Waratahs’ season over after humiliating defeat in Auckland

The Waratahs’ Super Rugby season is over after a humiliating 46-6 defeat at Eden Park, with the Blues earning their biggest ever winning margin over NSW.

The Waratahs had arrived in Auckland desperate to keep their slim hopes of squeaking into finals alive with what would be just their second win at Eden Park, but their night ended with a painful performance with the Blues crossing their tryline seven times to nil. The British and Irish Lions will be licking their lips ahead of their clash against the Waratahs in five weeks.

Last Saturday, the Waratahs’ thrilling extra-time win in Perth gave them their very first win on the road and the opportunity to play for an unlikely finals slot. Ultimately, there were no silver linings on a dark day in the land of the long white cloud for the Waratahs.

The Waratahs managed two penalty kicks in Eden Park through their young five-eighth Jack Bowen, and it added a thin layer of polish to a grim-looking scoreboard.

Bookmakers were paying nine dollars for a NSW win before the game, and when the final siren sounded, those odds looked incredibly generous to the visitors.

The Blues’ attack was conducted beautifully by veteran five-eighth Beauden Barrett who marshalled his team and helped winger Mark Telea to two tries and departing centre Reiko Ioane to a hat-trick.

Mark Telea of the Blues celebrates after scoring the opening try.Credit: Getty Images

Hooker Ricky Riccitelli added a try for his forward pack that ruthlessly dominated the Waratahs at the breakdown, the scrum and in the collisions.

The Waratahs have had a habit of starting the first quarter of the game well, before imploding spectacularly.

In Auckland, they remained in vague touch for the first 30 minutes, responding to Telea’s and Ioane’s first tries with two penalties. There was also great work from Angus Bell, stealing a crucial turnover at the ruck to halt the Blues. But after Bowen’s final penalty on 33 minutes, the Waratahs didn’t score a point for the rest of the game.

The defending champions had blown hot and cold all season, but saved their best performance of the year for their clash with a hapless NSW team.

In attack, the Waratahs never looked in danger of troubling a Blues’ defence with centre AJ Lam standing out with a crunching early hit on NSW’s rookie Henry O’Donnell.

In the post-match press conference Waratahs coach Dan McKellar pointed to his side’s inexperience against the Blues.

“We’re a little bit undermanned and a pretty young group, especially within our back line, and up against some world-class players,” McKellar said.

“There’ll be plenty of learnings for us out of tonight. We were beaten in all areas of the game.”

Before the season started the Waratahs benefited from a treasure haul of the Rebels’ best players after the demise of that franchise, yet the team has failed to gel when it mattered most, with an opportunity of playing finals on the line.

In Australian rugby, when the Waratahs have a cold, the rest of the country starts sneezing. Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt will now be focused on stopping these symptoms by rebuilding the confidence in crucial players such as Bell and Langi Gleeson, who will be a crucial part of his plans to beat the Lions.

McKellar has finished a difficult first season with the Waratahs and already is working on a blueprint that is desperately needed to revive a crucial part of the Australian rugby ecosystem. McKellar needs time, something that the NSW rugby public have not been brilliant at giving to a Waratahs coach.

“We’ve certainly made progress, and it’s how you measure progress. So there’s significant change for this, for a new playing group, new coaching group, and a new way of doing things,” McKellar said.

“There have been a lot of adjustments. And, I’ve got a vision for the organisation, and it’s going to take time.

“It will take time to make the change that you want to make, because you can put band-aids on things and come up with quick solutions. But is that going to set up for a sustainable success? So there’s a lot of work to be done...

“I’ve said many times, there’s going to be some good days and there’s going to be some tough days and today was another tough one.”

Mark Tele’a of the Blues celebrates with Beauden BarrettCredit: Getty Images

Let’s get out the white handkerchiefs, this season is over for the Waratahs. Rieko Ioane gets his hat-trick after picking up a perfect kick from Beauden Barrett ahead of leaving Eden Park to enjoy a sabbatical at Leinster.

There are 10 minutes left for NSW to add a tiny bit of gloss to a depressing scoreboard.

It’s going to be a long flight from Auckland back to Sydney for the Waratahs.

Blues 43 Waratahs 6

The British and Irish Lions will be almost at full strength when they take on the Waratahs on July 5, which on the evidence of this performance at Eden Park is terrifying.

The Waratahs will not have Angus Bell, Andrew Kellaway and Langi Gleeson in all likelihood.

In the land of the long white cloud, there are very few silver linings to be found for NSW.

There is a rare attacking opportunity with Nic Berry getting in the way of replacement NSW halfback Jack Grant. Berry was a great 9 in his playing days for the Reds.

Five metres out from the line, the Waratahs front row collapses and the Blues clear their lines. The story of this game.

Blues 38 Waratahs 6

Ricky Riccitelli of the Blues charges forwardCredit: Getty Images

It’s the rolling maul from an attacking lineout close to the tryline and Blues hooker Ricky Riccitelli is right in the middle and cannot be stopped by the Waratahs defence in his last game at Eden park.

Beauden Barrett has found his kicking boots and nails a tricky conversion.

This game is done. A very sad end to the season for NSW. The Waratahs are not going to come back from 32 points down in just over 20 minutes.

Blues 38 Waratahs 6

Finlay Christie of the Blues kicks the ballCredit: Getty Images

The Waratahs are losing collisions and making sloppy errors, with the normally impressive Triston Reilly missing a high take and his side lucky that Blues halfback Finlay Christie is bundled into touch metres away from the try line.

Angus Bell is still on the field and with this game practically over as a competitive contest, surely he will be wrapped in cotton wool on the bench soon given his importance for the Wallabies.

Taniela Tupou is penalised by Nic Berry for not driving straight – this is going to be a huge issue ahead of the Lions and something the coaching staff will be all over. Wallabies scrum doctor Mike Cron will need to get his arm around Tupou’s huge shoulders soon.

Blues 31 Waratahs 6

Referee Nic Berry speaks to the refereeCredit: Getty Images

It’s a nightmare start for the Waratahs. Taniela Tupou dives on a ball to stop a kick, but as he scoops it up to pass to Jack Bowen it hurtles towards the try line, leading to pressure that NSW cannot stop. A wide pass goes to Blues fullback Corey Evans who scores.

At this stage, the Waratahs are playing purely for pride, unless they can cobble together rapid tries.

The attacking strategy is built around using Langi Gleeson as a one-man battering ram.

Blues 31 Waratahs 6

Fergus Lee-Warner of the Waratahs prepares for a lineout Credit: Getty Images

Some last words from Dan McKellar, with the Wararahs yet to cross the whitewash. They are 18 points down.

“We just go out there and compete but there’s a lot to like, we’ve got to ignore the scoreboard,” McKellar said.

Scrum defence needs to be desperately tightened and they need to quell the influence of Beauden Barrett and AJ Lam. Far easier said than done.

Blues 24 Waratahs 6

Jack Bowen of the Waratahs kicks the ball Credit: Getty Images

Beauden Barrett is causing chaos for the Waratahs. He kicked into space, more hopefully than anything, the ball squirmed all over the wet turf, NSW centre Henry O’Donnell couldn’t control it, but Mark Telea was there to get his second try of the night.

The Waratahs go into the sheds facing mission impossible. Fortress Eden Park is looking even more impenetrable for NSW.

Blues 22- Waratahs 6

Angus Bell of the Waratahs charges forwardCredit: Getty Images