Spirited Sunwolves edge out Waratahs 29-31

Waratahs 29-31 Sunwolves, McDonald Jones Stadium
Scorecard

Sunwolves held their nerve as they edged out New South Wales Waratahs 29-31 in a tight Super Rugby encounter at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday.

This is Sunwolves' second win of the season but they continue to languish at the bottom of the Australian Conference that has Waratahs at the top despite the defeat.

The home side opened their account in just 90 seconds when Nick Phipps crossed over following a driving maul and Mack Mason followed with a conversion to make it 7-0. The response from Sunwolves came in the 11th minute with a penalty goal from Hayden Parker.

The second try came in just the 15th minute when Kurtley Beale set up Cameron Clark to go over the line to make the scoreline 12-3. The Sunwolves responded back in attacking fashion and their act paid dividends with lock Grant Hattingh touching down in the 20th minute.

As the half-time was approaching Semisi Masirewa dotted down for Sunwolves' second try that was improved by Parker before Mason's maiden penalty kick made the scoreline 15-17 at the end of the first half.

Michael Hooper helped the Australian side seize the lead with an early second half try but back to back tries from Masirewa in the 49th and 53rd minutes provided the relief to the visitors as they moved to 22-31. By the 65th minute, Kurtley Beale provided some hope for Waratahs when he crossed whitewash and he also improved to bring the gap to two points and that remained like that for the rest of the game with Sunwolves firm on defence.