Waratahs thrash Blues

Waratahs 43 Blues 9

The Blues appeared to have left their rugby lessons at home when they were clobbered 43-9 by the Waratahs in their Super 14 match at Aussie Stadium, Sydney, tonight.

The clueless looking Auckland side continually lost possession through either poor body positioning, sloppy handling or lack of support and never once threatened the home side in the entire game.

The Waratahs, who scored four tries to nil to earn a bonus point, shot to the top of the points table, sharing the lead with the Hurricanes, who beat the Sharks 23-17 in Wellington. Both have 28 points each. The Waratahs had a better organised defence in the second half and soon were finding their way through the first line of defence more than they did in the first half.

They scored two tries in each half, with the better built ones coming in the second half through fullback Peter Hewat and winger Wendell Sailor.

Hewat, with his flawless kicking, scored 28 points from a try, five penalties and four conversions.

Blues captain and halfback Chris Whitaker, who played his 100th Super game tonight but left the field after a heavy tackle from Blues midfielder Anthony Tuitavake, said the victory was based on his team's defence.

"We got steadier as the game developed, we kicked well, we chased well and our defence in the second half really made it for us," he said.

The Blues played like they did when they started their campaign and lost two from two. Last week's 26-15 win over the Brumbies in Auckland gave their fans something to lean their hopes on but the Waratahs thrashed that out them tonight.

They lacked the go forward and in Tasesa Lavea they had a playmaker who not only lacked imagination but the skills for the position tonight.

Lavea, who runs hot and cold, twice made bad passes, presented the ball back to the Waratahs with his kicks and even fumbled taking a pass among, other errors. He was replaced by Rua Tipoki in the second half, with Luke McAlister moving from midfield to the No 10 role and things still didn't improve.

"We couldn't keep hold of the ball," Blues captain Keven Mealamu said.

Though they got enough ball from the lineout to challenge the Waratahs' defence in the first half, they passed the ball flat and as a result went backwards on a number of occasions.

Perhaps the most ineffective part of their game was their attempt to set up second-phase ball when they went in ones or twos and lacked the support and drive.

When they backpedalled, they left themselves open to errors and Hewat punished them with goal kicks.

The 34-point-drubbing was the Waratahs' biggest win over the Blues in a decade.

Hooker Adam Freier gave the Waratahs the perfect start to the game when he dummied his way over for the opening try in the seventh minute.

Hewat and Blues centre Luke McAlister traded penalty goals before classy winger Lote Tuqiri caught the Blues napping when he took a quick tap and raced 20m to score out wide in the 39nd minute to give the Waratahs a 14-point buffer at halftime.

Hewat scored all but five of the Waratahs' points after the break as they completely dominated the second half.

The Waratahs' only other points came from a 68th-minute try to winger Wendell Sailor when he soared above his opposite number Brent Ward to reel in a cross-field bomb from replacement five-eighth Daniel Halangahu.

Waratahs 43 (Adam Freier, Lote Tuqiri, Peter Hewat, Wendell Sailor tries; Hewat 5 pen, 4 con),
Blues 9 (Luke McAlister 3 pen).
HT: 23-9.

- NZPA