A miserable year for the Waratahs somehow found new depths of despair in the last game, with a season-ending Achilles tendon injury to Wallabies captain Jake Gordon adding to the pain of another defeat to the Force in Perth.
The Waratahs led 20-7 after dominating the opening 30 minutes but then capitulated in all-too familiar circumstances, with the Force forwards overpowering their NSW rivals and pushing on to register a 31-25 win.
Adding injury to insult, Gordon was helped from the field late in the first half after his right Achilles tendon ruptured when he attempted a quick tap. It will almost certainly mean the incumbent Wallabies no.9 will miss all Test matches this year. Gordon’s former Test teammate Nic White was clearly emotional for his friend, saying he was “gutted” in commentary on Stan Sport.
Though neither side was able to make the finals, the dead rubber victory was still hugely significant for Simon Cron’s Force, who belatedly hit their straps in the second half of the year and finished with seven wins; their most since 2014. Dylan Pietsch, Carlo Tizzano and Jeremy Williams were all in superb form.
For the Waratahs, it was yet another humbling defeat – their ninth of the year – and the end of an insipid season that will leave coach Dan McKellar under big pressure for a turnaround in the early stages of next year.
McKellar is entering the final year of his three-year contract. Despite saying recently he believes the team has made progress, the clear regression throughout the season tells a different story.
The Tahs’ confidence has looked shot for many weeks and their inability to execute basic areas of the game, particularly at the lineout, ensured that even though they led early – and were even in the hunt to snatch a win late – there was also an inevitability to the Force overpowering them in the second half.
After going from 20-7 up to 24-20 down, NSW managed to grab a try to lead by a point inside the last ten minutes. But a lost lineout soon after – which was one of a staggering seven lost lineouts for NSW on the night – saw the Force boot the ball downfield and roll in a match-sealing try soon after.
Not for the first time this season, the Waratahs’ lineout was destroyed by Williams and the Force, and reduced to just 53 per cent effectiveness. Five of the seven lineouts lost by NSW were in the Force’s 22.
The only real positive for NSW was the outstanding performance of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, who was in dominant form in his return from a hamstring injury.
Playing with a whole hive of bees in his bonnet after a frustrating season of injury and limited involvement, Suaalii was a menace in attack and defence and NSW’s tries mostly came after his tackle-busting runs. But his strength was not nearly enough to overcome the damage from far too many areas of the game for the Tahs, who were beaten up front physically by the ruthless Force forwards.
“I think a few themes of the night were common throughout our whole season. We’ve been up in a lot of previous games and let teams back in,” captain Matt Philip said. “A bit of set-piece malfunctioning tonight, letting them get into our D zone. I’m very disappointed. One, for a group that tries so hard and hasn’t been able to get results and enjoy that.
“And for our fans, our supporter base, not being able to get results for them and our staff. For us not to be able to do that is really disappointing. So yeah, there’s a lot to work on for next season.”
McKellar said the Waratahs had again mixed good patches with poor stretches during the game. He labelled the Waratahs’ 5-9 season as “disappointing” but called for patience.
“We’ve had our opportunities to be significantly further ahead of where we are and we haven’t taken them. So there’s nothing else other than disappointment,” he said.
“You’ve got to roll with the punches. Times like this make the good times feel even better and they’ll come. We’ve got a group here that are buying into what we want to do.”
The Waratahs led 20-12 at halftime after an opening 40 minutes that saw them dominate territory and possession, but fail to take full advantage.
It was after a strong Suaalii carry that the Tahs finally got the Force backpeddling, and hooker Ioane Moananu scored an opening try when he picked the ball up from a ruck and found no defenders in front of him.
Though it was a dead rubber, the Tahs signalled their need for a win by opting for two Jack Bowen penalty goals in the 20th and 23rd minutes.
But repeated sloppiness from Philip in catching restarts finally saw the Tahs pay a price, when the ball skittered back towards the line. Harry Potter failed to clean up, and a chasing Pietsch was deemed to have grounded the ball.
The Waratahs turned back to Suaalii and Max Jorgensen for inroads, and they provided, and Potter got a second try for NSW soon after when Moananu again acted smartly at a loose ruck, and sprinted wide before popping a basketball pass to his winger for a try.
The Force got some luck when Joey Walton was yellow-carded for a soft high contact moment, and they made the most of it quickly. Zac Lomax came off his wing to make numbers and gave the ball to Piestch, who showed sensational finishing ability by beating five over-tracking NSW defenders to score.
Big prop Misinale Epenisa burrowed over in the 47th minute and the Force began to turn the screws even tighter through the forwards. The NSW scrum began to buckle as well, and a series of scrums on the Waratahs line in the 60th minute inevitably led to NSW conceding another try, this time to Carlo Tizzano with a powerful run in close.
Again, it was Suaalii that got the Tahs back in the contest with a powerhouse charge off a lineout and prop Apolosi Ranawai burrowed over from an ensuing ruck.
That saw NSW take the lead by a point, but it wouldn’t last.
Yet another lost lineout on attack in the Force 22 saw the hosts gather the ball and kick downfield, and they used that territory to power over for a go-ahead try from a rolling maul. Tizzano was the man again, which saw him equal Cameron Shepherd’s record of 32 tries for the Force.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.