please. I'd like to think that if only Henjak was around, we might be winning a bit more often.