Winning ugly: Ex-Wallabies back Waratahs to build on scrappy start

Former Wallabies James Horwill and Morgan Turinui agree that the Waratahs’ scrappy start to the Super Rugby Pacific season bodes well for the New South Welshman, who still have “so much improvement in them” under coach Dan McKellar.

On either side of a round two bye, the Tahs have recorded nail-biting wins over the Highlanders and Fijian Drua in Sydney. Siosifa Amone was the Tahs’ hero against the Landers with a 79th-minute try, and it was another thriller for the men in sky blue last time out.

Mesu Dolokoto scored with less than 15 minutes to play to hand the Drua a slender two-point lead at Allianz Stadium on Friday night, but the Tahs ended up snatching the win 29-24 with a penalty try in the dying stages to keep their unbeaten start to the season alive .

With marquee recruit Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii on the sidelines, the Tahs are preparing to face the Western Force in a bid to go 3-0. That match will also be played at their home ground in Sydney’s Moore Park before travelling to Brisbane to face the Reds on March 15.

“Super Rugby Pacific, everything’s coming down to the last five minutes. There’s no game that you’re looking at going, well that’s done and dusted coming into the final five and this was the same again,” Horwill said on Stan Sports’ Between Two Posts.

“The Waratahs, again, probably didn’t win as attractive as they would like but they found a way to win. You’ve got to find, after the last season they had… you’ve just got to get confidence in winning and belief that you can win.

“I think that’s what they’re starting to build at the Waratahs. They’re starting to get that confidence in how they play. It’s not perfect and there’s things that are missing in the game, but I think ultimately they’ve found a way to win, they’ve got confidence.”

Following the Waratahs’ hard-fought win over the Drua, one of the big talking points was Langi Gleeson’s performance in the backrow. The Wallaby crossed for a first-half double and also led the way for the most amount of carries out of any player going into half-time.

The Tahs took a 17-12 lead into the sheds an extended their advantage early in the second term as former Wallabies captain David Porecki crossed just three minutes after the break. It was all the home side for about 20 minutes as the Drua struggled to make their mark.

But two tries in seven minutes propelled the Fijians back into the box seat.

There still seemed to be this palpable sense of optimism throughout the Sydney venue, though, as Waratahs fans thought back to their win over the Highlanders a fortnight earlier. As this season has shown, Super Rugby matches aren’t over until the full-time whistle sounds.

“It’s a bit of a theme for those two Australian teams who have had a bye early is winning ugly,” Morgan Turinui added. “The Reds have done it, they’ve won a couple ugly, and the Tahs more than anyone have won two ugly.

“If you’re Dan McKellar, it doesn’t change your plan in terms of building into this team the way you want to play the game. But gee, it’s a lot easier walking in on a Monday after two wins when you could easily be two losses.

“That just means he gets a little bit of validation for the work they’re doing. I think every single player in a Tahs jersey, all their staff know they’ve got so much improvement in them, huge amount of upside.

“The fact that they’re just ticking off wins as they go along just keeps giving them some breathing space and it could set them up for the backend of the season when I just feel like they will hit a run late in the season of quality rugby.”