The Waratahs concede they have some way to go before matching the New Zealand sides, after the first of the trans-Tasman Super Rugby Pacific clashes ended in a comfortable 51-27 win for the Chiefs.
While the scoreline showed yet another win for NZ sides, the Chiefs feel they've seen a huge jump in the Waratahs skillset and control in the last 12 months, and the crossover matches won't be as one-sided as some suggest.
While attendance wasn't the bustling soldout crowd 'Super Round' organiser might have hoped for, the thousands who poured into Melbourne's AAMI Park for the first of the trans-Tasman showdowns witnessed more of the same.
"The Kiwis blew us away in the last 15-20 minutes, like they've been doing for years, so we've got to get on with fixing that," said Waratahs coach Darren Coleman.
Perhaps any chance of a fair contest was scuppered after just two minutes, when another red card - this time to Waratahs prop Angus Bell for a dangerous tackle - put them on the back foot immediately.
When they lost more front-rowers to injury, uncontested scrums and a mix between props and halfbacks throwing into the lineout further disrupted the Waratahs' hopes.
"It was always going to be difficult for them, after losing two hookers," said Chiefs captain Sam Cane. "The lineout, well, they were trying to get creative there, which was challenging for them."
But even with that adversity, New South Wales dug deep and trailed by just three after 50 minutes, which impressed Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan, who’s seeing growth in the Australian game already.
"If you go back 12 months, I reckon there’s some obvious improvements in their game," he said. "Certainly, they look like a team who have a lot of belief in the direction they're heading."
The Waratahs will take the compliment, but they’re not getting ahead of themselves.
They know they're still well behind where they need to be and Coleman believes NZ sides close them out in the final 15-20 minutes.
"That’s the biggest thing we need to improve," he said. "The cream rises, as they say, and we're not quite there.
"Aussie coaches have been trying to figure out last 15-20 against Kiwis for years."
They better sort it quickly to avoid the last six weeks of Super Rugby being a trans-Tasman whitewash.
Join us at 9:45pm Saturday for live updates of the Hurricanes v Reds Super Rugby Pacific clash
