Waratahs vs Reds highlights, Crusaders keep finals hopes alive

His last game ended in more wooden spoon heartbreak but somehow departing Waratahs coach Darren Coleman won more fans.

NSW went within a whisker of upsetting Queensland in their final Super Rugby Pacific match at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Friday.

But impressive young No.10 Jack Bowen slipped while attempting a potential match winning penalty before Reds gun Fraser McReight stepped up with a clutch breakdown steal in the 27-26 victory.

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The Reds are now off to Hamilton to play the Chiefs in next weekend’s quarter-finals but Coleman is out of a job.

His three year tenure ended with an awful 2-12 record and bizarrely both wins were against the defending champion Crusaders.

Coleman admits he has plenty to work on as a coach but he vowed to stay in the game.

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“I feel really bad,” he told Stan Sport.

“But I’m just really thankful I got the opportunity. It’s been a dream of mine to coach in Super Rugby and particularly coach my home state.

“It’s a sour taste at the moment… but I just keep looking back to how lucky I am. There’s been some shit times for sure, some low points and you lose confidence and you question things. But I’m just lucky… it’s like a junkie, you live for the weekend, highs and low. So it doesn’t matter the level for me, I’ll stay coaching because I love it so much.”

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The next Waratahs coach is likely to inherit a squad bolstered by Rebels stars needing new homes with Taniela Tupou and potentially Carter Gordon among those in the mix for a move to Sydney.

Coleman says he won’t lose sleep over what might have been.

“I just love rugby so much and the people involved,” he said.

“To see the kids there tonight – the state needs a winning team and I understand why I’m moving on.

“And I truly wish the next person good luck because if we can get this team winning, we’ll fill this joint and I’ll be here cheering.”

Meanwhile, the defending champion Crusaders will stay in the playoffs race at least for another day after a 43-10, bonus point win over Moana Pasifika on Friday.

The seven tries to one win was the Crusaders’ fourth of the season and lifted them into eighth place.

The top eight teams go on to next weekend’s quarter-finals.

But matches on Saturday between the Drua and Rebels and the Force and Brumbies could drop the Crusaders out of the top eight and end their run of seven consecutive titles.

The fact the Crusaders are still in with a chance of making the playoffs is remarkable enough.

They didn’t win a match until the sixth round of the season when they upset the Chiefs and their playoff bid only coalesced last weekend when they shocked the top ranked Blues.

Three of the Crusaders’ four wins this season have come against teams which have locked in playoff spots.

Friday’s win gave them 24 points and put them three ahead of the Drua who face the Rebels in Lautoka where they are unbeaten this season.

“It will be the first time I’ve been cheering for an Australian team,” Crusaders captain Codie Taylor said.

“It’s unique. Now we’ve done everything we can and we can only wait. Finals footy, we love it and we want to be in it. The season that’s been hasn’t really set us up the way we wanted to but we’ve still got a chance.”

The Crusaders leaned heavily on their set piece, especially in the first half when three of their four tries came from lineout drives.

Two of those went to Taylor who now has 44 tries in Super Rugby, the most by a tight forward.

The Crusaders led 26-10 at halftime and used the ball more expansively in the second half, emphasising counter rucking and recoverable kicks.

After Taylor and backrower Ethan Blackadder scored through forward power in the first half, veteran centre Ryan Crotty scored just before halftime in what will be his last home match for the Crusaders and perhaps his last match if Saturday’s matches don’t favour the Crusaders.

Tries after halftime were scored by backs Noah Hotham, Dallas McLeod and Macca Springer.

Friday’s match will definitely be the last at home and might be the last overall for Crusaders props Joe Moody and Owen Franks.

Franks will immediately transition to a coaching role, joining Eddie Jones in Japan as scrum coach for the Japan national team.

The match was definitely the last in Super Rugby for former Wallabies Sekope Kepu and Christian Lealiifano who have ended their careers with Moana Pasifika.

Lealiifano has come to the end of a 16 year Super Rugby career, spent mostly with the Brumbies and which now tallies 180 games.

Kepu made his Super Rugby debut in 2014 and won a title that year with the Waratahs.

He ends with more than 150 Super Rugby appearances.