The NSW Waratahs will be heading to Perth to face the Western Force in the decider of Super Rugby AUS, but they had to work for it to overcome a determined ACT Brumbies side, winning 42-34.
The match saw six tries apiece and in a seesawing clash, with Jarrah McLeod standing out for the hosts, while Jamie Adamson and Sid Harvey pushed their cases to make the Waratah starting side in Super Rugby Pacific.
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The Waratahs got on the board early inside the first ten minutes, but the Brumbies struck back well through Kye Oates, a missed conversion the only difference separating the sides.
Both sides struggled to get their momentum going at the 20-minute mark, but the men from Sydney looked dangerous and extended their lead in the 22nd minute thanks to a rolling maul try to Ethan Dobbins.
From that point, the match opened up considerably, with the Brumbies striking back with First Nations Pasifika star Jarrah McLeod picking up his first try for his club.
The Waratahs went to the up the guts approach, with Clem Halaholo scoring his first try, but the hosts struck right back on halftime with McLeod scoring a long-range effort to cut the margin to four, the Tahs ahead 21-17 at halftime.
The Brumbies gained the lead shortly after halftime thanks to their own forwards, with Declan Meredith the benefactor, but the visitors struck back two minutes later, with Ben Grant scoring off the back of some poor Brumbies’ hands.
The Brumbies fired back just as quickly, regaining the lead but cutting the Waratah defence open to see Shane Wilcox score; however, Meredith missed the conversion, leaving the hosts with a one-point lead.
The Waratahs looked to be pushing for parity as the reinforcements came on, but a well-timed intercept for Klayton Thorn saw the hosts extend their lead to six points with 15 minutes to go, with Meredith missing another critical conversion.
The visitors grabbed the lead back with ten to go as a Miles Amatasero break saw Jamie Adamson score his second, setting up a grandstand finish.
With the match descending in a free flowing case of ‘next try wins’ with minutes remaining, it would be Teddy Wilson who would get the visitors over the line, scoring with 90 seconds to go to book their finals ticket and put the match beyond doubt.
The Brumbies would try to go quickly to get themselves to finish was a losing bonus point, but a knock on by Tobias Macpherson saw the hosts come to nought.
Waratahs 42 (Tries: Adamson 2, Dobbins, Halaholo, Grant, Wilson. Cons: Harvey 6/6) def Brumbies 34 (Tries: Oates, McLeod 2, Meredith, Wilcox, Thorn. Cons: Meredith 2/6)
