waratahs down rebels to end nine match winning streak,,,

Tahs down Rebels to end nine match losing streak

James O'Connor is driven backwards in the tackle

The Waratahs ended a nine match losing streak in Super Rugby when they beat the Rebels 31-26 at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.

The result extended their winning streak over the Rebels to five straight matches out of five matches played.

Prior to this result the Waratahs last victory against all teams was in April last year 2012 when they beat the Rebels 30-21 .

The Rebels went in for half time in a commanding position as they were leading by ten points having scored the only try of the first half.

However the Waratahs fought their way back from being 6-16 down at the break and took the lead in the final quarter of the match.

Much of the Waratahs revival was sparked by the arrival of replacment Ben Volavola who helped to up the pace of the Waratahs game.

His injection into the match a few minutes after halftime resulted in the 22-year-old shifting to fullback with star recruit Israel Folau moving to the right wing and Tom Kingston replaced.

Code hopper Folau had a hand in the Waratahs first try which was scored by Bernard Foley.

Waratahs halfback Brendan McKibbin had 16 points from four penalty goals and two conversions, as did Rebels fullback James O'Connor.

In total the Waratahs scored 25 points in the second half, with tries to fly-half Foley, openside flanker Michael Hooper and prop Paddy Ryan.

Scrum-half Brendan McKibbin kicked four penalties and two conversions to seal the Waratahs' win after their opening 25-17 loss to the Reds in Brisbane last week.

Wallaby back Kurtley Beale, playing with a shoulder injury, grabbed a losing bonus point for the Rebels with a try in the final minute after hooker Ged Robinson scored off a rehearsed lineout move in the first half.

Waratahs captain Dave Dennis said his team had recovered after an undisciplined first half.

"We fought back well in the second half. We made it hard on ourselves early on but we kept playing in the second half which was a bit different to last week," Dennis said.

"Our discipline let us down in the first half, we let them in the game too easy with too much field position and we played a lot of football in our own half."

Wallaby O'Connor kicked the Rebels to a 16-6 half-time lead with three penalties and a conversion after Robinson scored a well-worked try off a lineout close to the Waratahs line in the 26th minute.

It was a much improved Waratahs performance in the second half with rugby league convert Israel Folau featuring in tries by Foley and Hooper, before replacement prop Ryan broke two tackles to score five minutes from the end for a 31-19 lead.

Substitute Ben Volavola helped sparked the revival with Folau moving to the right wing.

Beale got a bonus point for the Rebels when he speared through an opening to score near the posts in the last minute.

The Waratahs face the unbeaten Brumbies in Canberra next week while the Rebels host the Reds in Melbourne.

Final Score Waratahs 31 (6) Rebels 26 (16)

Scorers

Waratahs
Tries - B Foley, M Hooper, P. Ryan
Pen - B. McKibbin 4
Con - B McKibbin 2
Drop -
Cards - T. Polota-Nau (yellow 24th minute)

Rebels
Tries - G Robinson, K Beale
Pen - J O'Connor 4
Con - J O'Connor 2
Drop -
Cards - L. Weeks (yellow 47th minute)

Attendance: 11,206

Match Officials
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann
Assistant Ref 1:James Leckie
Assistant Ref 2:Ed Martin
TMO : Matt Goddard

Teams

Waratahs

15. Israel Folau ,14. Tom Kingston ,13. Adam Ashley-Cooper ,12. Tom Carter ,11. Drew Mitchell ,10. Bernard Foley ,9. Brendan McKibbin ,8. Wycliff Palu ,7. Michael Hooper ,6. Dave Dennis (c)5. Kane Douglas ,4. Mitchell Chapman ,3. Sekope Kepu ,2. Tatafu Polota-Nau ,1. Benn Robinson ,

Replacements:16. John Ulugia ,17. Jeremy Tilse ,18. Paddy Ryan , 19. Greg Peterson ,20. Lopeti Timani ,21. Matt Lucas ,22. Ben Volavola

Rebels

15. James O'Connor , 14. Lachlan Mitchell , 13. Mitch Inman , 12. Rory Sidey , 11. Richard Kingi , 10. Kurtley Beale , 9. Nick Phipps , 8. Scott Higginbotham , 7. Scott Fuglistaller , 6. Luke Jones , 5. Cadeyrn Neville , 4. Hugh Pyle , 3. Laurie Weeks , 2. Ged Robinson (vc) , 1. Nic Henderson

16. Shota Horie , 17. Paul Alo-Emile , 18. Jordy Reid , 19. Jarrod Saffy , 20. Nic Stirzaker , 21. Angus Roberts , 22. Tom English.

game was a little lackluster, but all in all the wratahs deserved their win.

huge difference for the waraths with ben robinson back in the sqaud, the forwards were more consistent then they were in their first game.

its plain to see that cheikas attacking policy is coming through, but the waratahs are still in the prcess shaking out all the 10man rugby cobwebs which have plagued this club for the last 6 years and once they get rid of them plus get back a few of their frontline players, mainly barnes, they should come right.

folau has had his second dud game in a row, he really struggles to position himself on the field defensively and on attack.
he made some all right attacks in the game, but that was purely from his skill and strength or raw talent, nothing that was created through vision or rugby nous.
all in all it was another poor games which has now well and trully deflated all the hype around folau.
the longer he plays at full back, the worst of a rugby player he will become. cheika needs to recognise this ASAP and move his ass out onto the wing. IMO the warathas would have won more comfortably had folau not been at fullback, every team is going to target him from now on no matter where he plays, so better he moves to the wing where he the damage is more easily contained.

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