The New South Wales Waratahs responded to a lambasting at a fan forum this week with a rampaging five-try first-half performance on their way to a 29-12 win over South Africa’s Lions on Saturday.
Torn apart by fans critical of their lack of adventure on Thursday, the Waratahs largely eschewed the tactical kick as Berrick Barnes orchestrated some fluent back play to secure the four-try bonus point inside half an hour.
They added a fifth try before the break and, despite failing to add to their halftime tally in front of just 14 000 fans at the Sydney Football Stadium, remain comfortably in the play-off positions with four rounds remaining.
“The first half was very pleasing … in the second half, the only difference was we didn’t execute as well, but we did try to run with the ball,” Waratahs skipper Dean Mumm said in a televised interview.
“Thanks to all the fans for coming out, they certainly had their say during the week, but for the guys to come out is good for us.”
The Lions, who upset the twice champion ACT Brumbies last week, were hammered 73-12 in Sydney last year and would have been delighted to keep the score down after the Waratahs’ blistering start.
Wallabies fullback Kurtley Beale opened the scoring after three minutes and although a Butch James grubber kick put flying fullback Jaco Taute in for a try to tie the score up five minutes later, the rest of the half was all Waratahs.
Quick hands down the backline put winger Sosene Anesi over the line in the corner for the first of his tries after 22 minutes, and a delicate chip from Barnes found Beale who looped a pass for centre Ryan Cross to grab a third try.
After the Lions lost Deon van Rensburg to the sin-bin, New Zealander Anesi crossed for his second before another superb Barnes kick allowed 19-year-old replacement winger Tom Kingston to put the home side 29-5 up after 36 minutes.
That concluded the scoring for the Waratahs — Lions winger Dylan Des Fountain’s try was the only score after the break — and their fans let them know how they felt about the second half display with a chorus of boos at the end. – Reuters