Waratahs go down to Lions 21-10 despite gutsy fight in Sydney
Pinned post from 10.06pm
Drennan match report: Lions get home despite NSW bravery
The British and Irish Lions have beaten the Waratahs 21-10 in their third consecutive win, and remain unbeaten in Australia.
What the scoreline cannot reflect is the bravery and fight of a heavily weakened NSW side who refused to give up against the best players from Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales.
It was hard to find anyone in Sydney who was willing to give the Waratahs a shot against the Lions before kick-off. One bookmaker was happy to pay $55 on an NSW win.
Someone had forgotten to tell all of this to NSW breakaway Charlie Gamble, who played the game of his life in front of 40,568 at Allianz Stadium. Gamble had come into professional rugby the hard way, scrambling up to a Waratahs contract via subbies rugby with Petersham at Camperdown Oval.
The New Zealander knew how much this occasion meant at Allianz Stadium and rose to it specularly with four turnovers in a ferocious display.
Gamble was competing directly against former World Rugby player of the year Josh van der Flier and came out the clear winner.
Taniela Tupou and Andrew Kellaway had been drafted down from Wallabies camp for two reasons: to make the Waratahs more competitive and to have a final audition for Joe Schmidt ahead of the Test series under the bright lights of Allianz Stadium.
Kellaway played his way back into Wallabies contention with a strong performance under immense pressure, being at the centre of a brilliant NSW defensive effort.
Tupou had a far more difficult night. The tighthead was penalised twice in the first 10 minutes in the scrum. The second time laid the platform a perfect attacking platform and a large hole opened for Scottish centre Huw Jones to skip through for the first try of the game, almost unopposed.
Gamble crashed over for his side's first try on 29 minutes, but it was ruled out by the TMO due to an obstruction from second-rower Fergus Lee Warner. Referee Paul Williams was at the centre at the game, frustrating both sides with his regular reviews upstairs of decisions throughout the game.
Six minutes later Jones got his second after sidestepping Rob Leota metres from the line and touching the ball down.
The Waratahs almost immediately responded with Tupou quickly popping the ball to Leota who released Darby Lancaster to score. Referee Paul Williams went upstairs to review Lee-Warner for a potential illegal clear out at the ruck, but this time, gave a try.
The Waratahs finished the first half just nine points down and within the first minute Ethan Dobbins, third or even fourth choice for his side at times, crashed over for NSW's second try.
His front-row colleague scrambled back to desperately tackle van der Flier into touch with the try line at the Irish breakaway's mercy.
The Waratahs won a free kick in front of their own posts with five-eighth Jack Bowen shaping to kick leading to the Lions charging forward.
Bowen passed to Tupou who kicked the ball in a panic and Williams penalised NSW for not tapping the ball before passing. It gave the Lions a perfect attacking platform.
Impressive English halfback Alex Mitchell was rewarded for his energy throughout the game with a well-taken try as the Waratahs tired.
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Ellis Genge crashed over the line late in the game, but Williams again consulted with the TMO and this time he ruled a no-try for obstruction.
The Waratahs' 21-year-old NSW loosehead prop replacement Jack Barrett had played one game of Super Rugby and was used to learning his trade for Randwick in the Shute Shield, not facing the totemic Irish tighthead Tadhg Furlong in the scrum when he came on for the final 12 minutes. Like his teammates in sky blue, Barrett competed against the odds until the end.
The final score of 10-21 was cheered loudly by the home fans, and it was clear to see why. After a difficult Super Rugby season, the Waratahs had shocked and stunned the Lions. A wintry Canberra awaits the tourists next, for an even stiffer challenge.
11.04pm
Stats that matter
Here are the key stats for the night.
The turnover count is one, and so too is the lack of attacking possession and territory.
10.48pm
'Made the game ugly': Tuipulotu expects Wallabies to take note of Tahs' tactics
By Iain Payten
Sione Tuipulotou also gave credit to the Waratahs for making the game 'really messy for us', and said he expects the Wallabies will take note.
'We weren't as clinical as we'd like to be but credit goes to them. They made the game ugly for us and hard for us to exit, and got after us at ruck time. Credit to them,' Tuipulotou said.
'Our breakdown wasn't good enough. I thought Charlie Gamble and Rob Leota and the backrow really made it difficult for us to play our game, because they got after us at breakdown time. That's something we will have to review because that's something the Wallabies will look to do. They've got some good poachers in their team as well.'
The Waratahs extracted 10 turnovers out of the Lions, and the visitors only managed one.
Tuipulotu said he was stoked to be back in Australia as a Lion.
'It is a little bit of a strange feeling (playing in Australia), getting to play with some of the boys I grew up with, like Rob Leota tonight. But I am really proud to represent the Lions here, and my family can come and watch me. My mum and dad are here tonight.
10.32pm
Lions skipper: 'Credit to the Waratahs. They put up a serious fight.'
By Iain Payten
Here's the verdict from a flat Lions captain Tadhg Beirne: 'We had a lot of dropped balls, a lot of turnovers, the ball was a bit slippery out there. It was frustrating from our end, in terms of not being very clinical.
