Waratahs Win But Are Hit Hard by Injury
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Saturday, 20 January 2007
NSWRU Media Unit
The HSBC Waratahs have scored a costly 12-nil win over the ACT Brumbies in their opening trial of 2007 at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium – losing forwards Matt Dunning, Alex Kanaar and Dave Dennis to serious knee injuries.
Ben Jacobs was outstanding for the Waratahs on a night where they lost three forwards to injury
Ben Jacobs was outstanding for the Waratahs on a night where they lost three forwards to injury
Dunning and Dennis will each miss eight weeks with medial ligament strains, while Wallaby training squad member Kanaar is almost certain to need a reconstruction after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
The bad news was tempered somewhat by the manner in which victory was achieved by the Waratahs, who absorbed a mountain of early pressure before turning the screws on the visitors in the lead up to half time.
Outside centre Ben Jacobs laid on the Waratahs first try just before the break, a neat in and away setting up winger Lachlan Turner for an uninterrupted run to the line.
Turner’s try was converted from the sideline by Daniel Halangahu for a 7-nil half time lead.
Kanaar lasted just one minute after coming on as a half time replacement, the one-Test Wallaby and World Cup hopeful helped from the field after going to ground from a scrum.
He's expected to miss the entire Super 14 season.
Dunning didn’t last too much longer, limping from the field in just the fifth minute after starting the match at loosehead.
Apart from the Kanaar injury, the second half was notable for the debut in Waratah colours of teenage flyhalf Kurtley Beale.
Beale scored his first ever try in Cambridge blue with just his fifth touch of the ball, going over in the corner after a terrible mix up at the back from the Brumbies.
The try was just one of a number of deft touches from the eighteen year old, whose running and kicking game also impressed.
The pace of the match slowed after Beale’s try, the late January heat and lack of match practice taking its toll on both sides.
In the end the 12-point buffer proved to be enough for the Waratahs, who held the Brumbies up over the line in injury time to keep their line intact for the night.
The Waratahs now have just five days to prepare for their next and final trial before the start of the Super 14 season, taking on the Crusaders in the Rotomahana Challenge match at Aussie Stadium on Thursday 25 January.
HSBC WARATAHS – 12
Tries: Lachlan Turner, Kurtley Beale
Conversions: Daniel Halangahu (1/1), Kurtley Beale (0/1)
BRUMBIES – Nil
At WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Crowd: 3,721
Referee: Paul Marks
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The NSW Waratah Academy saw off a determined NSW Country Cockatoos outfit in the curtain raiser to the Waratahs -Brumbies trial, winning 28-12 after taking a slender 7-5 lead into half time.
The Cockatoos two tries were scored by winger Eliott Tourle, while for the Waratah Academy Tries were scored by Pauliasi Taumoepeau, Adrian Buxton, Scott Fardy and Jye Mullane were enough to get them home.
NSW WARATAH ACADEMY – 28
Tries: Pauliasi Taumoepeau, Adrian Buxton, Scott Fardy, Jye Mullane
Conversions: Tom Woods 3, Nathan Sievert 1
NSW COUNTRY COCKATOOS – 12
Tries: Eliott Tourle 2
Conversions: Leith Cooper 1
At Optus Oval, Wollongong