Waratahs wallop 13-man Crusaders’ home playoff hopes
Any chance of the Crusaders chasing down the Blues and qualifying for the playoffs as the top seed surely went up in smoke in Sydney last night.
The Waratahs pulled off one of the upsets of the season at Leichhardt Oval, handing the shoddy Crusaders a shock 24-21 loss to nab their first win against a Kiwi opponent since 2019 (also Crusaders).
As was the case against the Blues a fortnight ago, ill discipline again doomed the Crusaders, who copped red and yellow cards in the final 13 minutes.
Hamish Dalzell, having survived a shot on a dipping Tane Edmed minutes earlier, was sent off for a high hit on Wallabies captain Michael Hooper, while Pablo Matera was sent to the bin for collapsing a maul moments later.
It followed referee Ben O’Keeffe awarding the Waratahs a penalty try, giving them a 10-point cushion and leaving the Crusaders with a small mountain to climb.
Prop Fletcher Newell smashed his way over the line to cut the deficit to three with six minutes remaining, before the hosts survived a late raid to close out the second win by an Australian side over their Kiwi counterparts this year.
Four years after blowing a 29-0 lead to the Crusaders in Christchurch, this would have felt especially satisfying for the Waratahs, who led 17-0 at halftime before getting the wobbles.
As for the Crusaders, a week after making a mountain of mistakes against the Rebels in Melbourne, coach Scott Robertson didn’t get the improved performance he desired.
Ill discipline, unforced errors, clunky attack and a misfiring lineout again haunted them as they dropped their third game of the season.
From the moment Waratahs wing Dylan Pietsch galloped over the line in the second minute, it started to reek of the home side’s 20-12 win in Sydney in 2019.
As was the case then, the Crusaders stumbled out of the
blocks and played as if they’d only met in the sheds prior to kickoff.
Not even seven minutes had ticked over and they’d dropped two kicks, conceded two penalties and had a scrum get monstered.
When the usually muted and stonefaced Crusaders assistant coach Scott Hansen is shaking his head in the coaching box, you know things are bad.
But kudos must go to the Waratahs, who rattled the red and blacks with their hot start, and were rewarded for repeatedly turning down the sticks when
Mark Nawaqanitawase took a smooth Izaia Perese offload and touched down to put his side 14-0 up after 12 minutes.
The big moment
Just when it looked like the 13-man Crusaders might sting the Waratahs at the death, Charlie Gamble, a former Crusaders academy member, got over the ball inside his own 22 and was illegally cleaned out.
The red-and-blacks never got another sniff and the tears of joy were soon flowing.
Match rating: 7/10
After the Chiefs, Blues and Highlanders escaped with narrow
wins to start round 11, the Waratahs got one over the Kiwis.
A year after winning just two of 25 matches against the New Zealanders, the Aussies have two in two weeks.
The big picture
As much as the Waratahs would have enjoyed this, so will the rest of the competition. After all, nobody wants to play the Crusaders in Christchurch in the playoffs.
MVP
Waratahs wing Dylan Pietsch edges a bunch of contenders, including team-mates Jed Halloway and Gamble.