The Waratahs have recorded a much-needed 36-16 win over the Western Force at Allianz Stadium
It was far from pretty but the hosts outclassed the Western Force to vault into the top eight with a bonus-point victory.
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Centre Izaia Perese bookended the tries for the Waratahs as they started fast in front of their Sydney faithful.
Simon Cron's side refused to give up and eventually found their way into the contest through their wingers Zach Kibirige and Manasa Mataele.
In the end, the hosts were too strong to secure the win, their first since Super Round.
The Waratahs looked to have opened the scoring through Dave Porecki, only to be brought back for obstruction in the build-up to the rolling maul.
It summed up the first 30 minutes for the hosts, unable to capitalise on prime territory as Manasa Mataele stopped a certain try to Mark Nawaqanitawase.
Eventually, Izaia Perese scored his first of the year off a perfect inside ball from Jake Gordon.
A yellow card to Jackson Pugh allowed the Waratahs to kick clear as Perese found Nawaqanitawase, with the winger making up for nearly gifting the Force a try off an errand chip kick.
With the half winding down, Gordon blocked a Force grubber and raced away with the loose ball to give the hosts a 22-6 lead at the break.
Harry Johnson-Holmes’ barge over just after the break looked to blow open the game.
However, resilience has been a hallmark of the Force in 2023 and their wingers came up with a pair of magic tries.
It started with Manasa Mataele, who leapt high over Max Jorgensen to score in the corner.
With Will Harris in the bin, Zach Kibirige latched onto another cross-field kick, before chipping over the covering defence for one of the tries of the season.
With both teams out on their feet, the Waratahs hunted for a crucial bonus point.
It eventually paid dividends, with Mahe Valianu throwing the ball over his head to find Perese in the corner with two minutes remaining.
“It’s unreal. I’m happy,” Waratahs coach Darren Coleman said after the match.
“They kept it interesting right up until the end because we wanted that bonus point and we had it and then lost it but to get that try at the end was like another mini-win.
“It’s important on the ladder, important for our mental states. I don’t know what we would’ve done if we had lost that one, I was running out of ideas if we didn’t play well in that one.
“I really felt we had a good week, we looked sharp and to put 20 points spread on the Force, it’s a good performance.”
The win lifts the Waratahs into the top eight, giving them a positive points difference despite it being just their second scalp.
They will wait on the fitness of Dave Porecki, who came off early in the first half with vision/eye complaints.
Meanwhile, the Force will relish the return home after four straight-away games, facing a pivotal clash with the Highlanders.
WARATAHS 36
TRIES: Perese 2, Nawaqanitawase, Gordon, Johnson-Holmes
CONS: Donaldson 4/5
PENS: Donaldson 1/1
FORCE 16
TRIES: Mataele, Kibirige
CONS: Kuenzle 0/1, Prior 0/1
PENS: Strachan 2/2
WARATAHS (1-15): Tom Lambert, Dave Porecki, Harry Johnson-Holmes, Jed Holloway, Ned Hanigan, Lachie Swinton, Michael Hooper, Taleni Seu, Jake Gordon (c), Ben Donaldson, Dylan Pietsch, Lalakai Foketi, Izaia Perese, Mark Nawaqanitawase, Max Jorgensen
RESERVES: Mahe Vailanu, Te Tera Faulkner, Dan Botha, Zac Von Appen, Will Harris, Teddy Wilson, Joey Walton, Harry Wilson
FORCE (1-15): Tom Robertson, Tom Horton, Santiago Medrano, Jackson Pugh, Jeremy Williams, Tim Anstee, Ollie Callan, Jacob Norris, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, Jake Strachan, Zach Kibirige, Hamish Stewart (c), Sam Spink, Manasa Mataele, Chase Tiatia
RESERVES: Feleti Kaitu’u, Angus Wagner, Siosifa Amone, Ryan McCauley, Felix Kalapu, Ian Prior, Bayley Kuenzle, George Poolman
Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistant Referees: Graham Cooper, Matt Kellahan
