It didn't require anything too fancy but the Waratahs outplayed the Fijiian Drua in every facet of the game as they cruised to a 40-10 win in their Super Rugby Pacific clash on Friday.
Lack of cohesion played a big role in a pretty lacklustre performance by debutants Fijiian Drua, who just didn't quite click at any point during the match and suffered a string of unforced errors at unfortunate times.
The Waratahs, on the other hand, put on a technical masterclass by doing the basics right and dominating the season-opening fixture in open play and at the set pieces to claim their first Super Rugby win since August 2020.
Ben Donaldson kicked the scoring off with a penalty in the seventh minute with an impressive 42-metre shot before Will Harris busted over the line from close range to score the first try of the game five minutes later after he picked it from a ruck and drove his way over.
Donaldson converted to add the extras and bring the score to 10-0 to the home side.
The game was still very tight at this stage and the visitors would've felt right in the match when Ben Kerr pulled three points back from the penalty spot in the 16th minute.
Two more penalty shots from Donaldson extended the lead to 16-3 in the 22nd minute, after which Fiji had their best period of the first half and spent a long stretch in the Waratahs half. Unfortunately, some handling errors at inopportune times cost them.
After dealing with the pressure, the home side capped off a solid first half with a good old forwards try. The pack put in some fantastic work to drive the ball up to the line and allow David Porecki to crawl his way over in the 35th minute.
Donaldson missed the conversion to make the halftime score 21-3 to the Waratahs.
It was more of the
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