NSW Waratahs beat ACT Brumbies in a bruising Super Rugby encounter

A WELL-TIMED Wallabies audition by Berrick Barnes has helped the Waratahs get revenge over the Brumbies on a night of Wallaby carnage.

Waratahs v Brumbies

A WELL-TIMED Wallabies audition by Berrick Barnes helped the Waratahs get revenge over the Brumbies last night but the news was otherwise grim for Robbie Deans on a night of carnage at ANZ Stadium.

Coming off the bench, Barnes steadied a listing Waratahs ship and helped them come from behind to score three tries and surge over the top of the Brumbies.

Barnes scored one try and laid on another, and even after the visitors clawed back to a late lead, a third try to Peter Betham with seven minutes remaining sealed the win.

Smith unlikely to be back for Lions

It was the first time the Tahs scored three wins in a row for two years and enliven the Australian conference finals race but the game still left Deans and his selectors cursing the rugby gods ahead of their Wallabies squad announcement today.

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Likely Wallaby team members Tatafu Polota-Nau (broken arm) and George Smith (medial knee ligament) both suffered serious injuries in the brutally physical clash.

Both are set to see specialists on Monday are highly likely to miss the entire Test series against the Lions next month.

A steady stream of other Wallaby squad probables left the field as well, including Christian Lealiifano, Kane Douglas, Pat McCabe, and Rob Horne, but most should be right to play if picked.

"Taf is pretty crook. It looks like a broken forearm, we don't know yet. But it was a pretty nasty hit," NSW coach Michael Cheika said.

The Waratahs played down talk of a finals challenge and showed again they're capable of challenging after finishing the stronger against the conference leading Brumbies.

The visitors used their hyper-speed defensive line and kick-pressure game to pin NSW in their own territory and dominate the opening half, scoring two tries on the back of territorial superiority.

NSW were their own worst enemies at times, and compounded struggles in exiting their half with errors at the set-piece and in handling.

The Brumbies scored through Ben Mowen and Tevita Kuridrani to open a 13-6 lead at the break, but Barnes' injection for Horne in the second half helped the Waratahs begin to unpick the Brumbies' defence. 

"I needed to change the shape of the game with two playmakers. Horney understood that well," Cheika said. "He gave Bernard Foley more room to manouevre and we were able to attack from both sides."

Barnes needed only three minutes to create an overlap on the left touchline that saw Michael Hooper score, and after better fluency in attack, the versatile playmaker took a pass from the flanker in the 64th minute to scoot around the right edge and up the sideline to score himself.

NSW indiscipline saw the Brumbies come back into the game, and two long-range goals from Jesse Mogg put the visitors into lead in the final ten minutes.

But an ill-advised attempt to shut the game down with wasteful kicking saw the Brumbies give NSW too much ball, and another wide attack saw Foley put Betham into a half-gap. He beat four men to score, and it turned out to be the match-winner when NSW stopped a Brumbies rolling maul and potential victory on their line in the shadow of the siren.

"It was pleasing, we stuck to our strategy," Cheika said. "First half they were up everywhere, they were living on the edge (in defence). But once we changed the shape, we were able to get to those places we want to attack.

"We scored three good tries on the edges."

Brumbies captain Ben Mowen said his side suffered an uncharacteristic lapse in concentration in the second half and paid for it.

"The first 55 was perfect, then we lost a few guys and a bit of momentum," he said. "The game was in the balance and we didn't take it."

NSW WARATAHS 28 (Berrick Barnes, Peter Betham, Michael Hooper tries Barnes 2 cons Brendan McKibbin 2, Barnes pens) bt BRUMBIES 22 (Tevita Kuridrani, Ben Mowen tries Jesse Mogg 3, Christian Lealiifano pens) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Steve R. Walsh. Crowd: 21,817