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CommBank Stadium

After a winless 2021 campaign of 13 games, the Waratahs have finally ended their long-running drought last night with a comfortable 40-10 win v Fijian Drua at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta, NSW.

It’s great to see the Tahs forward pack make up most of the work earlier on in the 1st half at 21-3, where Will Harris and Dave Porecki added a couple of big scores through the TRY line with credit to the Drua’s dirty work via the advantage. They’re able to build on that comfortable start after the break when another forward at tighthead in Angus Bell produced two brilliant finishes, one for an assist to Inside midfielder, Lalakai Foketi, and another for himself thanks to the offload from the returning Jed Holloway on the second row. And their skipper at half-back, Jake Gordon stole a messy Drua attacking shape, when he intercepted the ball on the 10-metre line & ran over halfway on the run home that summed up the Tahs flying start to 2022.

Meanwhile, the Fijian Drua may not get what they wanted with the loss during their first game at Super Rugby level. Their series of disciplinary mistakes not only worsened their defense but also limited their time in the attack against the Tahs territory, especially at one point in the 2nd half. They just rushed through it with numbers all over the place, before Jake Gordon exploited their weakness & ran off over half the pitch towards the touch zone that cost more huge points on the board. There are some moments made, however, when fly-half Baden Kerr scored their first-ever points on the board, while we covered skipper & No.8 Nemani Nagusa on the Top 3 players list, who scored the Drua’s first-ever TRY later in the 2nd half. It’s still early days though as it will take time to become competitive, especially when facing the Australian and New Zealand teams regularly.

The Tahs will remain at home next week, but this time they will be at Leichardt Oval where they will welcome another State of Origin rivalry v the Queensland Reds, who will be facing the Melbourne Rebels at (Suncorp Stadium) home in Brisbane tonight.

Meanwhile, the Drua will head off to Canberra for another tough encounter v Brumbies at GIO Stadium next Saturday at 2.35 pm.

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We gotta say that Angus Bell is one of the brightest stars in the making for the Waratahs at loosehead prop last night. We love the way he contributed to their attacking line, where he just never stops running and smashing through against the Fijian Drua territory. That kind of teamwork built from the beginning made him even a better player after the break, when not only did he assist Lalakai Foketi with the TRY but Bell also touched a huge score himself, as his hard work reflected the Tahs brilliant start to the new Super Rugby campaign.

Then there’s another Tahs forward to look out for is Dave Porecki in the No.2 shirt at hooker. His throw-ins have been spot-on as always before he used so much physicality to push through his opponent team into shreds that reflected an outstanding 1st half. Now he may have the early mark after just over 50 minutes on the pitch, but Poreki left the Tahs with a healthy lead at the break so they can finish the job for him while he rests up for Round 2 next Friday v Queensland Reds at home (Leichardt Oval).

Nice to have a mix of youth and experience team up together that saw the Tahs stay ahead all game long v Drua.

And yes, it may be Fijian Drua’s first game in Super Rugby with the loss but how about we applaud the skipper & No.8 Nemani Nagusa, who just scored their first-ever try during the 2nd half in the 62nd minute. He has tons of leadership and experience being taught from his time over in Europe, where his contribution when being given the ball gave his side a boost when it comes to penalties. These kinds of penalties allowed him to get the job done, having tapped and go with a bit of space and read before he crossed the TRY line down low. This team is in its early days right now as it will take time to get competitive, but it’s just not their night when a series of disciplinary errors led to an isolated defence that gave Drua little time to sort out their attack.

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