'The decade of misery is over': Brumbies burned by ref's 'clanger' as NSW end horror streak
Updated . First published at
The NSW Waratahs have snapped a remarkable 13 game losing streak against the ACT Brumbies with an epic 28-23 triumph in Sydney on Saturday night.
Waratahs coach Dan McKellar got one over his former club as Max Jorgensen produced some brilliant football skills for Joey Walton to score what proved to be decisive try in front of 20,572 at Allianz Stadium.
The win lifts NSW above the Brumbies into fourth place on the Super Rugby Pacific ladder and firms up their finals credentials after an ugly loss to the Queensland Reds in Brisbane.
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"The upset of all upsets. The decade of misery is over," ex-Waratahs star Morgan Turinui said on Stan Sport.
But the Brumbies can feel hard done by after some harsh calls went against them in a cracking but sometimes strange contest.
The most notable was Tom Wright's try being scrubbed out early in the second half as officials pressed rewind to find a Noah Lolesio knock on in the buildup.
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New Zealand referee Ben O'Keeffe had called play on in real time when he had a good view of the ball.
It was tight and divided the pundits.
"That was a knock on. You can't get away with that," NSW Rugby president Matt Burke said on Stan Sport - adding he would have called it the same way if it had come from a Waratahs hand.
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"That's a bit of a clanger from Ben O'Keeffe," countered Justin Harrison, who played for both the Brumbies and Waratahs.
"One of the great parts about Super Rugby Pacific this year has been the refereeing," Turinui added.
"The referees have been outstanding at speeding up the game, getting fatigue in the game and been very accurate. They haven't had their best 50 minutes this evening."
Dan McKellar shares a moment with Hugh Sinclair. Getty
The Waratahs had been rightly lashed for their disappointing loss to the Reds with McKellar calling some of their play "soft" and their maul defence "borderline embarrassing" for Richie Asiata's try.
"We had our integrity questioned throughout the week and that's a tough thing to have as a rugby player and a rugby club," NSW captain Hugh Sinclair said.
"A lot of people wrote a few things about us and we responded pretty well. I'm just proud of the way that we stuck in there and fought."
Waratahs players celebrate their win. Getty
NSW will now travel to play the Hurricanes in Wellingon on Friday while the Brumbies host the Highlanders in Canberra later that night.
There is still one game to play in round six with the Western Force hosting the Fijian Drua on Sunday afternoon in Perth.
Waratahs 28 (Wilson, Reilly, Leota, Walton tries; Creighton 3 con, Edmed con) Brumbies 23 (Alaalatoa, Reimer, Muirhead tries; Lolesio 2 pen, Debreczeni con)
