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Tahs lose game - and Palu
- By Iain Payten
- From: The Sunday Telegraph
- April 10, 2010 9:10PM
Hit up ... Wycliff Palu of the Waratahs is tackled by George Whitelock of the Crusaders. Photograph: Martin Hunter Source: The Sunday Telegraph
A GUTSY performance by skipper Phil Waugh and the Waratahs couldn't break their Crusaders curse in a bruising encounter.
The Waratahs last night lost their spot on top of the ladder with their eighth straight loss against the Cantabrians. And the news only got worse with No. 8 Wycliff Palu suffering a serious knee injury.
Palu was helped from the field midway through the second half after his left knee buckled in a tackle on Ben Franks.
NSW had to make do with a solitary bonus point after letting a narrow second-half lead slip in the dying stages.
Both teams scored one try apiece, but Dan Carter's boot made the difference.
A Rob Horne try in the 54th minute, after an astonishing 27 phases, took NSW to a 13-9 lead, but ill-discipline let the Crusaders back into the game.
Despite dogged defence, a try by Kahn Fotulai'i in the 76th minute sealed the result for the Kiwis.
Waugh was immense, but NSW's other reliable points of strength - the set-pieces, kicking and discipline - were below par.
Their attempts to keep a high tempo suffered as the foundations for possession broke down, and the Crusaders' loose forwards turned the ball over at the breakdown.
"They threw everything at us and I felt like we held firm, but you know, we didn't get the points in the end," Waugh said. Our discipline was off and we let them score points."
NSW remained third on the ladder heading into their bye week.
The opening half was a scrappy and hard-fought affair and the teams entered the sheds level at 6-all.
But it was only NSW's defence and Waugh that prevented them from trailing after finding the going tough against their old nemesis.
Either spooked by the venue or the strength of their hosts - or both - the Waratahs' attempts to dictate terms in the opening half proved fruitless.
They spurned a kickable penalty, but then the normal stable points of NSW's game began to wobble, and possession from the lineout and scrum was lost in several good attacking positions.
Carter banged over a penalty in the sixth minute, but NSW passed up another two shots before Halangahu had a shot in the 15th minute and missed.
One of 13 turnovers in the first half saw McCaw go close to scoring, but a remarkable try-saving tackle by Waugh saved the day. McCaw was over the line, but Waugh, in tandem with Lachie Turner, wrapped up the Kiwi skipper and then stole the ball in one sweeping movement.
The scrum was a mighty clash, but the Waratahs' best chance of the half was botched when the ball popped out of a five-metre scrum and was hacked downfield by Fotuali'i. The Crusaders halfback was sin-binned soon after for a spear tackle on Berrick Barnes.
NSW couldn't make the most of the extra man advantage, and their ill-discipline let Carter extend the lead after the break.
The Waratahs' ball retention improved and a try soon followed to Horne, from a Halangahu kick, to give them a sniff of victory.
CRUSADERS 20 (K Fotuali'i try; D Carter 5 pen) WARATAHS 13 (R Horne try; D Halangahu con, B Barnes, Halangahu pen). Referee: Craig Joubert (RSA).
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1225852213655
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CHEERLEADERS ROCK!!! 
Originally Posted by James
