Waratahs v Brumbies: Five takeaways as ‘age just a number’ for impressive duo in ‘devastatingly efficient’ win that leaves Sydneysiders ‘on the brink’
Brumbies prop Allan Alaalatoa scored a try on his 150th Super Rugby appearance against the Waratahs.
Following a 21-14 victory for the Brumbies over the Waratahs in Super Rugby Pacific on Friday, here’s our five takeaways from the game at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
The top line
The Brumbies were deserved winners of this Australian derby as they secured their passage to the Qualifying Finals thanks to a three tries to two win on their travels.
Victory puts the men from Canberra six points clear of the seventh-place ‘Tahs with just one round to play and leaves the Sydneysiders on the brink of missing the cut.
First-half tries from Billy Pollard and Cadeyrn Neville sent the Brumbies in at the break with a 14-0 buffer and they extended that when Allan Alaalatoa burrowed over.
Credit to the Waratahs who did rally in the final quarter thanks to scores from Isaac Kailea and Max Jorgensen but it was too little too late as they fell to a home defeat.
Brumbies early efficiency
The first period was a story of how to take chances from the Brumbies as they were devastatingly efficient and that translated onto the score-board at Allianz Stadium.
‘Tahs boss Dan McKellar was spoken to by broadcaster Stan Sport at half-time and admitted that converting chances was the key difference between the two outfits.
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Charlie Gamble was held up over the line by Rob Valetini while Sid Harvey went within a fingertip of scoring soon after while the Brumbies went bang bang with tries.
While the Waratahs did improve late in the game, there’s no doubt the hosts will rue their first-half inaccuracies and how it might have cost them a much-needed win.
Try-scoring milestone
This encounter was a memorable occasion for experienced Brumbies tighthead prop Alaalatoa as he was making his 150th Super Rugby appearance for the Canberra-based outfit.
As usual, the 32-year-old did what was expected of him in the execution of his core duties as he stood up well in the scrums and got through plenty of defensive work, eventually making 15 tackles during a productive stint on the field before being replaced by Rhys van Nek after 55 minutes.
However, the Wallabies front-row also had some good moments with ball in hand as he eventually gained 20 metres from five carries and his efforts were rewarded shortly before his departure when he crossed the whitewash from close quarters.
That converted try hammered home the Brumbies’ dominance as it gave them a 21-0 lead and was a fitting reward to celebrate Alaalatoa’s efforts in his milestone match.
Age is just a number
On that note, what an effort it was from 37-year-old Neville, who continues to put in shift after shift for the Brumbies and was rewarded with a well-taken try on Friday.
He received a warm reception as he departed the field seven minutes into the second half, finishing with 13 tackles, three turnovers won and that quick-thinking score.
It was also a strong showing from 29-year-old Brumbies centre David Feliuai too, whose late push for a Wallabies cap is more due to a period in Romania from 2019-21.
Since then Feliuai has played for the Rebels before moving to Canberra and he was a real threat on Friday and tidy in every facet which surely caught Joe Schmidt’s eye.
Waratahs now needing favours
The Waratahs came into this encounter in a confident mood after securing a morale-boosting victory over the Fijian Drua last weekend and that result strengthened their play-off hopes.
However, McKellar’s troops struggled to hit their straps and after the teams changed sides at half-time with the Brumbies holding a 14-0 lead, it was always going to be difficult to bounce back.
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They suffered a further blow when Alaalatoa crossed for his five-pointer and although they finished stronger, they could not clinch another win.
That means the Sydneysiders had to be satisfied with a losing bonus point which still gives them a mathematical chance of reaching the play-offs but they will now be needing favours from other teams to reach that goal.
The Waratahs are currently in seventh position in the standings with 27 points amassed from 13 matches played and will be hoping basement dwellers Moana Pasifika can stun the Reds, who are in sixth place, in their clash while they will also be rooting for the Hurricanes and Fijian Drua in their games against the Highlanders and Western Force, who occupy eighth and ninth spots in the table.
READ MORE: Waratahs v Brumbies: Result, scorers, match stats, line-ups