'That's probably the most frustrating part. The set-piece was a step up but we will be looking back on it as missed opportunities. But credit to the Waratahs. They put up a serious fight today and put us through our pieces.
'We probably lacked the physicality in the game at times and that's something we have to look at in future weeks.'
10.24pm
Sinclair: 'The Aussie media thought we'd get beat by 90'
By Iain Payten
Waratahs captain Hugh Sinclair is a happy man, but the big fella has also kept some receipts, it appears.
He sprayed the media for some pre-game forecasts of serious doom and gloom for the Waratahs in this game.
'Super, super proud. The Aussie media had a crack at us, thinking we were going to get beaten by 90 or 50 or 60, and we showed them,' Sinclair said post-game.
'I wouldn't mind a bit of positivity from a bit of them to be honest. We showed up. The boys showed up. We just asked for effort the whole game. it was a bit scrappy. The Lions will be disappointed with that. We showed their beatable, they're 15 blokes on a field. Put some pressure on and things can happen.'
We've trawled the internet for the forecasts - or written ones anyway. The one Sinclair appears to be talking about was published on The Roar website: ''Even more grievous than the 96-19': Why the Tahs could be set to cop a record-breaking thumping from the Lions.'
It was penned by a South African columnist.
But Sinclair has a point - fair cop. No-one gave the Tahs much hope of getting close against the Lions, and they absolutely turned up.
It was a great send off for one of the nice guys of Australian rugby. Sinclair is retiring from professional rugby and he was tunneled off by the Lions in a great show of respect.
'Cloud nine, it was an awesome way to finish. I wish I was good enough to play more Test matches because that was a hell of a lot of fun. It was awesome,' Sinclair said.
Fulltime: Gutsy Waratahs go down to Lions 21-10
By Iain Payten
And that's full-time.
The Waratahs have been beaten 21-10 by the Lions but that's against all expectations. A credible performance from the hosts and a muddled, mistake-filled night from the Lions.
After two 50-pointers against the Force and the Lions, it was the Lions' smallest winning margin so far on tour.
The Waratahs defence was strong all night, led by Charlie Gamble in tight and Andrew Kellaway out wide. They can be proud of that effort, and build on it for next year's Super Rugby season.
Their skills weren't up to scratch in slippery conditions, however.
The match officials had an equally muddled night, with far too many stoppages and errors in general play.
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The boys showed up and we just asked for effort the whole game. "Obviously it was scrappy and the Lions will be disappointed with that but we showed they're beatable. "There are 15 blokes on a field, put some pressure on and, yeah, things can happen." But Andy Farrell's star-studded outfit ultimately survived a major scare to remain unbeaten in three matches in Australia this tour. Unlike in their 54-7 drubbing of the Western Force and 52-12 win over the Queensland Reds on Wednesday night, though, the Lions were anything but convincing. Some of the best of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales were downright dreadful for much of the contest. With 14 changes, including two debutants, from the side that crushed the Reds four nights ago, the Lions struggled to gel and their attack was clunky. "We got the win in the but still a lot to work on," said Lions scrumhalf and man of the match Alex Mitchell. 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Still the end 11-point defeat made a mockery of bookmakers offering the Waratahs a 40-point start and will no doubt instil Schmidt and his Wallabies hopefuls plenty of optimism. Stand-in skipper Hugh Sinclair has taken aim at the naysayers after the NSW Waratahs exposed some chinks in the British and Irish Lions' armour in a spirited 21-10 loss to the vaunted tourists in Sydney. Written off by bookmakers and even many of their faithful fans, the understrength Waratahs were given a standing ovation after threatening to pull off a first win over the Lions since 1959 on Saturday night. The gritty showing came after one media outlet penned a piece predicting the Waratahs could suffer a worse defeat than the record-breaking 96-19 loss to the Crusaders in 2002 "Super proud. Super, super proud. The Aussie media had a crack at us thinking we're going to get beat by 90 or 50 or 60 and we showed them," the retiring Sinclair said after deputising for regular captain Jake Gordon, who is in camp with the Wallabies in Newcastle. "I wouldn't mind a bit of positivity from a bit of them for the next couple of weeks. It'd be nice. "Look, we showed up. The boys showed up and we just asked for effort the whole game. "Obviously it was scrappy and the Lions will be disappointed with that but we showed they're beatable. "There are 15 blokes on a field, put some pressure on and, yeah, things can happen." But Andy Farrell's star-studded outfit ultimately survived a major scare to remain unbeaten in three matches in Australia this tour. Unlike in their 54-7 drubbing of the Western Force and 52-12 win over the Queensland Reds on Wednesday night, though, the Lions were anything but convincing. Some of the best of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales were downright dreadful for much of the contest. With 14 changes, including two debutants, from the side that crushed the Reds four nights ago, the Lions struggled to gel and their attack was clunky. "We got the win in the but still a lot to work on," said Lions scrumhalf and man of the match Alex Mitchell. While Waratahs coach Dan McKellar would have been chuffed with his team's efforts, Farrell could have been