Tuqiri scores, Tahs triumph

AFP - Saturday, March 08, 2008 12:00 AM

The NSW Waratahs claimed annual bragging rights over the Brumbies with a hard-fought 24-17 victory in last night's Super 14 derby at the Sydney Football Stadium.

A chargedown try to replacement lock Dean Mumm 18 minutes from time sealed the deal as the Waratahs rebounded from a 17-10 halftime deficit.

NSW's third win from four matches so far this campaign - and 500th in history - lifted Ewen McKenzie's men to third place on the table, while the Brumbies had only themselves to blame for failing to break into the top four.

Both NSW's second-half tries came from Brumbies errors inside their own half.

After squandering a 10-0 advantage, Lote Tuqiri put the Waratahs on level terms at 17-17 when he swooped on a loose ball and raced 40 metres to score under the posts in the 48th minute.

With Mumm bearing down on him, Brumbies prop Sekope Kepu coughed up the pill and Adam Wallace-Harrison's attempts to tap the ball back for another teammate instead found the safe hands of Tuqiri.

Five-eighth Kurtley Beale slotted the simple conversion to tie the game up before Mumm charged down an attempted clearing kick from Brumbies flyhalf Christian Fainifo, gathered the ball and showed the necessary toe to outpace the cover defence in a 35-metre sprint to the line.

Beale's conversion put the Waratahs a converted try in front and the Brumbies never recovered in a match played in mostly driving rain and which finished with flashes of lightning above the ground.

A try to winger Peter Playford after the siren had given the Brumbies an unlikely halftime lead.

Video referee George Ayoub ruled Playford had managed to successfully ground the ball despite a desperate tackle from Waratahs flanker Rocky Elsom.

Sharp-shooting fullback Mark Gerrard - the official man of the match despite being on the losing side - landed the sideline conversion to give the Brumbies a handy buffer at the interval.

Reduced to 14 men following the 28th-minute sin-binning of centre Tyrone Smith, the Brumbies had trailed 10-0 before replacement flanker Julian Salvi carried Waratahs pair Brett Sheehan and Alfi Mafi over the line for a try eight minutes before the interval.

Gerrard also converted that five-pointer from near the touch line to trim NSW's lead to 10-7 before adding a penalty in the 38th minute to tie the game up and then raising the touch judges' flags for a third time in the 42nd minute.

A moment of Beale magic set up the first try of the match.

In an otherwise dull half, Beale sliced straight through the Brumbies defence in the 21st minute to put centre Tom Carter in under the posts.

The teenage five-eighth left Brumbies captain George Smith and centre Sanualio Afeaki clutching at air before finding Carter looming in support on the inside.

Beale added the conversion and struck a penalty seven minutes later to give NSW their 10-0 advantage.

The Waratahs' penalty was the result of a seemingly innocuous hit on Beale that prompted referee James Leckie to bin Smith.

It looked a very pedantic piece of officiating, but may have been the spur the Brumbies needed to make a match of it.