UPDATED: Gibson praises defence as Waratahs end Crusaders' winning streak

Sat, Mar 23, 2019, 10:46 AM
Iain Payten
by Iain Payten
The Waratahs have ended the Crusaders' record winning streak with a 20-12 upset in Sydney.

The Waratahs turned to Air Izzy and a impressively strong defence to upset the Crusaders at the SCG, and bring the Kiwi champion’s record 19-game winning streak to an end.

On an emotional return to the field for the Crusaders after their game was cancelled last week, the NSW side led from start to finish in the 20-12 win; their first victory over the defending champions since 2015.

On a slippery night, the Waratahs strategically built a game around a strong and disciplined defensive effort, and a kicking game designed for the superstar in no.15 named Israel Folau.

Folau instrumental in two of the Waratahs’ three tries, setting up one and scoring another to equal Doug Howlett’s all-time Super Rugby try-scoring record of 59.

Both came from high kicks and on confidence-building night for the Waratahs, the clinical execution of a pre-game tactic to attack the Crusaders from the air was on the dais for positives.

The Crusaders came into the game off a difficult preparation, after the horrific events of Christchurch - which were remembered in a moment’s silence joined by both teams in the centre of the SCG.


In the wet, the Kiwi powerhouse side “dropped enough ball for the whole year”, according to coach Scott Roberston, but credit had to go too to the pressure of the Waratahs’ defence.

Led by another 20-tackle performance from skipper Michael Hooper, the Tahs muscled up in contact and critically never lost shape and discipline, which in turn never let the Crusaders get their attack behind the NSW line.

"They’re the benchmark team and have been for two years, so it gives our team a lot of confidence that we can compete with the best,” Gibson said.

"We had a clear gameplan tonight, which we executed for large parts of that game.

"We learned a great deal from last year’s fixture with the Crusaders and this year we were able to be far more consistent and apply that pressure for far longer.

"We knew what we were up for in their defence, and there is not a lot of space to attack, so we decided to go for a different strategy for this game.”

Hooper praised the Waratahs’ defence and said the performance would help his team understand they can win games a number of ways.

"It’s a big confidence builder,” Hooper aid.


"Like Daryl is talking about with defence, it is taking confidence ... and building in that area of the game.

'Knowing that, yeah, ok, we had 42 per cent of possession but we knocked off a team that has been beaten 20 games.

"Sometimes we are not going to be running in tries from all over the field. It is about building a win, and tonight we built a win against a team that has so much variation in attack. When we had the ball, we struck.”

Robertson said the team had endured a tough week but were simply off the pace at the SCG.

"We were really desperate to play well, and represent our people and show how much we care. You could see how hard we worked but we dropped enough ball for the whole season, so that’s out of our system now,” he said.

"It was a tough week but look, we are Crusaders, we don’t make excuses. We just needed to be better at a lot of parts of the game tonight."

Crusaders skipper Sam Whitelock said the Waratahs had played well, and unlike in last year’s clash in Christchurch where the Kiwis came from back from 29-0 to beat the Tahs, they failed to rally because they were “their own worst enemy”.

"They were really up for it, and they were last year as well, but we didn’t allow ourselves to come back,” Whitelock said.

"We dropped enough ball and that took the pressure off them. Good sides take those opportunities.”

Robertson lauded Folau’s strike power, saying he should be an astronaut given how effective he is when he leaves terra firma.

“He should work for NASA, he’s that good in the air isn’t he?” he said.

The Waratahs led 15-7 at halftime after scoring two tries in the opening half, and almost three.

The Waratahs opened the scoring early after playing for territory and getting a crack at the Crusaders in their red zone.

A powerful Jed Holloway run folding around the corner saw the NSW lock bump through the attempted tackle of Whetu Douglas and stroll over for an easy seven-pointer.

Showing signs of rust after a week off - and with rain affecting handling - the Crusaders coughed up a fair amount of possession and couldn’t get into a rhythm.

The Tahs were more clinical, and mirroring their 2018 gameplan, went to the air with a mid-field kick for Israel Folau.

It worked again, too, and after Folau re-gathered a Foley bomb, he passed to Cam Clark and the winger raced away to score his second try in as many games against the Crusaders.

Crusaders winger Braydon Ennor was denied the chance to chase after being tripped by a teammate but he saved a try soon after.

A post-turnover run down the sideline by Alex Newsome was followed by Foley chipping and chasing into open space. He won the race but Ennor’s last-ditch tackle forced a knock-on over the line.

The Crusaders got back into the game when they finally pinned NSW in their own half, and from a lineout, scored a try with a nice - but dubiously executed - set move.

Playing off the top, Codie Taylor passed back inside to winger George Bridge and though replays looked like it was forward, the speedster cruised in untouched.

The score moved to 12-7 but the Tahs their lead back out to 15-7 at halftime after Foley nailed a penalty in the 38th minute.

The second half saw the two sides scrap and claw for every metre, and the scoring rate dried up.

The Waratahs defence held firm when the Crusaders tried to mount sustained pressure, and responded well to turnover threats too.

The Crusaders had the chance to draw a little closer when they went for a penalty shot in the 57th minute but Mitchell Hunt missed the kick.

When it became clear this would a dog fight until the end, the Waratahs bafflingly elected to not take a kickable shot five minutes later to extend their lead to 11, and instead went for the corner. 

The ball was turned over but it didn’t cost too much, with the Waratahs defence holding firm - and the air Izzy tactic again paying dividends.

The Tahs scored in the 74th minute when they rolled into the Crusaders’ territory and won a penalty advantage.

Foley lobbed a speculative kick across the face of the posts and after the ball came out of the pack and bounced, Folau pounced and touched it down.

 

TEAMS

Waratahs to face Crusaders

1. Harry Johnson-Holmes

2. Damien Fitzpatrick

3. Sekope Kepu

4. Jed Holloway

5. Rob Simmons

6. Ned Hanigan

7. Michael Hooper

8. Jack Dempsey

9. Nick Phipps

10. Bernard Foley

11. Alex Newsome

12. Kurtley Beale

13. Adam Ashley-Cooper

14. Cam Clark

15. Israel Folau

16. Andrew Tuala

17. Rory O'Connor

18. Chris Talakai

19. Lachlan Swinton

20. Michael Wells

21. Jake Gordon

22. Mack Mason

23. Karmichael Hunt

Crusaders to face Waratahs

1. George Bower

2. Codie Taylor

3. Owen Franks

4. Quinten Strange

5. Sam Whitelock

6. Jordan Taufua

7. Matt Todd

8. Whetu douglas

9. Bryn Hall

10. Brett Cameron

11. George Bridge

12. Ryan Crotty

13. Jack Goodhue

14. Braydon Ennor

15. David Havili

Reserves

16. Andrew Makalio

17. Harry Allan

18. Michael Alaalatoa

19. Luke Romano

20. Tom Sanders

21. Ereatara Enari

22. Mitch Hunt

23. Will Jordan

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