WARAT
No.Name
15Israel Folau, -
14Alofa Alofa, -
13Adam Ashley-Cooper, -
T
2
12Kurtley Beale, -
11Rob Horne, -
10Bernard Foley, -
7
9Nick Phipps, -
1Benn Robinson, -
2Tatafu Polota-Nau, -
3Sekope Kepu, -
4Jacques Potgieter, -
5Kane Douglas, -
6Stephen Hoiles, -
7Michael Hooper, -
8Wycliff Palu, -
Replacements
16Tolu Latu, -
17Jeremy Tilse, -
18Paddy Ryan, -
19Will Skelton, -
20Mitch Chapman, -
21Patrick McCutcheon, -
22Brendan McKibbin, -
23Peter Betham, -

*Players currently on the pitch are shown in bold

Game Info

Venue: Accor Stadium
5:40 AM, August 2, 2014
All CommentaryKey Events

Match Commentary

81'33-32 End of half
81'33-32 End of half
81'33-32 End of second half
80'The Waratahs hold on and boot the ball into touch after the 80 minutes are up, winning their first Super Rugby title after an extraordinary game of rugby at ANZ Stadium. The Waratahs dominated possession but the Crusaders were superb in defence as well. A match truly worthy of a Super Rugby grand final!
80'33-32 Penalty goal - Bernard Foley , New South Wales Waratahs
79'The Waratahs win a penalty that goes against McCaw in the ruck and Foley lines up a shot for the title from 45m out. It's on the edge of his limit but ... he slots it over by the barest of margins! Unbelievable.
76'30-32 Penalty goal - Colin Slade , Crusaders
76'Substitute on - Brendan McKibbin , New South Wales Waratahs
76'Player substituted - Nick Phipps , New South Wales Waratahs
75'Nadolo breaks the Tahs open out wide and Phipps makes a great tackle to save a try, but NSW hearts are broken as the Crusaders win a penalty for offside play to take the lead.
75'Substitute on - Peter Betham , New South Wales Waratahs
75'Player substituted - Alofa Alofa , New South Wales Waratahs
74'Superb play by both sides. The Waratahs throw 13 phases at the Crusaders but they defend it well before winning a penalty close to their own line for the Tahs holding onto the ball in the ruck.
72'Foley and Beale combine in smart fashion but Horne can't quite hold on to the final pass out wide. A touch over 61,000 here in Sydney and they are watching a classic.
72'Substitute on - Ryan Crotty , Crusaders
72'Player substituted - Andrew Ellis , Crusaders
71'Nicely milked penalty by Phipps to relieve the pressure on the Tahs as he passes into an offside opponent.
70'Great kick by the Crusaders and now it's a lineout on the Waratahs 20m.
68'Player substituted - Ryan Crotty , Crusaders
68'Substitute on - Willi Heinz , Crusaders
68'30-29 Penalty goal - Colin Slade , Crusaders
67'Penalty right in front for the Crusaders. Ryan Crotty's head has been opened up like a tin of beans and that'll take some threat to stitch up.
66'A penalty to the Crusaders puts them back in attack on the Waratahs 22m.
66'Substitute on - Paddy Ryan , New South Wales Waratahs
66'Player substituted - Sekope Kepu , New South Wales Waratahs
65'Substitute on - Mitch Chapman , New South Wales Waratahs
65'Player substituted - Stephen Hoiles , New South Wales Waratahs
64'Player substituted - Joe Moody , Crusaders
64'Substitute on - Nepo Laulala , Crusaders
64'Substitute on - Ben Funnell , Crusaders
64'Player substituted - Corey Flynn , Crusaders
64'Substitute on - Jimmy Tupou , Crusaders
64'Player substituted - Dominic Bird , Crusaders
64'Player substituted - Kieron Fonotia , Crusaders
64'Substitute on - Johnny McNicholl , Crusaders
64'30-26 Conversion - Bernard Foley , New South Wales Waratahs
63'Reinforcements on the for Crusaders as Foley slots it through from wide out.
63'28-26 Try - Adam Ashley-Cooper , New South Wales Waratahs
62'Oh that's just brilliant from the Waratahs. Another superb 10 phases of build up ends with Adam Ashley-Cooper stepping inside to beat two tacklers and score his second 5m in from the touch line. The Crusaders have thrown everything at the home side in defence and NSW have responded in kind in attack. We are witnessing a worthy final here!
60'The Waratahs blow another chance as Will Skelton loses the ball on the Crusaders' 22m line. The Crusaders are dynamic at the breakdown now.
59'Phipps almost scores in the corner after eight superb phases, but Andy Ellis is on the spot to make the crucial tackle for the Crusaders.
57'Player substituted - Wyatt Crockett , Crusaders
57'Substitute on - Joe Moody , Crusaders
57'23-26 Penalty goal - Colin Slade , Crusaders
56'A high tackle gifts the Crusaders another penalty right in front from 38m and Slade sends the NZ side back into the lead.
55'A Foley clearance charged down and luckily for the home side, it bounces to Beale who grounds in goal.
54'23-23 Penalty goal - Bernard Foley , New South Wales Waratahs
53'Another silly penalty this time given away by McCaw, spoiling the Waratahs ruck with an offside boot. Foley has the radar back on for this kick from 35m and the scores are level once more.
51'Alofa taken high into touch by Nadolo and Foley lines up another shot from 38m to try and level the scores. This one misses to the left. Could prove costly.
50'Substitute on - Will Skelton , New South Wales Waratahs
50'Player substituted - Jacques Potgieter , New South Wales Waratahs
49'20-23 Penalty goal - Colin Slade , Crusaders
48'Kepu penalised for not pushing straight in the scrum. A chance for the Crusaders to take the lead for the first time and danger time for the Waratahs' set piece now. Slade with a lovely hooking kick to add 3 to their total.
47'Knock-on by the visitors, another scrum - this time on the NSW 30m.
