Turner intercept try secures Waratahs victory
Waratahs
New South Wales winger Lachlan Turner scored a length-of-field intercept try with seven minutes remaining to help his side to a 39-32 victory over the Auckland Blues in a fluctuating Super 14 match in Sydney on Saturday.
The Blues, leading 32-29, had been on the attack with men unmarked on the outside when Turner struck and raced 90 metres unopposed.
Flyhalf Daniel Halangahu, who also scored two tries for the Waratahs, added a late penalty to give the home side the seven-point advantage they held until the end.
“The guys hung in there and there were some big plays at crucial moments,” Waratahs captain Phil Waugh said in a televised interview. “Lachie Turner’s intercept changed the whole game and it showed just how tight this competition is.
“If you’re slightly off, you end up getting beaten and there is a fine line between winning and losing.”
The Waratahs had jumped out to a 14-0 lead after nine minutes with tries to Dean Mumm and Halangahu, who converted both.
Halangahu added his second try, and third conversion, 10 minutes later, but Rudi Wulf got the Blues on the board when he burst through Drew Mitchell and barged over in the tackle of Kurtley Beale and Al Baxter.
Stephen Brett converted the try and the Blues, down 21-7, continuously counter attacked from deep inside their own territory and exploited poor defence around the breakdown to score tries to Isaia Toeava and Rene Ranger.
Brett converted Ranger’s try to send the visitors into the break 21-19 down.
Ranger added his second try, again from an attack that sprung from deep inside their own territory to give the Blues a four-try bonus point and the lead for the first time in the 50th minute.
The game again ebbed and flowed with Halangahu and Brett trading penalties before Tatafu Polota-Nau exploited a lapse of concentration by the Blues at the front of a lineout and smashed over to level the score at 29-29.
Brett, however, restored the three-point lead with his second penalty before Turner’s runaway helped the Waratahs to victory.
“There were a lot of mistakes, but the execution at crucial time we gave up the ball and you can’t do that against a side like this,” Blues captain Keven Mealamu said.
“I thought we had a good chance there, but we blew it.”
# Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Auckland
Related Posts
« Brumbies score close win over Chiefs Ruan Pienaar the hero in Sharks victory over Hurricanes »
