A week after being given a reality check by Queensland, the NSW Waratahs have responded in the best possible fashion by taking down the ACT Brumbies 28-23 on Saturday night to snap their 13-match losing streak to their great rivals.
Tempers were pushed to breaking point on a wild night, where the officiating raised more than a few eyebrows, but it was the home side that held their nerve despite the Brumbies finishing with a wet sail.
Indeed, the Waratahs were forced to defend their line after conceding three of the last four tries, but Dan McKellar’s men were rock solid when it mattered most.
Waratahs players celebrate their drought-breaking win over the ACT Brumbies at Allianz Stadium on March 22, 2025. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)
The breakdown penalty they won that sealed the hard-fought victory saw the majority of the 20,572 fans – the biggest Waratahs crowd since the two teams met in 2023 – rise as one.
“I’ve been a few of those (losses to the Brumbies), and they’re tough,” acting Waratahs captain Hugh Sinclair said.
“We had our integrity questioned throughout the week and that’s a tough thing to have as a rugby player and a rugby club. A lot of people wrote a few things about us and we responded pretty well.
“I’m just proud of the way that we stuck in there and fought.”
The victory was just the response that Dan McKellar had demanded, having labelled aspects of their game last week as “soft” and “embarrassing”.
Despite the one-sided nature of the fixture in recent years, the Brumbies arrived in Sydney expecting a fight – and they got one.
“It was everything that we expected,” Brumbies skipper Allan Alaalatoa said.
“We knew that it was going to be a physical game and a grind.”
Ultimately, the Waratahs won because they took their chances, having opened up a 21-6 lead at half-time after tries to Teddy Wilson, Triston Reilly and Rob Leota.
“I thought they did well with their contestable kicking and got two tries there,” Alaalatoa admitted.
Despite their discipline letting them down, the Brumbies weren’t helped by several calls that looked to go against them.
Indeed, during his cross early in the second half Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham labelled the opening half as “frustrating” and admitted his side hadn’t handled the decisions going against them well.
He would have been livid when a try was overturned in the 49th minute for an earlier knock-on that was minutes earlier.
Stan Sport’s main caller Sean Maloney was perplexed, saying: “We’ve just wasted four minutes of play, great build-up.”
While former Wallaby turned pundit said the officials hadn’t had a great evening with the whistle.
“One of the great parts about Super Rugby Pacific this year has been the refereeing,” Turinui said.
“The referees have been outstanding at speeding up the game, getting fatigue in the game and been very accurate. They haven’t had their best 50 minutes this evening.”
Nonetheless, it was the Waratahs who made the most of the luck.
Waratahs winger Reilly was outstanding, second-rower Ben Grant was tough and physical in the middle, back-rower Leota had his best evening in a blue jersey while Max Jorgensen was once again a constant threat out wide.
