Waratahs fail in bonus quest

The Waratahs got their tour of South Africa off to a winning start but came up short of an all-important bonus point.

The tension was clear to see in the Waratahs' camp, who celebrated with zest whenever they scored, knowing every point was critical to their cause.

The four points keeps the Waratahs in the play-off hunt, but based on this performance, they're unlikely to topple any of the major contenders.

They pushed the Cheetahs hard from the word go but their over eagerness cost them definite five-pointers, although the home side's defence must also be attributed to the Waratahs lost chances - three of them with the tryline at their mercy.

First it was Lote Tuqiri who did all the hard work in stepping in and out of the Cheetahs' defenders, only to lose the ball forward on his way down to scoring the opening try for his team.

Lachie Turner was then held up agonisingly short at the other end of the field, before a tap penalty taken by Brett Sheehan was disallowed by the ref - the scrum-half not actually making contact with the ball, a schoolboy error and a huge overlap wasted.

Embarrassed

Lightning struck twice for Sheehan from the resulting scrum to the Cheetahs when he did well to charge down Hennie Daniller's clearance kick, but failed to snap up the loose ball and score. Instead, a guaranteed touchdown was correctly ruled as a knock-on.

In fact, the Cheetahs would count themselves fortunate they only trailed 8-0 at the break. The Waratahs embarrassed them at scrum-time and contested cleverly at the line-out which prevented the hosts from playing off the front foot.

Kurtley Beale's move to the midfield proved inspired, as he not only supplied the visitors with a further kicking option but caused problems for the Cheetahs' defence. Twice Beale got his hands through the tackle to feed a support runner, and the second touch proved the spark for the visitors' first try. The Cheetahs' line finally succumbed when Turner barged over.

Daniel Halangahu failed to add the extras, but his team were at least on the board after 23 minutes of trying.

The hosts had a lucky let off when Beale was taken out late after a Waratahs ball had been kicked through near the Cheetahs' line. Referee Marius Jonker rightly awarded a penalty, which Halangahu kicked to make it 8-0 on the stroke of half-time.

Cheetahs fly-half Naas Olivier drew the Cheetahs back to 8-3 five minutes after the break with a penalty, but the Waratahs' forward superiority just became more marked the longer the game lasted. And it was no surprise when replacement Luke Burgess went through for the clinching try after 55 minutes.

Halangahu made it safe for his team with another penalty seven minutes from time, after which the Cheetahs launched a compelling series of attacks, one of which netted a try to JW Jonker.

The replacement back took an inside pass from winger Denwell Demas, who found himself in space off a move that started in the Cheetahs 22.

The Cheetahs could well have got another as they laid siege to the Waratahs' line in the last three minutes, but the prize they were aiming for was not a win, just a bonus point, and their quest fell tantalisingly short.