John Ulugia scores a 77th minute winner against the Chiefs at Allianz Stadium on Friday night – Photo: Karen Watson

by Brendan Bradford –

The late try came from an unlikely source in replacement hooker John Ulugia, but it fit the tone of the evening as the Waratahs secured an unlikely win over the reigning champion Chiefs at Allianz Stadium on Friday.

Leading 15-0 at the break, the Waratahs struggled to contain a fired up Chiefs in the second half as the visitors fought back and looked likely to steal the competition points when gigantic prop Ben Tameifuna barrelled over eight minutes from time. In their only decent attacking raid of the second forty, the Tahs managed the vital score when a Bernard Foley short ball found a rampaging Ulugia who scored his second try for the Waratahs.

Coach Michael Cheika praised his side’s determination in hanging on for the win, but stressed there was still a lot of work to do.

Israel Folau scores just before halftime to give the Tahs a 15-0 lead – Photo: Karen Watson

“There’s a belief in the way we want to play,” said Cheika.

“That last try started a fair way down the field with a short amount of time to go and we were able to get back up there to score and it was just sticking to the style we want to play. There’s nothing major occurring, it’s just a little bit more belief in each other over time.”

The Tahs shot out of the gates with some enterprising backline play, finally looking like the side they were touted to be at the start of the season. A Brendan McKibbin penalty opened the scoring before Waratahs debutant Cam Crawford opened his try-scoring account by finishing off a well-worked play and latching onto a pass from Adam Ashley-Cooper.

In an accomplished first game, Crawford impressed with his positional and kicking games and forced Cheika to admit he was wrong in leaving him out of the side for so long.

“He went really well, he took his opportunities when they were there and took responsibility with kicking and wasn’t afraid to do it,” said Cheika.

“He’s a good player and I’m slightly disappointed in myself that I didn’t give him an opportunity earlier because from the pre-season and the trial matches he deserved one.”

Israel Folau showed the crowd of 15,451 why he was so sought after by the AFL when he leapt between two defenders on the left to claim a clever Bernard Foley cross-field kick just before halftime and take a 15-0 lead into the sheds.

The Chiefs could do little right in the first half, dropping the ball and trying too much too soon against a fired up Waratahs side fresh after the bye last weekend. The Waratahs might have hoped for a little more on the scoreboard at halftime, a 15-0 lead not truly reflecting their dominance or free-flowing approach to the match.

As has been the case all season though, the home-side was unable to play a consistent 80-minute game and the Chiefs almost made them pay.

Folau celebrates his try with teammates
Photo: Karen Watson

Lock Sitaleki Timani was sin-binned just after halftime for a high tackle as the Chiefs kicked into overdrive. Using their numerical advantage and playing an up-tempo game, the visitors hit back with a try to Gareth Anscombe before another McKibbin penalty restored an 18-7 lead. Although they had the Waratahs on the ropes for the next half hour, the Chiefs could only manage a further two penalties to decrease the margin to 18-13 going into the final 10 minutes as the home-side desperately held on.

It looked as though the champions had managed a come from behind victory when 130 kg prop Ben Tameifuna crashed through some exhausted defence under the posts to take a 20-18 lead eight minutes from full time but poor game management allowed the Waratahs to work their way back downfield for Ulugia to score a brave win.

It wasn’t a complete performance by any means, but after ten weeks and a couple of false starts, it’s coming together for the Waratahs as an attractive style of rugby begins to get results. The side leaves for South Africa on Sunday where they will take on the Bulls and Kings before their next home game against the Stormers on May 8.

Waratahs 25 (Cam Crawford, Israel Folau, John Ulugia tries; Brendan McKibbin 2 cons, 2 pens)

Chiefs 20 (Gareth Anscombe, Ben Tameifuna tries; Gareth Anscombe 2 cons, 2 pens)