The Waratahs put a week of controversy behind them with an emphatic 23-11 victory over Super Rugby cellar dwellers the Blues in Sydney on Saturday.
It was never going to be easy to better the drama and genuine spite between the two best sides in Australian rugby but six minutes of scrum resets to close out a low-scoring first half was a bitter pill to swallow for 16,342 fans hoping for a fitting follow-up to last week's brutal derby.
They let the match officials know it too, booing referee Jaco Peyper off the pitch at half-time before the Waratahs found their groove – and the right side of Peyper's whistle – after the break.
The Blues were well and truly in the contest for 60 minutes, with brutal defence and a try to centre Francis Saili giving the visitors an 11-7 lead after the break, but three consecutive penalty goals from No.10 Bernard Foley put the Waratahs back in the hunt and tries to Nick Phipps and Peter Betham gave them scoreboard pressure when they needed it.
They head into the second bye week confident their season is on track. A home clash against the Stormers awaits on April 11.
NSW had plenty of early attacking chances off set-pieces and up the middle but a break from No.7 Michael Hooper did the trick in the eighth minute.
A video replay did enough to satisfy match officials that his pass inside to Phipps was legal, even if the "ball did drift forward", and the Waratahs halfback's try was given. Bernard Foley converted to give the Waratahs a 7-0 lead.
The Blues made their mark on the scoreboard with a 40m penalty goal from No.10 Daniel Bowden after Waratahs hooker Tolu Latu was found offside in the 13th minute.
The Waratahs were playing all of the rugby, and a perfectly weighted kick for touch from Foley set up what would have been a textbook try to winger Taqele Naiyaravoro, but the video showed fullback Israel Folau losing the ball forward two phases earlier.
Bowden shaved another three points off the deficit in the 24th minute before a high tackle from NSW No.8 Wycliff Palu prompted referee Peyper to warn captain Dave Dennis about the penalty count.
A second warning was issued minutes later after Latu attracted the whistle for a third time, but NSW were given a reprieve after Bowden missed the sideline kick from 22m out.
The NSW scrum showed more improvement but the Waratahs failed to heed repeated "use it" calls from Peyper and turned over possession. Resets soaked up the remainder of the half and garnered a collective boo from the Waratahs' members section when the match officials left the field at half-time.
The Waratahs created more opportunities after the break but again struggled to make anything stick. Last week's villain Jacques Potgieter was centimetres away from a five-point atonement in the opening few minutes of the second half but stoic Blues defence held back the tide.
Auckland centre Saili scored in the 55th minute but Bowden missed the conversion. NSW clawed back an 13-11 lead in the next five minutes thanks to an evening up of the penalty count.
They made it 16-11 with 11 minutes left and Kurtley Beale put his hand up for a shot from just inside halfway in the 73rd minute but the kick faded left.
The Blues lost No.8 Jerome Kaino to the sin bin for a high tackle on Dennis, who left the field with blood streaming from his face.
The Waratahs had the ascendancy well and truly, and replacement winger Peter Betham scored without opposition with five minutes left. Foley converted to give the defending champions their fourth win of the season.
Asked about the boos, Michael Cheika shrugged them off, saying he had no qualms with Peyper's performance.
"I think the crowd just wanted us to score. That's pretty normal. I wanted us to score as well," Cheika said.
"So that's the home crowd. That's what we want. That's what we've been looking for over the years - to get the crowd into the game.
"Over the last year or two, that's been happening more and more and we enjoy it."
