Waratah's Defeat Reds in Bruising Derby
In a dour affair dominated by bone crushing defence, rugby league convert Timana Tahu clinched an 15-11 victory for the Waratahs with a fine opportunist's try 16 minutes from time.
With NSW trailing by a point, Tahu swooped on a spilt ball from Queensland winger Peter Hynes and raced almost 40 metres to score the match-winner.
The Waratahs' 10th successive home win matched a streak last achieved between 1936-38 and gave Chris Hickey's side a perfect four-from-four start to their 2009 campaign.
The Reds, though, were left to rue their fifth consecutive defeat in the annual grudge match after failing to convert their one-point halftime advantage into a much-needed second win of the season.
A try to Wallabies winger Peter Hynes 16 seconds before the break nudged the Reds ahead for the first time in the match and they looked like extending the lead in the 44th minute only for Waratahs flyer Lachie Turner to pull off a desperate try saving tackle on Mark McLinden.
NSW enjoyed a dream start, crossing for the game's opening try in just the fifth minute.
Test prop Benn Robinson - who was only cleared fit to play on Thursday - showed his worth to the team is not limited to scrum time when he burrowed over next to the posts to give the Tahs a 5-0 lead.
Kurtley Beale added the extras for 7-0 before Queensland halfback Ben Lucas narrowed the deficit to a point with penalty goals in the 17th and 20th minutes.
Another Beale penalty in the 32nd minute stretched NSW's lead to four points before Hynes struck.
Despite enjoying the bulk of possession, the Waratahs were unable to breach the Reds' resolute defence and regain the lead until Tahu made his mark.
Force Battered by Chiefs in Hamilton
The Chiefs, winless in the opening three rounds, set up the win with a blistering first-half as Lelia Masaga, Brendon Leonard and Richard Kahui all registered tries after shaking off weak tackles from their Force opponents.
Substitute Colin Burke earned the Chiefs a well deserved bonus point in the 82nd minute when he barged over the line to notch the home side's fourth try of the match.
But the Chiefs' first win of the season could come at a cost, with fullback Sosene Anesi suffering an injury to his right shoulder midway through the second half.
The Force, sensational in their 25-16 bonus-point win over the Brumbies last week, simply had no answers to the Chiefs' explosive backline in a match played at a frenetic pace.
It took the Chiefs just 45 seconds to notch the opening try of the match, with winger Masaga shaking off tackles from Cameron Shepherd, Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell to cross over.
Penalties from Giteau and Shepherd closed the gap to 7-6 as the Force slowly worked their way back into the contest but their good work was undone in the final 10 minutes of the first half as the Chiefs crossed for another two tries.
Halfback Leonard crossed in the 33rd minute after a great break by flyhalf Stephen Donald, who sliced through the Force defence to set up his teammate for the easiest of tries.
And five minutes later, winger Sitiveni Sivivatu escaped the clutches of a diving Ryan Cross to set up centre Kahui, with Donald's third conversion of the match making it 21-6 at half-time.
The Force closed the gap to 21-13 in the 55th minute when the Chiefs spilled Josh Valentine's high bomb and flanker Tamaiti Horua scooped on the loose ball and ran 20m to score the visitors' first try.
Donald's 58th-minute penalty gave the Chiefs some breathing space at 24-13 but the Chiefs were put on the back foot for the next 10 minutes as the Force, led by Giteau, tested the home side's defence.
But it was the Chiefs who struck the final blow, with Burke exposing a tired Force defence to barge over under the post.
Super 14 Collated Results and Standings-Round 4
CHIEFS 31 (Colin Bourke, Richard Kahui, Brendon Leonard, Lelia Masaga tries Stephen Donald 4 cons pen) bt WESTERN FORCE 13 (Tamaiti Horua try Matt Giteau con Giteau, Cameron Shepherd pens) at Waikato Stadium. Referee: Matt Goddard (AUS).
