During his nine seasons at the Brumbies, including five as head coach, Dan McKellar took immense pride in being one of the key architects of their sustained dominance over the Waratahs.
On Saturday night, McKellar returned to torment his former employers at Allianz Stadium, not only snapping the Waratahs’ record streak of 13 losses against the Brumbies but breathing vital life back into one of the fiercest rivalries in Australian rugby. Here’s how the Waratahs did it.
Harnessing the hurt
Last week, the Waratahs pack were humiliated in Brisbane by the Reds. McKellar had once been tasked by Stephen Larkham to create the strongest maul in Super rugby at the Brumbies. Years later at the Waratahs, he helplessly watched a rolling maul rumble for 25 metres with only halfback Teddy Wilson hanging on bravely as the Reds crashed over the line.
Waratahs’ stand-in captain Hugh Sinclair arrived at work last Monday with his forward pack expecting a tough week from McKellar and his staff.
Ultimately, there was no ranting from McKellar during the review, simply direct and measured feedback on what he expected before facing the Brumbies. It worked.
Sinclair and his teammates harnessed the criticism from outside the Waratahs to fuel a relentless and physical performance against the Brumbies pack that included John Eales medallist Rob Valetini.
“We had our integrity questioned throughout the week and that’s a tough thing to have as a rugby player and a rugby club,” Sinclair said. “A lot of people wrote a few things about us and we responded pretty well.”
Attack clicking into gear with full-court press
The Waratahs have one of the world’s premier attacking coaches in Mike Catt and on Saturday evening his team digested through further chapters of his playbook, particularly in the first half.
The Waratahs used width to stretch the Brumbies’ defence with each player feeling comfortable playing a role in attack.
The Waratahs’ third try through breakaway Rob Leota was the perfect example of forwards and backs dovetailing seamlessly in attack.
During his tenure with Ireland, Catt frequently used the ball-playing ability of prop Tadgh Furlong and in this try, No.8 Langi Gleeson was used to cause maximum confusion.
Instead of taking the ball up to the line as expected, Gleeson throws a perfectly timed no-look pass back to a running Max Jorgensen, coming off his wing to act as a pseudo-five-eighth to sling a long pass to Leota sitting on the left wing.
Leota has then created a mismatch physically with Brumbies winger Andy Muirhead and powers over to score. Each man on the field is capable of playing the ball and it is executed perfectly.
Staying on the right side of the laws
At the end of the game Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham hid his frustration at the officiating calls that had gone against his side. It was a diplomatic performance that would have made Henry Kissinger proud.
A major talking point was a ruled-out try for Tom Wright on 48 minutes, due to an earlier knock-on in the build-up by five-eighth Noah Lolesio.
Lolesio’s knock-on was originally missed by referee Ben O’Keefe, who allowed play to continue for eight more phases in a 20-phase build-up.
Brumbies halfback Ryan Lonegan asked O’Keefe for clarification and was told the officials were entitled to review more than two phases before the last play this season.
The Brumbies were frustrated on the field by some of the officials’ calls against the WaratahsCredit: Getty Images
Lonegan then asked why Waratahs winger Max Jorgensen wasn’t reviewed in the build-up for Teddy Wilson’s first try for the Waratahs when his foot seemingly went into touch while fielding the ball.
McKellar acknowledged his side’s luck when Lolesio had knocked on the ball for Wright’s ruled-out try, but said the officials were entitled to review the action.
“If there’s rules in place, or parameters that they have in place, then everyone’s aware of it,” McKellar said.
“For that passage of play (Wright’s disallowed try) they can go back and check at any one time, and obviously, we got a little bit of luck there tonight and sometimes it goes with you, sometimes it goes against you.
“But if they say at the start of the year that the TMO has the ability to go back for the full passage of play, if it’s two phases, or if it’s 22 phases, then that’s what we have to live with.”
A strong supporting cast emerges
The Waratahs are blessed with a squad filled with stars, but ultimately, the victory against the Brumbies belonged to the supporting cast.
Hooker Julian Heaven was called onto the bench late after Wallaby Dave Porecki withdrew due to injury and led the team with 20 tackles against a ferocious Brumbies pack in his 68 minutes of work.
In the desperate last seconds of the game, the Waratahs hung on to the Brumbies’ shirts and the lead, before replacement prop Isaac Kailea put his body on the line to win the ball, securing the crucial turnover that ended seven years of pain at the hands of the Brumbies.
Next Friday, McKellar can look forward to welcoming Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii back for the trip to Wellington against the Hurricanes, but has also successfully blooded young centre Henry O’Donnell.
Winger Triston Reilly also represented the depth the Waratahs can call upon. Reilly scored a well-taken try and made a huge tackle on Corey Toole in the dying minutes to help seal the game.
McKellar needed time with this group and in his fifth game of the season, they are starting to find their feet and creating new memories together.
“I often talk to them about memories and the importance of them and we’ve created a really special one tonight,” McKellar said.
“We’ll talk about 20,500 people at Allianz Stadium against the Brumbies in a couple of years’ time, it’s one of those games that will stick with you for life.”
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