Waratahs go down fighting against Beefed-up Wanderers

An outstanding display of forward power has seen the NSW Waratahs lose their Development Tour match against the Northampton Wanderers at Franklin’s Gardens, the home side crossing for four tries on the way to a 24-6 victory.

The Waratahs came under intense early pressure, the Wanderers mauling their way deep into opposition territory.

Despite this enthusiasm in defence and attack saw the Waratahs regularly breach the line, and working their way into position they posted first points through a pair of penalty goals to Lachlan Turner.

It was the home side’s scrum that truly laid the platform for victory, and by the 20th minute of the first half the pressure that had been building told.

Setting up for a scrum ten metres out the Wanderers went for the pushover, and pushed back to the five the Waratahs scrum fractured, seeing referee Richard Draper award the home side a penalty try.

Nigel Staniforth charged down the attempted conversion from Wanderers skipper Johnny Howard to retain the lead for the Waratahs at 6-5.

Minutes later the Wanderers found their way over the tryline, again off the back of a solid forward platform.

Spreading it through the hands the home side touched down out wide through centre Seamus Mallon, Howard’s sideline conversion making it 12-6 in favour of the home side.

There the score stayed until early in the second half, however it wasn’t until the Waratahs lost two players to injury that the Wanderers scored again.

First prop Ofa Fainga’anuku – after fifty minutes repelling the giant Northampton front row – succumbed to a neck injury, and was replaced by John Adams.

Then no.8 Pelea Afu, having just sprinted 30 metres to shut down a Northampton break, strained a hamstring and had to be helped from the field.

Three minutes after Afu departed the Wanderers had their third, the Waratahs failing to clean up a ball at the base of the scrum before Howard swooped to plant the ball under the posts.

The conversion put Northampton 19-6 ahead, however the Waratahs refused to give up hope.

Play went from end to end but the heavy toll of the match was beginning to show, mistakes creeping in as the game wound down.

In the end one final try to Wanderers lock Daniel Browne finished the scoring six minutes from full time, taking the score along to 24 points to 6 in favour of the home side.

Fainga’anuku was sent for precautionary scans after the match, while Afu is expected to miss the rest of the tour as a result of his hamstring injury.

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