Waratahs vs Chiefs: McKenzie needs to be No.10, James O’Connor is right

The NSW Waratahs have claimed a massive upset by beating the ladder-leading Chiefs 21-14 at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium on Friday evening. After tough losses away to the Hurricanes and Moana Pasifika, the Tahs are back in the winner’s circle.

Code-hopping Wallaby Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii scored his first try for the Waratahs as they built up a strong lead against the Chiefs. Meanwhile, Damian McKenzie struggled as the home side took control in front of a passionate crowd.

Here are some takeaways.

James O’Connor is right about potential Wallabies bolter

Noah Lolesio’s decision to sign a short-term deal in Japan has sparked plenty of discussion and debate within rugby circles this week. In 2024, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt often overlooked Test candidates who had signed deals away from Australian rugby.

What that means for Lolesio remains to be seen. Schmidt turned to Lolesio on a regular basis to steer the Wallabies around the park as the team’s leading playmaker, but now, many have speculated the coach may have to look elsewhere for the British & Irish Lions Series.

Crusaders first five-eighth James O’Connor name-dropped Tom Lynagh and Ben Donaldson as two candidates to replace Lolesio, while speaking on a recent episode of The Good, The Bad & The Rugby. O’Connor also suggested a bolter could be in the frame for selection.

Lawson Creighton debuted for the Waratahs in the team’s win over the Western Force earlier in the season, and the former Queensland Reds pivot has held onto the starting spot ever since. Creighton has consistently kept one-Test Wallaby Tane Edmed on the bench.

If there’s any chance Creighton skyrockets in the frame for national selection, then matches like the Tahs’ clash with the Chiefs were always going to be key. With that in mind, Creighton wouldn’t look out of place in a Wallabies jersey.

Creighton started the round nine match with some skewed kicks, which were followed by some clean takes under the high ball, with Damian McKenzie usually returning fire. Throughout the rest of the first quarter, the No. 10 looked calm against the ladder-leading Chiefs.

After some Suaalii brilliance, Creighton nailed a tough conversion about 15 metres in from the right touchline. The loud cheer from the Sydney crowd made it known the attempt was going over before the assistant referees raised their flags.

Creighton reeled in a Damian McKenzie attempted touch-finder soon after, and was generally impressive. If coach Schmidt does move on from Lolesio, it’s becoming more possible each week that Lawson Creighton could be in the mix for selection.

McKenzie needs to be wearing the No. 10

The Waratahs took a seven-point lead into the sheds at half-time and from a Chiefs perspective, they’re lucky the difference wasn’t more. Lalakai Foketi had come within a whisker of scoring a sensational try down the right edge, but the ball was grounded on the chalk.

But rather than focus on the Waratahs successes in attack, the big story out of the opening term was the Chiefs’ woes. Damian McKenzie went missing, and Josh Jacomb struggled to steer the team around the park as the team’s starting first five-eighth.

McKenzie enjoyed a series of standout performances in the No. 10 jumper, which included two tries in as many matches against the Blues and Moana Pasifika, but shifted to fullback to play the Waratahs – the All Black’s first time in the role since round three.

The Chiefs just didn’t have the same punch that they’ve had in recent weeks.

If the All Blacks’ long-lasting selection headache involving Beauden Barrett and Richie Mo’unga taught everyone anything, it’s that the team’s best player should not be moved out of position. Barrett was the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year yet was moved to fullback.

McKenzie has been the best flyhalf in Super Rugby this season, and is definitely in the race for Player of the Year honours – ranked fifth after eight rounds. If there’s any chance moving McKenzie away from that role might hurt the Chiefs, it just shouldn’t happen.

Now, this isn’t a criticism of Jacomb. The 23-year-old was involved with the All Blacks XV under coach Clayton McMillan last year and could very well enter the frame for even higher honours later this season, but for now, this should be McKenzie’s team.

Teddy Wilson is also knocking at the Wallabies’ door

Creighton isn’t the only Waratah knocking at the Wallabies’ door.

Joey Walton was superb against the Chiefs, and halfback Teddy Wilson continues to step up in place of injured skipper Jake Gordon. Wilson has scored three tries in as many matches since taking over from Gordon, and the youngster so nearly had a double on Friday.

Wilson – who is a former Junior Wallabies captain and representative of the Australian Sevens side – has everything coach Joe Schmidt would like in a Test-level scrum-half: accurate pass, quick decision-making, reliable kicking game, and leadership.

In the early stages of this round nine clash, Wilson seemed to have scored a try, only for the off-field TMO to rule the effort out. But the 23-year-old would still have a try-scoring moment, with the halfback reaping the rewards of some Andrew Kellaway brilliance in the second half.

Gordon joins Tate McDermott and Nic White as three highly likely picks for the Wallabies’ squad to face the British & Irish Lions Series, but Wilson could be in with a chance if either of those three are ruled out.

The Chiefs are still ‘probably favoured to win the comp’

In the Waratahs’ team announcement press release, coach Dan McKellar said the Chiefs are the team that’s “probably favoured to win the comp.” At the midway point of the season, it wasn’t an opinion or statement that many rugby fans would dare disagree with.

The Chiefs have claimed some big wins to date, which included last week’s hard-fought win over the Queensland Reds in Hamilton, and rightly sat in first place after eight weeks. After back-to-back Grand Final defeats, it seems entirely possible they go one better in 2025.

But the Chiefs didn’t look like competition favourites against the Tahs. If anything, in the earlier game on Friday night, the Crusaders looked like the real deal for at least 70 minutes of their crunch Kiwi derby against the Hurricanes at Sky Stadium.

So, has the baton been passed?

No.

Not yet.

The Chiefs have shown enough this season to say they’re the team to beat.

While their performance against the Tahs wasn’t pretty, most Chiefs players had nights to forget at Allianz Stadium. Damian McKenzie was unusually quiet, as was Quinn Tupaea, and the forwards weren’t exactly dominant at the set-piece.

The Chiefs will be better.