Stars, best teen rugby talent in shock NSW Waratahs v Queensland Reds U18s finale
The future of Australian rugby produced heart, speed, snazzy footwork and a big upset as the Waratahs and Queensland Reds produced a ripper in their U18s series finale. Stars, result wrap
Sport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Sport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The future of Australian rugby showed heart, fight and speed and impressed with snazzy footwork and big hits as the NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds produced a ripper in their U18s series finale in Sydney on Saturday.
But the game failed to produce the expected result with the NSW Waratahs left in shock after falling to their arch rivals 32-24 for the first time after beating the Queenslanders 50-33 just a week ago in round one of the annual test between the two states.
In one of the closest engagements between the rival academies, the Waratahs dominated the first half with three tries to two but were simply outclassed on the second, scoring just one try to a resurgent Reds three.
“We didn’t deserve to win,’’ said coach Angus Sinclair.
“Queensland were more determined on the day.
“We had a good training week and they were up for it but we were really inefficient, we hardly won a lineout, ever time we got the ball we would drop it, we gave away 20 penalties, they fell heavily against us. That was poor discipline from us.
“We worked really hard to get a turnover and then just gave it back with a dropped ball or poor offload.’’
The below par performance left the Waratahs mourning the end of a spectacualr winning run against the Reds 18s dating back years.
Captain and Australian U18s half Angus Grover got the Waratahs off to a good start with a show and go try with a conversion putting the Tahs up 7-0 early with a man down.
The Reds retaliated soon after off a scrum penalty with Trevan Pritchard picking up the points and a Finn McKay conversion levelling the score.
Waratahs backrower TJ Talaileva then scored in the 21st before blockbusting teammate Justice Taumoepeau scored the Waratahs third try of the half
Sevens talent Angus Tagicakibau then came of the bench to keep the Reds in touch with their second try of the opening half.
Up 17-14 coming out the break, the Waratahs then lost the lead thanks to a quick try from Gray O’Neill.
Noah Rylands came off the bench to put the Waratahs back in a position for a fightback before Tai Taka went over to seal the fate of the hosts.
Two penalty kicks a and a conversion from Damon Humphrys and two conversions from Finn MacKay helped the Reds to their big - and historic - win.
NSW WARATAHS U18S SQUAD FOR FINALE AGAINST REDS U18S
1 LOOSEHEAD PROP Hayden Lavercombe FR, 2 HOOKER Oliver Smith FR, 3 TIGHTHEAD PROP Isaiah Sheck FR. 4 LEFT LOCK Ed Kasprowicz, 5 RIGHT LOCK Ed Baxter, 6 LEFT FLANKER TJ Talaileva, 7 RIGHT FLANKER Jarvis Orr, 8 NUMBER EIGHT Justice Taumoepeau, 9 SCRUMHALF Angus Grover (C) 10 FLY-HALF Jonty Fowler, 11 LEFT WING Tom Hartman, 12 INSIDE CENTRE Matthew Gough, 13 OUTSIDE CENTRE Jarryd King, 14 RIGHT WING Brock Prideaux, 15 FULLBACK Max Palmisani.
REPLACEMENTS: Hasani Bloomfield FR, Tyson Burden FR, Keegan Daly FR, Noah Rylands, Tahj Smith, Flynn Farrell, Harrison Dene, Ben Sawyer, Dylan Simmons, Tom Dunn
MORE rugby from Amanda Lulham HERE
More Coverage
Originally published as Stars, best teen rugby talent in shock NSW Waratahs v Queensland Reds U18s finale
NSWRL Junior Reps Rd 7: Latest results, scores from around the grounds
Teams are making their moves with just three rounds remaining in the NSWRL Junior Reps. Catch up on all the latest results from around the grounds with our coverage of all four grades.
Socceroos preparing for ‘final’ in China
The Socceroos can take another important step towards FIFA World Cup qualification with a win over China in Hangzhou.