The mood within the Waratahs camps was one of overwhelming disappointment having come close to toppling Super Rugby Pacific’s top team, the Chiefs.
There was anguish in head coach Darren Coleman’s voice, whose apologetic tone summed up the situation.
The Waratahs were beaten at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium – albeit, not by much in the end.
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In what was an enthralling contest that had the sides locked together at seven points apiece, come halftime, the visitors who prevailed 24-14.
It was the unwavering Waratahs defence that kept the scoreline level at the break but the wall eventually fell and the Chiefs scored twice more in the second half.
The Chiefs weren’t perfect, but the Waratahs were error-prone and made mistakes at key opportunities.
In the final 10 minutes, it looked like the Waratahs might steal the win from under the nose of the opposition. Instead, unforced errors gave the Chiefs possession and the final say with another try to Emoni Narawa.
It was the fourth loss from five games for the Waratahs and the second straight defeat to a New Zealand team.
“I feel sorry for our supporters,” Coleman told Stan Sport post-match.
“They want to get behind us I thought we played with heart and I’m proud about that, but we’ve just got to look sharper and execute better to really get the 50/50 fans onboard.”
Waratahs captain Jake Gordon was similarly downbeat after the loss.
Speaking with Stan Sport’s Morgan Turinui, he promised fans his team would come good soon.
“Once again guys, we really appreciate the support,” he said.
“We’re trying hard to fix this, but we hope to see you again very soon.”
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Coleman was frank in his assessment of the team’s performance, suggesting the team didn’t stick to a plan.
He agreed with Stephen Hoiles’ view that there was a disconnect between the forward interchange passing.
“We’re not meant to be passing this week. It was; pass less, run harder, arrive quicker,” he explained.
“We had that good A-zone point there and The forwards throw a missed pass in our shape and that was against what we planned, unfortunately.
“Obviously we didn’t kick well tonight,” he added.
“We shanked a lot of kicks into touch, which was disappointing, which would have helped with our exits. We haven’t had a team in our D-zone that often for the length that they did.
“Our attack execution; is it the actual skill of the catch-pass or is it the shape? Or is it the fluency? The timing?
“You don’t have to be Einstein to figure out we’ve got to score more than 14 points.”
Coleman was, nevertheless, complimentary of his players and their first half defence. He did, however, concede that momentum shifted in favour of the Chiefs later in the match.
“The results is disappointing and probably our execution is disappointing, but I’m proud of the effort they put in,” he said.
“We defended our try line with a lot of steel. I thought we were physical. I don’t think we got knocked around. I thought we put our body on the line and I thought in the first half we had some set-piece dominance. We’re just not executing.”
The Waratahs sit ninth on the ladder with matches still to come in round five.
The team is expecting to welcome back Charlie Gamble and Mahe Vailanu from injury.
The Waratahs will face the Brumbies in Canberra on April 1.
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