As they departed early in their droves into the rain sodden night, no doubt haunted by the nightmare visions of the 23-3 defeat they had just witnessed at the hands of the Cheetahs, New South Wales Waratah fans could be forgiven for asking themselves if this really was the same team that put the Queensland Reds to the sword so clinically a mere three weeks ago?
Admittedly, they were without the experienced and battle hardened captain Phil Waugh, the calculated, kamikaze exploits of hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau and the stoic defence and direct running of centre Rob Horne but they did have the returning figure of the talismanic Wycliff Palu and surely more than enough talent on display to dispose of the winless Cheetahs - didn't they?
As it unexpectedly transpired “ the answer was no and the exciting promise shown in the first two games of the season and in the first 20 minutes against the Crusaders in Round 3 seems to have been lost somewhere in the unique emotions of that defeat in Nelson. A positive opening quickly lost momentum as a combination of poor decision making and repeated handling errors cruelled their chances of building an early lead. The Cheetahs rolled with the punches, sniffed blood in the air and went in for the kill.
Trailing 9-3 just after half-time through the boot of man of the match Sias Ebersohn, the Tahs huffed and puffed to try and get a foothold in the match but it was all too slow and far too predictable and when they did create an opening, they repeatedly fluffed their lines. Flanker Pat McCutcheon will not want to see too many replays of the pass he spilled in the 50th minute from hardworking replacement Dave Dennis. With the tryline begging, the opportunity was lost and with it you felt, any self-belief the Tahs had of getting out of jail.
The game was effectively ended on the hour when a crossfield kick from Berrick Barnes was intercepted by Cheetahs full-back Riann Viljoen. He popped it up to replacement Sarel Pretorius who in turn fed Philip Snyman to the line despite a valiant chase from Kurtley Beale.
As Waratah coach Chris Hickey lamented afterwards "That was a 14 point turnaround. If he [Drew Mitchell] catches that, we score and get some momentum back into the game but it was a very fine margin ¦it was probably the moment that really broke the back on the scoreboard for us.
The growing apathy was evident when Pretorius pounced from the back of a ruck in the 78th minute to dive between a forest of legs and stretch for the line with more than one blue shirt standing in admiration. But let's take nothing away from the Cheetahs who “ after surviving an onslaught on their red zone in the opening 15 minutes “ harangued, harassed and frustrated at every opportunity, stifling the Tahs desire for quick ball and swarming en masse to starve their opponents devastating backline of any space from which to profit.
They did their homework well, attacked the Tahs set-piece and took any and every opportunity for points that came their way and for Hickey, that failure to turn pressure and field position in the opening exchanges, cost them dearly, "We created three opportunities and didn't complete any of them whatsoever. The Cheetahs are a side that you can't underestimate and if you leave three tries out on the park in the first 20 minutes, you just open the door and invite them to come through and they kicked it down and came through.
The South Africans celebrated the final whistle as if they'd won the tournament, such was the relief at breaking their Australasian hoodoo. It was their first win ever outside of the Republic as well as their first win of the season and for coach Naka Drotske, the culmination of desire, application and a smarter approach:
"We waited long for this one and all credit to the players, I thought they defended with a lot of heart and put the Waratahs under pressure and forced them into mistakes. Condition wise, it wasn't the day to spread the ball wide and I think we played the conditions a little bit better than the Waratahs.
Conversely, the reception given to the home side at the end was less than favourable. Not since the nadir of 2007 - when the Waratahs finished 13th on the ladder - has a chorus of boos been heard so palpably at the Sydney Football Stadium. The volume of complaint would not have gone unnoticed by players, coaches and board members alike and was an uncomfortable warning sign for the remainder of a home season in which the NSWRU are hopeful for a significant upturn in attendance figures from previous years.
33,486 had turned up at ANZ Stadium (the Olympic Stadium) three weeks ago for the record win over their inter state rivals but defeat to the Crusaders, a bye week which can kill media momentum and a wet and miserable night in Sydney left only 15,849 to witness this debacle. The paucity of attendance coupled with the result does not bode well for the next home game against the Chiefs in two weeks time and only a redemptive victory against local rivals the ACT Brumbies in Canberra next Saturday will stir the faithful to return in any great numbers.
Commendably, the home side took the result on the chin and didn't hide behind any spin to soften the blow. Asked about the crowd's negative response, stand in skipper Dean Mumm said "It's never nice is it but the disappointment in our own performance is greater than the crowd's. We set very high standards in this team and in this squad and we certainly didn't reach them tonight ¦it's a very big reality check for us. If we want to be a team that performs at the highest level and be in the top couple of teams in this competition then we're going to have to find that solution.
Cheetahs 23 (Phillip Snyman, Sarel Pretorius tries; Sias Ebersohn 3 pens, 2 cons)
HSBC Waratahs 3 (Kurtley Beale pen) at Sydney Football Stadium.
Half-time: Cheetahs 6-3. Referee: Nathan Pearce (AUS). Crowd: 15,849.