46'Forward pass from McCaw under pressure and it's scrum time for the Tahs on the Crusaders 40m line. Penalty to the Crusaders, though, for a collapsed front row.
43'20-20 Conversion - Colin Slade , Crusaders
43'Substitute on - Tolu Latu , New South Wales Waratahs
43'Player substituted - Tatafu Polota-Nau , New South Wales Waratahs
43'20-18 Try - Nemani Nadolo , Crusaders
42'After a scrappy start to the second half, the Crusaders score in the corner through Nemani Nadolo after great lead-up work by McCaw. A touch of controversy though, as replays suggested his foot was very close to the touch in goal line. Boos ring out across ANZ Stadium and Colin Slade adds salt to the fans' wounds with a sideline conversion.
41'20-13 End of first half
40'The Crusaders restart and a short kick-off fails to work for the away side.
40'A bit sloppy from both sides to end the first half but the Crusaders are penalised with just seconds remaining. They diffuse the line-out however, and that will do us after what was a frenetic opening stanza. Waratahs 20-13 Crusaders at half-time.
40'20-13 Start of second half
38'20-13 Penalty goal - Bernard Foley , New South Wales Waratahs
37'Crusaders pinged for being offside - Foley lines this up from 40m out and straight in front. A superb low, penetrating kick from the fly-half. A 1-iron if you like.
36'17-13 Penalty goal - Colin Slade , Crusaders
35'Kane Douglas spotted interfering with the Crusaders in the line-out and ... Colin Slade makes no mistake from a handy position.
34'Folau has kicked out on the full from just outside his own 22 - the Crusaders are hitting back hard now.
33'Waratahs not releasing and another penalty to the Crusaders. Lineout on the halfway line ...
31'NSW penalised for a crooked throw. Dan Carter is off - shame for him and the Crusaders. Tom Taylor a handy replacement though.
31'Substitute on - Tom Taylor , Crusaders
31'Player substituted - Dan Carter , Crusaders
29'Jacques Potgieter drops it cold 10m out - the Waratahs miss a golden chance to extend their lead.
28'More slick backline play from the Tahs sees them win a line-out on the Crusaders 15m. Carter's right ankle looks bad but he's staying on - for now. Andy Ellis also receiving some treatment.
27'Substitute on - Wycliff Palu , New South Wales Waratahs
27'Player substituted - Will Skelton , New South Wales Waratahs
26'Hooper pinged for being off his feet in the ruck. Colin Slade lining this kick up as Carter has copped a knock and is limping. No mistake from Slade from a good angle.
26'17-10 Penalty goal - Colin Slade , Crusaders
24'Crusaders penalty near halfway against Foley for lying around in the ruck. They win the line-out on the 22.
22'17-7 Penalty goal - Bernard Foley , New South Wales Waratahs
21'Penalty to NSW for hands in the ruck, and again Foley makes the Crusaders pay for their indiscipline.
20'Player substituted - Wycliff Palu , New South Wales Waratahs
20'Substitute on - Will Skelton , New South Wales Waratahs
19'Carter adds the extras from out wide - no surprise to see the Crusaders fighting back.
19'14-7 Conversion - Dan Carter , Crusaders
18'14-5 Try - Matt Todd , Crusaders
17'Try Crusaders. Matt Todd. End-to-end stuff as Nemani Nadolo almost scores on one wing, NSW kick back into Crusaders territory and then the Crusaders attack the other flank, with Colin Slade doing the damage through the middle.
15'14-0 Penalty goal - Bernard Foley , New South Wales Waratahs
14'Another penalty to the Waratahs for the Crusaders being off their feet at the breakdown, and Palu is injured trying to place a big hit on McCaw - may have picked the wrong target. Three from three for Foley and the Waratahs have a handy lead now.
13'Crusaders penalty for a late hit on Dagg after he kicked for touch. Line-out 10m into NSW territory.
12'Another error from the Crusaders in possession, sending a pass over the sideline.
11'11-0 Penalty goal - Bernard Foley , New South Wales Waratahs
10'Straight through from Foley, and a dream start for the Waratahs. The Crusaders will be steaming.
9'The Crusaders get a scrum feed and a chance at some possession after a NSW knock-on, but they spoil it with an error of their own and the Waratahs have another penalty 38m out.
4'Brilliant try to Adam Ashley-Cooper after the Waratahs produced several phases of superb backline play with pin-point passing. Straight running from the outside-centre from 10m out did the trick after excellent lead-up work. They have turned up all right. Foley just wide with the extras.
4'8-0 Try - Adam Ashley-Cooper , New South Wales Waratahs
3'3-0 Penalty goal - Bernard Foley , New South Wales Waratahs
2'Foley's kicking boots are on early and the Waratahs take the lead.
1'Good sign for the Waratahs winning their first line-out just in Crusaders territory and then winning a penalty from the ensuing play.
1'Hello and welcome to ESPNscrum's live text commentary for the Super Rugby grand final. So many talking points, so many battles across the field but all that matters now is how the players stand up to the pressure in the big one. The Crusaders hold the advantage in terms of finals experience and a dominant head-to-head record, but the Waratahs have been the best side all season and are deserved slight favourites on home turf at ANZ Stadium. It should be a ripper. Teams are coming out - we're just a few minutes away from kick-off!
1'0-0 Start of first half