New South Wales Rugby

HSBC Waratahs kick off 2009 with bonus point victory

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Saturday, 14 February 2009
NSWRU Media Unit

Kurtley Beale offloads.

Kurtley Beale offloads.

Three first half tries set up the victory, however the Hurricanes forced the visitors to defend hard right to the end to earn the win in a spirited encounter.

The Hurricanes had the best of the opening exchanges and dominated field position for the first ten minutes, however the Waratahs defence remained steadfast.

The visitors' first foray into the attacking half bore the first try of the match, when a cut-out ball from the lineout put Rob Horne into space. After drawing the fullback, the 19-year-old centre turned the ball inside to Sam Norton-Knight who crossed under the posts.

Flyhalf Kurtley Beale converted for an early seven-point lead.

Hurricanes rookie Daniel Kirkpatrick had a chance to narrow the scores shortly after, however his penalty attempt hit the left upright and the Waratahs were able to safely clear.

NSW then gradually worked their way into Hurricanes territory, and when Beale sliced through the defensive line close to the ruck opportunity knocked. While the forwards were ready to rumble closer to the line, the ball was moved quickly back to the right where Lote Tuqiri chimed in far from his wing and outpaced the cover on the outside to score in the right corner.

Beale converted from near touch to double the advantage.

The Waratahs crossed for their third try in the 28th minute from deep in their own territory. The Hurricanes were pressuring the visitors' line after Zac Guildford carried defenders into the NSW quarter. However when the ball went wide, Ma'a Nonu's attempted grubber hit feet, and after a fumble from both sides Lachie Turner pounced and sprinted 80m to score and open up a 19-0 lead.

The Hurricanes hit the scoreboard late in the half when a Waratahs scrum on halfway went awry and the ball was towed through by Alby Mathewson. The attempted clearing kick was charged down by Kirkpatrick who dived on the ball to score on debut.

His conversion attempt again hit the left upright, leaving the Waratahs with a 19-5 half-time lead.

The second half started much like the first, with the Hurricanes building pressure on the back of possession and territory. The Waratahs thwarted one great opportunity after a long build-up, and the Hurricanes then made a mess of one of their own when Nonu took a quick tap close to the line, before throwing a forward pass to Dane Coles who crashed over for no reward.

The Hurricanes finally earned their first points of the half in the 56th minute with a Kirkpatrick penalty goal, reducing the margin to eleven points.

After a solid build-up, hooker Coles finally got the debut try he was denied earlier, and Kirkpatrick's conversion made it a four-point game with twelve minutes to play.

The Waratahs hit back straight away, and again Beale had a leading hand. The NSW No.10 fired a cross-field kick to Lachie Turner who paused, drew the winger and dropped the ball around the corner to Rob Horne who crossed near the right touchline to earn at least a bonus point from the match.

Beale converted from the sideline to open up a 26-15 lead.

However the seemingly comfortable buffer was short-lived, with the Hurricanes winning the ball back from the kick-off and moving it to the left wing for Hosea Gear to score the home side's third try.

Kirkpatrick added the extras from the touchline to make the score 26-22 with seven minutes remaining.

As the clock wound down the Waratahs defence - which was the backbone of their 2008 campaign - held firm, with the visitors joining the Lions, Blues and Brumbies on five competition points at the top of the Super 14 table.

Backrowers Ben Mowen and Scott Fava made their Waratahs debuts in the round one victory, along with replacement lock Chris Thomson who also earned his first NSW cap.

The Waratahs fly back to Sydney on Sunday ahead of Friday's clash with the Chiefs at the Sydney Football Stadium.

HSBC Waratahs 26 (Sam Norton-Knight, Lote Tuqiri, Lachie Turner, Rob Horne tries; Kurtley Beale 3 cons) d Hurricanes 22 (Daniel Kirkpatrick, Dane Coles, Hosea Gear tries; Daniel Kirkpatrick 2 cons, pen) at Westpac Stadium, Wellington. Half-time: HSBC Waratahs 19-5. Referee: Stu Dickinson (AUS). Crowd: 13,877. Man of the Match: Cory Jane (Hurricanes).

By the clock
10th minute - Sam Norton-Knight try; Kurtley Beale conversion. HSBC Waratahs 7-0
17th minute - Daniel Kirkpatrick missed penalty goal.
22nd minute - Lote Tuqiri try; Kurtley Beale conversion. HSBC Waratahs 14-0
28th minute - Lachie Turner try; Kurtley Beale missed conversion. HSBC Waratahs 19-0
36th minute - Daniel Kirkpatrick try; Daniel Kirkpatrick missed conversion. HSBC Waratahs 19-5.
56th minute - Daniel Kirkpatrick penalty goal. HSBC Waratahs 19-8
67th minute - Dane Coles try; Daniel Kirkpatrick conversion. HSBC Waratahs 19-15
70th minute - Rob Horne try; Kurtley Beale conversion. HSBC Waratahs 26-15
72nd minute - Hosea Gear try; Daniel Kirkpatrick conversion. HSBC Waratahs 26-22

Teams
Hurricanes: 1. John Schwalger, 2. Dane Coles, 3. Neemia Tialata; 4. Bryn Evans, 5. Jason Eaton; 6. Faifili Levave, 7. Scott Waldrom, 8. Rodney So'oialo [c]; 9. Alby Mathewson, 10. Daniel Kirkpatrick;
11. Hosea Gear (Wellington), 12. Ma'a Nonu, 13. Tamati Ellison, 14. Zac Guildford; 15. Cory Jane. Reserves: 16. Ged Robinson, 17. Jacob Ellison, 18. Jeremy Thrush, 19. Karl Lowe, 20. Willie Ripia, 21. Jason Kawau, 22. David Smith.
HSBC Waratahs: 1. Benn Robinson, 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 3. Al Baxter; 4. Dean Mumm, 5. Will Caldwell; 6. Ben Mowen, 7. Phil Waugh [c], 8. Scott Fava; 9. Luke Burgess, 10. Daniel Halangahu; 11. Lote Tuqiri, 12. Timana Tahu, 13. Rob Horne, 14. Lachie Turner; 15. Sam Norton-Knight. Reserves: 16. Adam Freier, 17. Jeremy Tilse, 18. Chris Thomson, 19. Wycliff Palu, 20. Brett Sheehan, 21. Daniel Halangahu, 22. Tom Carter.