PRE-MATCH FILE: The Reds were unable to deliver a victory at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night. Photo: ANDREW KACIMAIWAI
NSW put a miserable fortnight against NZ teams behind them with a rousing 21-14 upset win over the table-leading Chiefs in Sydney on Friday.
The Waratahs were forced to defend with 14 men for 28 phases of play after the fulltime siren to claim the result.
“That’s a special one. That’ll be up there,” stand-in captain Hugh Sinclair told TV commentators afterwards.
“That crowd was immense, especially in that last passage of play. Got their money’s worth.
“Yeah, just stoked to get the win after a tough couple of weeks.”
The result is the Waratahs’ fifth win in Sydney this campaign and lifted them to fourth on the competition table.
It also snapped an eight-match, eight-year losing streak against the Waikato-based Chiefs.
Chiefs fullback Damien McKenzie was left disappointed.
“I let our team down tonight,” the fullback said.
“Just not good enough by my standards and, when you do that against a good team like the Tahs, particularly at home, they’re going to put you under pressure.
“(I’m) so extremely disappointed with my performance.”
BRUMBIES OUTCLASS QLD
The ACT Brumbies overcame a 14-0 deficit at halftime for a 39-26 win over the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Saturday.
The Reds led 14-0 at one point but found themselves 21-14 down at the break after the Brumbies fought back.
Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa praised his teammates for “staying in the grind” in a post-match interview.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” he said.
“The conditions, a bit of humidity, wet, yeah, we just wanted to get in the washing machine and stay in it and just work hard for each other, which I thought we did.
“We spoke about it during the week. We knew what we were coming up against this week.
“So mentally we were in the right spot tonight and it’s just about gaining that consistency for the rest of the season.”
The Western Force had the bye.
IN OTHER GAMES …
The Highlanders held off a second-half comeback for a 43-20 win over the Fijian Drua in Dunedin on Saturday.
Auckland’ Blues, and defending champions, maintained their perfect record over cross-town rivals Moana Pasifika with a 36-17 win in Auckland on Saturday.
In Wellington on Friday, former Red and Wallaby James O’Connor scored a try as a 13-man Crusaders side held on for a 31-24 win over the Hurricanes.
