Once again, it was far from pretty but the Waratahs secured the 24-19 win over the Rebels at the SCG.
For a team that went winless in 2021, that's all that matters as they build momentum and cement their spot (for now) inside the top four.
As for the Rebels, they remain winless but can take solace out of arguably their best performance of the season.
So what did we learn from the contest?
1. Perfect timing
With news of a Wallabies squad being announced tomorrow, there were several Waratahs who gave Dave Rennie a nice reminder of their talent.
Lalakai Foketi was great at inside centre, showing some nice pace and a brutal fend to open the scoring.
Dave Porecki and Harry Johnson-Holmes were solid as always, providing a nice platform for the forward pack alongside Jed Holloway.
However, arguably the biggest bolter would be Will Harrison at fullback. Harrison continues to impress despite admittedly playing out of position, showing excellent poise to deliver a pin-point ball for Newsome’s try whilst being smashed.
Meanwhile, for the Rebels, Andrew Kellaway shows no sign of his injury as he remains the premier winger in the country whilst Matt Philip is a titan in attack and defence.
2. Setting the tempo
The Rebels surely didn’t start like a winless team thanks to a great opening hit-up from Glen Vaihu.
Vaihu stunned the Waratahs early as he burst through the line and instantly put the visitors on the front foot.
The young winger was arguably their best player on the night, looking damaging with every touch before being forced off after a nasty collision.
It would all ultimately come to nothing as the play broke down and the resulting penalty kick went wide but it was a perfect sign of intent early.
3. Choosing the right options
Whilst the Waratahs attack looked strong throughout the night, there are still areas of improvement, most notably in the execution and decision making.
Will Harris showed great strength to burst through three defenders and change over but could have made it so much easier if he just drew the fullback and found his teammates (note plural) waiting in the wings.
Four minutes later, Izaia Perese makes a break down the sidelines and failed to find Alex Newsome, who looked tough to stop all night. Carlo Tizzano did the exact same thing as Harris at the start of the second half.
It’s an issue that doesn’t seem like a big deal but it was something that hurt them against the Brumbies and will continue to if they don’t sort it out.
4. Improvements but still worse enemy
The Rebels continue to make strides in the right direction but need to stop making it so difficult for themselves.
Particularly in the second half, they arguably were at their best all season as they consistently took the ball over the advantage line.
However, a silly yellow card and poor execution inside the 22 came back to haunt them.
This was typified the 77th minute when Carter Gordon failed to find touch from the halfway line, undoing all the good work from the second half.
5. Deja vu?
The Waratahs once again are facing the potential of dealing with a long injury list.
Angus Bell was a notable omission from the second half, struggling with back spasms. He was shortly joined by his flyhalf Ben Donaldson as he limped off the field with a calf complaint, likely to spend a couple of weeks on the sidelines.
With Jake Gordon and Michael Hooper still a couple of weeks away, Darren Coleman can’t afford many more to join them if they wish to make a finals push.
