Sprightly Waratahs comfortably see off lacklustre Lions

The Lions produced a barren performance in Parramatta as they allowed a previously struggling Waratahs to get their campaign belatedly going with a 29-17 victory on Friday.

Cash van Rooyen’s troops played with little to no cohesion as they wasted their majority of possession through poor handling and ineffective game management.

The Waratahs, meanwhile, made sure of capitalising on their opportunities and showed excellent composure in keeping their opponents at bay.

Who was the star in this match?

The Tahs seem to have unearth a genuine prospect in 19-year-old Gus Bell, who’s mobility and pace is truly something to marvel at. He also memorably smashed Lions tighthead Carlu Sadie at a scrum. Yet the class of home skipper Michael Hooper was simply too apparent to ignore.

The Wallabies star had a superb outing, adding underrated value as attacker, particularly in terms of small link plays. However, it was his work rate on defence that was immense. He completed 17 tackles and effected two turnovers.

Key moments and themes

• The Lions effectively lost this encounter in the first quarter of the game already. They conceded no less than three tries in 16 minutes, falling off tackles with alarming regularity as the Waratahs raced into a 19-3 lead. While those failings were very obvious during that period, it was part of a broader problem.
• Defence has been a longstanding headache for the Lions since the departure of JP Ferreira for Ireland in 2017 and two defence coaches in three seasons since then are not helping their cause. Sean Erasmus, currently entrusted with the portfolio, is clearly a disciple of linespeed, but the execution is lacking badly. The Lions were guilty of jumping out of the line far too regularly without keeping some sort of shape. As a result, the Tahs’ quick offloading put the next line of defenders – if there was one – under immense pressure. 23 missed tackles out of XX tell a story.
• The irony of the visitors’ overall performance is that they enjoyed the majority of possession, but lacked the necessary game management to remotely make use of that ball. There were times in the second half where the Lions seemed to be playing for penalties and going for kicks to touch, which was always a risky plan given that their set-pieces – even if they were accurate – lacked punch. Their muddled thinking was best illustrated by scrumhalf Andre Warner’s box-kick from just outside his opponents’ 22 late in the first half.
• In contrast, a young Waratahs delivered an encouraging performance after a difficult start to the season. Their finishing in the first half was ruthless, while a superb defensive performance meant they frustrated their opponents into making mistakes. Had Kurtley Beale’s kicking shoes been on, the game would’ve been closed out far earlier.
• The refereeing of Angus Gardner left much to be desired. The Aussie didn’t exactly have much hesitation in punishing the Lions with his whistle, while it was also noticeable how the offside line seemingly disappeared in the second half when the Waratahs did much defending. That will frustrate the Lions, who in this time of need require a bit of leeway.

Point scorers:

Waratahs – Tries: Gus Bell, Jack Dempsey, Lachlan Swinton, James Ramm, Tetera Faulkner. Conversions: Will Harrison (2).

Lions – Tries: Marnus Schoeman (2). Conversion: Andries Coetzee, Elton Jantjies. Penalty: Jantjies.

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