Waratahs and Crusaders enter Super Rugby final

New South Wales Waratah’s flyhalf Bernard Foley dives over to score a try against the ACT Brumbies. — AFP

The New South Wales Waratahs will host the Crusaders in the Super Rugby final after beating the ACT Brumbies 26-8 in a tense all-Australian semi-final on Saturday.

Flyhalf Bernard Foley scored a spectacular late try among a personal tally of 16 points as the Waratahs reached the final for the third time and won the right to host the championship decider for the first time in their history.

New South Wales scored an opportunist try in each half to lead 11-8 at halftime and 19-8 before Foley’s 78^th-minute clincher.

Winger Alofa Alofa scored an intercept try in the third minute to give the Waratahs a lead they never relinquished and center Kurtley Beale stripped the ball from an opponent to score a decisive try after 48 minutes.

Earlier Saturday, the Crusaders beat South Africa’s Sharks 38-6 at Christchurch to reach the final for the 11^th time and to close in on their eighth title. The Crusaders won the most recent of their seven titles in 2008 when they beat the Waratahs 20-12. They have reached the final in three of the last seven years after qualifying for the semifinals in every year since 2002.

While the Crusaders’ win was one-sided, achieved by five tries to none, the Waratahs’ win over the Brumbies was hard-fought and owed a great deal to the resilience of their defense.

They were both the best defensive and best attacking side in the competition throughout the regular season and their win on Saturday highlighted both of those faculties.

The Waratahs allowed the Brumbies only one try, through winger Henry Speight in the 30^th minute, and otherwise weathered intense pressure applied by their opponents late in the first and throughout the second half.

On attack, they capitalized on the few chances that fell their way. Alofa and Beale’s tries were both constructed out of nothing but Foley’s reflected the outstanding attacking ethos of the Waratahs this season and their ability to instinctively combine when a scoring opportunity occurs.

The Brumbies were hot on attack and winger Joe Tomane — Speight’s replacement — stretched the defense down the right flank before hurling a misguided pass infield. The ball was reclaimed by Waratahs prop Benn Robinson who took the first steps out of defense and it was around that initial turnover that the try-scoring movement coalesced.

The ball was ferried through eager sets of hands — Israel Folau and Rob Horne among them — before reaching young lock Will Skelton who embarked on a run which tore the defense apart. When Skelton was finally claimed by the cover defense he had the skill and the vision to turn the ball infield to Foley who dashed the last 25 meters to the line. Waratahs captain Michael Hooper, who was also the leader of the defensive effort, welcomed his team’s eighth-straight win and their long overdue venture to the final. Hooper said hosting the tournament decider against the Crusaders was “new territory for us but exciting territory.”

“We talked before the game about taking opportunities but we had to make them tonight,” Hooper said.