Tahs crown new iceman as NSW stun Brumbies in drought-busting upset
Updated ,first published
Rookie fullback Sid Harvey has taken the crown of the Waratahs’ new iceman by kicking three late penalties to upset the Brumbies and secure NSW’s first win in Canberra in almost 3000 days.
The Tahs’ 30-28 victory snapped an eight-game losing streak at GIO Stadium dating back to 2019 and came courtesy of Harvey’s accurate boot in the last 15 minutes, which helped snap a second-half deadlock and provided enough of a buffer to hold off the Brumbies.
The 20-year-old fullback, in just his fourth Super Rugby game, was colder than a Canberra winter at the kicking tee and helped sealed a courageous win for the Waratahs, who looked to have let their dominance of the game slip in the second-half, as seen in recent defeats.
On the back of a muscular defence and some well-executed attack, the Tahs raced out to a 21-7 lead in the first half. But poor discipline helped the Brumbies claw back into the contest after the half-time siren, when they scored from a 90-metre drive in the 45th minute.
When the Brumbies came out and levelled the scores at 21-all soon after the break, and the Tahs began dropping passes and making mistakes in response, the hosts appeared poised to push on with the game against a Tahs side that has fallen out of contests in the last quarter of the last three games.
But this week would be different. The Tahs turned back to their defence – which had been outstanding all night – to stifle the Brumbies as well.
And then, up stepped Harvey. When the Waratahs won a 65th minute penalty 35 metres out, Harvey calmly nailed the kick. And when the Tahs’ scrum won another two penalties in the next eight minutes, the rookie from Narrabri kicked truly two more times.
Though trailing by nine points, the Brumbies typically weren’t going down without a fight and a Luke Reimer try in the 77th minute provided a tense finish. One more score could win it, but an error from the Brumbies in the last minute gave the Tahs the chance to kill the clock and win the game.
It was the Waratahs’ first away win of the season, and only their second away win in the last two seasons under Dan McKellar. Contrastingly, for a side who routinely wins 80 per cent or more at home, the result was the Brumbies’ second loss at GIO Stadium this year from four home games, and could potentially come back to bite them in their bid to finish in the top two.
“I am super proud of the boys. Our belief has been tested the last three weeks,” Waratahs captain Matt Philip said. “We’ve been up at 60-minute marks, and in the last two games not come away with it.
“I’m so proud of the boys, especially down here in Canberra. The Brumbies are such a strong team, probably one of the form teams in the comp at the moment, so it’s huge for us.”
Harvey said he was never in doubt about wanting to take the pressure kicks.
“You’ve got to want them – anything in the 50, I’m happy with,” he said. “If MP (Philip) looks at me and wants me to kick it, I’ll kick it. I’ll walk in and just give him the nod. He’s really good with that. They back me. Same with the coaches.”
Harvey said it was “special” to experience his first win with the Waratahs.
“We trained really well this week and prepped really well. To come there and execute for 80 minutes, like we talked about, was really satisfying,” he said.
The Brumbies had more possession and territory captain Ryan Lonergan said the Waratahs had done a good job in slowing down their breakdown and attack, and also got the better of the bobbling ball from aerial contests.
The Waratahs had strong performers throughout their forward pack, with hooker Ethan Dobbins turning in another shift that should earn the attention of Wallabies selectors, and Philip, Miles Amatosero and Pete Samu all excellent as well.
The Tahs made a staggering 254 tackles, and only missed 22, at an effective of 92 per cent. Eight players made over 15 tackles each: Clem Halaholo (22), Amatosero (21), Daniel Botha (20), Jamie Adamson (20 in 48 minutes), Philip (19), Dobbins (18), Joey Walton (17) and Tom Lambert (16).
The Waratahs had the aerial dominance in the opening half and struck first after a post-retention attack, and a nice linebreak and one-handed offload from Dobbins, and then a second off-load from Andrew Kellaway, set up a pick-and-drive try to Clem Halaholo.
