Different week, same story: Israel Folau took roughly a minute longer than he did against the Force last Sunday to bag the opening score – Photo: karenwatsonphotography.com.au

by Brendan Bradford –

Israel Folau scored a double as the Waratahs outplayed the Reds at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday night, but it was a couple of virtuoso performances by playmakers Kurtley Beale and Bernard Foley off the back of a strong showing by the forwards that set up the 32-5 win.

Beale was in the thick of the action from the get go, setting up two first half tries and scoring one himself in the Tahs’ first win over their Northern rivals in three years. Aided and abetted by Foley, who directed the side around the paddock like a seasoned veteran, it was the Tahs’ biggest win over the Reds in the history of Super Rugby and brings the Templeton Cup back to Sydney after a three year residency in Brisbane.

“We had our forwards doing the hard work and our backs looking fantastic,” said first-time Waratahs captain Michael Hooper.

“We’re starting to get confidence in our ability to attack from anywhere and that’s what we need and we can build on that for later weeks. It’s nice to get up from a ruck and see a big hit so our big tight five did the work and it was a good match-up.”

Fitting In Nicely: Kurtley Beale is looking the goods at inside centre with another impressive performance
Photo: karenwatsonphotography.com.au

Folau again wasted little time getting his name on the scoresheet, dotting down two minutes into the match after Beale broke the line and threw an offload. Waratahs enforcers Wycliff Palu and Jacques Potgieter dominated the breakdown throughout the opening stanza, leaving the Reds on the back foot and struggling for territory.

Frustrated by so few attacking opportunities, the Reds grubbered aimlessly from inside their own half in the 24th minute. Peter Betham fielded the kick and found Alofa Alofa who took the chasing defenders on rather than kick for touch. The ball was recycled quickly and Foley also opted against the kick in favour of taking on the line. The Waratahs’ playmaker made a half  break and found Tatafu Polota-Nau in support before Potgieter charged down the right flank and Folau was on hand to finish off the last 30-meters of a try straight out of the Reds’ counter-attacking playbook.

After setting up Folau’s first, Beale’s sudden change of direction 15-meters out from the Reds line created a huge gap in the visitors defence and a short inside ball allowed Betham an easy run for his first try of the season as the Tahs’ lead looked increasingly like a match-winning one.

Not wanting to be outdone in the playmaking stakes, Foley made another promising line break only for his final pass to Alofa to travel a mile forward.

For all his try-scoring prowess, Folau proved some of the finer points of the game still elude him when he was sin-binned with a minute to play in the first half after slapping the ball into touch from a dangerous Aiden Toua grubber. The visitors took immediate advantage of the extra man as former Waratah Lachie Turner scored from an overlap on the right for a 19-5 scoreline at the break.

With just seven men packing down, the Waratahs bossed a scrum and earned a penalty which Beale took quickly and burrowed over the line for the bonus point try and a 26-5 lead. The Reds will be disappointed at the ease with which Beale brushed through two defenders.

Alofa dotted down for the second time in the match but was again denied a five-pointer – this time on an obstruction ruling – and the Tahs had to settle for a Foley penalty to take a 24-point lead with a quarter to play.

Another Foley three-pointer capped off a second bonus-point victory in succession for the Tahs as nothing clicked for a disjointed Reds outfit.

“We didn’t put them under any pressure” said Reds captain James Horwill afterwards.

Forward Platform: Tatafu Polota-Nau and his fellow pack members put in the hard yards
for the backline to shine – Photo: karenwatsonphotography.com.au

“We didn’t build any pressure and we didn’t play any real field position. We put ourselves under a lot of pressure by making silly mistakes and they were very good on counter attack and were able to convert their opportunities.”

The Waratahs have a bye next week before playing the Brumbies away while the Reds take on Cheetahs at home next weekend.

NSW Waratahs 32 (Israel Folau 2, Peter Betham, Kurtley Beale tries; Bernard Foley 3 cons, 2 pens) defeated Queensland Reds 5 (Lachie Turner try)