NSW WARATAHS 15 (Benn Robinson, Timana Tahu tries Kurtley Beale con pen) bt QUEENSLAND REDS 11 (Peter Hynes try Ben Lucas 2 pens) at Sydney Football Stadium. Referee: Bryce Lawrence (NZL). Crowd: 28,109.
HURRICANES 29 (Hosea Gear 2, Tamati Ellison, John Schwalger tries Piri Weepu 2, William Ripia cons Weepu pen) bt CHEETAHS 12 (Sarel Pretorius, Wayne van Heerden tries Jacques-Louis Potgieter con) at Yarrow Stadium. Referee: Paul Marks (AUS).
SHARKS 35 (Jacques Botes, JP Pietersen, John Smit, Steven Sykes tries Rory Kockott 3 cons 2 pens drop goal) bt BLUES 31 (Jimmy Gopperth, Joe Rokocoko, Isaia Toeava tries Gopperth 2 cons 4 pens) at Eden Park. Referee: Marius Jonker (RSA).
HIGHLANDERS 6 (Daniel Bowden 2 pens) bt CRUSADERS 0 at Carisbrook Stadium. Referee: Ian Smith (AUS).
BULLS 14 (Wynand Olivier try Morne Steyn 2 pens drop goal) bt STORMERS 10 (Deon Fourie try Peter Grant con Willem de Waal drop goal) at Loftus Versfeld. Referee: Craig Joubert (RSA).
Super 14 Ladder P W D L PF PA PD BP Pts
- Bulls 4 4 0 0 122 65 57 2 18
- NSW Waratahs 4 4 0 0 86 56 30 2 18
- Sharks 4 4 0 0 102 71 31 1 17
- Hurricanes 4 3 0 1 103 79 24 2 14
- Blues 4 2 0 2 96 121 -25 3 11
- Western Force 4 2 0 2 73 82 -9 2 10
- * Brumbies 3 2 0 1 67 72 -5 1 9
- Chiefs 4 1 0 3 66 65 1 4 8
- Crusaders 4 1 0 3 59 67 -8 4 8
- Queensland Reds 4 1 0 3 77 78 -1 3 7
- Stormers 4 1 0 3 60 72 -12 3 7
- Highlanders 4 1 0 3 70 89 -19 3 7
- * Lions 3 1 0 2 53 69 -16 2 6
- Cheetahs 4 0 0 4 53 101 -48 2 2
*(denotes teams with a bye)
Top point scorers (tries, conversions, field goals, penalty goals, points):
Morne Steyn (Bulls) - 7 2 11 53
Daniel Bowden (H'landers) 2 6 - 6 40
Rory Kockott (Sharks) - 9 1 6 39
Mark Gerrard (Brumbies) 2 2 - 6 32
Kurtley Beale (Waratahs) - 7 1 4 29
Jacques-Louis Potgieter (Cheetahs) 1 4 - 5 28
Jimmy Gopperth (Blues) 1 5 - 4 27
Peter Grant (Stormers) 1 5 - 4 27
Matt Giteau (Force) - 5 1 4 25
Piri Weepu (Hurricanes) - 6 - 4 24
LEADING TRYSCORERS
4: Pierre Spies (Bulls), Casey Laulala (Crusaders), JP Pietersen (Sharks)
3: Peter Hynes (Reds), Hosea Gear (Hurricanes), Ashwin Willemse (Lions), Cameron Shepherd (Force), Wynand Olivier (Bulls)
2: Stirling Mortlock (Brumbies), Isaia Toeava (Blues), Brendon Leonard (Chiefs), Fourie du Preez (Bulls), Daniel Bowden (H'landers), Jason Shoemark (H'landers), Digby Ioane (Reds), John Smit (Sharks), Lote Tuqiri (Waratahs), Richard Kahui (Chiefs), Lelia Masaga (Chiefs), Timana Tahu (Waratahs), Mark Gerrard (Brumbies)
