The NSW Waratahs' finals hopes are hanging on by a thread after they missed out on a fine chance to cement themselves at the top of the Australian conference against the Hurricanes.
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Hurricanes leave Tahs' finals chances in tatters
Beauden Barrett impressed for the Hurricanes as the Waratahs now face an uphill battle after blowing an opportunity to move ahead of the Brumbies.
Despite edging ahead 17-11 early in the second half, NSW were run down by a gritty Kiwi outfit to go down by 11 points in a three-tries-to-two display.
NSW remain locked on 39 competition points with the Brumbies given they were unable to get within seven for a losing bonus point, meaning they have to go one better than the Brumbies in the final round.
If the ACT franchise lose – an unlikely scenario against the struggling Western Force at home - NSW need at least a losing bonus point. If the Brumbies win, the Waratahs need a bonus point victory.Â
The bottom line is if the Waratahs can't get over the line against the Blues at Eden Park on Friday their season will be done and dusted, a predicament they would not have found themselves in if they had been more up to the task on Saturday evening at Allianz Stadium.Â
Their third loss from four attempts this year against New Zealand teams means there will be no Australian side with a wildcard.Â
NSW had the advantage of watching the Brumbies disintegrate in the cauldron that is Eden Park on Friday;Â a grim reminder that a fierce test awaits them less than a week away.
The Waratahs spoke about how they wanted to send off a number of legends in Dave Dennis and Wycliff Palu as well as Benn Robinson and Kurtley Beale off the field, and there is a good chance those players won't don the light blue of NSW blue at home again.Â
The Hurricanes were more expansive in the opening period and were rewarded with the first penalty of the evening due to Palu being offside.
Two penalties and a 6-0 lead was almost doubled when Hurricanes winger Cory Jane put in a deft chip kick for Barrett to run onto and do the rest.
Despite the rain that arrived in the 25th minute, the Waratahs buried their wet weather demons of Christchurch with a slick pick and go finished off by Taqele Naiyaravoro to reduce the margin to four points.
In the penultimate minute of the second half it looked as if Phipps, Michael Hooper - who himself had another sensational outing -Â and Foley had made a meal of some risky work in their own try area but were given a let off because of a Hurricanes knock-on.
Discipline was poor all night, while the temptation to offload far outweighed the need to do so given the damp field.Â
When Willis Halaholo was sent to the bin after the half-time siren, Foley slotted a penalty to narrow the gap to one and keep the hosts within range of what would have been a valuable losing bonus point.Â
Israel Folau had barely got his hands on the ball when he beat three defenders and dragged a couple more over to score arguably the best of his 10 tries this year.
It was his 35th for the Waratahs and 15th at the ground, equalling Matt Burke and Lote Tuqiri's marks.
However the Hurricanes turned the tides with 17 unanswered points thanks to tries from Jane and Julian Savea as well as a booming penalty from Barrett from distance.Â
Naiyaravoro was sent to the bin for a clumsy hit on Barrett and the Waratahs paid the price as winger Savea crossed two minutes later to seal the victory on what has been a horrific weekend for Australian teams with margins of 25, 59 and 11 points against their Kiwi rivals.
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