Bernard Foley mastershow sees Waratahs into semi-final
BERNARD Foley scored a Super Rugby personal best 25-point haul to help Waratahs to a stunning 30-23 quarterfinal comeback win over the Highlanders.
Captain Foley led a remarkable fightback to overturn a 17-point halftime deficit. The Tahs, who finished the game at Allianz Stadium with 14 men, led 6-3 early on but conceded 20 unanswered points to trail 23-6.
But they piled on three tries and 21 points after Highlanders winger Waisake Naholo was sent to the bin – and scored all 24 points after the break.
Foley crossed for two tries with Wallaby full-back Israel Folau adding another.
A Foley penalty widened the lead to seven points with ten minutes to go.
The Waratahs then had to play the last six minutes with 14 men after prop Paddy Ryan was sin-binned when he was caught offside after Highlanders forward Shannon Frizell grounded the ball just short of the line.
But the Tahs hung on with some desperate defence to clinch a semifinal against the Lions.
Foley said: “I’ve full belief in this team, they always show fight. We’re never out of a game and I thought how the guys responded after half-time, we just showed belief that what we’ve done all year is going to get us out of it.”
Tahs centre Kurtley Beale said the team knew they had a mountain to climb at half-time.
“We worked really hard all year to put ourselves in tough situations like this,” he said. “We knew we had to to dig deep at half-time. I’m really proud of the boys to dig down and start playing for each other.
“We knew we had to put in a big performance for our fans who came out and supported us.”
For the second time in Sydney this season, the Waratahs ruthlessly exploited the Highlanders when the New Zealand team were down on numbers.
The Kiwis dominated possession and the contact area, but after winger Naholo was yellow-carded for two dangerous tackles on Sekope Kepu, they couldn’t score another point.
“That was a pretty pivotal point in the game ... once again you’ve got to give credit to the Waratahs for executing in those moments and us being down to 14 men,” Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger said. “It was probably the difference in the end.”