Waratahs had it all to play for. One part of their game was embarrassing

May 10, 2026 — 11:41am

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When another disappointing Waratahs season is dissected at the end of the campaign, the 31-26 loss to the Highlanders will be hard evidence of how much they have relied on warhorse captain Matt Philip.

Without Philip, the Waratahs’ tight five looked big in stature but didn’t play big: a criticism that is starting to stick like mud to some of their individuals up front.

Their scrum was decimated, and when they gave up a soft maul turnover after 15 minutes, coach Dan McKellar looked like he was ready to explode.

The Highlanders have an exceptional scrum, but their level of domination from the outset was borderline embarrassing for the Waratahs.

It can only be inferred that the Waratahs’ attitude wasn’t right, despite the fixture’s critical importance to their play-off hopes.

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© WA Today