‘Never seen anything like it’: Inside the Waratahs’ 120m miracle try

It was the sort of head-shaking, long-range try we are used to seeing scored by Kiwis against Australian sides – not the other way around.

But the Waratahs pulled off a try against the Chiefs on Friday night that will long live in the memory banks and perhaps, in time, be looked back upon as a turning point moment for when the Tahs showed they could be genuine contenders.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Jack Bowen of the Waratahs celebrate beating the ChiefsCredit: Getty Images

When it comes to the try, some things are known.

Teddy Wilson started it and Teddy Wilson finished it, scoring the try in the 44th minute for the Waratahs. The play saw the ball travel for 22 seconds and through seven sets of hands, with Wilson and Andrew Kellaway touching it twice. Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii was also involved and Lawson Creighton made it all happen with a magical overhead tap-on pass.

But how far the ball travelled exactly in the play? That will probably require a boffin or two for a precise answer but with the distance added by the curved run from goalpost to sideline and back to the goalposts, a conservative estimate is 120 metres.

So, let’s break down how it happened.

The attacking raid began after the Waratahs had defended their line, and a tackle by Joey Walton forced a drop ball from Chiefs forward Manaaki Selby-Rickit he dived for the line. Lalakai Foketi scooped it up and found Wilson in his own in-goal.

Wilson: We spoke about during the week just being brave and playing from wherever. The boys put in a good defensive effort. So we got the turnover and then, yeah, the boys just lit up. There’s plenty of space out there on the right.

Wilson passed to Kellaway, who is behind his posts and set off with no defenders in front of him. The Wallabies wing squared up and called Suaalii – who was in support on his right – to position himself for a pass inside.

Kellaway: I was telling Sue (Suaalii) to switch under me. It was my Nathan Cleary moment. He wouldn’t come underneath me. But what we know is you give the thoroughbred the ball nice and early and he’ll do his thing. So, look, as Teddy said, we talked about it. You don’t beat the Chiefs by scoring 12 points. So, you really have to earn your metres and earn your points. And I think that’s a really good example of the mindset that we took into the game.

Kellaway passed to Suaalii at the 40-metre line, and the Waratahs fullback tried to beat Chiefs winger Leroy Carter on the outside. After 20 metres he had to pass inside.

Suaalii: I was just trying to keep the ball in. It was a throw and hope.

Trailing in support, the pass was above Creighton’s head. He caught it for a micro-second before tapping it on, behind his head, to Kellaway.

Wilson: Lawson’s just a naturally gifted footy player. You know, he’s that type of guy that can take the line on at 10, and create things out of nothing. So that to him just comes naturally. You know you’ve got the ball on the inside. He knew Kels [Kellaway] was going to be there. And just that tap over the top, it was very special. And if he doesn’t do that. We don’t score the try.

Suaalii: Lawso threw a pretty good pass and then Kels has done a basketball pass too.

Kellaway regathered the ball and raced upfield, but with Cortez Ratima coming across in cover, he needed to pop one more pass to Wilson, who is ever-present in support. Wilson races the last 25 metres and does a huge swan dive.

Sean Maloney, Stan commentator: This is one of the greatest tries that we have ever, ever seen at the SFS. Wow!”

Wilson: I was just lucky to be backing up on the inside and finish it off. But, yeah, a big dive as well. But it just shows we can play from wherever. We back ourselves. You know, we’ve got that skill and that sort of that flair.

Suaalii: Credit to Teddy, he has been working hard for a long time now and to see him scoring tries and do that is great We do this at training and it is good to see it happening on the field.

Waratahs coach Dan McKellar: Again, it’s through your defence. If you win turnover ball and the boys have the belief to, where’s the space? It doesn’t matter whether you’re on your own try line or not, whether we’re one metre out, where’s the space, go and attack it.

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