Beale shines for Tahs

Fullback Kurtley Beale helped the Waratahs beat the Blues 33-12 in a warm-up match in Sydney on Friday. 

Beale scored his first try since returning to the Sydney-based side when he went over following a 5m scrum. WIll Skelton then scored a second for the Waratahs, and Beale's conversion gave them a 14-0 lead at half-time.

Bernard Foley opened the scoring in the second half, going over for a try that he converted.

The Blues finally hit back through a chip-and-chase try from Jordan Manihera. The Aucklanders' fortune was changing, as Charles Piutau pounced on a loose ball and scored under the posts, and the successful conversion made it 21-12 with 30 minutes to go.

But the Waratahs then scored two tries through Stephen Hoiles and Alofa Alofa to make the game safe.

Waratahs – Tries: Kurtley Beale, Will Skelton, Bernard Foley, Stephen Hoiles, Alofa Alofa. Conversions: Foley (3), Beale.
Blues – Tries: Jordan Manihera, Charles Piutau. Conversion: Chris Noakes.

Waratahs – 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Matthew Carraro, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Jono Lance, 11 Peter Betham, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Pat McCutcheon, 6 Dave Dennis (c), 5 Will Skelton, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Paddy Ryan, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Subs: Michael Hooper, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Israel Folau (others not available).

Blues – 15 Albert Nikoro, 14 Frank Halai, 13 George Moala, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Tevita Li, 10 Benji Marshall, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Peter Saili, 7 Luke Braid, 6 Kane Barrett, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Liaki Moli, 3 Angus Ta'avao, 2 James Parsons, 1 Sam Prattley.
Subs: 16 Greg Pleasants-Tate, 17 Tom McCartney, 18 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 19 William Lloyd, 20 Patrick Tuipulotu, 21 Jordan Manihera, 22 Brendon O'Connor, 23 Sonatane Takulua, 24 Chris Noakes, 25 Simon Hickey, 26 Francis Saili, 27 Lolagi Visinia, 28 Baden Kerr, 29 Charles Piutau.

Photo: BackpagePix