In their most impressive display of the season so far, the HSBC Waratahs came agonisingly close to recording a third successive victory, eventually falling four points short of a physical and ruthless Crusaders side.
Tries to Pakalani, Palu and Pretorius and 18 points from the boots of Brendan McKibbin and Berrick Barnes weren’t enough to secure victory in front of the largest Allianz Stadium crowd of the season. But they did bring the home side an important bonus point that sees them regain second place in the Australian Conference ahead of next week’s big clash with the top-placed Brumbies.
Despite the disruption to their preparation, Michael Foley says the side can take “a hell of a lot of positives” from their performance. “We’re certainly not disheartened,” said the Head Coach afterwards. “We’re definitely disappointed but also pretty inspired with what we put out there tonight. We were playing a very good side.”
The afternoon started well for the home side, with big runners Wycliff Palu and Dave Dennis making some good early yards up the middle and the backs carrying with confidence and taking it to the Crusaders defence.
“It was a test match contest,” said Foley of the match. “Every time the ball was up for grabs both teams went at it pretty hard. Every time there was contact, you saw the ferocity and intensity of the contest.
“I thought the effort and some of the attacking pressure we put the Crusaders under was very good at times tonight.”
It was a great start for the home side, as they opened the scoring after 12 minutes when Atieli Pakalani marked his first game of the season with a try, set up by a midfield break from the hard working Dennis and finished by full back Adam Ashley-Cooper, who drew the last defender to send Pakalani away in the right hand corner.
The Crusaders hit back just four minutes later when scrum half Andy Ellis slipped a ball to Robbie Fruean, allowing the centre to charge through the midfield and cross under the posts. Fly half Tom Taylor’s conversion levelled the scores after 17 minutes.
A McKibbin penalty on the half hour edged the home side back into the lead after Crusaders’ captain Kieran Read was caught offside at a ruck in front of the posts.
Again, the lead was short-lived as the Crusaders edged their noses back in front when another break from the powerful Fruean got him behind the defence to deliver an offload that allowed winger Zac Guildford to dive over in the left corner. Taylor again converted to give his team a four point lead with five minutes of the half remaining.
But the home side kept their confidence with ball in hand, backing their big men to get them over the gain line and moving quick ball to the backs, where Barnes did a good job of controlling play and newcomers Pakalani and Peter Betham capped solid debuts. The momentum they provided allowed McKibbin to slot his second penalty on the stroke of half time to reduce the difference to a single point.
A Taylor penalty on 42 minutes restored the four point margin before the home side capped a five-minute spell of continuous pressure with a converted try from the back of a maul, courtesy of the outstanding Palu.
But again the Crusaders showed their class, regaining the lead when wing Adam Whitelock crashed over in the right corner, grounding the ball despite Barnes’ and Tom Kingston’s best efforts. A third McKibbin penalty was cancelled out by Taylor’s third three-pointer, before Fruean added his second try of the night, after powering around the defence and down the left touchline. Taylor’s conversion put the visitors more than a score ahead for the first time in the match, as they led 34-23 with 54 minutes on the clock.
But the home side showed no signs of letting up, as big Sitaleki Timani and Rocky Elsom took to the field in the 57th minute, at the same time as Richie McCaw made his return. McKibbin and Taylor again traded penalties, before further replacements Lopeti Timani, John Ulugia, Daniel Halangahu, Sarel Pretorius and Jeremy Tilse arrived to bolster the home side’s efforts going into the final 10.
The changes soon paid dividends, as replacement halfback Pretorius showed his speed off the mark to outpace the defence and slide over from the base of a scrum. Having taken over the kicking duties, Barnes’ conversion set up a grandstand finish with four points in it and just five minutes left on the clock.
With 90 seconds remaining, the HSBC Waratahs earned a penalty and a last chance at stealing victory. Kicking for the corner, the team couldn’t secure possession from the ensuing lineout and it was left to the Crusaders to wind down the clock, earning an important win away from home.
The HSBC Waratahs face Australian Conference leaders the Brumbies next Saturday evening (May 5, kick off 7.40pm) at Canberra Stadium, Canberra before returning home the following week to take on the Bulls on Friday, May 11 (7.40pm). Tickets are available from
Ticketek priced for $20 for adults, $10 for concessions and $50 for a family of four.
Crusaders 37 (tries: Fruean 2, Guildford, A. Whitelock ; cons: Taylor 3; pens: Taylor 4) d HSBC Waratahs 33 (tries: Pakalani, Palu, Pretorius; pens: McKibbin 4 ; cons: McKibbin 2, Barnes) at Allianz Stadium.
Half-time: HSBC Waratahs 13 - 14 Crusaders.
HSBC WARATAHS: 15. Adam Ashley-Cooper (Northern Suburbs), 14. Atieli Pakalani (Southern Districts), 13. Tom Kingston (Sydney University), 12. Tom Carter (Sydney University), 11. Peter Betham (Sydney University), 10. Berrick Barnes (Sydney University) , 9. Brendan McKibbin (Eastern Suburbs), 8. Wycliff Palu (Manly), 7. Jono Jenkins (Sydney University), 6. Dave Dennis (Sydney University), 5. Kane Douglas (SouthernDistricts), 4. Dean Mumm (Sydney University), 3. Sekope Kepu (Randwick), 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau (Parramatta), 1. Benn Robinson (Eastwood), captain
Replacements: 16. John Ulugia (Southern Districts), 17. Jeremy Tilse (Sydney University), 18. Sitaleki Timani (Southern Districts), 19. Lopeti Timani (Southern Districts), 20. Rocky Elsom (Randwick), 21. Sarel Pretorius (Gordon), 22. Daniel Halangahu (Sydney University)
Crusaders: 15. Israel Dagg, 14. Adam Whitelock, 13. Robbie Fruean, 12. Dan Carter, 11. Zac Guildford, 10. Tom Taylor, 9. Andy Ellis (vice captain), 8. Kieran Read (captain), 7. Matt Todd, 6. George Whitelock, 5. Tom Donnelly, 4. Luke Romano, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Corey Flynn, 1. Ben Franks
Replacements: 16. Ben Funnell, 17. Wyatt Crockett, 18. Samuel Whitelock, 19. Richie McCaw, 20. Willie Heinz, 21. Ryan Crotty, 22. Tom Marshall
Yellow Cards: none
Man of the match: Robbie Fruean
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (RSA)
Assistant Referees: Craig Joubert (RSA), Andrew Lees (Aus)
Crowd: 30,663