Blues brothers Rieko and Akira Ioane bring NSW Waratahs down
IT only took one New Zealand family — and an Englishman — to hand the Waratahs another humbling defeat on home turf at Allianz Stadium.
FORGET New Zealand rugby teams being too good for Australia.
It only took one New Zealand family — and an Englishman — to hand the Waratahs another humbling on home turf at Allianz Stadium.
Riding high after a win, the Tahs came crushing to earth with a thud courtesy of the Blues’ 40-33 victory, which was a fourth consecutive loss at home for only the third time ever.
The devastating Ioane brothers — Rieko and Akira — were the main destroyers, with Rieko scoring two tries and Akira bagging one to help the Blues rattle up a game-winning 40-12 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
Remarkably, the Waratahs piled on three more tries before fulltime, but the damage had already been done by a sloppy and ill-disciplined first half.
To rub salt in the gaping wound that is trans-Tasman rugby at the moment, the 20-point goal kicking haul of Blues No.10 Piers Francis proved the difference. Why salt? Francis is an Englishman.
The Waratahs’ rousing fightback gave the crowd — reported by NSWRU as 18,381 — something to cheer about and NSW coach Daryl Gibson a small measure of joy.
Gibson was left shaking his head again at the maddening NSW habit of giving up a massive lead with dopey play and poor skills, and then getting close with a points-laden second half with smarts and crisper handling; all of which is way too late.
“I was certainly really proud of the fight in the second half. There is no question, when we find ourselves in this situation, this team fights,” Gibson said.
“That’s a really excellent quality. The disappointing thing is we are giving up those leads and those starts, and that’s incredibly frustrating.”
The Blues were gifted nine points early via Francis, who happily knocked over three penalties straight in front of the sticks. It came after a week of the Tahs talking up the defensive patience of the final minutes against the Reds.
A knocked-back kick-off saw Rieko Ioane beat two tackles to score and a quick tap from a seventh penalty in the first half helped Scott Scrafton score on halftime.
The Tahs staged a second-half comeback, and Israel Folau scored the first of two tries after some more direct forward play. When Tolu Late barged over in the 56th minute, the margin was down to 14 and it was game on.
But sleepy defence saw both Ioane brothers burst through for tries — Rieko in the 61st and Akira in the 65th — and then it was 40-12 and goodnight Tahs.
Three late tries against a clocked-off Blues brought the score close but their win was never in real danger.
“We talked about that. The Waratahs are a team that come back in the second half, they’ve proven that. And they did,” Blues coach Tana Umaga said.
“We dropped in our intensity and urgency and that’s what quality sides can do to you.”
By virtue of the SANZAAR finals system, the Waratahs (3-7) are somehow still closer to playing finals than the Blues (5-5). NSW only trail conference leaders the Brumbies by four points, although they have a bye up next.
Asked if they’re worthy of playing finals, Gibson said: “We are certainly in the fight for it. Whether we are worthy is up to the next five games. We certainly haven’t given up.
“There is enough fight in this team, to know we are still in it. We are going to approach it that way and keep playing it that way.”
Hooper said the second half gave them confidence they can match the best teams in the competition, but said “smarts and rugby discipline” issues need addressing.
Originally published as Blues brothers Rieko and Akira Ioane bring NSW Waratahs down