excused for pulling his hair out. Some of the blunders from the Lions were comical, with several big-name stars likely playing themselves out of contention for the first Test against Australia in Brisbane on July 19. Like the Western Force and Reds before them, the Waratahs took the fight to the Lions in the first half and only trailed 14-5 at the break after winger Darby Lancaster scored a try he will likely never forget in the 36th minute. The Lions needed 12 minutes to post their first points through a try to Huw Jones before the Welsh centre grabbed a second after the half-hour halftime margin would have been closer had the TMO not overturned a try to Waratahs flanker Charlie Gamble 29 minutes in after lock Fergus Lee-Warner was ruled to have caused obstruction in the preceding lineout. After out-scoring the Force and Reds by a combined 64-0 in the second half, the tourists were expected to again shift up a gear after the interval. Instead, the Waratahs did with hooker Ethan Dobbins finishing off a driving maul to edge the home team to within four points of the hottest of hot favourites. A desperate try-saving tackle from prop Tom Lambert on Lions flanker Josh van der Flier typified the spirit in the Tahs ranks as McKellar's men fought tooth and nail for a famous victory. Defending for their the lives, the Waratahs had the 40,458 fans, including former PM John Howard, believing a fairytale win was on the offing. But just as the Lions appeared anxious and panicky, Waratahs flyhalf Jack Bowen made a meal of a short-arm penalty to gift Farrell's side onto the attack. Lions star Mitchell scored barely a minute later to snuff out the comeback. Still the end 11-point defeat made a mockery of bookmakers offering the Waratahs a 40-point start and will no doubt instil Schmidt and his Wallabies hopefuls plenty of optimism. Stand-in skipper Hugh Sinclair has taken aim at the naysayers after the NSW Waratahs exposed some chinks in the British and Irish Lions' armour in a spirited 21-10 loss to the vaunted tourists in Sydney. Written off by bookmakers and even many of their faithful fans, the understrength Waratahs were given a standing ovation after threatening to pull off a first win over the Lions since 1959 on Saturday night. The gritty showing came after one media outlet penned a piece predicting the Waratahs could suffer a worse defeat than the record-breaking 96-19 loss to the Crusaders in 2002 "Super proud. Super, super proud. The Aussie media had a crack at us thinking we're going to get beat by 90 or 50 or 60 and we showed them," the retiring Sinclair said after deputising for regular captain Jake Gordon, who is in camp with the Wallabies in Newcastle. "I wouldn't mind a bit of positivity from a bit of them for the next couple of weeks. It'd be nice. "Look, we showed up. The boys showed up and we just asked for effort the whole game. "Obviously it was scrappy and the Lions will be disappointed with that but we showed they're beatable. "There are 15 blokes on a field, put some pressure on and, yeah, things can happen." But Andy Farrell's star-studded outfit ultimately survived a major scare to remain unbeaten in three matches in Australia this tour. Unlike in their 54-7 drubbing of the Western Force and 52-12 win over the Queensland Reds on Wednesday night, though, the Lions were anything but convincing. Some of the best of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales were downright dreadful for much of the contest. With 14 changes, including two debutants, from the side that crushed the Reds four nights ago, the Lions struggled to gel and their attack was clunky. "We got the win in the but still a lot to work on," said Lions scrumhalf and man of the match Alex Mitchell. While Waratahs coach Dan McKellar would have been chuffed with his team's efforts, Farrell could have been excused for pulling his hair out. Some of the blunders from the Lions were comical, with several big-name stars likely playing themselves out of contention for the first Test against Australia in Brisbane on July 19. Like the Western Force and Reds before them, the Waratahs took the fight to the Lions in the first half and only trailed 14-5 at the break after winger Darby Lancaster scored a try he will likely never forget in the 36th minute. The Lions needed 12 minutes to post their first points through a try to Huw Jones before the Welsh centre grabbed a second after the half-hour halftime margin would have been closer had the TMO not overturned a try to Waratahs flanker Charlie Gamble 29 minutes in after lock Fergus Lee-Warner was ruled to have caused obstruction in the preceding lineout. After out-scoring the Force and Reds by a combined 64-0 in the second half, the tourists were expected to again shift up a gear after the interval. Instead, the Waratahs did with hooker Ethan Dobbins finishing off a driving maul to edge the home team to within four points of the hottest of hot favourites. A desperate try-saving tackle from prop Tom Lambert on Lions flanker Josh van der Flier typified the spirit in the Tahs ranks as McKellar's men fought tooth and nail for a famous victory. Defending for their the lives, the Waratahs had the 40,458 fans, including former PM John Howard, believing a fairytale win was on the offing. But just as the Lions appeared anxious and panicky, Waratahs flyhalf Jack Bowen made a meal of a short-arm penalty to gift Farrell's side onto the attack. Lions star Mitchell scored barely a minute later to snuff out the comeback. Still the end 11-point defeat made a mockery of bookmakers offering the Waratahs a 40-point start and will no doubt instil Schmidt and his Wallabies hopefuls plenty of optimism.
Sydney Morning Herald
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- Sydney Morning Herald
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