The Waratahs lost Peter Samu to the bin when referee Angus Gardner ran out of patience following multiple offside penalties on their own line, and the Brumbies took advantage by scoring a route-one try on the goal line to Lachlan Shaw soon after.
The 14-man Tahs responded strongly, though, and via aerial success, switch-attack tactics and excellent ball retention, they kept probing in the Brumbies half. Eventually the pressure found the Brumbies short on their left edge, and Sid Harvey found Kellaway unmarked on the right wing for an unopposed run to the line.
Impressive Waratahs defence led to a third try on the half-hour mark, when they repelled waves of Brumbies attack in their half over a four-minute stretch with patient and aggressive defence. A Max Jorgensen strip on Andy Muirhead led to a breakaway attack, and after support run from Jack Debreczeni – and a contentious breakdown – the ball was swung wide to Joey Walton who had a yawning gap to score and extend the lead to 21-7.
The Brumbies had a try disallowed to Rory Scott before halftime and the Waratahs also had good territory to add a fourth five-pointer thereafter, but it fell short.
The Brumbies didn’t seek the safety of the sheds, however. After winning a penalty on the halftime siren, the home side kicked deep and then won another penalty, putting them on the Tahs’ line. Five minutes into extra time and after more NSW penalties, the Brumbies were rewarded for their adventure with a try, scored via a pick and drive at the line by Charlie Cale.
The hosts levelled it up just five minutes after the break, when an ill-judged cross kick from Walton gave the Brumbies access to the Tahs’ half, and they built up pressure across 14 phases. Shaw scored a second when the momentum proved too much to handle for NSW.
The Waratahs had the best of the game for the next 10 minutes but threw the ball away and ruined several incursions with dropped balls and lost lineouts.
But just as the Waratah final quarter wilt looked on again, they men in sky blue lifted – and Harvey did his thing.
Rookies shine for Wallaroos in opening victory over Fiji
Promising performances from a handful of players on debut helped a new-look Wallaroos begin their season with a 33-15 victory over Fiji at GIO Stadium in Canberra.
Australia were made to work it for it, however, with Fiji proving to be a stubborn foe who stayed in the contest deep into the second half.
Australia led by just 14-10 at halftime after two first half tries but the Wallaroos’ superior strength and fitness told in the end, with the home side scoring another three tries after oranges to secure victory.
Both sides had chances to score more five-pointers but the two combatants were both predictably rusty in their opening hit outs of the year.
In their first Test since a quarter-final exit at the Rugby World Cup last year, the Wallaroos fielded six debutants in a side looking for a dose of revitalisation. And interim coach Sam Needs got what he was looking for, with all the new players stepping up to the occasion.
Rookie WA five-eighth Nicole Teddington was the pick of the new crop, scoring a sparkling solo try and defending with grit. Centre and sevens conscript Sidney Taylor and reserve backrower Lily Bone were also excellent, and reserve hooker Britt Merlo also stepped up on her long-awaited debut. Brooklyn Teki-Joyce and Piper Simons also turned in solid shifts.
It was a predictably rusty performance from the Wallaroos, who only went into camp two weeks ago and haven’t yet played any footy this year, with the Super Rugby Women season moved from February-April to June-July this year.
Australia started the stronger but couldn’t convert until Teddington, the talented 22-year-old from the Western Force, showed her class by slicing through the line for a 14th minute solo try, beating a handful of defenders.
Bridie O’Gorman scored a second when she collected a deflection soon after, but after Australia lost Briana Hoy to the bin, Fiji turned to their power runners answered with a route-one try to lock Carletta Yee.
The Fijians pushed hard in the second half but the injection of regular stars like Georgie Friedrichs and Desi Miller helped the Wallaroos push away in the second half, with tries to Stewart and Siokapesi Palu Sekona.
Fiji didn’t throw in the towel, and scored a second try to Josivini Neihamu, but they couldn’t manage to score from good attacking possession in the last quarter, and Australia were relieved to not be faced with a tense finale.
The Wallaroos now travel to the USA to take on Canada, the USA and New Zealand in the Pacific Four tournament next month.
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Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.