Waratahs earn vital Chiefs victory

The Waratahs kept their hopes of reaching the Super Rugby play offs alive by beating the Chiefs 45-25 at Allianz Stadium in Sydney.

The victory is crucial for the Waratahs as they are in a battle for the top spot in the Australian Super Rugby conference with the Brumbies who have a much easier run of remaining matches.

The Brumbies have a home match later in the round against the Sunwolves and are favourites to win the match with a bonus point but the Canberra side will need to win by more than 38 points to overtake the Waratahs due to the points differential.

The Waratahs victory is their third in succession against the Chiefs at all venues and their fourth in a row against the Chiefs in Sydney.

The loss is the Chiefs third this season but their biggest loss in Super Rugby since May 2015 when they lost 9-36 to the Highlanders.

The Waratahs 45 points against the Chiefs is the biggest score against the Hamilton side since the Hurricanes 45-8 victory over the Chiefs in May 2014.

The Waratahs outscored the Chiefs by six tries to four with Michael Hooper and Israel Folau both scoring two each.

The Chiefs return to Super Rugby after the June Internationals on the 1st of July with a match in Fiji against the Crusaders.

The Waratahs return with a match against the Sunwolves in Tokyo.

More to follow.

Final Score Waratahs 45 (17) Chiefs 25 (13)

Scorers

Waratahs
Tries – I.Folau 2, M.Hooper 2, A.Kellaway, J.Dempsey
Pen – B.Foley
Con – B.Foley 5
Drop –
Cards – W. Palu (25th min yellow)

Chiefs
Tries – S.Tamanivalu, A.Cruden, N.Harris. T.Pulu
Pen – D.McKenzie
Con – D.McKenzie
Drop –
Cards –

Attendance : 18175

Match Officials
Referee: Jaco Peyper
Assistant Ref 1:Jaco van Heerden
Assistant Ref 2:Ed Martin
TMO : Peter Marshall

Teams

Waratahs

1. Paddy Ryan , 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau , 3. Tom Robertson, 4. Dave Dennis (VC), ,5. Will Skelton, 6. Dean Mumm, 7. Michael Hooper (C), 8. Wycliff Palu , 9. Nick Phipps, 10. Bernard Foley , 11. Zac Guildford , 12. Rob Horne , 13. Israel Folau, 14. Matt Carraro , 15. Andrew Kellaway

Replacements: 16. Hugh Roach , 17. Jeremy Tilse, 18. Angus Ta’avao , 19. Sam Lousi , 20. Jack Dempsey , 21. Matt Lucas , 22. David Horwitz , 23. Reece Robinson ,

Chiefs

1. Mitchell Graham 2. Nathan Harris, 3. Hiroshi Yamashita , 4. Dominic Bird , 5. Brodie Retallick , 6. Taleni Seu , 7. Sam Cane (cc), 8. Tom Sanders , 9. Brad Weber , 10. Aaron Cruden(cc), 11. James Lowe, 12. Anton Lienert-Brown , 13. Seta Tamanivalu , 14. Toni Pulu , 15. Damian McKenzie

Replacements : 16. Hika Elliot , 17. Kane Hames , 18. Siegfried Fisi’ihoi, 19. Michael Allardice, 20. Lachlan Boshier, 21. Kayne Hammington, 22. Andrew Horrell, 23. Sam Vaka