Waratahs' fightback falls short
February 23, 2008
NEW South Wales coach Ewen McKenzie watched a depressingly familiar drama unfold in Hamilton when his Waratahs suffered a dramatic 20-17 loss to the Chiefs.
The Waratahs appeared to have gotten out of jail when they recovered from 17-0 down to level at 17-17 at Waikato stadium.
However a kick out on the full by replacement back Sam Harris gave the Chiefs field position and five-eighth Stephan Donald kicked a tie-breaking penalty in the last minute after an infringement at the breakdown.
Both teams scored three tries, but McKenzie admitted his men just didn't play well enough to win.
They squandered some good scoring opportunities in the second half and didn't execute well enough and were unusually undisciplined, conceding the first 10 penalties of the game.
Down 17-5 with eight minutes left, NSW piled on two quick tries through an intercept by Harris and powerful effort from winger Lote Tuqiri.
Five-eighth Kurtley Beale converted the first, but missed the second – had he made it the Waratahs would have been ahead for the first time.
It was their fourth Super loss in five matches in Hamilton and their third straight during McKenzie's tenure.
"I've seen that sort of game a few times now, in a way it was like an old script," McKenzie said.
"They came at us and bustled us around the edges and forced us into errors. We did some good things along the way, but that didn't show on the scoreboard."
Asked what was missing from his team's performance, McKenzie replied "just detail."
"I don't feel like we were outplayed. Just some of the detail. Our mauling, they pulled us down and disrupted us, despite all that we still punched some holes and we had some opportunities and last passes went begging."
All three of the Waratahs' tries were scored by backs, Ben Jacobs, Sam Harris and Lote Tuqiri.
NSW picked up a bonus point for the narrow loss, giving them five points after two games.
The Chiefs capitalised on a strong breeze at their backs and the beneficial early penalty count to establish a 12-0 half-time advantage.
Flanker Liam Messam scored the home team's first try following a line out drive after they eschewed a chance to kick for goal.
New Zealand winger Sitiveni Sitivatu stepped his way through the defence for the second Chiefs try though replays suggested referee Marus Jonker perhaps should have referred it to the television official after doubts over the grounding.
Centre Richard Kahui increased the Chiefs' lead to 17-0 early in the second half when he broke the attempted tackles of half-back Brett Sheehan, Tuqiri and full-back Lachie Turner.
Centre Jacobs sparked the NSW revival when he surged through the middle of the field unchallenged when defenders were deceived by decoy runners.
However, Jacobs bombed two other try scoring opportunities in the following five minutes, knocking on a pass from Beale and then throwing a poor pass behind winger Timana Tahu.
AAP
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23265031-5002381,00.html
