Gamble pays off as Waratahs women deny Force in classic

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Gamble pays off as Waratahs women deny Force in classic

The NSW Waratahs have revived their Super Rugby Women’s title defence with a dramatic last-gasp 26-21 victory over the Western Force in Sydney.

Replacement hooker Adiana Talakai touched down from a rolling maul with 38 seconds on the clock to give Waratahs the lead for the first time on Saturday.

In an all-or-nothing play, the Waratahs had turned down the chance for Wallaroos goalkicker Arabella McKenzie to boot the team home with a penalty goal attempt from close range and just 10 metres to the left of the posts.

The gamble paid off when the driving maul delivered to earn the Tahs their first win of the year after losing last week’s season-opening grand final rematch to the Fijian Drua.

The Force looked to have banked the four competition points after centre Cecilia Smith crossed in the 64th minute to stretch her side’s lead to nine points.

But flanker Leilani Nathan kick-started the comeback with a try 10 minutes from fulltime.

The two sides had traded two first-half tries each, with Desiree Miller bagging a double for the Waratahs and flanker Anneka Stephens and No.8 Ashley Marsters scoring for the Force.

Earlier on Saturday, the Queensland Reds opened their 2025 campaign in style with a 22-19 upset win over the Drua in Lautoka, Fiji.

After leading 22-0, the Reds withstood a rousing comeback from the home side in steamy conditions to record their first triumph over the 2022 and 2023 champions in two years.

The win was a worthy reward after the Reds could have withdrawn from the match, stayed at home and shared the points because of Cyclone Alfred disrupting flights out of Brisbane.

Instead, the Reds elected to fly out early last Wednesday, rather than on Friday. Players left family and jobs early to make sure they were there for the kick-off.

“I’m really proud of the girls,” co-captain Ivania Wong told Stan Sport.

“Coming out today we wanted to represent and make everyone back at home proud so we hope we did that, especially with what our state is going through right now.

“This is for everyone back home.”

The Reds built their 22-point lead after 67 minutes through tries to co-captain Jemma Bemrose, fellow flanker Carola Kreis and winger Caitlin Urwin to silence the Churchill Park crowd.

But three late strikes from Drua forwards Loraini Senivutu and Karalaini Naisewa plus a penalty try set up a grandstand finish with Queensland down to 14 players for the dying minutes.

The victory sets up a Ballymore Stadium blockbuster derby on Sunday week against the Waratahs.

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